iGaming Daily

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Hello and welcome to the latest episode of iGaming Daily where we are in Lisbon and we are actually sat in the stadium of Benfica which is actually the stadium of white I only just realised not the Ascendlund version but the Portuguese version and I'm joined by Kara Christie the senior events executive who is pretty much the brains and operations behind SPC Championship which we're going to talk about today. Kara thank you for joining us on the podcast how are you doing? I'm happy to be here. I'm happy to have you on. I've been trying to get more people in the company on the podcast and you've been kind of top of the list that we want to get on. Certainly with the championship coming up. I don't know how much I believe that, but it is nice to get events on the podcast and talk about operational sides of things. I think that's really cool. Yeah, I do believe it. I do try to get you on. Because you just mentioned it, the events is such, they're so huge and everyone sees everything once it's finished, but the logistical side of them, everything in the background really goes under the, like under the under the carpet pretty much. So to kind of get you front and centre now, because we're going to talk about the logistics of setting up the championship. You've run this from its time when it was moved from Stamford Bridge to Rio Sociedad in Barcelona. You started at Rio Sociedad and you've done it for the past two years there and then came over to Benfica. So I think first off, I'll probably just ask you, what's the different challenges? I think the different challenges is... Once you're used to a stadium and how things are run and what you can do there, it kind of just rolls off your tongue. It's in your mind, you know everything. Moving to a new stadium and have in a new country as well, it's completely different. You have to relearn everything, see what is right, and it's building a new contact with that stadium as well, which can be challenging. I also think the crowd is different. There is a lot of interest in the SPC football championships and because we are getting bigger and bigger I think with Lisbon and how big our show is here, it is a bit more of a challenge to try and organise in what small time that we do have to organise it. Even though we do plan for months, by the time it starts getting rolled out so I think the biggest challenge is talking to people and trying to adapt to a new venue. Yeah, no, definitely. You've got a few premium sponsors this year. You have Mono Tech and you have AmuseNet. For the listeners out there, we do have interviews with people from Mono Tech and AmuseNet in the second half of the show. So make sure you tune in after the break for that. But we're gonna stay with Kaur at the moment. You said some of the biggest challenges is kind of like making these new contacts in a new area. Well, was Benfica always target number one for you? Because Portugal have like the... Lisbon itself has two huge teams in Benfica and Sporting Lisbon. Sorry Benfica, I'm a Sporting Lisbon fan. If I had to choose one it would be Lisbon. But like, sat in the stadium now, we're literally looking out and there's the turf, like some huge names are played here. It is a beautiful stadium as well. But was Benfica always number one for you? We did have a list and unfortunately it always falls on availability around our show. And yeah, we've gone for Benfica. Yeah, I think they were playing away this weekend. Yeah, they're playing away today. Today. Yeah, I was at the sporting Lisbon game yesterday, so that's kind of how I knew, like one's at home, one's away. Kind of wrote it that way. But let's talk about this event then. So let's talk about logistics. Take me from, and we've got like a few minutes, so you don't have to go too in-depth, but take us from the start of planning this and kind of the processes you go through each step to come to the final. play day kind of thing? The kick off, shall we say? I think the biggest thing is reflecting back on things that didn't work well or things that we can improve from last year. So that's why I always look at first, what do I want to be different? And then I kind of just work from there. And yeah, it's just making sure that we have everything that we think that are. guess our clients and our players want, as well as spectators, like getting them to come and stuff. That is probably the hardest point because it is such a busy week and most people do fly in on the Monday. It's just doing things that we think can bring them in. I think it then gets a little bit tricky when it comes to organizing the teams because everyone has such different skills levels and we do want all the teams to be fair. So it's like moving them around into teams. And obviously we have our sponsored teams as well and just getting that communicated. Obviously collecting 200 shirt sizes is a little bit difficult, but we do manage to do it. Yeah, it's... It's... I wouldn't say it's quite easy to organise, but definitely out of the week, this is my favourite thing to organise. Well, I'll say on the shirt sizes, I'm currently wearing the Benfico Waytop, so... Yeah, everyone's after the Benfico Waytop. You've got the size correct, it's fine, it fits perfect. So, well done. You've got a special guest coming. Yep. Nuno Gomez. Yeah. Big Portuguese name, which is cool. Yeah. How did you manage to get him on board? So we was just we actually had a list of players that we did want. Do not ask me to name any. I don't know. Let me guess. Luis Figo, you wanted you wanted. She probably wanted Cristiano Ronaldo. Nani? A lot of people did message me saying, can we get Cristiano Ronaldo? And I was like, I don't think I have the ability to do that. I don't think he's going to want to come and help me. All the funds. Yeah. But yeah, so I just asked around. and did a bit of research on players, ex-players that we think would be really an icon. We have so many icons and legends coming to the show, so I was like, we need someone for here. And then just going back and forth with the stadium to try and see who's available, and then it went a week silence. And then I got a call saying, you know, Gomez is going to be there, and I was like, that's awesome, that is awesome! So I think that's really exciting, and I think that's a great surprise for everyone. as well. Blackburn Rovers legend man. He's a legend for Rovers. And another thing you've got because I don't think we heard the bird while we've been live but we did hear a few to him or her, who don't know what it is. You have an eagle show which is iconic for Benfica and I remember, there he is. Yep. You can hear him. It freaks me out. I actually have a phobia of birds. Really? So having to organize an eagle flight. has not been the highlight of my year. See, I love it because when, a little story, because when FC United, they were a breakaway team from Manchester United, when the Glazers took over, when they opened their new stadium, it was about five, 10 minutes away from my parents' house. Okay. So we went to the opening of that stadium and it was the Ben Figueroa Under 18s team. So they did the Eagles show. Yep, no. I would collapse. Birds freak me out. I'm surprised that eagle survived New Moston. I'm not going to lie. It's really exciting though. He does seem cool. He does actually sit in the shop during the day. I walked into the shop, didn't realise he was there. And just chills there all day. Just chills there. There's no one standing next to him or her. Just chilling there. So if anyone does want to ever see the eagle. definitely go to the Benfica official store by the stadium. I'm definitely doing that after this show. A little bit of a plug there. But yeah that's gonna be cool. Perfect. We're gonna round off to the break because like I said we've got Amuse and Atom MonoTech in the second half. For championships, they've already kicked off, it's already happening. Watch your aim for next season. I'm really excited to see what people's reactions were to us doing it here at Benfica. Like I said before, I like to reflect on other things and see what we can change and what people are expecting. I'm hoping to make it a little bit bigger. Whether I'm able to do that, we don't know. I will have to ask the gods above. But yeah, I want to make it bigger. I want to implement maybe some other ideas. I think we'll just attract people more to it because it is a fun day. It is a really fun day. People really enjoy it. If anyone's interested in sponsoring next year or even becoming a player, do give me a shout on LinkedIn. Perfect. I'm going to round off this half the podcast. That ego sounds like it's getting ever closer. And you're talking about your phobia. I'm a little bit shaky. You're going to lose now. Yeah, so we're going to round up. Stay tuned off the break, because I'm going to head over to the pitch itself and talk to. Mono Tech and Amuse.net. Hello, welcome back to the iGaming Daily Podcast. I'm here at the SPC Championship still and I'm joined by Nikola Grigorychev. Georgiev. Georgiev, sorry, apologies. I'm Amuse.net. We've just gone off the pitch. We're absolutely knackered, let's say. He's a nice guy. First game is over, three points. It wasn't easy. No, you dominated us on the pitch, so fair play to that one. Thanks, man. But we're here because... Championships is kind of the kickoff to SPC Summit Lisbon, SPC Summit, and you are one of the main sponsors of the championship as well. It's a great event. First off, how are you liking Lisbon? Different change from Barcelona now? Yes, completely different. New country. Actually, it's my first time here. Same, same. Lisbon, so it's really, I'm really excited to go around, to see the city, to prepare very well for the exhibition. this week and good start with the football tournament. We are actually sponsor for third consecutive year. We really love the event that you are organising. You know, last two years it was in Espanyol Stadium, now the new one, Benfica. Yeah, that's why we let you win on the pitch by the way. We want to ease on you because it's three years and I'm really sponsored. And like I said, you're three years in a row. Why is this championship such a big allure to you? Why is it something that you keep coming back to? In the beginning, this is amazing. event, I mean a part of the business, it's something that it's a physical activity that you can do, play against each other and you know most of us are friends, colleagues or partners and to be able to share the football pitch with your friends is really good before the event. So it's a different thing and I believe it's really valuable for all the people that participate every year. Yeah, and I'm using that you've got big plans this year for SBC Summit. I've been in a few communications with you about all the things that we're going to do at the event. There's a sneak peek to the listeners. Keep your ear out for that one, I'll show you it. But you've got big plans. Can you just tell us a bit about what you've got ahead for SBC Summit this week? Oh, first of all, we would like to meet all our partners that are coming to Lisbon for SBC Summit. Also to present our new products, to present our new projects in the near future that we are developing now. And that's it for a good business. And rumour has it you've got a Portuguese celebrity coming to the stand this week? Yes, we have one really popular streamer, influencer, that's going to be in our booth. So stop by and we also want to have a couple of awards for the clients, for the partners, so you can come and play on the games so eventually you can win something big. I'll definitely come in as a Twitch affiliate myself. tap into your low-plus celebrity and try and get some tips on how to get bigger on that one. Oh no, Nicola thank you for joining us for this quick conversation and I won't see you out on the pitch anymore because you've just played each other so thankfully you didn't leave any marks on me so it was alright. Only fair play then. Tomorrow we need to work. We need to walk around a bit, conference hall. But no, have a good rest of the tournament, have a good week and thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for the podcast, thank you. Okay I'm joined by Slava, the head of commercial at Mono Tech. We've just finished a game. I'm out of breath. I played alright in the second half, but we just beat you 1-0, so that's my bragging right there. Yeah, it was actually a good game. It was pretty close from both sides. It was pretty interesting. We still have one more to play. You do, yeah. I think you as well, right? Yeah, we've got one as well. It was a hard game, I'm not going to lie. It was tight. I really hope that luck will be on our side. I think you still got it. And we're gonna score the next one. Yeah, I think we lost the first game. We just won against yous. Did you win your first game? No, we played against Clever. Those guys are really good. I think they're really good, aren't they, Clever? They're clever at football, shall we say. Yeah, that's true. I've got you here because Mono Tech, they're obviously the sponsor of the championship. We're here in Lisbon, it's the first time in Lisbon. First off, what do you think of the championships? What kind of made Mono Tech, you know... be the premier sponsor of this tournament? Speaking about premier sponsorship, well, I think it's all about participation, having fun, and of course trying to show ourself and just to spend some quality of time. Because actually, it's pretty fun, there are a lot of themes, the weather is great, we're playing on a great field here at the Benfica Stadium, so it's really fun. It is, I'm enjoying it. One thing I love about the championship is, and it's happened every year and I've played in most of them, is that gateway to the actual event itself. And the whole event is about meeting people, you know, building those communications and, you know, just the whole industry coming together. What better way to do that than on a football pitch like 5v5? Yeah, it's actually true. There are a lot of good people, good teams. It's really great to be here and it's also an honour to be a main sponsor of the event. It's the first time this year I think we decided to go for such a big sponsorship in general for SBC and the football tournament as well. It's really fun. This is the gateway now to the SBC Summit this week. Mono Tech, you're out here in full force. What have you got planned for the week for us to look forward to for the listeners? Actually, it's going to be incredibly busy. Our booth is in the middle of the second hall, I think, like B348. Our standard thing, 384, yeah. It's our booth. I'm not sure about the rest of the team, but I have all three days. Completely booked. Completely booked for the meetings. It's going to be insane. And the side events also this year are just amazing. There's going to be plenty of parties and gatherings and networking dinners. A lot of interesting stuff really. I'm sending half of the team on one event, me and myself joining another event. Just for us to gain maximum from it. You will and like I said it's going to start the championship. I will no doubt see you throughout the week, we'll have a drink later on as well tonight to celebrate the championship. Yeah, we'll be happy to. Thank you for joining us on the podcast today and have a great week as well. Thanks for having me, thanks James.