news

A Return to Normalcy: April 2021 Presidents Message

April 14, 2021

My fellow IMGL members, I hope this Newsletter finds you in good health and good spirits.  Needless to say, the last year has been a challenge, but I am proud to tell you that the IMGL has come through in a better position than could have been imagined when the pandemic started last year.

The IMGL’s most important missions is to provide educational opportunities to our members and the entire global gaming community.  I am truly excited to unveil our new IMGL Magazine.   Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Simon Planzer and our Head of Publications, Philip Savage, the IMGL Magazine will be hitting your mailbox TODAY!!  There are a number of important articles in this first edition, so watch for it shortly!

The IMGL has always believed in the importance of face-to-face meetings to get the most current information and to share, ideas, suggestions, and practice tips.   Additionally, in-person events allow for us to foster the camaraderie that is so key to the long-term growth and development of the IMGL.   With this as background, the IMGL has restarted our in-person events.  

On February 26, members met in Sarasota, Florida for our first Regional Conference.   This event focused on multi-state discussions about the status of sports betting.   It was one of the best exchanges of ideas and knowledge which I have had the pleasure to attend.   Now we move to Las Vegas for our second Regional Conference, this Friday, April 16.   On June 4, we will have our third Regional Conference in Indianapolis, please try to join us!!

The IMGL continues to plan for our Fall Conference, this year a joint conference with the International Association of Gaming Regulators.    We will meet in Boston, starting on September 15 with a business meeting and then joint sessions with the IAGR.    On the 16th and 17th we’ll have IMGL panels, tracks and discussion groups.   This will be the first full-sized conference since Munich in September 2019.  I hope you all mark your calendars and plan on joining your fellow members in Boston.

But the IMGL is not just focusing on in-person events, we continue our online IMGL Masterclasses.  Our next IMGL Masterclass will be on May 11, 2021 and will focus on three developing markets:  Ukraine, Germany and the Netherlands.    We continue to provide digital programming with Clarion Gaming with upcoming IMGL Masterclasses on Tribal Gaming and the status of land-based gaming around the world.

I am pleased to announce our new partnership with SBC to provide content at their upcoming events.   We have already provided panels on gaming in Italy and Latin America.  Look for our next IMGL Masterclasses at SBC on payment processing and North America developments.   As with all our programing, digital and in-person, if you have ideas or would like to speak on a topic, please email me or our superb Executive Director Brien VanDyke at Brien@IMGL.org.

I am honored and humbled to serve as your President.  The IMGL is the pre-eminent organization of gaming lawyers across the globe and as we move forward into the new normal, I am excited about our joint future!!  I look forward to seeing each and every one of you very soon and to lifting a glass to your health and to the IMGL.