The celebrity hostess at the Battle of Malta is Maria Ho, this year’s World Series of Poker last woman standing.The celebrity hostess at the Battle of Malta is Maria Ho, this year’s World Series of Poker last woman standing.

The Malta iGaming Seminar (MiGS) and the Battle of Malta poker tournament are collaborating to organise an additional competition day to bridge the two events.

The Battle of Malta poker tournament being organised by Poker­Listings ends on November 9 and MiGS begins on November 11.

“Poker was never part of the summit but we believe that having an additional day of the tournament on the 10th to create a lead-in to the Battle of Malta will turn this into the largest event in Malta. We therefore decided to sponsor the event on the 10th, aimed at recreational players, providing a prize and seeking other sponsors to make it into a great event,” MiGS co-owner Andy Jones said.

The two events are aimed at very different audiences. While the summit is aimed at operators and regulators – with well over 200 mostly foreign delegates, expected to attend – the tournament is aimed at players. But Mr Jones thinks that the two complement each other.

“There is clearly considerable opportunity for networking as well as to raise the whole profile of Malta as a gaming jurisdiction,” he said.

“The idea instantly generated interest and we al­ready have PokerTracker on board as a sponsor.”

Now in its sixth year, MiGS has found its momentum again after a restructuring which saw Mr Jones take over a considerable shareholding, who in turn brought on board Sue Schneider, one of the world-leading experts on the internet gaming industry.

“We eventually got some very good speakers last year and around 275 attendees but it needed a bit of a kick in the right direction,” he said. MiGS was turned from a non-profit event into a commercial one, with ReMax, Capstone and BMIT as the other shareholders.

“We are seeing this as a transition year. Already we are being contacted by speakers who want to be on the programme and we may even have to tag on side workshops in order to include more of them,” he said.

“Next year, the event will be more structured. It is important to showcase Malta to people who either didn’t know Malta or who had not actually been here before.”

The date of MiGS was also moved to November, filling a gap in the international calendar for this industry – although it is just a few weeks after the rival SiGMA conference, and it is clear that there is little love lost between the two organisers.

“We are getting some financial help from the Lotteries and Gaming Authority and we hope to be able to tap into other funds.

“Is there space in Malta for more than one i-gaming summit?

“Well, obviously I don’t think so. I am determined that ours is the one which survives,” Mr Jones said.

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