As SiGMA Wrapped Up the Year, One Poll Revealed What Really Drives Us to Conferences
SiGMA was the last big conference of the year, the final sprint, the final coffees, the final “let’s catch up next week” promises, and the final moment to read the room before 2026 kicks off
Just before Sigma, we ran a LinkedIn poll, and the results are telling. 75% said their main goal at conferences is networking and partnerships. Everything else, closing deals, discovering tools, and learning from experts, barely made a dent.
It confirmed what many of us already feel but rarely say out loud.
1. Conferences are no longer just events, they’re the industry’s meeting point
As SiGMA wrapped up the conference season, it felt like we’d pushed the last big round of relationship-building into a few intense days. These events are basically our real boardrooms, because in iGaming, partnerships don’t happen behind desks, they happen between stands, over dinners, and in those unplanned conversations you weren’t expecting but absolutely needed.
2. Deals don’t get closed at conferences, they get created
Only 11% said they attend to close deals. And that’s accurate. At conferences nobody walks in with a contract, but many walk out with the beginning of something.
Deals start with trust, and trust starts with a conversation. Chemistry. Energy. Whether someone “gets it” without you needing to over-explain.
That’s the real closing.
3. Tech discovery matters, but people still want the conversation first
Another 11% said they are there to discover new tools and tech. Which is fair: 2025 brought huge shifts: AI, tracking policy changes, and new compliance demands.
But even with the most advanced tools on display, people don’t choose tech on features alone. They choose based on clarity, transparency, and the people behind it. They choose based on trust, and trust isn’t built in a demo room.
4. Learning from experts? Valuable — but not the main attraction
Panels, keynotes, workshops… great additions. But the truth is: most of the meaningful learning happens after the sessions — in the corridors, over a drink, or when someone says, “Let me tell you what’s really happening behind the scenes.”
This is why speaking at events matters, not for the stage time, but for the conversations it sparks.
It reinforces something we’ve always known: Relationships come first. Technology is the enabler, not the replacement. Partnerships drive ROI long before the software does.
We don’t show up just with a product. We show up with a team. With transparency. With accountability. Because the ecosystem still runs on people, not just platforms.
SiGMA closed the year with the same message our poll highlighted: Conferences are where the industry connects, resets, and recharges. The deals, the tech, the insights, they all come after. The relationships come first.
