Conference Programme

You will find the schedule for the first day of the conference below. The majority  of the panelists have agreed to take part and the final details are being put together.

iGamingFrance Conference 2012, 26-27 March, Hotel Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel

Day 1 – Monday, 26 March

09.00: Opening and registration, coffee and refreshments
09.30: Welcome by Jake Pollard, Managing editor, iGaming France
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9.45-10.00 Opening presentation by Jean-François Vilotte, President of the French online gaming regulator ARJEL
Jean-Francois Vilotte looks back on the key points that have affected the French igaming sector in 2011-2012 and gives his outlook on how the industry in France can go forward in the next 12 months.

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10.00-11.00: CEO PANEL
The chief executives of the major operators active in France discuss the key issues for the sector and give their perspectives on future developments. The sector faces significant challenges: profitability, business model and questions about its sustainability. Most importantly, how does it adapt to the environment and how does it face up to the future?

Moderator: Jake Pollard, Managing editor, iGamingFrance

Speakers
Jean-Francois Vilotte, President, ARJEL
Xavier Hurstel, Chief operating officer, PMU
Alexis Laipsker, Director, PokerStars France
Xavier Etienne, Chairman and chief executive, Barrière Poker
Julien Brun, Chief executive, Unibet France
Olivier Kuhn, President, Commission for online gaming, GESTE

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11.00-11.20 Coffee and refreshments
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11.20-12.15 Sporting integrity: taking centre stage
Two major sporting events will take place this summer, Euro 2012 and the London Olympics. They have placed sporting integrity center stage. The topic has also received much attention recently following the publication of the report by IRIS on corrupt betting and the agreement between the IOC and ARJEL. Like doping, the topic is highly emotional and some sports are more prone to it than others, but few people really know how the system works and who the winners and losers are. This panel will help understand a phenomenon that has a huge impact on the sporting world and online betting operators.

Moderator: Jake Pollard, Managing editor, iGamingFrance

Speakers
Antonio Costanzo, Director for regulatory and business affairs, bwin party
Khalid Ali, General secretary, European Sports Software Association
Cécile Thomas-Trophime, Head of legal services, ARJEL

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12.15-14.00 Networking lunch
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14.00-14:40 Innovation, social gaming and social media and networking
We hear these buzzwords everyday in our working lives, but they are also distinct product verticals that work in entirely different ways to one another. This panel will enable betting, social betting, social gaming and video betting operators to provide their perspectives on these issues and tell the audience more about their products work.

Moderator: Jake Pollard, Managing editor, iGamingFrance

Speakers
Julien de Préaumont, Chief executive, Betkup
Joakim Nilsson, Head of social media, Betclic Everest
Vincent Morel, President, MulteeGaming
Franck Tatzleff, CEO, Kobojo
Thibault Souffront, Managing director, Snoopy Agency

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14:40-15:00 Coffee and refreshment break
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15:00-15:40 France-Italy: similar but in fact very different markets and regulations
Online gambling in France and Italy have some aspects in common, but their regulations and therefore markets  are very different. Italian operators’ offers are broader and the offline market is open to competition in Italy, while other French fundamentals such as the right to bet are not applicable there. This panel will analyse the key differences between the two markets, how their working together will help their respective industries and will look to what is happening on a broader level across Europe.

Moderator: Jake Pollard, Managing editor, iGamingFrance

Speakers -
Gilles Crespin, Chief operating officer, ARJEL
Valerie Peano, Studio Consulenza, Rome
Diane Mullenex, Parner, Ichay Mullenex Avocats
Luca Turchi, Director sports betting and horse racing, AAMS
Marcello Presilla, Public affairs, SISAL

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16.15-17.15 End of panels, exhibitors-delegates networking

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Day 2 – Tuesday 27 March

10.00-11.00 The French igaming affiliate market in 2012
The main players in the affiliate market discuss the key issues affecting  the sector as regulated online gaming celebrates its second anniversary in France: the panelists will discuss how the sector has evolved over the past two years, if there is any likelihood of consolidation in the space, as there has been among operators and the innovations and  models different affiliates bring to the sector.

Moderator : Jake Pollard, Managing editor, iGamingFrance.com

Speakers
John Samson, Founder, Gamrep
Maxime Combarieu, Fonuder-directors, Wincomparator
Renaud Lasselin, Founder, Sportytrader
Caroline Seror, Bee Traffic, for Barrière Affiliation

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11.00-11.20 Coffee break and refreshments
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11.20-12.10 The French market through the three product verticals
The three verticals, online sports betting and horse racing pari mutuel and online poker target very different demographics and their products are very distinct. Whether punters are interested in the statistics of an affiliate like Pronosoft, or are very active with the horses and Canalturf or form a community of poker players with Poker Académie, the executives from these segments give their views on their experiences of the past 12 months.

Moderator : Jake Pollard, Managing editor, iGamingFrance.com

Speakers
Nadim Noureddine, Founder, Pronosoft
Nicolas Ferrand, Founder, Canalturf
Eloi Relange, Strategy & developpement, Poker Académie
Paul Bougnoux, Partner, Largilière Finance

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12.15-14.00 Networking lunch  
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14.00-14.30  SEO Presentation
SEO Consultant and SEO Blackout blogger Paul Sanches helps affiliates get the best out of their SEO techniques.

14.30-15.15 SEO workshop
Paul Sanches and Mathieu Gheerbrandt of SEO agency Sartepenso discuss the latest developments in igaming SEO.

15.15-16.15 In-house or outsourced ?
Should operators manage their affiliate platforms in-house or outsource the work to specialists? Over-simplification or false debate? Some operators have begun to set up their own internal affiliate departments to manage the whole proces, while service providers and suppliers as NetRefer, Income Access, Zanox or TradeDoubler offer subcontracting, a licensing system and a mix of both.

Moderator : Jake Pollard, Managing
Panelists:
Dimitri Safonov, Affiliate marketing manager, Everest Gaming
John Samson, Founder, GamRep
Bertrand Boullay, Head of acquisitions, PMU

16.15-17.00 End of panels, exhibitors-delegates networking.

17.00 End or the event