European Gaming Lawyer magazine EGL_Spring2017_opt | Page 5
[
President’s Message
]
Mike Zatezalo, [email protected]
I
President Mike Zatezalo
MGL started the New Year where it left
off in 2016 by offering its Masterclass at
the National Council of Legislators
from Gaming States (“NCLGS”) at the
NCLGS winter meeting in Scottsdale,
Arizona, on January 6-8th, 2017. The IMGL
Masterclass included panels on the role of Regulators,
Tribal Gaming Legal Issues with States, and eSports
and were well received.
On February 3, 2017, IMGL and the law firm of
Kalff Katz & Franssen hosted a pre-ICE gathering
of gaming officials and industry representatives
at the Industrieele Groote Club in Amsterdam,
Holland. Over 150 guests attended this invitation
only gathering. Justin Franssen, IMGL Assistant
Secretary and General Member from Holland, was
the host and did a fantastic job. Featured speakers
were Erwin van Lambaart, CEO of Holland Casino,
Peter-Paul de Goeg, Managing Director of Lottomate
and Marja Appelman, head of the Holland Casino
Commission. It was a very informative meeting and
great networking event.
Then it was on to London for the Annual ICE
conference (February 7-9) in London, England,
at the ExCel center. IMGL once again held a
Masterclass at ICE which was very well attended
with 221 attendees (extra chairs needed to be
brought into the conference room!) and included
panels on worldwide developments, anti-money
laundering and the effect that Brexit and the election
of Donald Trump would have on the gaming
industry. IMGL also had its annual ICE reception at
Merchant Taylors’ Hall in London and experienced
the largest crowd ever to attend the reception.
Our thanks to member Tony Coles and his firm
Gordon Dadds for co-hosting the reception. It
was not only a great location but a fascinating
historical venue.
However, perhaps the biggest news of the new
year is IMGL’s entering into a Memorandum of
Understanding with Clarion Event Limited which
gives IMGL the option to conduct Masterclasses
at all Clarion events. We are very excited about
this partnership and the opportunity to extend the
reach of the IMGL brand. If any of our members are
interested in participating or organizing any of these
Masterclasses, please contact Joerg Hoffman, our
past President, who is coordinating our Masterclasses
and our Executive Director Sue McNabb. We have
posted on the IMGL website a
list of the confirmed future IMGL Masterclasses for
2017 as well as the Clarion events where IMGL will
have the option of conducting a Masterclass.
The IMGL spring conference will be held in
Miami, Florida, this year and takes place on
May 10-12th, 2017, at the Turnberry Isle. If you have
not made your reservations to attend, I would suggest
you do now. It should be another great conference
and offers a side trip to the Gulfstream racetrack on
Saturday, May 13th, with a private suite at the finish
line for IMGL guests to enjoy the day. I encourage
everyone to make plans to stay in Miami over the
weekend and enjoy the Day at the Races. Finally,
our fall conference will be held in Copenhagen,
Denmark, September 10-12th, 2017. Please mark
your calendars accordingly. As you can tell, 2017 will
be a very busy and exciting year for IMGL. I look
forward to seeing many of you in Miami.
European Gaming Lawyer | Spring Issue | 2017 | 5