SiGMA World 2026 moves into its second day in Rome with regulation, payments, and AML in focus

SiGMA World 2026 opened in Rome with a strong regulatory message and a crowd that matters for anyone selling payments into high-risk verticals: more than 30,000 delegates and representatives of more than 65 regulatory authorities and government institutions. The event is also being framed as a significant local economic driver, with an estimated impact of more than 100 million euros.

1. The official opening ceremony took place on Tuesday, 3 November in Hall 3 on the Main SiGMA Stage, hosted by Trudy Kerr. Speakers included Heathcliff Farrugia, Chief International Relations Officer of SiGMA Group; Tulia Ackson, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU); and Antonello Aurigemma, President of the Lazio Regional Council.
2. Farrugia used his remarks to push the standard high-risk-sector line: modern regulation protects consumers and gives legal certainty to operators that stay inside the rules. He also warned that banning gambling does not remove demand; it just pushes users toward platforms without controls or consumer protection. For PSPs and acquirers, that is the practical point — when legal rails are unclear or too narrow, volume does not disappear, it migrates.
3. He also highlighted the sector’s growing overlap with artificial intelligence, fintech, digital payments, cybersecurity, and blockchain. In other words, the conference is not just about gaming operators; it is also where payment infrastructure, compliance tooling, and data security vendors show up to sell the plumbing around the business.
4. Ackson focused on the social impact of gaming and the need to strengthen protection for children and young people. She pointed to early access to digital games, loot boxes, inappropriate content, and design mechanisms that can encourage longer sessions or excessive spending, and called for stronger cooperation between governments, international bodies, industry, and civil society.
5. Aurigemma closed the institutional part of the opening by stressing the value of public-private cooperation to set clear rules, support legality, and keep technological innovation moving. After the ceremony and the official opening photo with Eman Pulis and Heathcliff Farrugia, attendees spread across the exhibition floor, conference rooms, and networking areas at Fiera Roma.

On Wednesday, 4 November, the commercial exhibition runs from 10:00 to 18:00 with nine pavilions open, while workshops run from 11:00 to 16:30. Six sessions are centered on regulatory scenarios in South America and Asia, covering data protection, anti-money laundering (AML), and social impact — exactly the sort of agenda that tends to matter when a PSP is deciding which markets to enter, which merchants to onboard, and how much compliance friction to expect.