NEXT Summit Valletta takes place this week at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, Malta. Around 40% of attendees are operators - the people who run online casino platforms, and make the decisions that shape what a player's experience actually looks like. That is significant for player protection. It is an event where the people with the most direct power to act and protect players from fake games are actually present.
Here is what Gamecheck is bringing to the discussion.
Player protection discussions in the iGaming industry tend to follow a familiar pattern. Advocates make the case for stronger standards. Operator, the businesses closest to the player, engage at a distance, often responding to requirements rather than shaping them.
That gap shows up at most industry events, where operators are one voice among many rather than the primary audience. The result is a disconnect between where the player protection conversation happens and where the decisions that affect players are made.
Fake games sit squarely in that gap. Gamecheck identifies online casino games that do not match the originals produced by game providers - games where the outcomes, the mathematics, or the mechanics have been altered. Players encountering these games are not losing to a fair game. They are not playing on a level playing field.
Operators have more power to close that gap than anyone else in the chain. They choose which games appear on their platforms and the terms under which those games are presented to players. When operators make better decisions about game sourcing, players benefit directly, and so does the reputation of the platforms themselves.
An event where operators make up four in ten attendees is not just statistically different from the norm, it is functionally different. Conversations about what operators should do, become conversations with the people who can do it. It means the player protection conversation at NEXT Valletta can be practical and direct. It can engage with the real challenges operators face: verifying game integrity across large catalogues, building platforms that players can trust, and proving to their players that the games on their platform are real games.
The iGaming industry is at an inflection point. Global online gambling revenue was estimated at around €72 billion in 2024, with projections suggesting growth beyond €92 billion by 2029. That scale of growth brings opportunity - and it also brings risk. The more valuable the market, the more attractive it becomes to operators who are not playing fair.
Fake games are part of that risk. They appear on platforms that look legitimate, carry familiar branding, and market themselves with the same language as any other online casino. The difference is in what happens when a player places a bet.
Gamecheck's approach to this is grounded in evidence. When we identify a game that warrants investigation, we test it, gather findings, and check those findings with the original game providers. It is the providers themselves who determine whether a game is real. That process is systematic, and it produces results that operators can use.
The Gamecheck SEAL is the visible outcome of that process. When an operator's games have been checked against the originals and verified as real by the original game providers, they can display the Gamecheck SEAL on their platform. It tells players, clearly that the games on that site are real.
For operators, the Gamecheck SEAL is a marker of integrity as well as a competitive signal. In a market where players are increasingly aware that fake games exist, demonstrating that your platform takes game integrity seriously is a meaningful differentiator. NEXT Valletta is a space where that argument can land with the people it most needs to reach.
Gamecheck's presence at NEXT Summit is focused on a straightforward aim: contributing to the industry conversation about player protection, and connecting with operators who want to take a more active role in it.
We are here this week to have the kind of conversations that move the industry forward - conversations about what game integrity actually looks like in practice, what tools exist to support it, and what the cost of inaction is for players and platforms alike.
Player protection is not just about compliance - it is the condition on which the industry's long-term credibility rests. Players who encounter fake games and lose money they should not have lost do not forget it. They do not come back. And they tell others.
The operators who understand that are already asking the right questions. NEXT Valletta brings them into the same room and into the same conversation as the people with the tools to help them act on it.
NEXT Valletta is a good opportunity to meet the Gamecheck team in person. If you are an operator looking to understand how verification fits into your platform, or want to see the Gamecheck SEAL in action, these are the people to speak with.
Jack Crabtree | Partnerships Manager, Gamecheck
Jack leads Gamecheck's commercial relationships across the iGaming ecosystem, connecting operators, affiliates, and platforms with the tools they need to build player trust.
If you are at NEXT Valletta, he is the person to find.
Lizzie McDermott | Sales Executive, Gamecheck
Lizzie helps operators understand how verification fits into their day-to-day.
NEXT Valletta is a great place to meet her.
To get in touch ahead of the event, contact: sales@gamecheck.com.
A few themes are worth paying attention to as the programme takes shape.
Game integrity is on the agenda.
Over the past two years, awareness of fake online casino games has grown among players, game providers, and a growing number of operators. Expect that awareness to show up in panel discussions, side conversations, and the questions that get asked from the floor.
There is a growing recognition in the industry that player trust is not just a responsibility, it is an asset. Operators who have invested in transparency tools and verification processes are seeing returns. That story will be worth listening to.
The Mediterranean market is a meaningful context. Malta has been a central hub for online casino operations for years. The regulatory environment, the concentration of operators, and the proximity to both European and emerging markets make this summit a useful lens through which to examine where the industry is heading.
Player protection is a shared responsibility. It requires game providers to produce fair games, operators to offer them, and players to have the tools to check what they are playing. Gamecheck exists at the point where those three groups connect. NEXT Summit Valletta brings together an audience that is well-placed to act on that commitment.
The operators who understand that fair play is the foundation of player loyalty are already asking the right questions. NEXT Valletta puts them in the same room as the people with the tools and research to help them act on it.
Follow the Gamecheck blog at Gamecheck: Protecting Players from Fake Online Games for a live update directly from the event, and a full post-event recap this week.
