Watch: Alea reveals what to expect in Rome at SiGMA Central Europe 2025
Rome is about to host the iGaming world’s most anticipated gathering this year, and SiGMA Group releases a podcast that goes behind the curtain with Alea, one of the industry’s most talked-about aggregators. In conversation with reporter Cyrielle Delmas, Alea Founder Alexandre Tomic and Head of PR & Communications Marit von Stedingk unpack what it takes to stand out in a crowded market, why their booth features wellness tech instead of slot machines, and what delegates can expect when SiGMA Central Europe opens its doors at Fiera Roma from 3 to 6 November.
“Your employees are more important than your customers.”
Trust beats transactions
When asked about partnerships, von Stedingk doesn’t lean on sales language. “This industry is small. It is very easy to see brands and say that we are better than anyone else, but to actually meet the people and actually have these conversations where partnerships go beyond transactions, you know, collaborations that last and are built on sort of reliability and trust,” she says. For Alea, SiGMA represents something more valuable than lead generation: it’s where conversations turn into commitments, and where face-to-face interaction still carries weight in an industry increasingly mediated by screens.
Tomic holds strong views on employee wellbeing, views that run contrary to much of the industry’s thinking. “Your employees are more important than your customers,” he says, and he doesn’t walk it back when challenged. The argument is practical rather than sentimental: people who feel looked after deliver better service, and clients pick up on that immediately. Alea carries this thinking into its trade show presence, designing booth experiences built around refreshment rather than exhaustion, and hosting activities where connection matters more than conversion.
Wellness over banners
There are no towering LED walls at Alea’s Rome booth, and you won’t leave with a branded tote bag. What you will find is a hyperbaric chamber offering 20-minute sessions at 90% oxygen concentration, useful for longer meetings that don’t end with both parties needing a nap, and an oxygen bar serving scented oxygen in varieties like spearmint for focus, cinnamon for calm, and orange for clarity. Von Stedingk frames it as a response to the reality of conference life: “At a conference where it’s so easy to sort of overindulge and, like, feel overwhelmed, have so many different meetings and, you know, you get tired, that sort of like slight boost of oxygen is just so… it’s like a hug to the brain.”
The company also hosts a client golf tournament on 3 November at the course that held the 2023 Ryder Cup, and co-sponsors the SiGMA iGathering on 6 November, treating its presence at the event as much about building relationships as showcasing products.
Why Rome & why now?
Italy’s gambling market generates €16 billion annually, yet three quarters of that figure still comes from offline channels. That leaves roughly €12 billion in revenue waiting for operators who can bridge the gap between land-based habits and digital convenience. SiGMA’s choice to host its flagship European event in Rome isn’t just about location, it’s about timing.
Over 30,000 delegates, 550 speakers, and 1,200 exhibitors will gather at Fiera Roma across four days in November, turning the city into a temporary capital for iGaming innovation. Tomic, whose career has taken him from affiliate marketing through operator roles to platform architecture, sees the Italian market as overdue for disruption. At Alea, he’s built an aggregation platform that connects operators to 16,000 games from over 160 providers through a single API, designed to work across regulated markets in Spain, Romania, South Africa, and Brazil.
The company’s philosophy centres on platforms that are secure, scalable, and adaptive, evolving alongside players, partners, and the regulations that govern them. Rome offers the ideal stage for that message, combining historic gravitas with a market ready for digital transformation.
SiGMA Central Europe runs from 3 to 6 November at Fiera Roma, bringing together operators, suppliers, regulators, and service providers across four days of panels, exhibitions, awards, and networking events, including an exclusive performance by opera legend Plácido Domingo. The full podcast conversation with Alexandre Tomic and Marit von Stedingk is available now on SiGMA Group’s official YouTube channel.
