Bending Rules, Building Legacy ft. Eman Pulis

Eman Pulis: Forget about selling, even at conferences. Focus on connecting people. This is what I do. Unless I manage to pull this off—the big show in Malta—I’m going down.

Yevhen Krazhan: In iGaming, most people play for profit. Eman Pulis plays for legacy. From small Malta meetups to global mega-events, he turned Sigma into one of the loudest and smartest stages for gaming, tech, and people who dream big.

So Eman, why did you choose Rome?

Eman Pulis: That’s a big question. There are several reasons.

First, it’s a major city with great infrastructure and strong flight connectivity — something we maybe didn’t have as much in some previous host cities.

Second, Italy is the second-largest gaming market in Europe after the UK. But while the UK market is already mature, the Italian market still feels like it’s in its infancy. Having Sigma here is an amazing opportunity for the global industry to come together and better understand this very important market.

So we planted the flag in Italy, and we’ll be here for the foreseeable future. I think we’re off to a great start based on what I’m seeing on the floor.

Yevhen Krazhan: At the same time, you’re not completely leaving Malta behind.

Eman Pulis: Oh no. Absolutely not.

Malta gave us what we have today. Without the Malta Gaming Authority and Gaming Malta, we would not be here. That’s important to recognize and honor.

We will always remain in Malta. But at the same time, it became important for the show to fit the scale of the infrastructure available.

So yes, we now have a massive show in Rome, but we’ll also continue having a major show in Malta every year to honor the MGA legacy and the incredible ecosystem there.

Let’s not forget — there are thousands of people working in gaming in Malta and hundreds of licenses operating from there. Malta will always deserve a platform where it can shine.

Yevhen Krazhan: I still believe Malta remains a global center of iGaming.

Eman Pulis: Absolutely. Malta is also a small country where governments, regardless of political party, generally align when it comes to gaming.

It’s part of the European Union, which gives operators, suppliers, and affiliates a strong sense of stability and trust. The government and Gaming Malta are very proactive in ensuring the industry remains there.

So despite any challenges, I believe Malta has a bright future ahead.

Yevhen Krazhan: Looking back, the industry wasn’t this big ten years ago. Sigma itself was probably still a startup.

Can you remember those early years? What brought you into the industry — luck, instinct, entrepreneurial vision?

Eman Pulis: I would definitely call it luck. But at the same time, I had already failed multiple times before Sigma.

It’s not like I woke up one morning, started something, and it magically succeeded. There were years of failures before I finally decided to focus on what I loved most: events.

Before Sigma, I organized parties. The people spending the most money at those parties were often from the gaming industry — booking tables, VIP areas, bottles. One day I had this realization: why am I spending time organizing parties I no longer enjoy when I could focus on the gaming industry itself?

That’s where the idea for Sigma — the Summit of iGaming in Malta — came from.

Yevhen Krazhan: You’ve built something much bigger than events now. There’s media, public-sector influence, B2G initiatives.

Tell us about the team.

Eman Pulis: We’re over 350 people at Sigma now.

And it’s not one demographic — it’s incredibly multicultural. I genuinely believe that diversity is one of our biggest strengths.

I’ve always believed in thinking globally but acting locally. You cannot run a global business from one office alone. You need teams with different cultural backgrounds so the product actually connects with local markets.

That’s why we’ve been first movers in places like the Philippines, Brazil, Dubai, and Cape Town.

Managing eight offices around the world is a challenge, but it’s a beautiful challenge. If you genuinely love people and invest time into understanding different cultures, it becomes more than achievable.

Yevhen Krazhan: So it’s definitely not just you carrying the business.

Eman Pulis: Of course not.

Actually, I now feel the company can run without me, and that gives me great satisfaction. A real business should be able to function without its founder. Otherwise, it’s just a hobby.

I’m incredibly proud of the team. We see ourselves as a tribe. I used to say “family,” but now I prefer “tribe” because we support each other while also staying focused on our shared mission: building Sigma into the most trusted authority in global iGaming.

Yevhen Krazhan: Speaking about culture and mindset — not everything always goes smoothly. COVID must have been an incredibly difficult moment.

Eman Pulis: It absolutely was.

I remember sitting on a beach porch in Phuket with my wife after we had just gotten married. We were also discussing a potential Sigma exit at the time.

Everything felt perfect. Too perfect.

And I remember thinking, “Something is going to happen.”

A couple of weeks later, COVID started spreading. The acquisition discussions stopped immediately. Suddenly I was looking at a future where nobody wanted to attend events anymore.

It was extremely stressful.

But at the same time, I suddenly had something I hadn’t had in years: time. Time to reflect.

I realized that unless I reinvented myself, I would fail. I couldn’t remain “just the events guy.”

That difficult period gave birth to many new ideas. We expanded outside Malta, launched affiliate initiatives, and explored entirely new markets.

Dubai became one of the first places where we managed to run a major post-COVID event. Looking back, it’s ironic that during the hardest moment of my career — when I genuinely thought the business might collapse — we also launched the Sigma Foundation and started focusing heavily on social impact.

Without COVID, I’d probably still be comfortable doing one annual event in Malta. Instead, it forced us to evolve into something much bigger.

Yevhen Krazhan: What were the biggest lessons from that period?

Eman Pulis: Always zoom out when a crisis strikes.

Whatever someone is going through — whether it’s business, personal struggles, or something else — zoom out. Focus on small wins.

People underestimate how powerful small wins are because they compound over time.

Go to the gym. Improve one thing today. Then another tomorrow. Three months later, you suddenly realize you’re no longer where you started.

That’s my advice from experience: zoom out and focus on small wins.

Yevhen Krazhan: Things are often not as bad as our minds make them seem.

Can you share your philosophy around business relationships and deals? Is it more boardroom meetings or afterparties?

Eman Pulis: Business is never done between brands. Business is done between people.

Stop selling.

There’s no need to aggressively push your product. Instead, understand the person in front of you and connect with them on a human level. Business becomes much easier afterward.

That philosophy shaped Sigma from the very beginning. Back then, conferences weren’t really about relationship-building in the way they are now.

We focused heavily on entertainment, hospitality, networking, dinners, parties — not just during the conferences but throughout the year in Malta. Sigma became this fraternity-like environment where people genuinely bonded.

Once trust is established, business flows naturally.

So even today, I tell people: forget about selling. Focus on connecting people.

At conferences, if I see an operator who should meet an affiliate, I connect them. If I see a provider who should meet an operator, I make that happen.

I focus on their business before my own, and that approach has served us incredibly well.

Yevhen Krazhan: But the world is changing. Most communication today happens digitally — Telegram, Zoom, video calls.

How do you adapt to that?

Eman Pulis: Digital communication is important, but it can never fully replace physical interaction.

If you want to build real business relationships, there still needs to be physical presence and human connection. That’s why I remain extremely confident in the future of conferences.

Ironically, people don’t even meet colleagues in offices anymore. Sometimes teams from the same company meet each other for the first time at our events.

Conferences are no longer only about finding new clients. They’re also about strengthening existing relationships.

You could fly to 80 countries to meet your clients individually, or you can attend one event and meet all of them there.

That’s the value conferences create.

Yevhen Krazhan: Speaking of the Sigma Foundation — why is it so important for you personally?

Eman Pulis: It’s definitely not about whitewashing the industry.

For me, not giving back would actually be the real failure. We are surrounded by highly successful individuals, and together we can create enormous positive impact.

What’s important is that many of our projects happen in places where we have zero business interest — Ethiopia, Uganda, Peru. We build schools and support communities simply because we meet the right partners and feel we can help.

The Foundation is now operating at full speed. We’re opening schools across Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

And because Sigma is a trusted brand within the industry, I want to see more gaming companies participating. We already have strong partners supporting projects, but I want to see hundreds of companies involved.

There’s an opportunity here to positively impact millions of lives.

Yevhen Krazhan: And you personally go there and participate, right?

Eman Pulis: Absolutely.

We don’t just donate money and disappear. We work directly on these projects.

For example, in Ethiopia there are communities where children would otherwise have to walk six hours to school and six hours back. So we identify places where schools can have the biggest impact and we build them there.

We also take industry partners with us so they can witness firsthand how much good can be done with relatively small investments.

Yevhen Krazhan: Let’s switch to the “Feel the Beat” section. What music defines your journey?

Eman Pulis: There’s one artist I absolutely love: Stephan Bodzin.

I’m actually obsessed with his music. We even managed to book him for Rome, which made me incredibly happy.

There’s also a strong connection between his music and the Slavic community — they absolutely love him too.

Yevhen Krazhan: Imagine the show is over and it’s another huge success. What song would you play afterward?

Eman Pulis: Probably the soundtrack from Gladiator by Hans Zimmer.

Especially “Now We Are Free.”

After all the stress and pressure, that feeling of finally being free fits perfectly. And since we’re in Rome, the whole gladiator atmosphere feels appropriate.

Yevhen Krazhan: True warriors.

Now for the “Confession Lane” section.

You built Sigma into a multimillion-dollar global brand. What’s one rule you had to break to get there?

Eman Pulis: Be unapologetic.

If you truly believe in something, stick to it — even when everyone tells you it can’t be done. Be willing to sacrifice everything for it.

There was one moment in particular during COVID when I genuinely thought Sigma could collapse if the Malta event didn’t happen.

Other conferences had already canceled. Restrictions in Malta were extremely strict. Amsterdam and Barcelona had managed to run events earlier, but Malta still had heavy limitations.

I remember thinking: if we don’t make this happen, we sink.

So we kept pushing.

We came up with this bizarre idea of using multiple entrances to technically comply with gathering restrictions. We pitched it to the authorities, and somehow it got approved.

Officially, it was supposed to be controlled access.

Reality? Fourteen thousand people ended up attending.

The media absolutely destroyed us afterward. But the event happened, and it was a massive success.

Looking back — not a single regret.

That experience taught me something important: sometimes you need to adapt, bend the rules carefully, and keep pushing forward instead of giving up.

Yevhen Krazhan: Sometimes one small step changes everything.

Eman Pulis: Exactly. Don’t give up.

Yevhen Krazhan: Eman Pulis doesn’t just run events — he creates energy. He builds bridges between brands, people, and continents. His story proves that the show must go on  and that it can also do good.