Pierre Lindh: "We want to bring the actual industry into our community"

Ahead of the Casino Guru Awards’ live ceremony in Malta in June, Casino Guru News had the pleasure to catch up with some of the most influential figures in iGaming, one of whom is undeniably Pierre Lindh, the co-founder and Managing Director of NEXT.io, a media and event juggernaut.

As Casino Guru News correspondent Denisa Vydumova remarks, Pierre needs no introduction, and yet there is much to take away from the full conversation with the man. Pierre discusses the beginnings of NEXT.io but also goes in-depth about its plans and exciting projects that the iGaming industry as a whole has to look forward to.

He touches on social casinos and how important meaningful connections and partnerships are. Pierre’s journey in the gaming industry began rather early, as he attests himself. He has been around events and gaming his entire life. For example, he has been playing poker for many years and even launched an underground poker club when he was 17.

Pierre was eventually headhunted by Betsson and moved to Malta, where he has been living for 15 years. Originally, he worked as a Poker VIP Manager, but soon after went on to launch his own events and management company – something that has been going on for 11 years now.

"Putting people together is a massive passion of mine," Pierre said, explaining how the early experiences with organizing and building communities have impacted his professional life in the years to follow. "I feel very happy that today I have the opportunity to bring the iGaming industry in a similar context," he added.

Next.io is a continuously evolving product that has more to offer – and always will, Pierre argues, as he emphasizes that what is important is the journey, not the destination. Asked if Pierre would consider doing something different if he could start over, he simply replies that things at Next.io happened very organically, and there is no need for do-overs as such.

There may have been mistakes, he acknowledges, but without them, there would be no learning, reaffirming that he is very happy with the trajectory of the company. Pierre leans into the current landscape for industry events and even acknowledges that there are too many shows out there right now.

But the issue is not so much with volume, but purpose. Some shows are lacking purpose, Pierce adds. Every show that wants to continue existing would have to "defend its purpose," as he puts it. Pierre believes that in 2026, there will be a lot more shows that will struggle.

At the same time, however, other shows have found that purpose and are becoming bigger as a result.

The full conversation with Pierre is well worth watching in its entirety, so make sure you check out the interview!

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