🥧 iGaming lunch networking

The Steak Pie Club

Bringing the iGaming industry together one steak pie at a time.
The unofficial official lunch club of iGaming.

Good food. Good conversation. No awkward networking events. A community for operators, suppliers, technologists, product leaders, consultants and industry friends who prefer lunch to shouting across a crowded conference bar.

Why it exists

Most industry networking follows a familiar formula: a conference, a sponsored drinks reception, background music loud enough to interfere with air traffic control, and somebody promising to “catch up properly soon”. The Steak Pie Club takes a simpler approach. We meet for lunch. We eat. We talk. Remarkably, it works.

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Real conversations

Talk properly with people from across iGaming without shouting over a DJ or chasing someone through an exhibition hall.

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Lunch, not lager

An accessible alternative to alcohol-led industry events, built around food, conversation and daylight.

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Industry relevance

Operators, suppliers, technologists, product people and commercial leaders in one relaxed room.

Our Story

Like many great institutions, The Steak Pie Club was never really supposed to become a thing.

The founders have been meeting over steak pies for more than thirty years. Long before iGaming. Long before LinkedIn. Long before anyone used the phrase “networking opportunity”.

The original club brought together friends, colleagues, business owners, technologists, engineers and the occasional curious bystander around a very simple principle:

Good food and good conversation tend to attract good people.

Over the years the group grew. Friends brought colleagues. Colleagues brought friends. Entire tables disappeared beneath mountains of pastry and gravy while discussions ranged from technology and business to football, family life and whether Scotland would ever qualify comfortably for anything.

One venue became particularly familiar with the booking arrangements. The staff at the Melville in Edinburgh no longer required detailed instructions. They simply knew the order: twenty-nine steak pies and a token lasagne.

Bring good people together. Feed them well. Interesting things happen. The Steak Pie Club simply applies that philosophy to the iGaming industry.

Who comes along?

If you work in, around, or suspiciously close to iGaming, you are probably in the right place.

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Operators

Product leaders, technology teams, commercial teams, trading teams, data specialists and executives.

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Suppliers

Platform providers, payments companies, game studios, compliance specialists and technology partners.

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Technology Leaders

CTOs, Heads of Technology, Engineering Managers, Architects, Principals and delivery leaders.

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Industry Friends

Consultants, recruiters, founders, analysts and others helping shape the future of iGaming.

The Rules

Every club needs rules. Ours are practical, occasionally judgemental, and mostly there to protect the quality of lunch.

Turn up

Radical, but effective.

Be interesting

Bring stories, ideas, introductions or at least a strong opinion on chips.

Be generous with introductions

The best network is the one that helps other people meet.

Leave the hard sell at home

Nobody came for a demo.

Buy your own lunch

We are networking, not venture-funded.

Steak pie is strongly encouraged

We are not monsters. Lasagne, fish and chips, salad and suspicious avocado choices are permitted. Judgement may follow.

Do not be a dick

This rule has proven surprisingly effective.

The Pie Must Be Scored

At the conclusion of every lunch, attendees are invited to provide a completely subjective, scientifically questionable assessment of the venue's pie offering.

The Official Steak Pie Scoring System™

Every venue is scored across six categories. Mathematical rigour is encouraged. Arguments are expected. The judges' decision is final, unless somebody disagrees loudly enough.

CategoryScore
🥧 Pastry Quality/10
🥩 Meat Quality/10
🍲 Sauce & Gravy Quality/10
🥕 Vegetable Performance/10
🍟 Potato & Chip Excellence/10
⭐ Overall Pie Experience/10
Total Pie Score/60

The Hall of Pies

Celebrating the venues, moments and questionable decisions that make lunch-based networking great.

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Current Pie Champion

Awaiting judgement.

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Best Pastry

Awaiting judgement.

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Best Chips

Awaiting judgement.

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Most Controversial Verdict

Almost certainly coming soon.

The Steak Pie Index™

A completely unscientific measure of club progress.

0Steak Pies Consumed
0Token Lasagnes Ordered
0Industry People Met
Introductions Made
0Hangovers Reported

Upcoming lunches

Starting where good pie can be found. If your city is not listed, perhaps it is your turn to organise lunch.

📍 Edinburgh 📍 Leeds 📍 Manchester 📍 London 📍 Belfast 📍 Anywhere Else With Good Pie

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to work in iGaming?

Mostly, yes. Friends of the industry are always welcome.

Do I have to eat steak pie?

No. Despite the name, steak pie is a guideline rather than a contractual obligation. There is invariably one person who orders lasagne. Nobody knows why. We have stopped asking.

Is this a sales event?

Absolutely not. Good conversations are encouraged. Hard selling is not.

Is there a membership fee?

No. Buy your own lunch. That is quite enough structure for now.

Is there really steak pie?

Usually. But the pie is not really the point. The point is making time for good conversations with good people. The steak pie simply provides structure, purpose and occasionally gravy.

Join The Club

The next great industry conversation probably does not happen on a conference stage. It probably happens over lunch. And ideally, over steak pie.

Email hello@steakpieclub.com