The Global Gaming Expo trade show portion of the American Gaming Association’s annual event opens Tuesday (10) in Las Vegas, and executives gave a sneak peek of emerging trends and what to expect at this year’s event.
G2E as it’s known kicked off Monday (9) at the Venetian Expo Center with educational sessions focusing on the latest in the American gaming industry and its outlook, sports betting, iGaming, regulation and cybersecurity. Those were last-minute additions to the conference with the recent hacks of MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment that compromised customer data and will cost MGM as much as US$100 million as it dealt with slot machine malfunctions, down ATMs and other computer meltdowns that has since been resolved.
The AGA’s annual event on the Las Vegas Strip could surpass the nearly 25,000 in attendance a year ago with an increase in international visitors.
“Las Vegas is the home to gaming that always makes it a great destination for G2E and with all of the new and exciting things with Formula One (race in November) and the Las Vegas Raiders (NFL team playing Monday night) on the sports side and what Vegas has on the entertainment side is driving the attendance and interest we’re seeing in Las Vegas today,” said Maureen Beddis, Senior Vice President, Member and Events for the AGA.
Korbi Carrison, Event Vice President of G2E, said this year’s educational conference has been shaped by new verticals in the gaming industry, including iGaming and sports betting, which are in their infancy in the U.S.
Carrison said the trade show interest is higher this year with increased square footage taken by exhibitors. They took 252,000 square feet of space in 2022 while this year it’s almost 270,000 square feet. There were 378 exhibitors a year ago, up from 350.
“We’ve seen some great growth in the international exhibiting section, and so we’re very happy with that,” Carrison stated.
“I think we’re seeing a reflection in the number of exhibitors and attendees the interest in igaming and sports betting. You will see in the expo hall that we created an igaming zone this year.”
“We collected all of those exhibitors together so our attendees can find them more easily and begin their journey across the igaming sector because we know a lot of companies that cover igaming, including very large companies that have a lot of verticals. That igaming zone has surpassed our expectations for this year and is reflective of the industry,” Carrison concluded.
Source: GMB, by Buck Wargo
