This year’s Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia casino trade show and conference – is expected to draw “over 8,000” visitors, “over 100” exhibitors, and “more than 800” buyers, according to information from one of the event’s organisers in a Friday media briefing.
That would be only about half the number of visitors and half the tally of exhibitors relative to the 2019 edition staged immediately prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. As per a 2019 post-show report from co-organisers Reed Exhibitions – now known as RX – and the American Gaming Association, it had over 16,000 visitors and 200 exhibitors.
Yeh Chien-Ee (pictured), president of Asia Pacific at RX, was asked at Friday’s preview, about the much lower expected numbers for visitors and exhibitors in 2024 – described as the 15th year of the event – relative to 2019.
He stated: “Right now we don’t really have the eGaming elements in the show.” That was understood to be a reference to online gaming sector exhibitors.
Mr Yeh added, regarding the latest Macau edition to be staged from June 4 to June 6 at The Venetian Macao casino resort: “The show is more for… the [land-based] casino operators and the integrated resort operators. So the profile has changed and evolved over the years as well.”
An event called ‘Asian IR Expo’, is being held concurrently with G2E Asia 2024. It will cover the ‘integrated resort’ business; i.e., non-gaming tourism and services.
For G2E Asia itself, Mr Yeh mentioned as key themes this year, “AI” (artificial intelligence), and “security”.
Vera Ng, RX project director, said during Friday’s update, that innovations for 2024 were a “Technology Zone” and a “Tech Talk Forum”. They would cover “hospitality management, customer relationship, identity management and security”, she stated.
G2E Asia conference topics will include emerging Asian casino markets, cybersecurity, data protection, and financial crime trends.
The Asian IR Expo will also have a conference, branded “Asian IR Summit” with conference sessions that cover the arts, sports and entertainment that is relevant to integrated resort business.
The coupling of G2E Asia and the Asian IR Expo and Summit – a format that debuted last year – will be a fixture in future, Mr Yeh said.
He was asked by media about the value of having two such events concurrently.
Mr Yeh stated, without referring specifically to Macau government policy on diversification into non-gaming for Macau’s own casino sector: “Our gaming operators are now diversifying… we also need to evolve ourselves to meet their needs.”
He added regarding the combination of gaming and non-gaming shows: “Over the mid-term, I don’t see that we are going to separate the two. They will be held concurrently because it make sense for our customers and our visitors.”
The two will account for 20,000 square metres (215,278 sq. feet) of floor space this time at Cotai Expo at The Venetian Macao.
