The “Asia Lottery Expo and Forum” is set to debut at Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2018, the next edition of a casino industry trade show and exhibition held annually in Macau in May. The new three-day sub-event covering lottery product displays as well as a conference element is being marketed as a “business, learning and networking platform” for lottery industry professionals, according to a press release from G2E Asia’s organisers.
The Asia Lottery Expo and Forum 2018 will feature seminars led by members of China Lottery Industry Salon Experts Committee and other industry representatives.
In some Asian markets regulated lotteries are big business. In mainland China, combined sales for the two lottery systems – the welfare lottery and the sports lottery – during the first 10 months of this year amounted to CNY348.43 billion (US$52.74 billion), a year-on-year increase of 7.7 percent. A number of overseas and regional listed companies has sought to supply technology to China’s lottery sector, with varying degrees of success.
In April 2015, eight Chinese central government agencies issued a joint public announcement that “unauthorised” online sales of lottery tickets would be suspended. The suspension is understood still to be in place. Nonetheless a variety of businesses has prepared to serve that market in the future.
In March 2016 it was announced that Alibaba Group Holding Ltd – an investor in taobao.com, mainland China’s largest online shopping portal – was linking with an affiliate to take a majority stake in AGTech Holdings Ltd, a Hong Kong-listed supplier of equipment, software and services to mainland China’s regulated lottery market.
In 2013, Shenzhen-based 500.com launched an initial public offering on Nasdaq of American Depositary Receipts on the strength of what it said was permission for a pilot scheme agreed by China’s Ministry of Finance to sell tickets for the China sports lottery via an online platform.
At G2E Asia 2018, three topics will be covered by the Asia Lottery Expo and Forum: “Asian Lottery Market Trends and Dynamics”; “Opportunities, Challenges of the Asia Lottery Industry and the Era of Big Data”; and “Accelerating the Asia Lottery Industry – Corporate Social Responsibility and Technology Innovation Development”. G2E Asia 2018 will take place between May 15 and 17, 2018 at the Venetian Macao casino resort.
According to a November statement from the G2E Asia’s organisers, more than 90 percent of the floor space for the 2018 trade show has already been sold. G2E Asia 2018 is also set to feature a Lottery Pavilion, a Parts and Components Pavilion and an area called the Integrated Resorts Experience.
At G2E Asia 2017, a talking shop event called the Asia Lottery Forum was co-hosted by – on one side, China Lottery Salon and the Asian Responsible Gaming Alliance – and on the other, the G2E Asia organisers, the American Gaming Association and Reed Exhibitions.
