The organisers of two casino industry trade shows held in Asia said on Thursday that this year’s events would be put back to 2021. Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia, a casino industry trade fair and conference held annually in Macau, will be postponed to May 25 to 27 next year; and G2E Asia @ the Philippines will be delayed to November 10 and 11, 2021, according to a press release.
The events are organised by the American Gaming Association and Reed Exhibitions. The Macau event is held annually – in May – at Cotai Expo at the Venetian Macao casino resort. The first edition of G2E Asia @ the Philippines – which also featured a conference segment – took place at the Resorts World Manila casino resort in December 2019.
The G2E Asia promoters said the “difficult decision” to postpone the two events had been taken due to the continued travel restrictions in place in Asia and further afield to stem the spread of Covid-19.
“G2E Asia made the difficult decision to postpone its 2020 shows as continued travel restrictions present too much uncertainty for holding successful and safe events this year,” said Josephine Lee, chief operating officer of Reed Exhibitions China, in a prepared statement. “In consultation with our customers, exhibitors, and local authorities, we explored every option to safely hold these programmes this year, but ultimately found the best course of action is to postpone for 2021.”
Ms Lee stated that the postponement of the shows would make preparation works easier for all stakeholders involved in the G2E Asia events and allow the organisers “to focus on the safest and most successful G2E Asia events yet in 2021.”
The G2E Asia 2020 edition was originally scheduled to take place in Macau from May 19 to 21, but was first postponed to July 28 to 30 amid the coronavirus pandemic. It was put back a second time, then to December 1 to 3.
The Philippines version of G2E Asia was, according to a dedicated website, scheduled for November 3 to 4 at the Manila Marriott Hotel at Resorts World Manila.
There is also a G2E-branded casino trade show and conference in Las Vegas, Nevada in the United States, held annually in the autumn. This year’s event has been cancelled in the interests of “health and safety” amid the Covid-19 crisis, said one of the show’s promoters in a release in July.
The release said at the time that online G2E events would be held “throughout the rest of the year to better reflect the current environment”.
