The 18th Annual G2E features 450 exhibits and 120 first-time presenters.
The 18th Annual Global Gaming Expo (G2E), the world’s largest gambling exposition, opens this Monday at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas. G2E is a yearly conference of industry executives, gaming regulators, and state policymakers who appear in panel discussions, workshops, and keynote addresses each day of the week.
This year, around 450 exhibitors from 32 different countries will be present. Approximately 120 of the exhibitors will be first-time presenters. Over 100 educational sessions will be included in the event.
The Global Gaming Expo also serves as a showcase for the latest gaming technologies. All the major gaming tech design houses place their own exhibitions on the G2E convention floor. Roughly 26,000 people are expected to crown onto the G2E showfloor, with the entire convention lasting from October 8 to October 11.
Keynote Speakers, Featured Events
ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt also will be one of the keynote speakers at the Global Gaming Expo. The week also features a “Shark Tank” style competition in which four competitors will attempt to persuade a panel of judges, including Kevin O’Leary of Shark Tank, to invest in their products.
Competitors include two UNLV students. The winner receives a $10,000 prize and the top two receive a free booth at the 2019 Global Gaming Expo.
Sports Betting-Related Exhibitions
This year, the US sports gambling industry will take center stage. As has been the case since the US Supreme Court repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in mid-May 2018, much of the business and legal news for the gaming industry has centered on US sportsbooks.
Gaming companies plan to show a wave of new live in-play sports betting apps at this year’s exposition. As usual, the latest slot machines will dominate the showroom. The latest innovations in Esports, virtual racebook technology, electronic roulette studios, skill-based gambling machines, and VR tech also will have exhibits.
Global Gaming Expo 2018 Exhibits
IGT, Aristocrat, Scientific Games, Konami, and other top companies will have their exhibits available. Those are hardly the full list of tech designers available, because the entire gaming industry is represented. William Hill, Paddy Power-Betfair, FanDuel, DraftKings, and a variety of other companies will display technology.
It is hard to convey the full scope of the devices on show, so a sample might give a sense of the sheer amount of technology on display. Those who want a small sampling of the G2E’s gaming exhibits in 2018 can look through the list below.
Ainsworth Technology: Will display 130 games, including its Class II, Class III, and Washington State slots, as well as its Historical Horse Racing products.
International Game Technology: IGT’s Crystal terminal and kiosk for sports betting.
Scientific Games Corp: James Bond-themed slot machines, along with updated licensed slots like Wizard of Oz, Monopoly, and Willy Wonka.
Abbiati Casino Equipment: Noce Canaletto gaming tables, American Roulette Laser Wheel, and various customizations to existing equipment.
Win Systems: Power Gong for the GameStar Slots line, Gold Club Chinese Roulette, and a new slant-top GameStar ST3 machine.
JCM Global: PixelPro Display Technology, iVIZION bill validator, GEN5 thermal printer, and FUZION technology for slots.
GLI: Innovation tools like GLI Link and Point.Click.Transfer.
Matsui: 40 new products, including the CC.900 series chips and their Heavy Weight Inner Ring Style Chips.
NRT and Sightline: A joint display with the award-winning Play+ cashless digital platform and the P2p Encrypted Table Pay solution.
SUZOHAPP: CashComplete solutions for cashier’s cages and CashComplete Connect transaction monitoring software. Also, has sports betting, lottery, and bingo products on display.
G2E Discussions and Keynote Addresses
Expositions are only half of the picture at Global Gaming Expo. Each year, the industry leaders and key regulatory officials appear to discuss the state of the gambling industry. Some try to push their own vision for the future, while others network with other industry leaders or learn about initiatives in other parts of the gaming world.
Once again, the list of speakers is wide ranging, including innovators and industry drivers, as well as experts from outside the gaming industry. BMM Testlabs is sponsoring panel discussions on October 8, October 9, and October 10. The October 8 discussion is “Sports Betting: What Are the Health Risks?“ with speakers like William Hill’s Joe Asher and Harvard Medical School’s Debi LaPlante.
BMM Testlabs Sponsored Events
The October 9 panel is “Customer Experience Is Not One Size Fits All: Delivering Exceptonal and Customized Service to WOW All Customers” with Robin Bernhard. Later in the day, Tony McLaughlin will talk about analytics and qualify assurance processes.
On October 10, BMM partners with the American Gaming Association (AGA) to sponsor the Regulatory Roundtable, which includes VP of Technical Compliance, Floyd Barroga, and COO Travis Foley. Later, Travis Foley will deliver a speech called “A Balanced Regulatory Approach in the Midst of Shifting Market Trends and Evolving Technologies” to the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC). Patrick Pocalyko also will discuss cyber security at the AGA Innovation Lab.
