A decade’s-worth of networking

The 10th edition of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia starts tomorrow. The three-day event has 180 confirmed exhibitors, a 12 per cent increase compared to last year. Of these, 40 per cent will be joining the event for the first time. In addition, the organiser is expecting 12,000 visitors. “As of today, we have about 5,000-plus pre-registered visitors. All casinos in Asia were covered in that pre-registration visitor number,” said Josephine Lee, Executive Vice President of Reed Exhibitions Greater China, one of the co-organisers of the event. “The number of conference delegates – pre-registration – has gone up by 17 per cent to about 300 conference delegates.” The exhibition areas will occupy around 9,200 square metres at The Venetian in Cotai, some 12 per cent more than last year. “In terms of content, we’ve also made an effort in diversifying the non-gaming elements, including retail, customer experience, customer service,” added Ms. Lee. Gaming regulators to gather Ms. Lee indicated that one of the highlights of this year’s conference side is that concerning the participation of gaming regulators. Macau’s Director of the Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau, Paulo Martins Chan, is expected to speak on May 18 on the topic of ‘Transformation in Changing Conditions’. “On the 18th, we will also be organising the first-ever gaming regulators luncheon. As of today, about 30 regulators are confirmed. They will be getting together, exchanging notes on what’s happening, how they can get some new ideas from each other,” said Ms. Lee. According to her, Mr. Paulo Chan will also be participating in this closed-door event, with other gaming regulators “not only from Asia but also from the U.K., Australia, U.S.” 10th anniversary This year also marks the 10th anniversary of this annual trade show and conference. Starting off at the Macau Tower, with about 3,000 square metres of expo space, the show has now grown threefold – now covering about 10,000 square metres. However, Ms. Lee stated that “organising an exhibition is not only about size or number of exhibitors,” but at the end of the day, whether the customers – which are their exhibitors, as well as the participants – and their visitors “achieve what you want to achieve, whether you feel this is the place you can get the information that you want, you can meet the people that you want to meet, you can network [with] the colleagues, the peers, and get to know the latest about the market.” Ms. Lee also added that as of two years ago the event started introducing more non-gaming elements, as the market demanded the change “not only in Macau, but also globally, and in Asia”. Personalised matchmaking service Some other highlights of the event include a specialised project team helping buyers and suppliers meet at G2E Asia in a more cost-effective way by providing a systematic and customised business matching service. As of last Friday, over 170 meetings had been arranged through the online platform and Targeted Attendee Programme (TAP) – originated by Reed Exhibitions – 66 per cent more than last year. In terms of iGaming, a designated zone seeks to provide the growing iGaming community with direct market access and a networking platform of over 50 iGaming exhibitors bringing along their latest iGaming solutions and products from Asia and abroad. This fast-growing segment will more than double the number of exhibitors joining compared to 2015. More than 65 per cent of these will be new companies. In addition – produced by Asia Gaming Brief, in association with G2E Asia and the Innovation Group – the inaugural edition of AGAwards will be recognising operators, regulators, suppliers and service providers for their contributions to the industry.