The halls of the Venetian Macau for the 10th G2E Asia were slower on its third and final day—as expected—but the excitement continued on the floor for the visitors and delegates alike with more targeted conference sessions and a bustling exhibition floor.
Assessing opportunities within the markets
G2E Asia devoted the third and final conference day to the iGaming Summit.
The summit, commenced by Chairman Rosalind Wade, co-founder and managing director of Asia Gaming Brief, presented market opportunities in fast-emerging fields such as eSports, and social casino and mobile trends.
The iGaming Summit opened with a session on iGaming State of Play within the Asian Region with Albert Climent of Blue Sea Consulting, Chris Tio of DFNN, and Geaspar Bryne of AGTech presenting the latest trends and opportunities in India and Vietnam, the Philippines, and China, respectively.
Calvin Ayre News spoke to Chris Tio on his thoughts about the changes in the Philippine government administration under president-elect Rodrigo Duterte, and how this would affect the current status and the future of the gaming industry within the country.
In Vietnam, one of the industry’s emerging markets, the change in the government is not new as it has elected its new Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc last month. There has been a growing concern for gaming movers and shakers in the country on whether the current draft of the casino and betting decrees will finally be signed under the new prime minister this year. Calvin Ayre News reached out to one of the panel moderators, Shaun McCamley of GMA, for his insights.
“I think with this new change is going to be a lit bit longer coming. I can’t see it happening this year. If it’s going to be a progress, it will may be Q1, Q2 next year but definitely nothing happening at the moment. In terms of the legislation going through, that’s a long process. It is not something that happens overnight,” said McCamley.
We also caught up with one of the delegates, Sudhir Kale of GamePlan, who shared his views on the declining revenue in Macau. He stated that cutting the costs in customer retention, customer experience and advertising will be a problem for casinos.
Asia’s leading trade show
With mixed-martial arts fights in one corner, a lovely Japanese adult film star exuding excitement among male delegates in the other, DJ playing upbeat music with body-painted ladies dancing, mesmerizing characters in stilts, and sexy ladies roaming around, the exhibition floor couldn’t be more energetic, eccentric, and full of gimmicks and fun.
The 10th G2E Asia recorded an increase in both the quantity and quality of almost 11,000 visitors from over 80 countries. This year’s exhibitors has increased by 12% from last year, 40% of which are newcomers in the trade show such as SAGaming, MMD Technology, eBet and Habanero. Huge players and G2E pros like Asia Gaming, IGT, Playtech, Jade, IDN Play, and Scientific Games had impressive showcase of their products and services that, as always, appealed to the trade visitors.
The event came to a close with almost 10,000 delegates. Truly, G2E Asia is the leading and premiere trade show in the region the entertainment and gambling industry should trust.
