This year’s G2E Asia conference will tackle key issues impacting the Asian gaming industry, with panel sessions on smart gaming tables, Thailand & the Middle East and emerging markets, among others.
Smart table games have become the talk of the town in Macau of late, with all six concessionaires having either already installed the technology or started the process of doing so.
As explored by Inside Asian Gaming in its May 2024 cover story, titled “Chip and a Chair”, smart table game technology – which utilizes a combination of RFID and artificial intelligence – provides multiple benefits to casino operators, from chip attribution and accurate player ratings to fraud detection, increasing game speed, and allowing for more complex and adjustable table game layouts. And yet there is so much still to explore.
This year’s G2E Asia conference, taking place from 4 to 6 June 2024 at The Venetian Macao, will do just that with a headline panel titled “Smart Table: New Era of Cohabitating with Innovations” to kick off Day 2 proceedings on the morning of Wednesday 5 February. To be moderated by IAG’s Ben Blaschke, the panel will feature four experts in smart tables, including representatives of the two suppliers currently installing their product across Macau: Angel’s Chief Technology Officer Aaron Raj and Walker Digital Table Systems founder and CEO Stephen Moore. Also appearing will be Graeme Croft – former VP of Table Games at MGM Cotai, the first Macau casino to make use of RFID tables – and Rick McDonald –General Manager Table Games Strategy at Australia’s Star Entertainment Group.
The panelists will provide their unique insights into how the technology works and why operators around the region are now clamoring to make use of it on their gaming floors.
Also of significant interest will be a Day 1 panel titled “Spotlight on Thailand & the Middle East” – two emerging gaming jurisdictions that have caught the attention of operators from around the world. With both Thailand and the United Arab Emirates expected to give the green light to casino gaming in the very near future, this panel will bring together industry analysts Vitaly Umansky and Daniel Cheng as well as Spectrum Gaming Group’s Paul Bromberg, to delve into the current state of policy and how each jurisdiction’s casino interests might play out in the short-term.
Also on Day 1 will be a panel on Emerging Markets featuring Evan Spytma, CEO of Hotel Stotsenberg in Clark; Ioannis Kontoulas, Member of the Hellenic Gaming Commission in Greece; UBS analyst Angus Chan; and industry consultant Daniel Li.
This panel will specifically explore how travelers’ spending behavior has evolved since the pandemic and what newly emerging IRs should do to differentiate from upcoming IRs in Japan, Thailand and other jurisdictions. The panelists will discuss how combining online and land-based casinos could capture tech-savvy clients by offering unique online gaming services, along with the implications for different markets.
Rounding out the series of panel sessions will be a look at player experience initiatives and the role electronic gaming machines (EGMs) can play in engaging new players as the Asian focus shifts increasingly towards the mass market. Representatives of leading suppliers Aristocrat and Light & Wonder will be joined by operators from the Philippines to explain how the latest EGM and gaming floor features are growing the audience.
Other topics to be explored by way of various speakers and presenters during the G2E Asia conference will include the rise of AI, the issue of cybersecurity and the outlook for Asian gaming markets.
The third and final day of the G2E Asia conference will begin with a Keynote Address by Alejandro Tengco, the Chairman and CEO of Philippines gaming regulator PAGCOR, followed by the IAGA Best Practices Institute which will provide regulatory updates from across the region.
The G2E Asia conference is being produced by Inside Asian Gaming in its role as Lead Media and Production Partner of G2E Asia in 2024. This year’s expo and conference represents the first full-sized G2E Asia to be held in Macau since 2019.
