LAS VEGAS -- Amid hundreds of gaming industry folks diligently moving boxes, erecting booths and assembling slot machines, Global Gaming Expo 2015 (G2E) came to life on Monday at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.
While the trade show floor — featuring nearly 500 exhibitors — doesn’t open for business until Tuesday, more than 30 seminars ranging in topics from iGaming to regulation to tribal gaming to security and surveillance were available to attendees on Day 1 of G2E.
Below is a quick sampling of sessions Casino City attended with a concentration on iGaming, where industry regulators and operators alike seem bullish on the long-term opportunities in the U.S.
Lessons Learned: Late iGaming Adopters Leg UpModerator: Melissa Blau, Director & Consultant; iGaming Capital
Speakers: CEO of NYX Gaming Group Matt Davey; Princeton Public Affairs Group Lobbyist Bill Pascrell; 888Poker/888Casino Director of Marketing Chris Capra, Golden Nugget VP of Online Gaming Thomas Winter
Day 1 of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas featured multiple industry seminars.
: A hot topic from the panel was the misconception that online gaming in New Jersey has fallen short of expectations, pointing out that in less than 24 months it has generated $227 million in revenue and $34 in tax revenue, while mastering geolocation and preventing minors from gaining access and overcoming increased regulatory costs, marketing uncertainties and technical snafus.
Money quote: “We still have 60% of adults over the age of 21 in New Jersey who do not know online gaming is legal. And while that’s frustrating and challenging, it also provides an immense opportunity,” said Pascrell, who helped spearhead the campaign to pass the New Jersey Online Gaming Act.
The Case for Social: Integrating, Engagement, Revenue and Retention StrategyModerator: Dana Takrudtong, VP of Sales & Marketing, Game Account Network
Speakers: Greentube President of Market Development Gabrielle Cianchetto; Pala Interactive Chief Social Gaming Office Brett Calapp; Senior VP and GM of DoubleDown Casino Joe Sigrist
Overview: With a slow start to iGaming in the U.S., discounting the value of social gaming in marketing would be a mistake. Social gaming players are just one step from the casino, giving operators the chance to expand their brand and directly reach customers on a daily basis, creating a loyalty that can't be established by competitors. The panel discussed the strategies of social gaming, the best messages to deliver during game play, and how operators can reward social players for their loyalty.
Money quote: Cianchetto explained to a room full of many land-based casino operators that there are 173 million social casino players online each month and the number is growing. “If your customers aren’t playing online with your brand because you don’t offer it, they are playing with someone else . . . The power of a social casino is that it will build brand loyalty and allow you to create a profile of your customer that is much more detailed and thorough than your rewards program.”
New Research on Internet Gambling: Lessons for Industry, Regulators and Public Health PolicySpeaker: Heather Gray, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
Overview Presented by the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG), which is holding its conference in conjunction with G2E, Dr. Gray debunks the common belief that the ease of access and social isolation of Internet gambling make it an especially “risky activity.” Her two-year study of 520 participants represents the first examination of Internet gambling records within Iceland, a country with an active Internet lottery market. It found that 24% placed no bets during the window of observation. Those that did, placed an average of 1.67 bets on three days out of the month worth 515 KR ($4).
Money quote: “Across several markets and operators, typical gambling is moderate and does not support the assumption that iGaming is excessive,” Gray’s study reported.