InterGaming looks forward to the G2E Asia in Macau and speaks to the new owner of the show, Reed Exhibitions, which also operates the G2E Las Vegas show in November...
The Asian Gaming Expo becomes G2E Asia this year under the steady stewardship of Reed Exhibitions. When InterGaming attended the Macau event last year, it was clear that this was a show with some potential and definite room for growth.
As the 2006 event closed, AGMMA’s sale of the show to Reed was announced and plans to relocate the show from the Macau Tower to the Venetian Convention Center from 2008 revealed.
It’s a logical progression for the exhibition and a further indicator of the expanding Asian market, of which Macau seems to be at the epicentre.
Reed already has something to shout about - a sold-out show floor and an 80 per cent increase in exhibitor participation over last year’s expo.
Some of the world’s leading gaming manufacturers, such as Aristocrat Technologies, Bally Technologies, Konami Australia, IGT Asia, Stargames and Elixir Group will be taking part between June 13-14 at Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre, as well as thousands of interested attendees.
“Participation in G2E Asia 2007 by gaming suppliers and manufacturers from all over the world confirms both the important business opportunities arising in the growing Asian gaming markets,” says Frank Fahrenkopf, president and chief executive of the American Gaming Association, one of the organisers of G2E Asia.
“The tremendous interest in G2E Asia from gaming manufacturers illustrates that proactive participation in the Asian markets is increasingly becoming a business imperative.”
Surpassing the Las Vegas Strip as the world’s top grossing gaming jurisdiction in 2006, Macau continues to enjoy an unprecedented boom with heavy investment in gaming. According to the Statistics and Census Bureau of Macau SAR, foreign direct investment to Macau in gaming, cultural, recreational and other services totaled US$3.3bn in 2005, up 40 per cent from 2004.
Twenty five million visitors are predicted to set foot on the island in 2007, according to local tourism authorities.
As the hub of the explosive growth of the gaming industry in Asia, Macau provides an ideal setting for the inaugural G2E Asia, which will allow global gaming equipment suppliers and service providers to showcase their latest products, technologies and solutions in front of key decisionmakers from leading casino operating companies.
“Bally Technologies is proud to support the inaugural G2E Asia,” says Marcus Prater, senior vice president of marketing for Bally. “We certainly recognise the growth that is taking place in the Asian gaming markets and want to ensure that we capitalise on all of the opportunities available there, both now and in the future.
In addition, conference sessions at G2E Asia will feature industry experts offering in-depth analyses of the current state of the Australasian gaming markets, Macau’s current and future potential, the important legal and regulatory challenges facing companies in the Asian markets and an examination of operating models from different jurisdictions.
Additional sessions will explore how technological innovations are fundamentally changing both table games and slot machines.
