East Coast Gaming Congress and I Gaming Preview

This week, the 19th Annual East Coast Gaming Congress and I Gaming institute will be held at the Borgata Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. This is the top gaming conference on the east coast. The dates are May 27-28.   I will take the opportunity now to preview this event.

The 1st day is dedicated to IGaming. This subject is the hot topic that every gaming operator in the country should be talking about. What looked like something that was not in the foreseeable future 4 years ago is now part of the landscape in New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada. The expansion into 3 of the most populous states in the country will be part of the discussion for sure. Those states are California, Pennsylvania and New York.

There are 3 panels the 1st day. One gives the recap of what I Gaming has done so far. A second panel takes the legislative view of what may happen within the next 18 months. I have a Q&A with Senator Lesniak that will cover some of the points from this panel. I am extremely interested in the following session.

CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES*

While significant challenges remain for commercial iGaming in the United States to overcome, attractive opportunities beckon.  How are the issues encountered during the rollout being addressed?  How great is the opportunity for social games and how will they impact legalized casino and poker iGaming?  Are improvements necessary from the player’s perspective? What is the potential for US iGaming and how can it be achieved?  An expert panel of operators, vendors, and player advocates discuss the problems and potential solutions required to fulfill the promise of legalized Internet gambling.

Moderator:

Victor Rocha, Owner & Editor, Pechanga.net

Speakers:

Jon Friedberg, President & CEO, Overlay Gaming
Joe Pappano, CEO, Vantiv Gaming Solutions
Kim Little Sutherland, Director, Identity Management, Lexis Nexis
Dana Takrudtong, Vice President of Sales, GameAccount Network

 

Day Two has two panels that piqued my interest. The first is a group that deals with the Mid Atlantic Region.

THE MID-ATLANTIC: APPROACHING SATURATION?

Sponsored by eMarker

In the $8.7 billion Mid-Atlantic gaming market, as one state expands, another contracts, leaving the aggrieved state to expand its gaming offerings. And so the arms race continues in the Mid-Atlantic, where the word “saturation” is used frequently amid continuous industry and political activity over the last 10 years. Stakeholders from Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia will discuss how much growth – if any – is left in this six-state area.

Moderator:

Ken LeFevre, Managing Partner, Pathfinder Resouces, LLC

Speakers:

Yuri Cameron, Director, Market Planning, LexisNexis
Wendy Hamilton, General Manager, SugarHouse Casino
Bill Hayles, Vice President & General Manager, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course
Helene Keeley, Member, Delaware House of Representatives
Lou Kirven, Director of Corporate Development, Empire City Casino
Edward Sutor, President & Chief Executive Officer, Dover Downs Hotel & Casino.

 

The second panel is about Marketing and relating to our next and new customer. The group that is able to unlock this door will be the leader of the gaming industry.

 

THE NEXT GENERATION OF GAMBLING

Sponsored by BMM Test Labs

Casino companies, iGaming operators, and game developers are seeking to tap into the fast-growing online segments of social and skill games, where games once played for fun are intersecting with bona fide gambling. Millennials glued to their mobile devices are driving this trend, which leads to critical questions: What will the casino of 2025 look like as gaming, gambling, and mobile intersect on the floor? Are these games a threat or an opportunity for traditional land-based casino operators? Are regulators in current i-gaming states equipped to test and control these new games? Experts from five different perspectives lead the discussion in this engaging panel.

Moderator:

William J. Pascrell, III, Partner, Princeton Public Affairs Group

Speakers:

David Chang, Chief Marketing Officer, Gamblit Gaming
Jeff Connors, President, Traffic Generation Limited
Kurt Freedlund, President, Lotto Interactive
Travis Foley, Executive Vice President, Operations – Americas, BMM Test Labs
Peter Yesawich, Vice Chairman, MMGY Global

I'll give my mini forecast of what I see coming from the 3 aforementioned panels.

I Gaming is the way to game in the future. Less emphasis on the personal social interaction and more connectivity through mobile and broadband. The opportunities for job creation and expansion are tremendous.

The Mid Atlantic Market is at slightly above saturation point. There is no growth in West Virginia and Delaware. Pennsylvania and New Jersey will rely on new games and innovations to grow the market.

The Next Generation customer is not a slot player. He or she is a social game player. The skill based component must be part of what appeals to a millinial customer. By 2025, there could conceivably be a casino within every major city in the United States.

Geoff Freeman

The  Keynote Luncheon Address will be given by Geoff Freeman, President & CEO, American Gaming Association.

Three of the 2015 sponsors of the 19th East Coast Gaming Congress include Drexel University,Stockton University and Fairleigh Dickinson University.

I will provide tweets from the active participants thru out the conference. For the entire lineup of  #ECGCiGI ,go here.

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