MGS Show 2018 opens to record audience

This week, the organisers of MGS Entertainment Show confirmed an aggregate of about 200 exhibitors of all types for this year’s edition.

Jay Chun, chairman of Macau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association (MGEMA), spoke to media on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the trade show. 

“For this year, nearly 200 exhibitors have joined our show. Aside from [the display zone of] gaming equipment, we also have culture and technology-themed zones for other types of exhibitors,” stated Chun.

The main event runs from November 13 to 15 at the Cotai Expo at the Venetian Macao casino resort. The event has diversified beyond gaming in recent years. The conference portion is covering topics including e-Sports, blockchain technology and intellectual property rights for games, according to the trade show organiser.

Chun also confirmed that the proportion of gaming suppliers was “similar” last year, and that most of the suppliers present had already established businesses in Macau and had participated in previous editions of the event.

The 2017 edition of the trade show drew 162 exhibitors and more than 15,000 visitors. Over 100 of the exhibitors of the 2017 edition were gaming equipment suppliers, according to information provided by the trade show organiser. Official information on the number of gaming equipment exhibitors at this year’s event is not yet available from the organisers.

Mr Chun said that as far as visitor numbers were concerned: “For the past editions of MGS show, we had about 8,000 to 10,000 visitors [per edition]. We hope that we can at least maintain that level for this year’s edition.”

The annual MGS event, first held in 2013, was originally known as the “Macao Gaming Show”. This year the Chinese version of the show’s name has undergone another renaming exercise. The new moniker translates as the “2018 Macau Leisure Technology Show”.

This year, for the first time, the show was jointly organised with China’s state-owned enterprise Nam Kwong Culture and Creativity Industry Co Ltd, and China National Machinery Industry International Co Ltd.