G2E: Sports betting expansion and online gaming under the spotlight during the expo's third day

Global Gaming Expo Las Vegas continued Wednesday with more action from the trade show floor and a varied lineup of speakers tackling the latest developments in gambling as part of the event’s educational content. The third day of the event saw exhibitors showcase their novelties from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in a busy day of networking that drew thousands of attendees from all over the world.

As for keynote sessions, these included “Betting On Your Brand: A Conversation with Erika Ayers Nardini” and “Changing the Playbook: How Sports are Evolving with Gaming”, two sports betting-oriented conversations. The focus on this vertical, which American Gaming Association CEO Bill Miller called one of the industry’s “fastest-growing segments” in his keynote address Tuesday, is not unusual: even before the expo started, organizers had already confirmed it would be one of the “hottest topics” of the edition, along with others suchs as iGaming and financial technologies.“Betting On Your Brand” allowed attendees to learn more about Barstool Sports’ story and how it “disrupted” the sports media landscape back in 2003 to later embrace sports betting in 2020. CEO Erika Ayers Nardini offered insights on the brand’s relationship with PENN Entertainment, how to drive engagement and what’s next for the segment, in conversation with AGA’s Miller.

As for “Changing the Playbook”, the session saw Miller host a fireside chat with Las Vegas Raiders’ President Sandra Douglass Morgan. As legal sports betting evolves, the segment is transforming the relationship between leagues and the gambling industry: Douglass Morgan tackled this changing landscape, with a focus on dynamic leadership, the business of football, and her past role as former chairwoman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.The sessions, sponsored by Global Gaming Women, highlighted the growing importance of the vertical. The executives noted that increasing sports wagering-related offerings is beneficial to the gambling industry at large since the segment tends to draw in gamblers from a younger demographic, something that land-based casinos have long struggled to accomplish.

This is supported by data: AGA reports that 45% of people that placed a traditional sports bet are between the ages of 23 and 34, and 39% of Americans over 21 years old could be potential sports bettors. “We’re creating the first generation of legal American sports bettors, we really are, and that’s a big responsibility,” Nardini said during her speech, as reported by Las Vegas Review-Journal.

While the sports betting industry has rapidly grown across the US since 2018, with the practice legal in more than 30 states and Washington D.C., Douglass Morgan highlighted it still is “a nascent industry,” with regulatory structures that are still growing and “being tested.” The Las Vegas Raiders’ President also said that, in regard to whether betting can be good for sports, as long as gambling doesn’t impact the integrity of the games, it is fair play.

Nardini, on the other hand, focused on how she led Barstool’s social media strategy: “If your brand or company or product wants attention, you have to be able to use and understand social media to get it,” she said, as per the cited source. She also argued that for sports betting to reach a larger public it needs to avoid the messaging strategy of other industries, such as that of the airline industry, which is “screaming a bunch of offers to consumers in very traditional formats.”

Other Wednesday highlights

Education sessions also featured conversations on safe gambling, including “Evolution of Responsible Gaming in a Modern World”, which covered what the industry can do to help protect players as more states offer legal online gaming. As for innovation within the industry, it also had a dedicated conversation with “Emerging Markets and Technologies in the U.S.”, which highlighted the growth of iGaming and sports betting, but also digital payments.

But all in all, sports wagering was clearly the topic of the day: “Sports Betting Today: The Leagues' Perspective” also covered the segment, although from a different standpoint, featuring NFL, NASCAR and MLB representatives. Meanwhile, the “G2E Innovation Challenge” gave start-ups their time to shine through an activity that connected them with funders, innovators and industry stakeholders. According to organizers, it gave them the chance “to engage the global gaming industry at G2E with live pitches in front of a distinguished panel of judges.”

Elsewhere during the day, attendees flocked from stand to stand to learn about the latest products hitting gambling halls over the world, and connected with peers and colleagues at the G2E Networking Lounge, at Booth #2040. For its part, the G2E Innovation Lab at Booth #5320, another highlight of this edition, gathered visitors “to experience the latest innovations” in the sector, featuring TED-talk-style sessions, fireside chats and networking.The major gambling event ends today, Thursday, with another busy day at the trade show floor from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Special activities include Sip & Social, Global Gaming Women's rebranded annual networking event; and the #G2E2022 Photo Wall at the event's Networking Lounge, which will feature two specially-created art pieces.

Inside G2E 2022