Review I: East Coast Gaming Conference - Mims looks back, Ted Leonis, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy
This 2019 East Coast Gaming Conference was held last week in Atlantic City. The central themes of the conferences were sports betting, E sports and technology. Since sports betting was implemented last year, there are currently 18 states that have laws and/or are accepting wagers. The most popular facet of wagering is in game running. Most wagers are being placed on mobile devices. This has not cannibalized the customers of the brick and mortar casinos. It has introduced a new demographic that was not coming to gaming sites.
E sports was discussed during the conference as the game that will introduce millennials to the casino world. Casinos must show the propensity to offer this as a new product. E sports can be monetized and wagered on. The house can’t be afraid of it. If they allow low bet limits they can venture in and navigate the risk management.
Ted Leonsis, CEO of Monumental Sports and owner of the Washington Wizards and Capitals was the keynote speaker during the second day of the conference. He provided his views about what sports betting could be if the interested parties work together. The gaming operators, the sports business community and the platform providers share a vested interest. Leonsis stated “This is a great way to activate the power of sports.” Leonsis also mentioned his associations with the Arena Football League, Sportradar and American Express.
Governor Phil Murphy projected that New Jersey will pass Nevada as the top grossing state with gaming revenue in the country. New Jersey sports betting numbers are trending toward over a billion dollars in handle. Every month the numbers goes up.
The key takeaway from the conference for me is how technology plays a role going forward. The gaming industry is preparing to move toward a cashless situation. I don’t see that happening in its entirety but there should be a shift in how we do business. Cash is very labor intense. If a player could use a debit or prepaid card instead of cash, money would not have to be counted at the end of a gaming day. If a player wins, funds could be placed back into their account. There would never be a discrepancy on how much money was given to the dealer or inputted in a slot machine. The player could play with levels of restrictions that are not available to them now. This would improve the casino’s commitment to responsible gaming behaviors.
For Part Two of my East Coast Gaming Conference Recap, go here.