Zona de Azar USA – Maureen Beddis of AGA Anticipates Her Inaugural G2E Participation

USA.- October 2nd 2023 www.zonadeazar.com It’s not like Maureen Beddis hasn’t been to Las Vegas before.

Formerly the executive vice president of the Vision Council, she was a regular visitor to the city for 20 years. But in her new role as the American Gaming Association’s Senior Vice President of Membership and Events, Beddis admits working on the Global Gaming Expo has yielded surprises.

Notably, she’s been amazed by the enthusiasm for G2E’s education sessions.

“My prior experiences also had conferences in education, but they were built around continuing education for credit and required certifications,” Beddis says. “While conference attendance was always great, it was definitely more under the guise of what attendees needed to do. With G2E, the big difference is it’s what the industry wants to do. They’re excited and want to continue to learn and share ideas.”

The Global Gaming Expo takes place Oct. 9-12 at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas.

Beddis joined the AGA last year right as G2E was ramping up. She observed the conference, returned to the organization’s office in Washington, D.C., and started preparing for this year’s event. Her past experiences with the Vision Council provide a baseline of experiences from which she is able to draw.

Notably, Beddis says there is a need to constantly review and refine ROI for attendees and exhibitors.

“You always want to be ahead of ways to reimagine and improve your show floor,” she says. “Bringing in new segments of the industry, but tastefully so and at the right time and in the right spaces so you never lose sight of who the key mainstays are of your show.

“And perhaps, maybe most importantly across all industries, and all trade shows, it’s important as the organizer to constantly be reimagining how we capture the input of all exhibitors and attendees.”

This year, in addition to post-conference surveys, G2E will feature quick QR codes in order to get more timely input from participants.

Earlier this year, G2E issued a call for content and received over 400 submissions from people who wanted to participate. As always, new topics have emerged. Notably, artificial intelligence and machine learning are trending, but Beddis says it’s also important to feature issues such as building sustainable sports markets and responsible gaming.

“All of the things that were important a few years ago continue to gain importance as they evolve and change,” she says.

It appears that G2E will see more international visitors than in the past few years. With travel restrictions caused by the pandemic now lifted, Beddis said in late September that international registrations, notably from Australia, Africa, and Latin America, were up about 20% over 2022 “and actually in attendance across the board. We’re trending slightly ahead year-over-year with international and overall attendance. I’m optimistic. I think it’s going to be a great show.”

Edited by: @MaiaDigital www.zonadeazar.com