The U.S. gaming industry will converge on Las Vegas next week for its largest annual conference, and the host city will be a major talking point.
- Global Gaming Expo (G2E) returns to Las Vegas with more than 20,000 attendees, 400 exhibitors, and 100 industry education panels.
- Declines in Vegas tourism will be a key focus, with corporate leaders set to address the city’s recovery outlook.
- Panels will cover sports betting, prediction markets, tax changes, online gaming expansion, and legal challenges to sweepstakes casinos.
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) returns to Las Vegas for its 25th year. It is expected to draw more than 20,000 attendees and feature roughly 400 exhibitors at the Venetian Expo Center on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip.
Along with an expo hall, G2E will host more than 100 education seminars on gaming industry topics. Las Vegas is not featured in any panel directly but is set to be a key conversation topic for G2E attendees.
Las Vegas has seen year-over-year declines in hotel room night stays and commercial airline passenger totals every month this calendar year. The declines, attributed to rising costs, economic uncertainty, geopolitical turmoil, and a host of other issues, have sparked increasing concern about the city’s economic health.
MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle, whose company is the largest operator on the Strip, is among the high-profile corporate executives set to speak during the conference. He has remained publicly bullish as MGM and other Strip operators such as Caesars and Wynn have seen attendance declines, but his insights on how America’s gambling epicenter rebounds is set up to be a highlight of the four-day event.
Sports betting, prediction markets remain focal points
Las Vegas is just one of many key discussion topics at G2E 2025.
DraftKings CEO Jason Robins and FanDuel parent company Flutter Entertainment CEO Peter Jackson are also slated to speak at next week’s conference. More than eight years after the Supreme Court struck down the ban that prohibited sports betting outside Nevada, the growth of regulated sportsbooks remains of high interest for the gaming industry overall.
FanDuel and DraftKings are among the sportsbooks most threatened by prediction markets. The markets have begun offering event contracts on hundreds of sporting events in all 50 states, threatening to cut into the regulated sportsbooks’ market share - and profits. As prediction markets face legal battles in multiple states, the regulated sports betting industry could face tremendous disruption if they remain legal in the courts’ eyes.
Sweepstakes and social casinos, entangled in their own legal challenges, will also be discussed. Facing bans in California and a growing number of states, these games are under increasing scrutiny surrounding their legality and long-term future.
Despite limited legalization success, real money online casino gaming is also a key component of this year’s G2E conference. Digital operators such as DraftKings and FanDuel are hoping to expand these games behind the seven states in which they are currently legal, but they face scrutiny from policymakers as well as some casino stakeholders who fear cannibalization of brick-and-mortar gaming revenues.
This year’s conference also brings a panel dedicated to tax code changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law in July. The gaming industry could see billions in lost revenue if the bill’s reduced gambling loss tax deductions remain in place.
Other panels will discuss artificial intelligence, tribal gaming issues, casino company corporate strategies, new media, and a host of other topics.
