Wong expects 2023 GGR to top govt forecast
Global Gaming Expo Asia (G2E Asia) made its return to Macau after three years with the debut of the three-day Asian IR Expo yesterday at The Venetian Macao.
The organisers said in a statement yesterday that they expect to attract over 5,000 fairgoers.
Global Gaming Expo Asia (G2E Asia), like its larger counterpart in Las Vegas, is presented by the American Gaming Association (AGA) and organised by RELX, a British multinational information and analytics company headquartered in London.
Held until tomorrow, the statement said that the various events will provide an “expanded range of sector offerings at the exhibition”, including “leading-edge products and solutions” in different sectors such as in gaming, entertainment, and themed travel.
Meanwhile, the exhibition also features a conference programme led by experts and “thought leaders” on “trending topics that shape the industry landscape, with the area of focus including “an in-depth look at Asia’s integrated resorts in terms of regulatory oversight and gaming control and future trends and challenges”, as well as an event themed “Asia Gaming Landscape: A Decade into the Future”, according to the statement.
The event, the statement added, will also host various networking opportunities to “seize the rare gathering of industry professionals”. These include exclusive events such as the Presidents’ Reception, and the Artbiz Asia Networking Cocktail.
More details can be found on www.g2easia.com and www.AsianIRExpo.com
Meanwhile, Sands China President Wilfred Wong Ying-wai said in his keynote speech that Macau will be able to achieve and probably exceed the government’s projection for the city’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) this year.
Wong noted: “The number of visitations to Macau keeps rising. The GGR keeps rising and when the Macau government first predicted that this year the GGR will be like 130 billion MOP [patacas], a lot of people said: can we achieve it?”.
“After six months, we are already [at] 80 billion [patacas]. So, I believe we should be able to achieve the government’s projection and probably exceed it, and hopefully will”, he said.
According to official statistics from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), Macau’s 30 casinos run by six rival gaming concessionaires generated GGR of 80.1 billion patacas in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 205.1 percent.
In pre-pandemic 2019, GGR amounted to 292.4 billion patacas, a year-on-year decline of 3.4 percent from 2018, according to DICJ data.
Last November, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng predicted GGR of 130 billion patacas when he presented his government’s 2023 budget bill to the legislature.
Sands China President Wilfred Wong Ying-wai speaks with reporters after yesterday’s opening ceremony. – Photos: MPDG
Government officials and business representatives cut the ribbon during yesterday’s opening ceremony of the three-day G2E Asia expo at The Venetian Macao in Cotai, including Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes (sixth from right) and Sands China President Wilfred Wong Ying-wai (fourth from right).
