Each fall, leading stakeholders from the gaming industry converge for the Global Gaming Expo (G2E), a massive conference that features splashy product debuts, keynote addresses, and networking events on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip.

For this week’s conference, hot topics are sure to include the rollout of ESPN BET — the network’s forthcoming sports betting brand — and 2024 hopes for online casino expansion.

Come here for continuous updates on these subjects and others during the conference, as we detail the latest buzz from The Venetian Expo Center (all times PST).

Tuesday, 1:30 p.m.

Underdog Fantasy held a responsible gambling panel discussion Monday evening at G2E, in a secluded room within The Venetian. Among the most notable moments during the discussion was when responsible gambling consultant Brianne Doura-Schawohl spoke about parents needing to talk to their kids about gambling just like they would about sex or drugs. 

Breaking the stigma surrounding problem gambling was discussed during the panel talk, which came just a few hours after Underdog announced the creation of GuardDog. Underdog is committing $1 million to help support and mentor startup companies in the responsible gambling space. Perhaps one of the companies applying for mentorship will play a role in breaking the stigma around RG tools and problem gambling discussions.  

“We’re really excited about what comes next,” Underdog Fantasy founder and CEO Jeremy Levine told US Bets after the panel discussion. “We’ve already had companies just off the announcement today reach out. We kind of expect to be surprised, and that’s part of the beauty of innovation and startups.”

Really excited to be able to bring together this amazing room full of regulators and proponents of responsible gaming to talk about GuardDog and what more we as an industry can do.

Fun fact: we weren’t allowed to rent this room, to talk about RG, by the AGA. pic.twitter.com/4gUUMoIfHd

— Jeremy Levine (@JerLevine) October 10, 2023

Tuesday, 9:30 a.m.

While MGM Resorts believes it has moved past threats surrounding a massive cybersecurity breach, CEO Bill Hornbuckle told an assembled crowd that the act is “corporate terrorism at its finest.”

Hornbuckle reiterated that the breach will likely cost MGM approximately $100 million, though the company is covered through a comprehensive cybersecurity insurance policy. Moving forward, the policy will probably cost more in 2024, Hornbuckle joked at a Tuesday morning keynote presentation.

MGM Resorts owns a 50-50 stake in BetMGM with Entain, one of Europe’s top gaming operators. On the same panel, Entain CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen noted that the company did not find any evidence that its tech stack was impacted by the breach.

At Tues #G2E2023 keynote, MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle called the cyber breach that impacted the company "corporate terrorism at its finest." While he believes the current threat is gone, he added that MGM has to learn how to "architect the system," better moving fwd pic.twitter.com/7Ww2iUGMRv

— Matt Rybaltowski (@MattRybaltowski) October 10, 2023

Hornbuckle took the stage roughly a month before the city hosts the inaugural Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix in mid-November. From an economic perspective, Hornbuckle described the F1 weekend as the “single-largest event Las Vegas has ever seen.”

Heading into the race, MGM’s average daily rates (ADRs) for hotel rooms at its premium properties have surged 400%, he emphasized. When evaluating a metric known as “front money in credit,” a gauge for major Las Vegas events, the F1 race tops every previous event by a factor of “at least 2x,” Hornbuckle noted. MGM set the previous record on the weekend of the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. boxing match in 2015.

CNBC reporter Contessa Brewer pressed Hornbuckle on the environmental impact of the event, arguing that when MGM hosts a fight, it doesn’t need to “cut down any trees.” Brewer made reference to a decision by MGM to remove a series of trees in front of the F1 grandstand by the Bellagio fountain to provide improved visibility for spectators. In response, MGM plans to replant additional trees following the race, Hornbuckle responded.

Tuesday, midnight (in the garden of good and evil)

It was midnight out east, more like 9 in Sin City. But as a Pacific Time Zoner who tends to work hours that mimic my colleagues in the former time zone, we’ll call it midnight.

I’d just finished a very satisfying steak dinner with some business associates at the Peppermill, a round-the-clock diner that should exist in every city and have such ironclad landmark protections that it’s not allowed to leave. Not quite ready to turn in, I suggested we head to the Huntridge Tavern.

Nobody opted to join me.

Not that I could really blame them. The Huntridge is an acquired taste. Having written an entire novella about dive bars, I’d acquired that taste — in particular, a taste for cheap PBR tall boys and bottom-shelf tequila (not bottom-bottom, mind you, but maybe half a shelf up).

The Huntridge was peculiarly quiet when I walked in. They were setting up for open mike night and the Raiders game had ended, so Naked & Afraid was on TV. The patron next to me, name of Dan, was an aficionado. I was not.

This didn’t stop me from betting on the outcome with Dan. In Naked & Afraid, two strangers — one man, one woman — try to rough it without clothes in a hostile outdoor environment for a week. The female partner dropped out on day one, while the portly male was covered in bug bites.

I bet Dan that the male would ultimately fail, a wager he happily accepted. There was only a drink riding on it, but it was still a supremely stupid bet. Prior to placing it, I failed to consider that this particular episode could have been a rerun, and that Dan might have known the result. 

He played it coy. Of course he did. And I lost.

– Mike Seely

Monday, 3 p.m.

The future of iGaming legalization was briefly discussed during a panel titled “Gaming’s Business Outlook: How Does the Industry Keep up the Momentum of the Past Two Years?” Howard Wang, the managing director at Ares Management, views future online casino legalization as an important opportunity for the gaming industry, but he also anticipates a continued slow rollout.

Wang anticipates politicians being skeptical of how iCasino could impact their state. He expects some lawmakers to worry about the possible impact on other businesses or retail casinos, should legal online casinos come to their state.

“I also believe that iGaming is probably the biggest growth opportunity for the industry,” Wang said. “I think it’s going to come very slowly because no governor or official wants to be the first to allow this to happen and then all of the sudden jobs are lost or you start cannibalizing existing revenue.”

Rhode Island was the lone state to legalize mobile casinos in 2023, and the state’s iCasino market will launch in 2024.

Monday, noon

G2E kicked off with packed panels, including “US Regulation: Is the Second Wave Cresting?” during which OpenBet’s Jessica Feil stated that the U.S. has the toughest licensing standards in the world and that she’s hopeful states will start to adopt a “lighter touch model.” Other panelists joined Feil in saying there is much to be learned from more mature markets than the U.S.

Unlike in other countries, U.S. legalization is not federal but only happens on a state-by-state basis. That further complicates the licensing process for operators, suppliers, and vendors that have to juggle 30-plus laws and regulations in bringing their products to market.

Monday, 6:30 a.m.

PENN Entertainment shocked the industry in August by forging a $1.5 billion deal with ESPN to operate its branded sportsbook. Jay Snowden, the CEO of PENN Entertainment, said he hopes to cut into the lead held by FanDuel and DraftKings and attain a sizable market share by 2027.

Executives representing two of ESPN BET’s two competitors, FanDuel CEO Amy Howe and DraftKings counterpart Jason Robins, will appear Wednesday on one of G2E’s most anticipated panels, moderated by CNBC’s Contessa Brewer. There, the sportsbook executives may discuss some of the customer retention strategies needed to fend off one of the most recognizable names in sports. Next month’s debut of ESPN BET comes as another newcomer, Fanatics Sportsbook, continues to expand throughout the U.S.

“The most important thing I get from G2E every year is having a pulse on the latest innovations in gaming.”

Hear why Justin Carter, SVP of Regional Operations at @PENNEntertain makes sure to attend #G2E each year: https://t.co/f7PUw3CGRO pic.twitter.com/LqOCJtdZml

— Global Gaming Expo (@G2Eshows) September 30, 2023

Brewer will also moderate a keynote on Tuesday that features MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle, Entain CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen, and Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen. MGM Resorts and Entain are partners in BetMGM, a 50/50 joint venture. Rumors continue to swirl that MGM Resorts will make a renewed attempt to acquire Entain, one of Europe’s biggest gaming operators.

Hornbuckle takes the stage amid a disconcerting cyber breach that has impacted MGM Resorts over the last month. In a letter sent to MGM shareholders last week, Hornbuckle informed customers that MGM responded promptly and shut down the company’s IT systems to mitigate risk to customer data. While MGM experienced some disruptions at its physical properties, the breach did not result in a compromise of any customer bank account numbers or payment card information, he wrote. The company incurred less than $10 million in cybersecurity expenses, which was offset by insurance proceeds, Truist Securities analyst Barry Jonas wrote in a research note.

Monday, 6 a.m.

With several states considering the legalization of iGaming during the 2024 legislative session, online casino figures to be among the most popular subjects during G2E. On Monday, before doors at the expo opened for the day, Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers announced it had forged a long-term agreement with Light & Wonder on a deal involving a host of new live dealer games.

The deal marks the first time that Light & Wonder has gone live with a premium live dealer brand in the U.S., the company said in a statement. The live dealer games including live dealer blackjack, live dealer roulette, and baccarat will be delivered through a newly built Michigan studio from Authentic Gaming, a Malta-based software company.

“Authentic Gaming has created a compelling array of content that speaks directly to the preferences of players in Michigan, and this is a partnership we believe will prove to be highly successful going forward,” said Richard Schwartz, CEO of Rush Street Interactive, in the statement.

The deal comes on the heels of a separate partnership Light & Wonder struck last week with Netflix. As part of that deal, the gaming manufacturer plans to release a Squid Game slot machine product.

New Tonight: Netflix strikes licensing deal with gaming manufacturer @LightNWonder. @contessabrewer reports. $LNW $NFLX pic.twitter.com/a5cA46wYpW

— Last Call (@LastCallCNBC) October 6, 2023

Additional reporting by Jill R. Dorson, Bennett Conlin, and Mike Seely