How much better does it feel to look back on 2021 than 2020? For US gaming, this time last year was absolutely worlds apart, as casinos remained restricted, revolving credit facilities were extended and profit statements turned from black to red en masse. But, as actor Paul Rudd would say, "hey, look at us" this year.
As our focus turns to 2022, and the many genuinely exciting opportunities coming our way, what better way to round up 2021 than to finally be back at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas? We look back on October's event.
The key words repeatedly used by our reporters on the expo floor were "buzz" and "energy," and it was much the same for their many interviewees. It may have been a slightly different event to previous years – how could it not be given we've just endured a global pandemic? – but all the big players in the industry ensured they were present for the biggest tradeshow in US gaming.
There, like in this magazine, the sector came together to reflect on a year of both growth and change. Nevada casino revenues are booming, online revenue is soaring; and just when you thought sports betting couldn't grow any quicker, a bunch of new states regulated the vertical.
We have plenty of G2E-related content for you from the expo floor, including Q&As with TransAct, SuzoHapp, Bluberi, AXES and more, as well as a roundtable featuring interviewees exclusively from the home of their G2E booths.
Elsewhere in our final edition of 2021, we look back on the year that's been and gone, as well as previewing 2022, with regular contributors Oliver Lovat, Jeffrey Silver,The Innovation Group and SCCG Management.
Silver and Lovat both make some positive predictions ahead of 2022, as US gaming surges forward with the kind of revenue figures Macau casinos can at the moment only distantly dream of. Silver, in particular, thinks 2022 could be the best year in regulated US gaming history. What a return to prominence that would be following the disastrous, pandemic-embroiled 2020.
Last year, our industry rallied. This year, it recovered. Next year, will it prosper?
