The East Coast Gaming Congress & iGaming Institute conference later this month comes at an interesting time for gaming in the Mid-Atlantic states, with a confluence of developments and legislation that could impact the industry in the region.
The conference will take place May 27-28 at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
New Jersey and Delaware are in the second year of regulated iGaming, while the former is fighting a legal battle to allow sports betting. Pennsylvania is the latest state to seriously consider iGaming. New York has a sports betting bill in the legislature and has given out four new casino licenses.
It all means the conference should be of great interest to anyone in the gaming space with interests in Eastern states.
Here’s a look at some of the topics that will be addressed at the conference, according to the official website:
A variety of speakers from around the gaming industry will be appearing at the conference. Geoff Freeman, President and CEO of the American Gaming Association, will deliver a speech during lunch on the second day of the event.
Other highlights include:
A full listing of all events, panels and speakers can be found here.
It seems likely that Pennsylvania’s consideration of online gaming and New Jersey’s sports betting push will be major topics of discussion throughout the event.
Pennsylvania currently has four different proposed bills dealing with iGaming: three that would regulate it, and another that would ban it. With a population much larger than New Jersey, PA joins California as the two biggest markets seriously considering online poker and iGaming. A bill to allow fantasy sports at casinos in the state is also on tap.
New Jersey is currently fighting to allow sports betting at gaming establishments in the state. If New Jersey is allowed to conduct sports betting after the case is resolved, that could set off a domino effect for other states with casinos and gaming interests looking at similar legislation.
An analysis of the current iGaming successes and failures in New Jersey and Delaware is also sure to be a hot topic of discussion.
Photo by World Poker Tour used under license CC BY-NC 2.0.