The Casino ESports Conference was held last week at Stockton University’s Atlantic City Campus, amid an atmosphere of hope that the attraction will garner fans and wagers in the city’s casinos. In conjunction with the conference, the ribbon was cut on a new esports innovation lab at the campus.
Stockton’s Esports Innovation Center will help students learn the intricacies of esports. “We’ve made a lot of progress with the Esports Innovation Center in the short amount of time that we’ve been open and we can’t wait for everyone to see the vision that we have for the EIC,” said Andrew Weligus, the executive director of the EIC, according to The Press of Atlantic City.
“This is an opportunity to bring jobs, private investments and new activity to this great city,” said Tim Sullivan, CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, in the conference’s keynote address. “It will hopefully show companies that we just don’t have casinos in Atlantic City. We have this center that is doing cutting-edge policy work, innovation work and is working with higher education institutions.”
The conference featured breakout sessions on esports, and general information on the activity, which will generate an estimated $1.4 billion in economic activity this year around the world.
“It’s similar to online (casino) wagering: Instead of playing blackjack or poker, you’re playing Angry Birds,” esports entrepreneur L. Anthony Gaud told the Press. “That environment is coming. There’s going to be a wagering angle, probably a large one. It’s going to be a really big thing.”
The Esports Innovation Center will be open to all with an interest, and has already partnered with several community organizations.
“We plan on doing community programming with the boys and girls club, the police athletic league, and Stockton University’s esports team,” Weligus told the Press. “We also plan to do business to business events, job training sessions, game training sessions, game development sessions, and even tournaments. You can think of this place as a one stop shop for esports.”
