The fourth annual Macao Gaming Show was held last week, and exhibitors were unhappy with the results. According to sources, traffic was slow from the very start and few attendees took part in the conference program.
Slot manufacturers that did exhibit took much smaller spaces. For example, IGT bought only about 36 square meters, while companies like Interblock and Ainsworth failed to show at all.
Jay Chun is chairman of the Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association (MGEMA), a trade association for Macau suppliers. Chun is chairman of Hong Kong-based gaming equipment maker Paradise Entertainment Ltd, which operates in Macau as LT Game Ltd.
Chun admitted to GGRAsia that the show has problems. While he said he believes the show attracted quality buyers, there needs to be an increased focus on attracting visitors.
“I agree that the trade visitor traffic was not satisfactory, in particular the traffic to the non-gaming elements,” Chun told GGRAsia. The Macao Gaming Show had installed a Macao pavilion this year for local businesses hoping to sell the casinos. The show also stressed non-gaming amenities, but those elements failed to attract enough traffic for those exhibitors to be satisfied.
“For the area like the non-gaming part, there has been lack of promotion. So we’ll think about how we can do better on that,” said Chun.
The fifth anniversary of the Macao Gaming Show will take place in the third week of November in 2017. While Chun says he’d like a better date on the calendar but pointed out that the show is blocked by other major gaming shows and regional trade shows in Macao.
