THE AGENDA
BY ROGER GROS , PUBLISHER
New Day , New Blood
Vol . 23 • No . 6 • JUNE 2024
Roger Gros , Publisher | rgros @ ggbmagazine . com X : @ GlobalGamingBiz
Frank Legato , Editor | flegato @ ggbmagazine . com X : @ FranklySpeakn
Jess Marquez , Managing Editor jmarquez @ ggbmagazine . com
Monica Cooley , Art Director mcooley @ ggbmagazine . com
When we first started Global Gaming Business magazine back in 2002 , I wanted to make sure that we ’ d build a vehicle that addressed all the issues of the gaming industry at that time . So we put together an editorial advisory board that featured some of the people who believed in the concept — believed so much they invested their hardearned money in the company — as well as many of the movers and shakers who were driving the industry in those days .
Frank Fahrenkopf , then the president and CEO of the American Gaming Association , was very supportive and was at the top of the list of people I wanted to serve on the board , and he graciously accepted . So along with the other investors and experts , we were off and running .
That board was very helpful over the years , which you can imagine massively changed not only the gaming industry but publishing as well .
In the gaming industry , the birth of online gaming roughly coincided with the launch of GGB . I remember going to the ICE trade show and conference in London each year . For the first couple of years , when the show was held at the old Earl ’ s Court convention center , it was 100 percent land-based gaming , like all traditional gaming tradeshows were in those days .
Then iGaming began to creep in , first on a small upper floor of the center and later graduating to the lower floors . When it finally moved to the Excel Centre in London ’ s Docklands , it was an even split between land-based and online . Next year , when ICE debuts in Barcelona , it ’ s probably going to be 80 percent online .
In publishing , the idea that you didn ’ t have to actually print a magazine was unthinkable back in 2002 . Yet here we are in 2024 , and GGB is the only gaming magazine in the world that still prints a monthly issue , along with our three annual editions — Tribal Government Gaming , Casino Style and Progressive Products Preview .
Even with that , we are laser-focused on the online content , and that will become even more important now that GGB is owned by Clarion Gaming , a subsidiary of Clarion Events , the producer of ICE , and publishers of the influential iGaming Business magazine .
So to ensure that we continue to serve the industry as we did in 2002 , we ’ ve revamped our editorial advisory board . Lots of the members of the original board have retired and moved on , so we wanted to bring to bear another group of advisors who will serve us in the way the old board did . We ’ ve kept some members of the previous board because , frankly , they remain relevant in ways that we couldn ’ t have predicted when we first invited them to join us . And that ’ s to our benefit .
But the new members of the board , which you can see at the right side of this column , are some of the most important members of the industry in 2024 . And unlike the previous board , this is going to be an organic group . If you pay attention to that list of names over the months and years to come , you ’ ll see names added as we see the industry grow . Because as we ’ ve seen over the last 20 years , the gaming industry isn ’ t stagnant .
If we could step back and examine what ’ s happened in the last 20 years , you ’ ll see gaming expansion into regions that you couldn ’ t imagine , not only in the U . S . but around the world . Most governments realized that people wanted to bet , so why not allow them ? Besides , those gaming taxes make a nice little nest egg for revenue-hungry jurisdictions .
At the same time , the legalization of sports betting in the U . S . and Canada has turned the gaming world upside down . The speed with which sports betting spread across the land truly was breathtaking , and it ’ s provided lots of opportunities — and some challenges — for the traditional gaming industry . And when you compare the relative snail ’ s pace with which iGaming is being legalized , that ’ s very confusing — especially when you consider iGaming can provide lots more revenue to jurisdictions than sports betting can .
And when gambling expands so much , can repression be far behind ? My friend I . Nelson Rose has documented how the growth of gaming over the years — centuries , actually — has always resulted in a pullback when the public becomes wary of it . Are we nearing that precipice ?
The people who have kindly accepted our invitation to join our revamped editorial advisory board have expertise in every area of gaming , from iGaming to sports betting , from responsible gaming to compliance , from casino design to diversity . I ’ m confident that the GGB content going forward under the Clarion Gaming banner will be as persuasive and informative as ever and will remain the only publication / content producer you need to read every day to stay current with the rapidly change gaming industry .
Terri Brady , Sales & Marketing Director tbrady @ ggbmagazine . com
Beck Kingman-Gros , Associate Publisher & COO bkingros @ ggbmagazine . com
Lisa Johnson , Communications Advisor lisa @ lisajohnsoncommunications . com X : @ LisaJohnsonPR
Columnists Frank Fantini | Dave Forman | Adrian Jooste
Contributing Editors Lauren Bates | Jill R . Dorson | Jeff Jordan Andrew Klebanow | Marjorie Preston | Cole Rush Bill Sokolic twitter : @ downbeachfilm ______________
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Rino Armeni , President , Armeni Enterprises
• Dike Bacon , Principal / Partner , HBG Design
• Lauren Bates , President , Global Gaming Women
• Mark A . Birtha , Senior Vice President & General Manager , Hard Rock International
• Brendan Bussmann , Principal , B2
• Alex Dixon , CEO , DRA / Q Casino
• Daron Dorsey , Executive Director , Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers
• Sally Gainsbury , Director at Gambling Treatment & Research Clinic & Professor of Psychology , University of Sydney
• Stephen Martino , Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer , MGM Resorts International
• Bill Miller , President and CEO , American Gaming Association
• Walt Power , CEO , Grand Ho Tram
• Rob Russell , Senior Gaming Analyst , Regulatory Management Counselors PC
• James Siva , Chairman , California Nations Indian Gaming Association / Vice Chairman , Morongo Band of Mission Indians
• Michael Soll , President , The Innovation Group
• Kresimir Spajic , Chief Executive Officer , Betfred Sportsbook
• Katherine Spilde , Executive Director , Sycuan Gaming Institute , San Diego State University —————— GGB Magazine 1000 Nevada Way • Suite 204 • Boulder City , NV 89005 702-248-1565 • 702-248-1567 ( fax ) www . ggbmagazine . com
The views and opinions expressed by the writers and columnists of GLOBAL GAMING BUSINESS are not necessarily the views of the publisher or editor .
Copyright 2024 Clarion Digital Media LLC
GLOBAL GAMING BUSINESS is published monthly by Clarion Gaming International , LLC . Printed in Nevada , USA . Postmaster : Send Change of Address forms to : 1000 Nevada Way , Suite 204 , Boulder City , NV 89005 Email : subscriptions @ ggbmagazine . com
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Official Publication
4 Global Gaming Business JUNE 2024