CEC NEWS
I spoke at the 2019 CEC (Casino/Cloud eSports Conference) event. The conference ran September 4-5 and was in Las Vegas. The conference was small (maybe about 150 people) but was a very good event from my perspective because both the speakers and attendees were very knowledgeable about eSports (professional video game players competing against each other). See https://www.casinoesportconf.com.
If I had to summarize the event in a sentence, I’d say it was an event with forward-looking people thinking about how eSports can be monetized. Most of the talks I listened to focused on the huge obstacles facing eSports. There are the obvious legal and regulatory challenges. In this area, several speakers from the University of Nevada and various Nevada government agencies had lots of interesting and useful information.
Another significant challenge is that the young people who play and watch eSports are just very, very different from the traditional audience that wagers on sports such as NFL football. According to anecdotal evidence, eSports participants have no need or desire to go to a casino or anywhere else other than their home computer in order to play their games.
I sat on a panel with four other members plus a speaker/moderator. All the panelists had quite different backgrounds, and all had interesting things to say. But, in short, there are far more questions than answers when it comes to monetizing eSports in brick-and-mortar environments.
A focus on profitability to drive the eSports debate at CEC Vegas
CDC Gaming Reports · July 9, 2019 at 2:04 pm
Clarion Gaming event ambassador Roy Student says that the upcoming Casino Esports Conference (CEC) Vegas, scheduled for September 4th and 5th at the Luxor in Las Vegas, will provide casino operators with answer to the most frequently asked question regarding esports: “How do we make money?”
“CEC Vegas will arm senior executives with the information and intelligence they need to understand the eSports phenomenon and integrate it as a positive amenity and attraction,” Student said.
The two-day CEC conference, subtitled ‘For the New Era of Gaming,’ will bring together online and land-based gaming operators with the relevant parts of the eSports industry in order to attempt to map out a progressive and mutually profitable future.
“(Esports) is an exciting, emergent industry,” Student said. “It is an increasingly important vertical within the gaming space. CEC Vegas will enable delegates to both hear from and network with colleagues who are already in the space… benefit from their insight and identify the stumbling blocks that should be avoided.”
“An event like this enables the serious players to sidestep the pitfalls and accelerate their profits,” he said.
The planned conference program and exhibition will allow CEC Vegas attendees to learn how to generate revenue, drive traffic, and improve experiences, all through the use of eSports events and wagering.
Online gambling operators will learn how to drive more revenue through eSports, and the eSports event community – comprising teams, league organizers, streaming platforms and influencers – will discover sponsorship opportunities and the benefits of collaborating with gaming operators.
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Published on September 11, 2019 | Oz Mustafa, US Account Director
With thanks to the Fox brothers, Ari & Ben presenting the third annual installment of the Casino Esport Conference (CEC), hosted at the Luxor in Las Vegas and for those that do not know, also home to the first purpose-built Esports arena, the HyperX.
Once again the caliber of keynote speakers was worthy of attendance, let alone the abundance of networking opportunity. The distinct advantage of the CEC was simply that as it is seeking to grow and it is sure to do so, it has a big conference line up with the intimate gathering of the industry insiders and advocates, pioneers of Esports allowing for meaningful conversation amongst delegates to sit, chat, network and mind share opinions on the current and future trends in Esports.
The monetization, specifically wagering is and will continue to be a massive component. An industry that boasts almost five billion dollars wagered and forecasted to close in on thirteen billion dollars by 2021.
So no wonder the discussion is fervent amongst the line-up of lawyers, regulators, educators, gamers, CEO's, engineers, investors and a myriad of other industry specialists. I believe Esports can be a catalyst for the mobile generation of bettors in the United States. The UK/European mobile wagering generation is established and offers a wide range, from the simple to the sophisticated bettor, but here in the United States, it is largely a new phenomenon.
As I sat and listened to the various opinions, facts, and predictions I see a massive billions of dollars opportunity for the UK/European operators to do a 'William Hill' and advance the mobile strategy with Esports at the forefront of 'cash-out' and 'in-play' as well as a multitude of other betting options, the kind that is practiced so commonly in the UK and Europe.
Of course, the regulators, lawmakers and the legal processes will dictate if and when such betting options will be made available to those that wish to engage in this form of wagering.
Esports can be the bold new frontier and usher in the full mobile wagering experience, to be as engaging and dynamic as the gamers that have propelled this new and hyper exciting genre of sport.
Clarion confirms eSports legend and publisher as keynote speakers for CEC Vegas
CDC Gaming Reports · July 29, 2019 at 4:14 am
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Take-Two Interactive Director J Moses and eSports superstar Johnathan Wendel, aka ‘Fatal1ty,’ will be the keynote speakers at the CEC Vegas conference, Sept. 4-5, at Luxor Las Vegas.
Moses is the U.S. publisher the Grand Theft Auto series, Red Dead Redemption and NBA 2K, the latter of which is one of eSports’ most popular online betting titles. He is also director of the ReadyUp platform that was launched by ‘Fatal1ty.’
The CEC keynote panel is the first occasion that a publisher and eSports legend have shared their insight on the future of eSports betting in a business-to-business environment.
“It’s incredible to bring J on board for this unique and exciting panel. He has deep knowledge of both the gaming and eSports industries,” said Clarion Gaming Head of eSports William Harding. “This will be the very first time we will be able to listen to a leading eSports publisher discussing the likely route of eSports wagering.
CEC Vegas will feature more than 35 leading experts enable delegates to hear from and network with colleagues who are already in the space and would benefit from their insight and experience. The conference will also feature conversations surrounding new legal developments regarding sports betting in the U.S.
Skill-based slot developer Next Gaming participating in Casino eSports Conference
Buck Wargo, CDC Gaming Reports · September 3, 2019 at 4:44 am
Next Gaming’s CEO Mike Darley sees the potential for attracting eSports participants to play skill-based slot machines in casinos. The Las Vegas-based designer and distributor of skill-based games will have a booth with their products at the third annual Casino eSports Conference that runs Wednesday and Thursday at the Luxor Las Vegas. They will also participate in an educational session Thursday on skill-based casino games and eSports.
Darley said Next Gaming’s goal in participating in the CEC is to evaluate the potential cross-over interest between eSports and non-traditional skill-based games.
“We know that the younger demographic of players, such as those who are drawn to eSports, are dedicated, playing with friends or in tournaments,” Darley said.
“In a casino setting, they generally do not go to clubs or high-end restaurants and have limited casino play, if any, on the casino floors,” Darley said. “Based on the size of the demographic, and the potential spend of that group, casinos are seeking offerings that fit their personality, and we think skill-based gaming can bridge some of that gap.”
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Clarion confirms eSports legends as keynotes for CEC Vegas
Yogonet Gaming News | International Edition. | September 11, 2019
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The upcoming Casino eSports Conference (CEC Vegas)—September 4 and 5, Luxor Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas—has recorded a major coup securing Take-Two Interactive’s Director, J Moses, as its keynote speaker. In addition to being US publisher of blockbusters the Grand Theft Auto series, Red Dead Redemption and NBA 2K, the latter of which is one of eSports’ most popular online betting titles, Moses is Director of the ReadyUp platform launched by Johnathan Wendel, aka ‘Fatal1ty’, arguably the most significant player in US eSports
The CEC Vegas is a two-day hands-on event connecting the casino world directly to esport players, marketers, developers, products, services, event providers, lawyers and educators. The event provides direct and informative connections to facilitate the infrastructure for all gaming establishments looking to incorporate the esport gaming world, as well as iGaming and skill-based gaming.
Commenting on the significance of securing the two thought leaders, Clarion Gaming’s Head of eSports, William Harding, said: "It’s incredible to bring J on board for this unique and exciting panel. ‘Fatal1ty’ is unique and part of eSports folklore. When the history of eSports is written he will have his own chapter as the first eSports professional player and the first gamer to earn more than $1m. This will be the very first time that the industry will be able to listen to a leading eSports publisher and the poster boy for eSports debating the gambling dynamic and how to progress the relationship in a profitable and socially responsible way.
Esports and casino gaming set to 'collide,' experts say
The Press of Atlantic City | DAVID DANZIS Staff Writer | June 13, 2019
ATLANTIC CITY — The future of casino gaming is not coming — it is already here.
Esports, or competitive video gaming, is a wide-open market for forward-thinking casino operators, content providers and gamblers, according to a panel of experts who spoke Wednesday at the 23rd annual East Coast Gaming Congress and NextGen Forum at Harrah’s Waterfront Conference Center.
“We’re at a crossroads of esports and the gambling world,” said Ari Fox, producer of Gamacon & Casino Esports Conference. “But it’s already happening. It’s just a matter of when casino executives and the gambling world are going to step into the fray.”
Cash-betting on skill-based video games is already legal in 38 states, including New Jersey. But without a concerted effort on the part of American gaming operators to capitalize on the opportunity to attract the next generation of gambler, the casino industry is missing out on the nearly $13 billion bet annually on esports with offshore bookmakers, analysts said.
“These two industries (casino gaming and esports) have to collide because the casino industry is beginning to lose the generation that plays table games,” Fox said.