The gaming world came to Las Vegas last week and 25,000 industry leaders attended the Global Gaming Expo at the Sands Expo that saw slot and table game manufacturers, gaming system operators and other makers of technology and services offer their latest products to commercial and tribal casinos.
This is the 25th year the American Gaming Association has hosted its annual G2E as it is known with visitors from more than 120 countries and territories. There were more than 400 exhibitors showcasing their latest technologies and more than 100 educational sessions talking about the most prominent issues in the industry ranging from cashless gaming, igaming, sports betting prediction markets, artificial intelligence and the future of gaming.
One future focus is how live casinos studios are taking the Las Vegas table game experience to countries around the globe.
“Playtech and MGM’s ‘Live from Vegas’ studio now broadcasts live casino game shows and table games to more than 70 operators across nine regulated markets globally, live from the MGM Grand casino floor,” said gaming analyst David Katz with Jefferies Securities.
There was a heavy focus on the Las Vegas Strip this year.
MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle reassured those in attendance that Las Vegas isn’t broken as has been portrayed in the media coverage about visitation being down, and that he expects a strong showing for the city through the end of 2026. The recent five-day sale sponsored by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority generated 280,000 room nights for MGM, which is something to build upon, he said. That’s up 70 percent from the previous week and shows people want to come to Las Vegas with the attractions it has.
“We’ve had what I would characterize as a rugged summer,” Hornbuckle said. “We all know what has happened with Canada and Spirit Airlines removing seats. We’re coming out of that. As I look to the future, I see the next 16 months are going to be the best convention months this city has ever had or ever seen. What’s on the books with MGM Resorts and the community at large literally is facing up to be the best 16 months.”
With that as the foundation, Hornbuckle cited the upcoming programming such as the Formula One race the weekend before Thanksgiving, which he said will be “another tremendous success that continues to build on itself.”
Las Vegas is in a good spot because of other events that are planned for the city and nationwide, as well that will draw people to the city, including the 2026 World Cup soccer tournament, Hornbuckle said. Las Vegas also will host another Super Bowl, NCAA basketball Final Four and College Football Playoff championship game this decade.
“We remain bullish on Las Vegas,” Hornbuckle said. “I don’t think fundamentally it’s broken in any shape or form. I look forward to this convention drive pushing it up. Sports is part of that journey and conventions are part of that journey. We have to continue to be appealing. Area 15 in Las Vegas had 3 million visitors last year. Las Vegas continues to offer the kinds of things people want to do and see.”
AGA President and CEO Bill Miller gave the opening keynote address at the conference that highlighted the biggest threat to the gaming industry, including to Las Vegas. That’s sports betting prediction markets in which companies such as Kalshi are offering sports betting nationwide despite not being licensed in those states. It is doing so under the auspices of the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission. States such as Nevada are suing the operators in federal court and finding success in cases that are likely to make their way to the Supreme Court over its legality.
The same goes for sweepstakes operators, which are essentially online slots and table games that have met resistance from state regulators and attorney generals from across the country.
The worry is that the operators are siphoning billions of dollars from licensed casinos and not paying any state taxes.
“They want the opportunity, but they don’t want any regulatory compliance,” Miller said. “Many of them don’t want to play by the rules that made gaming what it is today. Illegal operators want to end run regulation. All of you, each and every one of us in this room, abides by rules. They attempt to blur the lines by not following them.”
The conference attendees also learned that the casino industry, especially Las Vegas-based operators stand to benefit from the federal tax bill signed into law by President Trump in July.
Gamblers will benefit by a potential higher threshold for slot jackpots from $600 to $2,000.
The impact on tips for Las Vegas casino workers is a bit murky at this time while the industry awaits more federal guidance on regulations. Restaurants and casinos are struggling with the reporting requirements.
“This income still has to be reported but requires changes in the payroll system, and it’s individuals who claim these exceptions on their returns,” said Robert Stoddard, national lead tax partner for gaming with KPMG.
“It’s creating some challenges to implement effectively,” he said.
The casino industry, meanwhile, will like a lot in the bill, Stoddard said. Bonus appreciation was fully reinstated for qualifying capital expenditures, which he added was a big deal for companies that have either a big project going on or on scheduled upgrades, especially in the hospitality space. “Think about hotel and multiproperty land-based casinos and integrated resorts, that’s a net positive for them,” Stoddard said.
Companies will get to deduct more of their business expenses than they currently do, Stoddard said.
Rick Limardo, senior vice president of government affairs for MGM, said the legislation provided some certainty, especially when it comes to investing capital expenditures in their properties. He also highlighted the benefits for research and development investments.
“That’s huge for our system across our company for technology,” Limardo said.
Industry leaders said they are hopeful about the increase in the slot threshold — an issue the industry has been working on for a long time.
“We would like to see that number go up even higher, but in the meantime we’re going to work to ensure that number is what we think it is — $2,000 going forward,” Limardo said. “The individual tax cuts matter for the people that come to Las Vegas, and the people that visit our properties. And for the international piece, those of us that operate in Macau or other jurisdictions have that certainty going forward with improved rates is critical. For us, it’s a net positive and certainly gives us an eye toward the future of how we’re going to invest in our company, employees and properties.”
Las Vegas casinos, meanwhile, remain worried about a provision in the tax bill that allows only a 90 percent deduction of gambling losses instead of 100 percent. The fear is it will chase big-time gamblers overseas and has even been suggested it could cost the city the World Series of Poker moving to Asia. A legislation fix is being discussed in Congress with bi-partisan support.
“This issue has the public attention,” Limardo said. “You see it on Twitter, and it almost exploded the narrative of this piece of legislation. The reason why is it’s a fairness issue. Why are you being taxed on phantom income? This change happened overnight and people were frustrated, and it’s going to impact the behavior of players. We are certainly concerned about it and actively working on it.”
Las Vegas was spared one provision that wasn’t included in the final bill passage. That was a revenge tax in which foreign winners would be taxed based on what their countries taxed U.S. companies. If viewed as punitive, those gamblers would have paid a higher rate, he said.
“That would have been a real nightmare from a baseline pay out basis because you then put a lot of pressure on your cashier function to make sure you have the documentation in place and a list of countries which could have evolved on a daily basis,” Stoddard said. “It could be 24 percent or 34 percent depending on the punitive tax. It was good that the provision was eliminated.”
The concern was that Las Vegas counts on baccarat for a big portion of its revenue and why gaming revenue is up for the year despite a downturn in tourism.
Chris Cylke, a senior vice president of government relations for the American Gaming Association, said table games could have been “put at severe risk” if the players nationality had to be verified along with their tax rates.
Next year’s G2E will be held Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 in Las Vegas.
