Global Gaming Expo 2004: Show Ends With Fistful of Records

The American Gaming Association will concentrate on enforcing the trade group's new code of conduct for dealing with problem gaming in the coming year, the trade group's president said Thursday at a news conference wrapping up this year's Global Gaming Expo.

The expo, the fourth run by the American Gaming Association, shattered previous records with 26,000 attendees and 700 exhibitors covering 255,000 square feet of the Las Vegas Convention Center, association President Frank Fahrenkopf said.

Attendance at the three-day conference was up 20 percent from last year, the number of exhibitors was up 6 percent and the area used by exhibitors was up 16 percent from last year and double the space used in 2001, the show's first year.

There were also 106 international exhibitors from 26 countries displaying equipment, and 140 conference sessions on key issues facing the industry.

Fahrenkopf said enforcing the new problem-gambling code will be one of his priorities next year.

"I'm very proud the industry realized there's a negative side of our business for some people and we as an industry have a responsibility to do something about it," he said.

The association almost a year ago announced a first-ever industrywide code of conduct for responsible gaming. The code went into effect Sept. 15, committing members to a broad set of policies aimed at curbing problem gambling.

Fahrenkopf said responsible gambling has been a main focus for the association since it was formed about a decade ago, and that developing measurable standards for member companies is a serious milepost in addressing the issue.

He said all member companies have signed onto the code, but the trade association hasn't developed disciplinary procedures for companies that fail to comply.

However, Fahrenkopf said public disclosure in the media and peer pressure from other companies should serve as stringent deterrents for not complying with the code.

And if need be, the association would consider, on a case-by-case basis, barring offending companies from its membership.

G2E, organized by the American Gaming Association and Reed Exhibitions, made its debut in fall 2001, and bills itself as the international gaming trade show and conference "by the industry and for the industry."

G2E emerged from the 2001 merger of two gaming trade shows, the original Global Gaming Expo and World Gaming Congress.