G2E 2025: Uncertainty – sure, but optimism always
G2E 2025 highlighted the tension between legacy and emerging gaming industries. Despite uncertainty, productive dialog fostered optimism.
Please note, this was also posted as a LinkedIn article from Rick Arpin, KPMG US Gaming Leader
At G2E 2025, there was a tension between the “legacy” industry and the “emerging” industry. Yet when they came together in productive dialog, we came away optimistic that the industry can benefit from innovation while maintaining important values around consumer protection and integrity of the industry. All in the backdrop of seemingly existential issues that are driving high levels of uncertainty.
Our observations in key areas are discussed in this article; suffice to say there are some very meaningful issues at hand for the gaming industry. Those companies and executives that navigate generational changes like AI and automation, prediction markets, and global supply chain management will likely reap the rewards through better customer engagement, elevated profit margins and access to new markets and demographic cohorts.
Nearly 30 KPMG professionals from the US, UK, Canada and Japan joined together during G2E 2025. Our week ended on a high note, literally, with a karaoke social event for our clients and friends of the firm. Every song led to money raised for responsible gaming research through our colleagues at UNLV’s International Gaming Institute.
But the party at G2E wasn’t confined to our karaoke rooms. The industry came together to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of G2E, and we were proud to kick off the week as the official adjudicator and co-presenter of the Global Gaming Awards. The level of quality, innovation and leadership among the products, companies and individuals among the winners and nominees should give us all optimism for the future of gaming.
Throughout the week, we also joined others celebrating the diversity of the gaming industry. We gathered with the African-Americans in Gaming networking group, Global Gaming Women, and many others. We also were proud to see one of our own, Nicole Porpiglia, honored as one of the “40 Under 40” through the Emerging Leaders in Gaming program.
The week was full of juxtapositions as you will see in our discussions on specific issues, and that started by balancing the celebrations with the somber reflections for the recently departed Ernie Stevens, Jr., a member of the American Gaming Association Hall of Fame who so excellently led the Indian Gaming Association for many years. We join the industry in honoring his memory.
Artificial Intelligence – where we are, where we might be going
I imagine attendees at G2E could fill an entire bingo card by marking a spot every time they heard “AI” around the trade show floor or in the education sessions. We even presented on the topic, highlighting our view of the “practical” implications of AI in gaming.
In our view, the time is now for companies to “take the leap” – but without having to jump into the deep end. Current and expected AI tools will continue to allow companies to generate benefits quicker, and at less cost, than past technology innovations (like ERP or data warehouse projects).
We were encouraged in many of our discussions with executives that their companies are implementing AI in targeted ways as “pilots” to find where the value levers are pulled more meaningfully. But we still sense trepidation among other companies; in our view, a “wait and see” approach will only serve to allow competitors an advantage. The advantages of moving quickly include:
- Discovery of any blockers to broader adoption, so the company is ready to implement at the right time;
- Education and cultural adoption among the workforce;
- Learning/muscle around how to govern AI with real-life examples but at a manageable scale and lower overall risk.
While the above discussion is focused on moving forward, we do not recommend moving forward blindly. There are serious risks to mitigate in implementing AI, and we head that from executives throughout G2E. Operators are interested in how vendors are embedding protections into their systems and working to understand where AI can make them vulnerable. We also sense that governance (acceptable use policies, strict controls over activating AI tools and use cases, clear assessment of risk) is generally not as robust as required to ensure a responsible rollout of AI.
What’s THAT? Innovation in emerging gaming is happening more rapidly than ever before
The headline issues in emerging gaming for the past 6-12 months have been sweepstakes and prediction markets. The opinions on these issues are as plentiful as networking receptions at G2E…or the number of folks in line at the coffee shops during the show. Some of those opinions were expressed in the G2E keynote addresses and in education sessions, some we heard in less formal settings, with cocktail receptions yielding more interesting dialog of course. Suffice to say there is little consensus, except that there is a growing realization that these products could pose a threat to existing industry participants.
We have some opinions of our own, but with these issues being so complex we try not to spend too much time picking one scenario to analyze. That didn’t stop us from hosting our CFTC and markets experts at G2E so they could meet with clients and further assess how prediction markets might align with more traditional gaming.
We came away from the conference thinking that the recent valuations of prediction market entities, and resulting negative impact to current sports book operators, is severely discounting multiple plausible scenarios that would limit the success of prediction markets (including backlash from the public/consumers like we’ve seen in other online gaming rollouts). Yet, there are clearly scenarios where those valuations could be justified.
And while we think companies need to be quite focused on these issues, we also sense that executives can get “frozen” by these large-scale “existential” issues. So one piece of advice we have for companies is to not lose sight of the basic “blocking and tackling” that needs to happen to perform in a complex economic environment; areas like maximizing cash flow through operational efficiency, enhancing net income through thoughtful tax planning, becoming more effective at pricing and customer offers…topics that might not be as “interesting” but are critical to success in today’s business environment.
The other key discovery and recommendation we have is that there is an incredible amount of innovation happening in gaming a bit “underneath” the radar. Companies would be wise in our view to broaden their aperture and consider how their products and services might be disrupted or enhanced by some of these innovations. See also the previous section on AI.
The future isn’t all it’s cracked up to be
While the themes from last year were hopeful around more certainty, the word we heard most during G2E 2025 was “uncertainty.” Let’s start with carrying the discussion of innovation forward. The disruptive nature of innovation is happening at an incredibly rapid pace (see our last year’s recap where we talked about sweepstakes…now it’s prediction markets). This is making it more difficult for companies to know where to “place their bets” related to product development investments, M&A and hiring.
Contrast that with the optimism we heard about innovation itself, coupled with the belief that the industry can take advantage of a seminal innovation cycle to reinvent itself to the consumer. Among other items we haven’t discussed already, the belief that cryptocurrency, stablecoin and related innovations could be transformative for gaming was more widespread than in previous years.
Executives we spoke to were also buoyed by the continued resilience of the consumer in the past year, as well as their belief that policy “chaos” is moderating and would continue to do so. Another bright spot for the industry currently is capital availability and the continued interest from private equity firms, lenders and venture capital firms.
On the risk/challenge side, we heard from many about the regulatory seesaw (an unsettled policy environment and tax rate changes being the most impactful globally) making it harder to do business and determine where to invest. In addition, cost structures are a huge focus for companies and their CFOs, with margin pressure coming from multiple angles – construction, supplies, labor…making forward-looking forecasts as difficult as ever.
What will G2E 2026 feel like?
I’d look for another sea change in the makeup of the companies on the trade show floor in 2026. The past few years have definitely changed many industry participants’ perceptions about how often one needs to attend G2E to see “something new.” I saw multiple first-time exhibitors this year like I have in the last several years. And 2026 may be the show where we see the prediction markets companies in full force.
I would expect more tactical discussions around what regulation can do to either boost or impede the industry. Collectively, the industry needs to tell a better story and educate regulators on the impact of rapid changes and turnabouts in regulatory posture.
I expect more European companies making a push to be global players at larger scale and having a bigger presence at G2E 2026. I also imagine the supporting programs, events and discussions to take on a more global flavor.
Finally, I believe we will continue to see rapid innovation, and the 2026 version of G2E will feature even more new products and new ways to use AI.
How can KPMG help you?
KPMG LLP helps gaming companies with their complex issues like transactions, international tax compliance, risk and regulatory concerns. We also provide our audit, tax and advisory services across the spectrum of gaming – land-based, online, supplier, Tribal, lottery, racing, emerging. We collaborate with our global firms as well as our US counterparts in video gaming, media and sports where our gaming industry converges with theirs.
We take responsibility to do our part in promoting a sustainable industry. We help our trade associations and their members with timely and complex issues and support our industry’s most important initiatives like responsible gaming, inclusion and market expansion.
We also have the best social event at G2E, so please be on the lookout for our 2nd annual karaoke event at G2E 2026!
We invite you to review our KPMG Gaming portal for the latest insights, trends, events, and information on how we can help you manage growth, navigate risks, and transform your business.
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