G2E Las Vegas Sees Gambling Influencers Double in Two Years 

This year at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E), more than 150 gambling content creators will be part of the 25,000-strong crowd at the world’s premier gambling business trade show. 

So far, it’s so 2024. Every business has its social media starlets and YouTube video creators these days. Head to any large Las Vegas trade show, and there will be plenty of people walking and talking to their cameras. 

The world of gambling, though, is a market that has previously been largely ignored. In fact, the gambling business has been, on the whole, relatively secret with its behind-the-scenes action. Previously, G2E organizers even banned general filming for more than a decade. 

But as gambling becomes more socially accepted in the U.S., and online slots streamers like xQc hit the headlines, the business is waking up to their popularity. 

2022 was the first year that G2E organizers created a pass for content creators. Some 48 social media figures attended that year. This year, the 2024 edition has seen around 125 passes in this category – a rise of 125%. 

Gambling Streams 

Gambling streams are extremely popular. Especially prominent are those who can afford to reinvest their incomes, or get sponsorships, to play high-stakes games. 

Plenty of people like to watch other people wager an average monthly wage on a single slot spin, or tens of thousands on a blackjack hand, as it hits levels of risk most could never be comfortable with or afford. And even if it’s not something people want to watch regularly, clips of big wins or unlucky losses still often capture enough interest to go viral on TikTok or Instagram.

Streamers like xQc, Trainwreck, or Adin Ross, and YouTubers like Christopher Slots or Lady Luck HQ, have all made big money careers from gambling online or at live casinos in front of their hundreds of thousands of fans. 

In 2023, Christopher Slots signed a partnership deal with Las Vegas-based BetMGM, and has had slots made by other companies featuring his face. 

The popularity even partly led to a whole new streaming platform being created. When popular platform Twitch cracked down on gambling streams in 2022, the owners of massive cryptocurrency casino Stake.com decided to start their own streaming site that would allow gambling. Coincidentally, a fair amount of that gambling was on Stake.com anyway.

Kick started off slow, but now competes quite well with Twitch, and has tens of millions of users and many very high-profile streamers. 

Elsewhere at G2E

Back to G2E, and event organizers have somewhat embraced influencer marketing this year. The Venetian Expo Hall floor has a new dedicated content zone where the invited influencers can mingle, network, edit, and produce their content around the event.

Las Vegas-based slot manufacturer AGS even organized a G2E influencer livestream on the casino floor of the Venetian, where four slots YouTubers gathered to play AGS’ most recently released games. 

“This is the side that I think has come a long way in a very short period of time,” said AGS Chief Marketing Officer Julia Boguslawski, speaking to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“When we first started doing this four years ago, we only had a handful of operators that would allow filming. Fast forward to today, so many of them are understanding we not only have to embrace it, we should be actually having an event with these guys, having them on our floor.”

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