Sheldon Adelson, CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, has expressed his distaste for real money internet gaming at the G2E Global Gaming Expo, one of the most important events in the iGaming industry. He considers that there is no reason for such an outlet to be present in the pockets of all American citizens. Adelson has stated that there is no way to know one’s customer over the internet. He imagined a situation in which a person of legal age signed on a smartphone or a tablet to play the game online, and passed the device to an underage person not legally allowed to involve in such activities. (Not that such a scenario was very likely, if you ask me.)
During his speech, Adelson covered issues like the increasingly popular gaming destination Macau, and the problems operators have in New Jersey. The exposure of his views was rewarded with a scattered applause from his audience of stakeholders and members of the gaming industry.
Adelson, considered a polarizing figure, has been quite expressive for his distaste for the online gaming industry, and his desire for the US government to ban it completely. His critics consider, though, that he sees online gaming as a serious competition for the branch of the industry he is involved in: resorts and brick-and-mortar establishments offering players real money games. Not that he would confirm such accusations – he says that the main reason behind this sentiment is his father’s problem with gaming, that he wouldn’t have any other families suffer. (Again, an interesting point from a man involved so deeply in real money gaming, if you ask me).
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The G2E Global Gaming Expo, taking place at Alderson’s Sands Expo and Convention Center, is attracting over 25,000 persons involved one way or another in the real money gaming industry, both online and in real life. It is considered the most important such event of the world.