While COVID-19 has launched the era of the Zoom conference, the Casino eSports Conference (CEC) will feel like participating in a video game with a greater ability to network.
The “next-generation 3D networking and sales conference” will be hosted by Ben and Ari Fox, who launched the CEC in 2017, and held Sept. 29-30. An in-person conference scheduled for June at Luxor Las Vegas and later moved to September will now be online, but the Fox brothers wanted an experience that would be the same as if you were there in person. With specialized 3D technology, it’s limited to 500 people and expected to draw participants from around the world to hear the latest trends in esports and the casino industry’s ability to incorporate and monetize it.
“We’re bringing an experience people have never had online before with a more personal feel,” Ben Fox said. “That’s what we’re about — bringing this new technology, as well as esports, that’s relevant to gaming online. We’re practicing what we preach.”
People can wander the hall in avatar form, see the LinkedIn contact information of others in the room and approach for a text or video chat. Booths will be staffed with sales reps, along video and informational material available 24/7.
Panel discussions will cover a range of topics, from investment, skill-based games, legal, and technology to hosting, monetizing and other topics. Attendees can ask questions and participate in the video discussions. There will even be fun time, with the ability to play games, and even a social setting where the avatars can get a drink and dance.
“It’s an immersive experience,” Ben Fox said. “You have an avatar and walk through a convention hall and by booths. You don’t have to pay for plane travel or hotels. You don’t have to worry about getting sick. It’s not virtual, but 3-dimensional. It’s not like what everyone else is doing with Zoom calls and going online to listen to someone talk. That’s not the same person-to-person experience that you’ll get at our 3-D event.”
Attending the online event will be like playing in a video game; you’ll create your avatar and become a cartoon character inside the video world.
“That’s really what the whole conference is about,” Fox said. “You’re in a video game, walking through and talking to people at a booth that has a video you can click and play. You also can talk to people manning the booths. It’s so much like a real event, the closest thing to being there. You’ll bump into people you know as if you’re at a regular event. You’ll see their name floating above their head. You’ll go up and talk to them. You can put on your camera and speaker and have private conversations with each person you meet up with.”
The panels will be similar to what people do in virtual conferences, the difference being the ability to raise your hand and ask questions during a session, Fox said.
Attendees can gather one another’s information instantaneously by clicking on their profile and what company they’re from by connecting to their LinkedIn page.
“It’s not like having to search through all these names, find where their LinkedIn profile is, connect to them, create a conversation and talk to them offline,” Fox said. “It’s the same as a physical event. You’re there. It’s 24/7 in a global world with people manning their booths. It may be three in the morning in the U.S., but 3 p.m. somewhere else.”
Betting on esports has taken up some of the slack of the lack of sports-betting opportunities, with American team sports shut down for more than four months due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, Fox said, “For us, our world hasn’t changed. It’s gotten bigger, because more people are pushing toward the esports world, which in essence is already a remote activity. We stand a better chance during COVID, hurricanes and any disaster as long as there’s the Internet. It’s better than anything that’s out there. People should be knocking down our doors figuring out how to create some revenue from this.
“The problem is that no operators are doing this right now, because they’re in survival mode. That’s a challenge, but they still have to look toward the future in case something like this happens again. If these people were set up with esports programs and video gaming online, they’d be picking up an enormous population and money that’s already out there — people wagering on and playing esports. It’s way bigger than anything else right now, and it’s something they never have to abandon.”
Fox said the casino industry can monetize esports like it does igaming. People can put money into a pool and have subscriptions similar to online poker, and skill-based games can be running as well to engage a new audience with games relevant to them, he added.
“It’s a future revenue generator and business concept,” Fox said. “They have to do it. They just don’t know what they’re doing yet and why they need to participate in what we’re doing. It’s important to start thinking about it.”
Tickets start at $179 per person with group rates of four, eight and 10. The conference starts on Sept. 28 with an orientation on functionality. For more information, visit the conference website.
