Editors Letter

It is that time of the year again: network time, pitch time, partnership time and maybe even M&A time. I'll stop short of saying party time á la Joey Tribbiani. Although, I'm sure plenty of our readers will grace the industry networking scene at G2E Las Vegas - or any other show you're attending over the next few months.

With so much of our sector heading to Las Vegas for the trade show, there is of course a much larger migration to Las Vegas and the wider North American market in progress, on an industry-wide scale. That's why our main theme for the September/October edition is Coming to America, addressing this migration from a 360-degree viewpoint: the supply side, the operator view and the affiliate take.

On our cover, Interblock Global CEO John Connelly is symbolically welcoming you to G2E and the American market. In our exclusive interview with the industry veteran, he talks us through how Interblock went from a European table game supplier to a global company with a US hub. Joining him are suppliers Yggdrasil, BetConstruct, Relax Gaming and Kambi, operators Betfred and Kindred Group, consultancy Fast Offshore and affiliate BestOdds.

It's a wide-reaching topic, so we've provided as comprehensive an outlook as we can on the European firms looking to tackle the North American market in the coming months and years: how the market will pan out, the pitfalls to avoid and more.

Earlier in the magazine, we celebrate the winners of our inaugural Global Gaming Awards Asia, with the Global Gaming Awards Las Vegas also set to take place during G2E week. Asia's growth is not lost on this particular Editor so, while we have a heavy US focus in this issue, expect more on the Asia-Pacific region in the November/December edition of the magazine.

Elsewhere in the issue, I'd like to single out industry experts Gustaf Hoffstedt and Alex Czajkowski for their best articles yet; the former arguing against state-run gambling companies, the latter arguing in favour of penny slots in Las Vegas.

Dr Joerg Hofmann rounds off the magazine in our Final Word section with - a hopefully promising in the long term – regulatory update in Germany. We also have a Product Review section packed with land-based offerings, and a UK horseracing section featuring industry veterans Lee Richardson and Clive Cottrell. While we hope you enjoy G2E, we know you'll enjoy reading!