Gambling events organizer GAT seeks to stand out in 2024 and announces details for its four tradeshows

The organization Gaming & Technology Expo (GAT Events) is preparing for a year in which it intends to “stand out” and become “the axis of the Latin American gaming boom”.

This decision to expand the scope of action and influence of GAT Events in Latin America is evidenced by a series of modifications in the calendar and locations, as well as with new commercial and trade alliances that the company detailed through a press release.

GAT Expo Cartagena: “A guaranteed success”

• April 9, 10 and 11, Las Americas Convention Center, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.

With less than three months to go before GAT Expo Cartagena, the organizing team reported that it is working “24/7” to coordinate every detail of this annual large-format trade show.

The exhibition site will celebrate with the Gaming & Technology Expo organization, speakers, personalities, authorities, and special guests the expo’s 25 years of existence, sharing with attendees a representative sample of the music, folklore, and gastronomy of the region. The event boasts three days of intense commercial activity and a curated academic agenda.

The anticipated success announced by the event’s organizers is supported by the list of sponsors and exhibitors who, after the 2023 fair, promptly came to book their participation in Cartagena this year. Among the sponsors are Premium Sponsor Pragmatic Play; Platinum Sponsors Novomatic, Evolution, BetConstruct; and the Sponsors Altenar, and Wa Technology.

As for exhibitors, Mer Design, Win Systems, Novomatic, IGT, IGC, Gambee, EGT, Zitro, R Franco, Interblock, RPCOL, BYA Group, Automated Transactions, Logifuture, Gem Solutions, Pragmatic Play, Evolution, Better Collective, Vibra Gaming, Grand View Products, Betconstruct, DS Gaming, Amusnet Interactive, Wa Technolgy, IES, Prometheus Gaming, Oklahoma, Air Dice, Payu, America Simulcast, Betconstruct, Bloko Tech, Digitain, Golden Race.

The GAT organization also highlighted that the Colombian Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism approved a Temporary Free Trade Zone (ZFT) for exhibitors interested in the temporary importation of machinery and equipment; the benefit is valid from March 4 to May 10, 2024.

José Aníbal Aguirre, CEO of GAT, commented: “In addition to our traditional partners, we are summoning the associations Asojuegos, Cornazar, Fecoljuegos and Fedelco, associations from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Peru and other friendly countries. With them we will give special luster to the academy, opening possibilities for the exchange of opinions and experiences, facing the situation of the industry from their point of view.

“Of course, we will have space for corporate conferences that will update us on the technological advances of leading brands. The program includes the participation of representatives from Coljuegos and the National Gaming Council.”

GAT Showcase Bogotá: “A winning format”

• September 6, Sheraton Bogota Hotel, Bogota, Colombia.

“Colombia has a dynamic market of supply and demand of slots and equipment for physical casinos with a sustained growth in the figures of legal operation of the game in all the national territory”, the organizers of the event emphasized.

They also pointed out that the sustained growth of land-based and online gaming in the region determines the importance of GAT Showcase Bogota in September, facilitating to traditional and new interested clients the sale and acquisition of new machines that satisfy the demands of a public loyal to legal gaming and eager for novelties in the last four-month period of the year.

The gaming industry in Colombia and Latin America has “a special and unavoidable date” at GAT Showcase Bogota, a commercial meeting that invites leading manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors of equipment for casinos, and medium and small gaming halls to book and plan their participation as exhibitors in stands, sponsors in different categories or visiting buyers. Thus, the Sheraton Bogota Hotel becomes once again an exhibition hall with the latest advances and designs in slots, roulette, and portfolios in virtual and online games.

About this edition, Aguirre said: “The showroom in Bogota has made a strong impact; its innovative and practical format with turnkey stands, catering services, and a favorable budget for exhibitors makes it very attractive.

“It is a unique day of exhibition and business for Colombian operators and foreign companies with operations or projects in the LatAm and Caribbean markets, attended by senior executives (C-Level Executives). We plan to extend the exhibition hours until 7:00 pm at the express request of the participants.”

Confirmed exhibitors include WinSystems, EGT, IGT, Interblock, Merkur, Novomatic, Amusnet and BetConstruct.

GAT Showcase Santo Domingo: Bidding farewell to Punta Cana

• September 18-19, Renaissance Santo Domingo Jaragua Hotel & Casino, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

GAT notes that the most relevant novelty is the relocation of the event, which has been held for the past three years in Punta Cana in June, to Santo Domingo in September, given the general elections in the Dominican Republic that mark a change of government in the middle of the year.

This news is complemented by the news that the Iberoamerican Corporation of State Lotteries and Gambling (Cibelae) is actively involved in GAT Showcase Santo Domingo, holding a congress with an emphasis on the situation and development of lotteries, as well as the control of illegality.

The event is supported by the Dominican Association of Gaming Casinos (ADCJ) and the National Association of Sports Banks. In addition to the CIBELAE Congress, there will be presentations on regulatory issues and market updates in the Caribbean and the Antilles.

GAT Caribe Cancun

• November 27 and 28, Cancun Center, Cancun, Mexico

For the first time, GAT will close its annual calendar in Mexico, celebrating GAT Caribe Cancun, exploring the size of the market, the opportunities offered by that nation to the gaming industry, and the boom of online gambling throughout the country, which is expected to grow by 70% in the next three years. 

“The main businessmen of the sector are betting on an in-depth reform of the rules that govern this matter in the country, which must be adapted to the conditions imposed by technology in this industry”, said Miguel Angel Ochoa, President of AIEJA, the Association of Permit Holders, Operators and Suppliers of the Entertainment and Gambling Industry in Mexico.

Within this framework, GAT Caribe Cancun arrives with the support of AIEJA, which has decided to hold its end-of-year general assembly on November 26 as an activity before the academic conferences and exhibition stands on the 27th and 28th at the Cancun Center. “The paradise-like landscape, beaches, and fun that Cancun offers will be part of the strengthening of the MICE industry that GAT promotes in Latin America”, the event’s organizers pointed out. 

Finally, the organizers of this series of events pointed out that the GAT marketing department is attending the multiple requests for commercial offers to participate in their shows in Cartagena, Bogota, Santo Domingo, and Cancun.