Indian Gaming Association celebrates Anaheim tradeshow success, gears up for San Diego 2025

The Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention and DigitalPlay Summit (DPS) closed its doors in April having seen the busiest show floor in Anaheim, California yet. This year's event saw a major increase in attendance, with over 7,000 industry delegates, surpassing the 2022 figures for the same location.

The robust participation of operators and tribal leaders signals strong anticipation for the 2025 event in San Diego, California, where iGaming is expected to be a central focus, according to its organizers.

The 2024 event introduced the DPS, offering attendees insights into the burgeoning fields of iGaming and sports betting. Leading industry stakeholders, including IGT, Everi, Konami, Playtech, Chalkline, Continent 8, GBank, DraftKings, and FanDuel, were participants among the 400 exhibitors.

Marcus Yoder, Chief Commercial Officer, Playtech USA, said: "It's a pivotal time for iGaming and sports betting in the US. The conversations we were able to have at DPS with tribal leaders were critical to building the future."

Education was another key focus across the two days with the event's most comprehensive seminar program yet. Taking the DPS' inaugural narrative into the seminar rooms, online casino and sports betting deep-dives were strengthened by a series of sessions examining technologies such as AI and how they can maintain tribal government gaming's growth.

Another first was the Sustainable Gambling Zone (SGZ), which provided a focal point for the industry's drive to share best practices and the latest innovations in operating sustainably.

With recent years perforated by challenges concerning the future of sports betting, the 2024 event was dominated by positive talk of the growth potential brought by cutting-edge technology and its deployment across the wider tribal gaming sector, boding well for the ever-present future introduction of iGaming.

Gavin Knapp, Senior Director of Sales and BD at Light & Wonder, said: "iGaming is coming. It's not a matter of if, but when, which is why the content covered at DPS was critical. Tribal markets are vastly important and are a natural extension to the iGaming ecosystem."

Feedback from exhibitors and visitors heralded the evolution of event space that showcased dedicated solutions to pressing issues and trending topics in the industry, organizers highlighted in a press statement.

The 2025 Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention, taking place March 31 – April 3 in San Diego, California, will once again include the DigitalPlay Summit and SGZ.

Ernest Stevens, Jr, Indian Gaming Association Chairman, said: "It's clear from the vast majority of the conversations held in Anaheim that we're more aligned than ever on the way forward and the manner in which we're going to get there together.

"Tribal government gaming leads the industry in its passion and responsibility to build and evolve a sustainable gaming infrastructure – giving back to and supporting local communities and future generations. Our annual event provides the perfect platform for sharing that passion and the insight that drives it. I know that next year's gathering in San Diego will continue in that same collaborative vein and urge everyone who shares our vision to mark it in their calendar."