The gambling industry’s conference season has been savaged by COVID-19. Gatherings of hundreds or thousands of people right now are just unwise, and practically impossible given the precautions governments are taking. G2E Asia has already been postponed once as a result, but now TCS John Huxley is calling on Reed Exhibitions to postpone the event to an even later date.

G2E Asia 2020 was originally scheduled to take place on May 19-21 in Macau. As the gravity of our current pandemic became clear, Reed announced the event would be postponed to July 28-30, citing that the health of all attendees was their top priority, and making the decision out of an abundance of caution.

That decision seems like it was made a lifetime ago, but it was only March 3. As the pandemic continues to threaten nearly every country on the planet, TCS says that even July is too soon, as exhibitors just aren’t in a place to prepare yet. “To exhibit at a trade show takes months of painstaking meticulous preparation,” they wrote. “With so many businesses in lock down for indefinite periods along with global travel restrictions, it will take some time to re-establish normal working levels and the appetite to travel will be limited for many.

They have made these concerns known to Reed Exhibitions, but are worried that they’re screaming into a void. They note in their open letter: