Top regulators from major gaming states will identify the challenges and outline their plans to guide the industry through a period of significant change at the 29th Annual East Coast Gaming Congress, to be held 14-15 April 2026, at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Atlantic City.
With the 2026 theme Gaming in Transition, ECGC – the longest-running gaming conference in the country – will help explore the future of gaming with experienced speakers who understand the forces reshaping the landscape. The panel Gaming Regulation in Transition: Charting a New Course in a Changing Future will examine key issues including emerging gaming verticals, evolving licensure standards, and an influx of new applicants.
“The entire history of legal gaming in the United States is a story of adapting and responding to everything from emerging technologies to political challenges,” noted conference co-founder and Cooper Levenson CEO Lloyd D. Levenson. “This panel is particularly well suited to build on the past and create that new future.”
Conference co-founder and Spectrum Gaming Group Senior Policy Advisor Michael Pollock added, “While the conference focuses on an industry in transition, one constant remains: gaming will continue to be regulated, and these speakers are central to its past, present and future.”
Confirmed speakers are:
- Moderator: Lucas R. Levenson, Partner, Cooper Levenson
- Everett Browning, Sr., Chair, Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission
- Mary Jo Flaherty, Interim Director, New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement
- Kevin O’Toole, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
- Kurt Steinkamp, Chief of Staff, Michigan Gaming Control Board
- Alana Zimmer, Executive Director, Florida Gaming Control Commission
A distinguished group of gaming CEOs and other leaders will deliver keynote addresses at the event. Additional speakers and panel topics will be announced in coming weeks.
The entire 2026 ECGC program will tackle key issues including artificial intelligence, prediction markets, iGaming expansion, and the anticipated impact following the development of full-service casino resorts in the Downstate New York market.
ECGC will also present its Lifetime Achievement Award to the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) in recognition of its longstanding commitment to the integrity and principles of gaming licensure.
Over nearly three decades, ECGC has welcomed an unmatched roster of speakers, including six sitting, former, and acting governors of New Jersey and every CEO who has led the American Gaming Association. The 2026 conference will again offer premier opportunities for sponsorship, networking, professional development, and high-level business-to-business engagement.
