More than 25,000 attendees flocked to London’s ExCeL Centre for the ICE Show.
More than 25,000 attendees flocked to London’s ExCeL Centre for the ICE Show.
ICE Totally Gaming 2015 drew more than 25,000 visitors to the London show in early February, breaking its 2014 record by 8 percent, according to interim figures released by the show’s organizers. The interim figures, which are subject to a final independent audit, show that ICE 2015 drew a total of 25,386 unique attendees.
It marked the sixth consecutive year of growth for ICE, which is considered the world’s largest business-to-business gaming event, according to the release from Clarion Events, organizers of the show.
“This was the best event that I have been involved with in my 25-year career in the exhibitions sector,” Clarion Events Portfolio Director Kate Chambers said in a news release. “The opening day set the standard with some 18,000 visitors coming through the doors at ExCeL. The enthusiasm for ICE was evident across the board from exhibitors and visitors alike. There’s no doubt that the industry has created a winning formula with ICE proving the ideal showcase for international gaming in all of its guises.”
Novomatic, one of the original exhibitors at the first ICE held more than two decades ago and had the largest gaming stand among the 512 exhibitors this year, was upbeat about the event.
“The last three days have been exceptional and the best that I have experienced since the outset of what is now not only the biggest show in the world statistically, but also the best,” said David Orrick, director of communications and business development at Novomatic’s parent company Austrian Gaming Industries. “The number and quality of visitors has been very, very good and our entire team is energized and enthused as a result of the interactions they have had at this show.”
One of the unique events at this year’s ICE was Pitch ICE, a free competition that allowed new businesses to present their ideas in front of a live audience.
“The concept was to use ICE as a platform for entrepreneurs to pitch live and direct to attendees and we have been receiving some great feedback from all of the industry,” said Chris North, chief executive officer of GamCrowd, which staged Pitch ICE. “Thanks again to Clarion for this opportunity and having the vision to give this vital, but sometimes forgotten, area of the gambling industry such a fantastic platform. We are looking forward to working with Clarion in 2015 and beyond and making Pitch ICE bigger and better next year.”
Wendy Collins, from Sporting Savvy, one of the Pitch ICE participating companies, was thankful for the opportunity to pitch at ICE. “We received an excellent response and have had lots of interest from potential partners and hope to use the opportunity to kickstart our activities at Sporting Savvy.”
ICE also earned high marks from the Racing Post, which once again hosted the international betting sector. “ICE simply delivers on every level,” Racing Post’s Jim Cremin said. “Quality visitors from all over the world, exchanges of ideas, plus simple fun. It’s all about professional business done with style. There’s nothing else even close to it, and this year’s was the best yet.”
Another unique fact about ICE Totally Gaming is the international scope of the show.
Exhibitors represented a record total of 60 sovereign states and self-governing territories. The record number was three more than the previous record set at the 2014 event, organizers said.
In addition to the United Kingdom, the list of represented nations and self-governing territories includes Malta, the United States, Italy, Germany, Austria, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, Israel, Slovenia, Taiwan, Isle of Man, Spain, Netherlands, South Korea, Czech Republic, Netherlands Antilles, Cyprus, France, Russia, Sweden, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Poland, Canada, China, Denmark, Alderney, Australia, Belgium, Belize, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Macedonia, Panama, Romania, Seychelles, Slovakia, South Africa, Switzerland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Croatia, Guernsey, Japan, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Philippines, Serbia, Ukraine, Uruguay and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“ICE is in the fantastic position of having not just the most international community of visitors in gaming but also the most international show floor,” Chambers said in a news release. “This means that when you attend ICE you will discover the latest product innovations and services from the entire gaming world. It’s a win/win situation with exhibitors having the one key opportunity of the year to connect with such a truly international audience of buyers.”
Yet another record was set at ICE as 100 international gaming regulators were expected to attend the 2015 event.
Jo Mayer, marketing director for ICE, said the attendance of so many gaming regulators is a major endorsement of the show. “The really stand-out industry events attract a broad cross section of stakeholders and ICE as the lead B2B event in gaming is no exception,” she said in a news release.
ICE played host to the largest number of trade association and representative bodies, the largest gathering of gaming media and the largest number of gaming regulators all gathered at a single event.
“Our job is to host the regulators at our dedicated regulators luncheon, provide a professional forum for informed discussion and debate through our ICE Conference program, demonstrate the world of gaming at its very best on the ICE show floor and in the process create a more positive and productive image of the industry with its regulators. We are delighted to once again have the support of lead associations including IAGA, IAGR, ECA, NCF and WLA for these initiatives.”
Regulators came from many international jurisdictions, including Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Channel Islands, Denmark, Finland, France, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Malta, Jamaica, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States.