SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
ICE London upped its attendance numbers by 4,000 this year, as a total of 40,000 ‘unique attendees’ visited the event at the ExCel centre last week.
This is a record figure for the betting and gaming trade show, up from 36,000 in 2020 and 24,000 who attended the ‘scaled down’ post-pandemic edition in April 2022.
Stuart Hunter, Clarion Gaming Managing Director, said: “It’s very important to stress that the data is subject to independent verification however we are confident that ICE has broken through the 40,000 high point and in the process set a new attendance record for a show which in its original format dates back to the 1930’s.
“Furthermore, the number of visitor days which measures return visits, stands at 79,000. Clearly these are really significant numbers and I believe they reflect the huge importance and value that visitors attach to their ICE experience.”
Hunter explained that 50% of attendees worked in both land-based online gambling, whilst the remaining 50% operated in the online space only.
Additionally, casino and gaming business figures were the clear dominant group at the event, accounting for 20,000 attendees, whilst 13,000 worked in sports betting.
He did, however, also observe that ‘the growing importance of payments’ was showcased at ICE 23, as 5,000 attendees cited this as their main reason for visiting the event.
“Additional stand-outs include an overwhelmingly positive response to ICE VOX which sold-out for the first time,” Hunter added.
“2024 will see further expansion of this important area to facilitate increased content and capacity. Significantly more than 80% of available stand space for the 2024 edition was re-booked by 16.00hrs on Thursday.”
ICE concluded as Clarion moves ahead with plans to potentially relocate the event, sizing up the cities of Barcelona, Madrid and Paris as possible new locations.
