Clarion Gaming: "ICE 2024 provided a perfect platform to bid farewell to London and look ahead to the opportunities at Barcelona"

As ICE bid farewell to its 12-year run at ExCeL London, the stage is set for a bold new chapter at Fira Gran Via Barcelona in 2025. The relocation brings with it expanded exhibition space, reimagined events like The World Gaming Forum, and a renewed emphasis on key markets like Latin America.

With 120,000 square meters of space and a dedicated program on Brazil’s regulatory landscape, ICE Barcelona aims to be more than an exhibition — it promises a gateway to future opportunities in the global gaming industry.

In an interview with Yogonet, Stuart Hunter, Managing Director at Clarion Gaming, the company behind ICE, reflects on ICE 2024’s final edition in London, the strategic rationale behind the move to Barcelona, and what industry stakeholders can expect from the 2025 event.

From exclusive keynote addresses by global figures like former Mexican President Vicente Fox to new features like the Association Assembly, Hunter offers a comprehensive preview of what’s next for the world’s largest gaming industry event.

What is your assessment of this year's ICE? Putting an end to the 12-year stay at ExCeL London was a major decision. Being the event's last time there, did ICE 2024 feel different from previous years?

ICE 2024 provided a perfect platform to bid a very fond farewell to London and look ahead to the fantastic opportunities offered by Barcelona. The ICE attendance of 45,050 represented a 12% year-on-year increase and the show's unique international appeal was very much in evidence with representatives travelling from 164 nations.

ICE and iGB Affiliate occupied every square millimeter of exhibition and meeting space available at ExCeL London, illustrating the importance of the ability to scale which was one of the key reasons for the relocation to Fira Gran Via Barcelona.

Our exhibitors said goodbye to London in style and I am hugely grateful to everyone in the industry for creating an experience that was full of energy, excitement, and optimism for the future.

We have seen Latin America, and Brazil in particular, grow as a major topic of interest in the industry. Do you expect this to be a major issue in 2025 as well, and will ICE feature it on its program next year? What other major topics can we expect?

In all of the extensive research that we undertake in order to identify the most important issues impacting the business, Brazil and Latin America consistently top the list.

As a consequence, ICE Barcelona will feature a program of content, discussions and C-suite networking curated specifically to meet the needs of the new regulated market in Brazil and the broader opportunities that exist in Latin America.

Visitors to ICE 2025 will have access to a three-day program dedicated to all aspects of the market in Brazil including regulation, compliance, and the adoption of new technologies including the use of biometric recognition in relation to age verification and consumer protection.

We have been working closely with colleagues and stakeholders in Latin America to ensure that ICE is on the front foot bringing together the lawmakers, regulatory bodies, thought leaders, operators, innovators and technology providers all of whom have an important role to play in developing the market infrastructure.

What else should LatAm stakeholders expect from the show?

The importance of LatAm will be evident from the very start of ICE Barcelona when Vicente Fox, the former President of Mexico, headlines the World Regulatory Briefing taking place Monday 20 January where he will address the topic of 'Regulation and Revitalisation' and the requirements needed to balance economic growth with community protection.

He will outline his business-centric approach to the development of Mexico, and why he favors casinos as a tax benefit to reduce Mexico's dependence on unpredictable oil income, and for helping to grow the local tourism industry. The keynote reflects the importance of Latin America as a leading voice in the global gambling industry and represents a major coup for ICE Barcelona.

The following day we will be staging a seminar that will cover the very latest business-critical information on the Brazilian market which will be supplemented by sessions focussed on Latin America. On the closing day, the LatAm sessions will address the key issue of responsible gambling including the ground-breaking use of biometrics which will be of huge interest to regulators and operators from throughout the world.

By attending ICE Barcelona, gaming industry professionals will be able to connect with the main players, learn everything they need to know about doing business in Latin America and find the right organizations to collaborate with. For anyone with an interest in Latin America and in particular the Brazilian iGaming market, ICE Barcelona is undoubtedly the place to be.

Looking to ICE 2025, what should the gambling industry expect from next year's edition, being the inaugural expo in Barcelona? Are there any new plans or announcements you can share with us?

First of all, there's the physical size of the event. The 2025 show will comprise 120,000 square meters (sqm) compared to the 100,000 sqm at ICE 2024 and whilst we could have filled much more space that's available in Barcelona, our strategy is to expand the physical size of the show but only in parallel with a proportionate uplift in attendance.  

The relocation to Fira Gran Via Barcelona has provided us with opportunities to add new features and enhance existing ones. The first ICE 'Association Assembly' has been created to enable trade bodies to promote their values and create new opportunities for the gaming community across every sector and geography. It has been welcomed by leading bodies including both the Brussels-based European Casino Association (ECA) and the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM), the global trade association for gaming equipment suppliers which has its primary headquarters in Las Vegas.

We have rebranded what was previously ICE VOX which will now be known as The World Gaming Forum (WGF).  The name more accurately reflects the credentials of our industry-leading brands comprising the World Regulatory Briefing, the new Casino & Leaders Conference (formerly the ICC), and the new Esports & Games Conference - formerly the Esports Betting Conference.

The enhanced ICE World Gaming Forum will deliver exclusive connections and content, in-depth workshops, high-level roundtable discussions, and tailored networking events, providing a home for the industry's thought-leaders, innovators, challengers and policy makers. The ICE World Gaming Forum will run Monday 20th – Wednesday 22nd January 2025 alongside ICE and iGB Affiliate.

It will be situated at the heart of the Fira Gran Via Barcelona and feature an exclusive club-style VIP lounge for delegates and speakers, a dedicated networking garden, and access to a range of concierge services, including early access to the show. I am confident that we will be able to build on the success of the 2024 Program which succeeded in bringing together over 1,210 senior decision makers from 79 countries, including 621 operator C-Level, 87 global CEOs, 72 national and regional regulatory bodies, and 7 government ministers.

The creation of the Consumer Protection Zone in 2018 has been described by Pedro Romero of BetBlocker, our charity partner for 2025, as being 'a pivotal moment for the industry.' It signaled a shift towards prioritizing player well-being and set a benchmark for other events and stakeholders to integrate safer gambling discussions into the heart of the gaming agenda.

The rebranding to the Sustainable Gambling Zone reflects the importance of early interaction with customers. By focusing on the identification of potential risks earlier in the player journey, harm can be prevented before it escalates. This approach aligns with a widely held philosophy to empower individuals to make informed decisions, promoting autonomy, and encouraging healthier behaviours.

ICE was recently described in trade media as being the most important gaming event on the 'planet' and I believe that the show will live-up to that accolade when we welcome the world industry to our new Barcelona home in January. Some industry events place a strong emphasis on the past but for ICE the focus is unequivocally on the future.