The total compares to the 36,000 who attended ICE 2020 – the last edition of ICE pre-pandemic – and the 24,000 who participated in the scaled down edition of the show which was staged April 2022.
Stuart Hunter, Managing Director of Clarion Gaming stated: “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.”
He added: “From a sector perspective we know that 50% of ICE 2023 attendees operate in both land-based and online with 50% online only. Casino and Games was the primary area of operation for 20,000 attendees, with 13,000 focussed on Sports Betting".
The growing importance of Payments was evident with 5,000 attendees citing it as their main focus and reason for attending. Additional stand-outs include an overwhelmingly positive response to ICE VOX which sold-out for the first time.
"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”, concluded Hunter.
Source: GMB
