Ampersand, Clarion Gaming’s free to join research and knowledge sharing initiative for professionals working in the global industry, will hold its last Assembly prior to ICE London when it meets on Wednesday 30 October in the UK capital. The London Assembly follows a highly successful meeting prior to G2E in Las Vegas when over 70 Ampersand members discussed 33 strategic business topics using the Open Space format where participants create and manage the agenda.  With the five themes of Strategy, Cooperation, Reputation, Technology and Consumer - the Ampersand Assembly London will bring together key European based decision-makers to brainstorm the overarching objective of how to ensure the industry’s growth.

“Ampersand was launched to encourage free-flowing, open conversations and to brainstorm how to address the stand out challenges and opportunities the industry faces”  stated Ewa Bakun, Clarion Gaming’s Director of Industry Insight and Engagement.  “The Open Space technique has been used successfully in the Ampersand Assemblies as it's controlled by the participants which bring to the fore the issues that really matter to them.  The format is intrinsically democratic with participants deciding the topics they want to discuss and then voting on the ones they deem the most important. 

“In Vegas the three topics voted by the participants were, firstly: Investments in early stage gaming companies and how to bring new ideas into the industry perhaps through the creation of a new ecosystem.  The second topic related to the challenge facing land-based casinos in terms of attracting younger consumers who may be put off by the traditional casino floor proposition and the third topic was how the industry could utilise regulated sports betting to entice bettors away from black market operators.”

She continued: “The feedback that we get from Ampersand and the Ampersand Assemblies in particular, ensure that we are in touch with the real issues impacting all of our gaming verticals which in turn means that we keep content fresh and relevant across all of our brands not least the forthcoming ICE London/ICE VOX.  The outcomes of both Ampersand Assemblies in Las Vegas and London will be shared with the teams working across all of the Clarion Gaming brands.  The October 30 meeting will be followed by our biggest gathering of the year which takes place at ICE London in February 2020.”

Ampersand members receive a number of important benefits including access to exclusive Ampersand drinks receptions which are held alongside Clarion Gaming's global shows, entry to Ampersand Lounges at the ICE and iGB events and invitations to participate in the Ampersand Assemblies. Twice a year, Ampersand surveys its global membership base to gather intelligence on the biggest challenges in gaming. Results are then independently analysed and delivered in authoritative Ampersand State-of-Play Reports packed with business critical insights.