Kate Chambers, Managing Director of Clarion Gaming, has placed on record her thanks to both exhibitors and visitors for their ongoing contribution to the ICE London brand at the same time as undertaking to raise standards on the show floor, specifically with regards to the representation of women in line with its commitment to diversity.
 
Reviewing the record breaking 2018 edition, which occupied 36 of the 44 halls at ExCeL London, she said: "I would like to reflect on another excellent edition of ICE London. The show floor provided a global representation of the industry, with 589 exhibitors from 65 countries producing games for every jurisdiction and every gaming vertical.  In terms of the attendance figures, our registration company undertakes a robust interrogation of the data prior to submitting the number of unique visitors for independent audit. In the week prior to ICE London, the pre-registration figures were 4% up and our initial attendance figures are showing a similar uplift, which would be the seventh consecutive year of growth."
 
She added: “Our campaign to encourage respectful representation of women began over a year ago, prior to the 2017 edition of ICE. The majority of the senior team at Clarion Gaming is female and our strategy has been to drive a cultural change, which hopefully has a degree of permanency rather than a proscriptive change.  While I think we have achieved some success adopting this strategy, moving forward we will be taking a greater degree of control over this important issue and updating our position in partnership with our stakeholders. Wherever Clarion Gaming operates in the world it does so with the support of the industry we set out to serve and we will be canvassing stakeholders through our Ampersand Think Tank and research initiative that enables us to communicate directly with the industry. Following this process, we will produce an Action Plan of deliverables for wider consultation and I would ask members of the industry who would like to be part of that process to contact me directly. The Action Plan will apply to all of our brands."
 
The ICE brand continues to deliver a raft of educational and learning opportunities for the international industry, as well as providing an important launch pad for fledgling businesses. The ICE VOX programme of paid-for content, the free-to-attend ICE Seminars and the Totally Gaming Academy taster courses were well received and well attended. ICE VOX comprised nine streams, the Totally Gaming Academy provided nine free taster courses with the seminar programme covering a broad spectrum of topical issues including a joint initiative with Global Gaming Women on the challenges of creating a diverse workforce within the gambling sector. Pitch ICE once again provided a platform for the launch of new businesses small in size but big on ideas. From bingo and horse racing to DFS and digital currencies, 17 gaming start-ups debuted their products to the wider gaming industry.