ICE Totally Gaming is one of my favorite gaming industry events of the year. It serves as the perfect opportunity to get oriented with the latest innovations, the most popular products, the hottest issues and to see what’s cooking with the industry’s biggest players.
All my senses are on full blast when I attend ICE as my job on the floor is to scope out the most visually appealing aspects of the show, speak with as many influencers as possible and pick up more industry knowledge at the sessions.
For this week’s column I will share with the world what I enjoyed most at ICE over the course of the three days I was roaming the ExCeL. Unfortunately there is only so much one person can cover at an event as large as ICE, so I’m sure there is plenty I unintentionally missed. If you have anything to add about what you or anyone else loved at ICE, please feel free to do so in the comments section below.
Bridging the gap between land based and online
I appreciate how ICE provides the first opportunity of the year for the land based and the online sides of the industry to get together under one roof. This year at ICE the overlap between the two sides of the industry was more noticeable than ever, with less of a separation between “iGaming” booths and the rest. The expo floor was more integrated this year and a number of booths have started showcasing both retail and iGaming solutions. Even at Fire and Ice we saw professionals from the land based side booking tables and mingling with the crowds.
Reps from the iGaming industry saw a lot of value this year (and in years previous) in coming to check out the technology and games on display at the larger land based suppliers at ICE. What’s also true is the land based companies are looking to get online via social and the lotteries are looking to get online to increase distribution, so its a two way street when it comes to learning from each other at ICE.
The overlap between land based and online was also apparent within the sessions- take regulation in emerging markets, for example- most of these markets require a partnership with a land based casino in order to legally operate an online site.
Focus on Start-Ups
New this year at ICE was a heavy focus on start-up companies. I loved hearing about and meeting the masterminds behind these new companies; the energy is contagious and the innovation surrounding start-ups is an important part of the gambling industry ecosystem.
Pitch ICE took place for the first time this year at ICE, an initiative organized by Chris North of GamCrowd to provide industry start-ups with exposure and guidance before, during and after ICE. For the first two days of ICE, 19 start-up companies delivered 15 minute pitches at the Pitch ICE stand and now the industry has an opportunity to vote on their favorite start-up at the GamCrowd website. While this project was (and still is) a lot of work for GamCrowd, I think it served a great purpose and will help motivate our industry to keep on innovating.
Also new this year was the 101 Start-up Clinic, a workshop organized by Igor Samardziski of NEXUS Gaming Intelligence. The clinic was designed to educate land based companies, start-ups and other businesses on how to enter the online gambling space. Five two hour clinics with 16 seats each were arranged during ICE at the NEXUS booth and all five sessions were packed.
I think its features like these are essential for the growth of our industry and make ICE so much more than just a big expo floor full of booths.
Announcements & Reveals
Each year at ICE you can count on exclusive announcements and reveals and this year there were two that caught my attention.
On the first day of ICE, Net Ent revealed its latest slot brand innovation, the globally recognized rock band Guns ‘N Roses. The best part about this reveal was the celebration taking place at the Net Ent booth with Guns ‘N Roses music blaring, memorabilia on display such as an electric guitar signed by Slash and the distribution of GNR Greatest Hits CDs and branded iPhone cases to everyone in the crowd. Net Ent CEO Per Eriksson confirmed this is the first time the Guns ‘N Roses brand has been licensed out in this fashion and he is incredibly proud of his team for securing the rights to such a powerful, globally recognized brand.
On the second day of ICE, Angelo Dalli of Bit8 and Antonius Kerastaris of Intralot announced their commercial and strategic partnership. Intralot has acquired a minority stake in Bit8, an online gambling platform using artificial intelligence to minimize manual labor and increase client revenues. Intralot will also integrate Bit8’s platform into its own family of sites, meaning Bit8 will have a presence in more than fifty countries around the world, a big step forward for our friends at Bit8.
Growth of Bitcoin
For the second year in a row, ICE hosted a “Bitcoin and Crytpo Currencies” seminar and once again attracted a healthy crowd. Bitcoin industry giants such as BitPay were at ICE this year for the first time, meeting with operators to discuss how integrating Bitcoin into their systems can benefit their business. While walking around the expo floor I noticed a couple of booths displaying their involvement with Bitcoin and while its nothing to get too excited about just yet, its clear Bitcoin has grown in its presence from last year.
Clever booths
Last but not least, you can always expect to find clever booths and other promotions taking place around the expo floor at ICE. While there were many spectacular booths on display at the event, there are three in particular I would like to mention.
This year Microgaming hit a home run with their Game of Thrones online slot promotion. Delegates were invited to get their picture taken sitting in a chair with a green screen behind them and the print out replaced the background with the “Iron Throne”. The promo set-up itself was eye catching and literally stopped people in their tracks, plus those who had their picture taken were parading around the conference showing it off (myself included).
In order to compliment their sports betting products, Credorax invited ex-footballer Paul Merson and football freestyler Dan Magness to their booth. As an American, footballers don’t have the effect on me as they do on the rest of the world, but I don’t care what planet you’re from, watching Dan Magness do his thing was absolutely awesome. This man can do things with a soccer ball that you have to see to believe, plus he’s friendly and media savvy, so thank you Credorax for entertaining your guests and passers-by.
Here’s a promotion I actually missed at ICE, but the pictures I’ve seen are great and I love the idea. Global Bet presented their virtual sports betting platform at ICE, including the first Virtual Camel Race, so what better way to show the world than with a real, live camel at the conference? There is no better way and that’s exactly what they did- I can’t believe I missed it.
