ICE Could Make Three Year Move To April To Avoid COVID
According to sources close to Clarion Gaming the companies flagship event ICE is considering a three year move away from its traditional date in late January early February to avoid the continuing impact COVID has on their exhibition.
On Friday last week Stuart Hunter the Managing Director of Clarion Gaming announced that the 2022 show was postponed and a date possibly in late April will be announced shortly.
However the iGaming Post has learnt that the date Clarion are looking at is the 19th to 21st April is unpopular with many major exhibitors being just after the Easter break.
Clarion made the decision to postpone the February expo after many large exhibitors threatened to boycott ICE leaving large parts of the ExCel empty and possible legal action by those exhibitors not going.
Clarion Gaming has always had the luxury of the start of year date but with the outbreak of COVID Winter has now become a very dangerous time to hold a major exhibition like ICE, indeed one gaming consultant who did not want to be named said, “Clarion were very luck to hold the 2020 ICE Expo just before COVID closed down most of the World, but 2021 and now 2022 has severely damaged the company and as such are considering a move into late Spring for at least three years to avoid any more disruption.”
But getting all the major exhibitors on board such as Novomatic, Aristocrat, IGT and Scientific Games is proving hugely difficult according to word coming out of the company.
According to sources at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine a well respected research body, it is thought that the continued impact of COVID could last for several years with new variants springing up each winter until health organisations are able to find a lasting and effective vaccine against COVID and its variants.
To this Clarion Gaming are now seriously looking at a move away from their traditional dates to late Spring IF their major exhibitors agree or it could spell the end of one of the biggest exhibitions for the gaming industry.
