The Bulgarian gaming provider issued a statement that announced cancellation plans due to “health risks and unfavourable allocation of dates,” and explained that taking part in the event would “carry a lot of risks.”
The EGT statement read: "The spread of Omicron is still a major issue across the UK and Europe, and it is severely restricting EGT from participating in the event.
"Additionally, the new pre-planned dates for the event are inconvenient as they coincide with the start of the Catholic Easter holiday period, which will further limit the number of participating companies and attendees.”
Nadia Popova, Chief Revenue Officer and VP of Sales and Marketing at EGT, commented: “ICE London is an industry-leading exhibition and one of the most important events for EGT as a European-based company.
“We value our partnering relationship with the organisers and are looking forward to next year’s edition of the London Expo with the firm belief that ICE will once again be a bastion to celebrate technological developments in the gaming industry.”
Clarion Gaming, the host of the event, took the decision to postpone ICE London from its usual February dates to April, due to concerns over the new Covid variant spread.
For various reasons, numerous other companies have withdrawn, including Merkur Gaming, Novomatic, Zitro and TCS John Huxley. More companies, including Abbiati Casino Equipment and R Franco Group, have also since cancelled their participation.
However, ICE organiser Clarion has signed-up 15 new exhibitors in less than two weeks and 74% of industry professionals that pre-registered for the event have already confirmed their participation.
It is quite clear that the majority of those pulling out are from the land-based industry, while the thriving iGaming sector seems prepared to attend en masse – perhaps barring a few exceptions.
