The ICE Totally Gaming show is set to receive a boost from the US Department of Justice ruling regarding gaming prohibitions.
According to Warwick Bartlett, CEO and founder of Global Betting and Gaming Consultancy, the DoJ ruling that existing gaming prohibitions were only applicable to sports betting and not other forms of gaming that could include internet poker, casino games and lotteries, is set to boost further the profile and international interest in ICE Totally Gaming, which takes place from January 24-26 at London's Earls Court.
Commenting on the likely impact of the ruling, which boosted the value of Britain's largest quoted gambling companies by almost £500m on the first day of post-Christmas trading, Bartlett said: "ICE is already the global focal point for the gambling industry and I can see its influence growing further. Following the DoJ ruling, software suppliers have been receiving inquiries from the US and I expect that this will be followed up by new entrants to the market coming to ICE to see at first hand what is on offer and what deals can be achieved.
"In spite of the global recession I would expect visitor numbers to be up this year because of the legislative changes that have taken place in Europe and what is expected to happen in the US.
"ICE comes almost a month to the day that the DoJ ruling was made public following the request for clarification sought by the New York State Lottery and the Illinois Lottery on behalf of their software supplier GTECH.
"This is an important game changer and many of the major players and main beneficiaries will either be exhibiting at ICE or walking the aisles of the exhibition. ICE is the first industry-wide opportunity to sit down, discuss the opportunities, compare suppliers and arrive at what could be some pretty significant commercial decisions. The main beneficiaries to begin with will be the state lotteries and the software suppliers to those lotteries such as Lottomatica GTECH and Playtech.
"The DoJ ruling will certainly be the hot topic of the show, closely followed by VLTs as more and more nations and states look toward the VLT market as a way to finance their budget deficits."
