2018 ICE London Recap: What Does the Future of Gaming Look Like?

The areas that the ICE London chose to highlight are widely perceived as the ones that everyone should be paying attention to – in other words, they reflect the future of iGaming.

ICE London

The attendees that filled the 43,500 square meters of ExCeL London, the impressive venue near the London City Airport, were promised a comprehensive three-day event, running from February 5 to 7, which brings together leading stakeholders and developers to discuss the latest trends in the gaming and gambling industry. And ICE London did deliver: those in attendance had the chance to listen to over 100 speakers in a series of tailored events that focused on different parts of the industry. The conference also brought back the popular ICE VOX event, aptly described as a 64-hour learning exchange by ICE organizers. It consists of eight tracks comprising of lectures by leading authorities inside the gaming industry and at its periphery, ranging from regulatory requirements and the International Casino Conference to Data Science to Cybercrime and Security.

It was the sixth year in a row that the event was held – and, every year, its impact seems to grow. The 2017 ICE London, in particular, made its mark, as organizers estimate that 30,213 people attended the event, from over 150 countries around the globe. More than 8,500 of them were operators and an impressive 70% stated that they would return in 2018 for the next instalment of the event series. In this B2B event, producers, operators, regulators and sponsors can network, exhibit and review products and services. New developments are revealed and new solutions launched every day of the event, while attendees also gain premium access to some of London’s top gaming venues. But most importantly, they get to stay on top of the latest news in the field.

eSports

Perhaps the single most important development that is already taking the iGaming industry by storm is the tremendous success of eSports. As the Financial Times extensively reported on November 5, 2017, out of the $100 billion that was estimated to flow into the gaming industry in 2017 as revenue, $693 million would be generated by the eSports sector – and that number is projected to rise to $1.5 billion by 2020. Asia, rather than the West, is leading the way in the genre, with South Korea and China home to most of its audience and player base.
In 2016, over 11 billion relevant videos were streamed in China, compared to 2.7 billion in North America. There are plans to integrate eSports arenas in two Las Vegas casinos and Japanese students at the Tokyo College of Anime can take courses to become officially recognised eSports commentators and professional gamers. The International eSports Federation is even pushing for the genre to be an Olympic event come 2024 – what more is there to say about the success trajectory of eSports?