ECA Backs IGE For A Further Two Years

Clarion Gaming, the organiser of the upcoming International Gaming Expo (IGE) 2010, has announced that the European Casino Association (ECA) has officially endored the annual trade show for a further two years.

IGE 2010 will take place from January 26 to 28 at London’s Earls Court Exhibition Centre alongside the co-located Betting Show, ICEi and Amusement Trades Exhibition International (ATEI) events.

This latest deal is an extension of a previous agreement between Clarion and the ECA and will see the exhibition receive the body’s endorsement until at least 2012. The agreement will see the continuation of the ECA’s International Casino Conference, which is held at Earls Court on the eve of IGE, while both parties will co-promote and cross-market each other’s features and benefits throughout the year.

“Our partnership formally began at the 2008 show with the inaugural International Casino Conference successfully launched the following year,” said Julian Graves, Managing Director for Clarion.

“We are naturally delighted to strengthen our association with the ECA and look forward to supporting its membership through the delivery of Europe’s most comprehensive land-based casino exhibition/conference package at Earls Court over the next three years.”

The ECA represents the interests of more than 1,000 casinos and 83,000 employees in 23 countries across Europe. Founded in the early 1990s as the European Casino Forum, the ECA today includes members from the majority of the states comprising the European Union alongside Switzerland and Serbia. The body’s main purpose is to address and promote issues relating to casinos and operations and, in doing so, provide a focal point for operators as well as European Union and national policymakers and stakeholders.

“We are delighted to build on our working relationship with Europe's leading land-based gaming expo,” said Ron Goudsmit, Chairman for the ECA.

“In doing so, it allows us to further support our members and to achieve our objectives on behalf of our members throughout Europe. Both IGE and the International Casino Conference are pinnacle events for our business and we look forward to January of 2010 and beyond with renewed vigour.”