ICE Barcelona helps raise €80,000 for Safer Gaming Charities

One of the leading industry events, ICE Barcelona 2026, has put sustainability, player safety, and problem gambling awareness front and center, with the hosts now raising €80,000 to support the efforts of safer gaming charities.

The grants will be awarded during a live ceremony on Monday, January 19, at 11 am. The initiative has been funded by prominent operators and sector companies, including Zitro, Acordjoc, Cirsa, Flutter, Orenes, Betsson Group, Merkur, Merkur Dosniha, BGaming, and Novomatic.

The total amount donated by volunteers since ICE 2019, when the program started, has now surpassed €462,500. The latest contributions come at an important time for ICE Barcelona’s Safer Gambling Zone, which is set to be the biggest one to date.

The SGZ will feature 27 safer gambling organizations from more than 10 countries, earning praise from ICE Portfolio Director Margaret Dunn, who had this to add:

"This is a record sum and one which reflects the central importance of player protection. The Sustainable Gambling Zone is one of the most popular features on the ICE show floor and is widely accepted as representing the flagship platform for the promotion, adoption, and advancement of safe gambling practices.

Boasting a new high-profile presence located in the main corridor between Halls 4 and 5 and a redesigned open layout, the SGZ provides attendees with a unique opportunity to explore new technology trends and engage in three days of insightful presentations, navigating the future of safer gambling and safer gambling regulation.

The relationship our industry stakeholders have with player protection goes beyond financial donations, and I am delighted that the Safer Gambling Zone will be a focus for debate, discussion, and collaboration. It’s hugely gratifying to reflect that many of the safer gambling advances players enjoy are as a result of discussions that have taken place during ICE and partnerships that have been forged at ICE."

The SGZ has elicited strong interest from multiple companies and participants this year, including a headline sponsorship from Gamecheck, a company focused on verifying the authenticity of online casino games.

Gamecheck also recently teamed up with Casino Guru to create a dedicated SEAL that can be used to instantly certify which casinos use authentic games.

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