After the start of the new year, the gambling industry is looking forward to one of the most important events for the sector, the upcoming ICE Barcelona.
Set to take place between January 20 and January 22, 2025, the prestigious event will attract more than 55,000 gaming industry professionals from all across the globe.
This year, replacing ICE's original Consumer Protection Zone will be the Sustainable Gambling Zone.
The official launch of the designated zone was celebrated with a €65,000 charity donation.
The generous fund, which according to ICE was raised by sponsors, is expected to award safer gambling organization(s) at a presentation taking place on the first day of the upcoming ICE Barcelona.
It was seven years ago when ICE debuted its Consumer Protection Zone in a landmark move that helped establish a standard for other events as well.
This year's ICE Sustainable Gambling Zone is expected to occupy nearly 500 square meters of space, a move that reaffirms the event's dedication and focus on player protection and sustainability.
Generous contributions from recognizable companies within the gaming industry, including Flutter, Novomatic, Playtech, Novomatic Spain, Betsson Group, ALEA, Cirsa, Orenes and Acordjoc, among others, provided the vital charity funding for the 2025 ICE Sustainable Gambling Zone.
Since 2018, the aforementioned companies helped play a key role in sponsoring safer and sustainable gambling and have contributed €385 000.
Ewa Bakun, Clarion Gaming's Director of Industry Insight, spoke about the importance of the €65,000 charity fund for the launch of the official Sustainability Gambling Zone at the upcoming ICE Barcelona.
"ICE 2025 will witness the official launch of the Sustainable Gambling Zone and I am delighted that we will be able to help fund some of the powerful work being undertaken by international organizations in the field of player protection," the executive explained.
Bakun added that the funding will help different projects that are expected to bring real benefits.
Back in December, BetBlocker announced its plans to launch a Catalan version of its tool at the upcoming ICE Barcelona.
Using BetBlocker as an example, Bakun said that the company used the award from last year's event to develop the Catalan version of its tool.
In the words of Bakun: "The overarching objective of the Sustainable Gambling Zone is to be at the vanguard of initiatives to help develop healthy play from the outset of the player journey."
Finally, the executive pointed to the importance of the Sustainable Gambling Zone and its primary objective to "create a more sustainable business in which players continue to enjoy their gambling entertainment experience but where the small proportion who are at risk of developing problems are pro-actively identified and assisted by operators."
Image Credit: ICE