at specific markets where the mix can, and should, tilt further toward operators.


Top of the list is the UK. A post-move dip from London to Barcelona was expected, but the strong 2025 reception gives confidence to win back UK operators, especially iGaming, who sat out the first Barcelona edition. Spain remains a priority too: not just more national attendance, but deeper penetration into street/retail gaming so those segments feel the show is programmed for them. LATAM is the most aggressive push, with Brazil repeatedly flagged by exhibitors as the one market they want better represented. Outreach will target operators, regulators, and partners in equal measure. Continental Europe rounds out the list, with Central & Eastern Europe, particularly Poland and Ukraine, identified for more cut-through as regulation and market structures evolve.


A separate thread targets regulators and legislators. Te organisers are frank: the future they want to enable is regulated, sustainable growth; the way to help the industry fight illegal markets is to get the right public-sector voices in the same rooms as operators and suppliers. Expect more curated invitations, formats and content designed to convert attendance into practical policy exchange. Overall, the attendance objective for 2026 is 65,000 verified visitors, with


segment-level targets tuned to those priorities. Two brand-building arcs run alongside the commercial work. Te first is a set of marquee partnerships and experiences meant to signal where the industry is heading and to make the week feel ‘festivalised’ without losing its B2B core. A major non-endemic tech brand tie-up is in flight (to be named once NDAs lift), and consumer-lifestyle activations are being added, think a daily late-afternoon ‘gin hour,’ more theatrical show moments, and premium transfers that extend the show experience beyond the halls. Te second arc is the ICE Research Institute: a legacy project born from the Barcelona move and built with Fira Barcelona to leave something more durable than a three-day spike in hotel bookings. Grants of €50-70k per project are awarded annually, with a clear bias to prevention and sustainability (not treatment), and with Catalan/Spanish academic leadership encouraged but international collaboration welcomed.


Overall, the 2026 marketing brief is to protect the show’s buyer density while rebalancing geography (UK, Spain’s street sector, Brazil/LATAM, CEE), to make regulators central to the week rather than an add-on, and to use both headline partnerships and the Research Institute to signal that Barcelona isn’t just a bigger venue, it’s a platform for a more mature, regulated, and technology-literate industry.


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