ICE REVIEW
Reflections from ICE Barcelona: Safer gambling stepping into the light
Walking the floor at ICE Barcelona this year, one thing felt materially different. Not louder. Not grander. Just… healthier. As ICE regular and EPIC Global Solutions representative, Craig Cornforth explains…
F
or perhaps the first time at a major industry conference, the Safer Gambling zone didn’t feel like the quieter annex or the worthy detour. It was bright, open, positive and, crucially, busy. It felt integrated rather than tolerated. That matters.
For too long, safer gambling at some of the larger conferences has been treated as the poorer cousin to commercial innovation. Important, yes, but often framed as a cost, a regulatory necessity, or something to be addressed after the ‘real business’ had been done. What I felt over three days of meetings alongside my colleague Dan Spencer (EPIC’s principal consultant) was something else
entirely. A growing recognition that protecting customers and educating staff is not a compliance tax, but a driver of sustainable business.
That shift isn’t cosmetic. It shows up in how conversations are framed, where budgets sit, and who has a seat at the table.
LIVED EXPERIENCE
Across my career at EPIC, I’ve seen lived experience and the learning drawn from it occupy very different positions depending on the organisation and the moment in time. At its best, it is embedded right at the frontline of planning and decision-making. It informs strategy, shapes training, and influences how brands present themselves to the world. At its worst, it’s viewed narrowly as a collection of ‘sad stories’ or – worse – as something anti-gambling.
That has never reflected my experience, nor that of my colleagues working daily with some of the most talented, thoughtful and genuinely caring teams across the global industry. What struck me at ICE was the number of positive faces. The openness. The willingness to engage. Safer gambling wasn’t something people were apologising for discussing. It was something they were proud to be building. This is particularly poignant for those of us with lived experience. The frameworks, protections and education now being debated
and championed simply didn’t exist when many of us needed them most. That’s not a reason for guilt. It’s a reason for responsibility.
CHALLENGING TIMES Safer gambling cannot live only in RG interactions or staff training modules. It has to be championed across every layer of decision- making: internal policy, marketing, social media, advertising, product design, and how organisations respond to regulatory and taxation pressures. In any other consumer-facing industry, the customer knowing how important they are would be priority number one. Gambling should be no different, and in many cases, should hold itself to an even higher standard.
We can still do better here. But the direction of travel feels right. Our recently published Activity Report (available at
bit.ly/ EPICxAR2425Full) is full of examples of operators who are already pushing the SG concept in the right direction, partnering with organisations like EPIC to empower their teams through in-person and digital programmes that make gambling safer, more sustainable and commercially responsible.
These are challenging times for the industry. Financial pressures, shifting regulation, evolving public scrutiny and complex tax environments are the reality. In that context, education for both staff and customers has never been more vital. Not as a defensive move, but as a statement of intent.
At ICE Barcelona, it felt like safer gambling was finally being discussed not as an obligation, but as an enabler. Not as something bolted on, but as something built in. That’s progress. And it’s progress worth protecting.
About the author
Craig Cornforth is senior business development manager with EPIC Global Solutions, whose proven approach to gambling harm prevention is grounded in personal experiences, providing real-world, relatable solutions for making gambling safer and more sustainable. Prior to joining EPIC, he experienced gambling addiction first-hand, with around half of EPIC’s team informing programme and product design through similar lived experience.
18 FEBRUARY 2026 GIO
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