As part of a three year expansion plan into the gaming and emerging entertainment sectors, EAG Expo, owned by UK trade association Bacta, will be launching a new casino show in London dedicated to land based operations.
EAG Expo Europe will be launching a new specialised ‘boutique show’ for the casino and betting industry at its upcoming edition in London’s ExCeL Centre on January 14-16 2025. The Capital Casino & Gaming Show (CC&GS) will run alongside EAG and forms part of the exhibition organiser’s expansion drive into the wider land based entertainment and leisure sector in both the UK and Europe.
The development programme was approved earlier this year by EAG owners Bacta - the UK’s amusements and gaming trade association. In addition to investment in a new arena for the core casino and betting machine manufacturers, the new London casino show will also focus on the growing market of smaller dedicated service and supply companies concentrated in the land based sector. During the exhibition, CC&GS will be hosting a series of seminars and workshops dedicated to the needs of land based casino and betting businesses.
And for the Capital Casino & Gaming Show, there is also the added historic dimension. The UK industry has universally backed the launch of a smaller, more intimate, boutique-style exhibition to maintain the important tradition of a casino trading forum in London for the land based international market, which has dated back to the late 1980s.
Martin Burlin, Chairman of EAG, said: “These are interesting and exciting times for the broader land-based amusements, gaming and gambling sector. With new legislation on the horizon here in the UK, it is likely that many of the innovations that are driving change in Britain will work their way into the international marketplace. And with new social responsibility measures featuring more prominently on production schedules, including age verification and cashless systems, both EAG and the new CC&GS in London provide the perfect shows to see this technology in action - and in an atmosphere that lends itself to more detailed conversations and engagement.”
The focus on land based gaming provides an important USP for the Capital Casino & Gaming Show. Nick Harding, former Bacta president and ex-CEO of the national AGC operator Praesepe, is the ‘international ambassador’ of the newly launched London casino show. He believes it will provide a vital addition to the international casino and betting sector’s calendar of events. “London has been the central force for the global casino sector for a period spanning five decades or so - it has been the capital of land based gaming products and innovations for all that time. With the evolution of the global industry, particularly into the online arena, there is a growing call, and need, for a sustained, more dedicated focus on land based operations,” Harding said.
The ‘boutique’ style casino is exactly how Harding sees the new London casino show evolving. “This isn’t a show honed on numbers, it’s shaped by quality products, quality time and quality engagement. The land based sector needs a dedicated forum, where the largest and smaller-styled influencers can connect in an environment which is set at their pace.”
He added: “In the States, particularly Las Vegas and the tribal casino sector, in Asia, Australia, and in heartland Europe, land based gaming is alive and kicking - but with very unique technological innovations and regulatory requirements. The UK has been the home of that land-based focus for nearly half a century, and we want London to continue to play an influential part in building business for the land-based industry across the globe. That’s the vision for our London casino show, and it’s an investment the entire UK industry is keen to make.”
The Capital Casino & Gaming Show will launch at London’s ExCeL Centre on 14-16 January 2025