From January 20 to January 22, 2026, Barcelona will host the largest ICE Barcelona industry exhibition, which will bring together more than 50,000 delegates from 150 countries. The organizer, Clarion Gaming, confirmed the participation of 600 exhibitors, which is 15% higher than in the previous year. This event is critically important for the industry, as it will present new standards for regulating the Brazilian market and introducing AI agents into casino operations.

Schedule of key exhibitions: What awaits the industry in 2026?

The calendar of iGaming events in 2026 demonstrates a shift in emphasis towards the Latin American and Southeast Asian markets. After the successful relocation of ICE from London to Barcelona in 2025, the January exhibition retains its status as the main platform for the announcements of B2B solutions. The organizers expect a record number of representatives of payment systems and crypto-processing.

The main stages of the exhibition year:

• ICE Barcelona (January 20-22): Presentation of responsible gaming systems based on neural networks.
• SiGMA Eurasia (February): Focus on the UAE and Indian markets, and discuss Dubai's licensing regimes.
• iGB Live! Amsterdam (July): The largest meeting of the affiliate community with a focus on Tier-1 traffic.
• SBC Summit Lisbon (September): A global forum for sports betting and media partnerships.
• SiGMA Europe (November): Summing up the results of the year in Malta with the participation of more than 800 operators.

Fact-box: Forecasts for 2026

• Expected attendance for ICE 2026: 55,000+ people.
• The share of companies implementing AI in marketing: more than 70%.
• A priority market for investments: Brazil.

Expert reactions: Which topics will become dominant?

The expert community emphasizes that 2026 will be a period of "technological maturity" for the gambling vertical. The main focus of the conferences will be on automating player retention and combating bonus hunters. Experts predict an increase in interest in Telegram casinos and decentralized gaming platforms.

"The exhibitions of 2026 will show that the era of aggressive marketing is giving way to predictive analytics. Operators are now buying not just traffic, but tools for predicting LTV based on user behavior in real time," he says. Dmitry Savin, Head of Business Development at SlotFlow.

According to the statement According to the statement"in Barcelona and Lisbon, we will see the final stage of European operators' adaptation to the new fourth-generation AML (anti-money laundering) regulations. This will significantly change the mechanics of how affiliates work with KYC data."

Context and background: Why do locations matter?

The relocation of ICE to Barcelona in 2025 was a historic shift that ended the twenty-year era of London's dominance. This made it possible to expand the Fira Barcelona exhibition area by 20,000 square meters. meters. In 2026, this move will be justified by the influx of investments from the Spanish-speaking regions of Latin America, where the online betting market has grown by 45% over the past two years.

Table: Growth dynamics of the largest iGaming exhibitions

Event	Growth of participants (%)	The main theme of 2026
ICE Barcelona	+15%	AI and automation
SiGMA Europe	+10%	Web3 and Crypto Gambling
iGB Live!	+20%	SEO Traffic and PWA

Consequences and forecasts: How will exhibitions change the market?

The results of the meetings in 2026 will accelerate the consolidation of the market. A series of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is expected among game content providers seeking access to each other's licensing packages. The technology stack will shift towards cloud microservices, which will reduce the time it takes to bring new offers to market from months to weeks.

Analysts predict the following changes:

• The globalization of standards: Unification of software requirements between the jurisdictions of Malta, Curacao and the Isle of Man.
• New traffic sources: Tools for working with traffic from VR/AR headsets will be presented at iGB Live! 2026.
• The environmental agenda: Major brands will switch to the "Zero Carbon Boots" concept at all events.

Exhibitions in 2026 will no longer be just a place for networking. They will turn into certification and technological audit centers. Operators ignoring ICE and SiGMA this year risk losing competitiveness in the face of a 25% year-on-year increase in the cost of user engagement (CPA).