As expected, the big names are already starting to line up for January’s London Casino & Gaming Expo, led by the big two of Europe, Novomatic and Merkur.

Show chairman Martin Burlin told InterGame this week that confidence was growing among the Entertainments, Attractions and Gaming Expo (EAG) and London Casino & Gaming Expo teams that they will be able to stage a dedicated bricks-and-mortar casino show, a few days ahead of ICE in Barcelona.

“The industry is well used to coming into London for the main gambling event each year,” he said. “They like the shows, the shopping and the whole British experience. Our EAG already has a European pedigree and it has always contained an element of the gambling industry.

“That is a natural lead-in to the casino business as some of the manufacturers deal with both sectors.”

Show ambassador Nick Harding put a slightly different slant on the London Casino & Gaming Expo strategy, however, and said: “We are of course delighted that the machine manufacturers are keen to be in from the start and they will clearly form the backbone of the show.

“But we also want to see a welter of exhibitors there who will supply what the industry would probably term ‘associated products,’ applications that are nevertheless vital to a casino.

“I am referring to products such as F&B, CCTV, signage, recruitment, training and payment systems. There is space for all of them and the opportunity for them to stand out so much more in a bijou event.”

Meanwhile, Austrian giant Novomatic is immediately on side, and having a UK subsidiary gives it a natural entrée. The other European multi-national, Germany’s Gauselmann Group, has its Merkur UK group of companies and that, in turn, houses the very well-known Blueprint brands. They are confirmed exhibitors at the new show, too.

Also immediately involved is Reflex Gaming, the UK-based company that led the Category C refurbishment programme for years, before stepping up to all-new developments for almost every category of gaming machine.

Inspired Entertainment has nearly 50,000 pieces of equipment in operation across the UK, but as a supplier, its products cross every sector: content, technology, hardware and services.

Also booking early for space on the floor is EFCO, the EverFine Group company, a provider of embedded computer platforms for the gaming industry.

“This is just the start,” said Harding. “There is a whole group of companies on the cusp of signing up for the show and we will release their names as they are confirmed.”

Show director Nicola Lazenby and her team are already blocking off sections of the floor plan for the London Casino & Gaming Expo on behalf of clients.

“They seem to like the structure of the show – taking out the overwhelming online gambling sector and concentrating everything that operators want to see into one compact event,” she said.

“They will get close to the suppliers of the materials for every sector from AWPs as they are still known in Europe (Category C in the UK), through to casino slots, with their accompanying associated products and services.”

The exhibition is set for London’s ExCeL from January 14-16.