Merkur Says NO to ICE London 2022. Covid is a factor for Merkur to pull out of the key calendar iGaming event. Could the event be postponed, or will it go ahead as planned? (Image by Gemma Evans at unsplash.com )
Merkur Gaming has recently announced its decision to pull out from the ICE London 2022 major exhibition event and followed it up with a statement citing the reasons behind the decision. There was no one reason for the decision, rather a multitude of reasons that lead to the company believing that pulling out was in its best interest. ICE London 2022 is scheduled for 12th-14th April, so Merkur’s decision has been made someway in advance. It seems that one of the strongest reasons behind the decision was that Merkur believes that the investment required would not yield sufficiently positive results.
The iGaming company that develops online casino content for leading online casinos such as Mr Green, does not accept that the new dates for the event are to its or the industry’s benefit.
The event was previously due to happen in February, however, with the Covid-19 uncertainty looming overhead, a decision was made to reschedule for April. Merkur has publicly stated in the recent past that it doesn’t believe London to be a suitable venue because of the ongoing Covid pandemic situation in the UK capital, and it would seem that the company has not changed its opinion. Merkur believes that with Omicron cases currently at top levels, together with the busy Easter holiday period, certain health risks need to be considered.
Logistically, things are not as simple as they once were either. Since the UK ‘Brexit’, it is not as cheap as it used to be to travel over the continent between the UK and EU. Merkur has estimated that considering all of these factors, attendance figures for the event will be lower than in recent years and therefore it is unlikely that the business generated from the event will not be worth the investment of time and money required. All things considered; it seems in the company’s best interest to forfeit the event.
Like many other companies across the globe, Merkur believes that it is acting in the best interests of its customers, business partners, employees, and all of those in close contact with them. The company believes that the risks outweigh the benefits, and that is not something it is willing to gamble with. Merkur will reevaluate the situation for future ICE events, but for ICE London 2022, it is a firm ‘no’.
Like many other events that have felt the impacts of covid-19, this news is not what ICE wanted to hear. However, the event will still go ahead, and Merkur Gaming fully intends to return in the future. The event is a key part of the iGaming calendar and has helped to drive the Merkur business in previous years.
Will this lead to other companies having a rethink of the situation? How is this likely to impact ICE 2022? Will the organisers have to wait until the covid-19 situation is much more stable? Or with the UK Prime Minister recently announcing that people travelling to England will no longer be required to take a COVID test on arrival, or have a test 48 hours prior to arrival, has Merkur jumped the gun slightly?
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