The beneficiaries of this year’s charity fund at ICE Barcelona will be presented with €80,000 at a ceremony 11 a.m. January 19 on the Sustainable Gambling Zone stage.
The 2026 charity fund is the result of contributions from Zitro, Acordjoc, Cirsa, Flutter, Orenes, Betsson Group, Merkur, Merkur Dosniha, BGaming, and Novomatic. The cumulative total donated since ICE 2019 is €462,500.
“This is a record sum and one which reflects the central importance of player protection,” ICE Portfolio Director Margaret Dunn said in a statement. “The Sustainable Gambling Zone is one of the most popular features on the ICE show floor and is widely accepted as representing the flagship platform for the promotion, adoption and advancement of safe gambling practices.
“Boasting a new high-profile presence located in the main corridor between Halls 4 and 5 and a redesigned open, layout, the SGZ provides attendees with a unique opportunity to explore new technology trends and engage in three days of insightful presentations navigating the future of safer gambling and safer gambling regulation.”
The Safer Gambling Zone will feature 27 safer gambling organizations drawn from 10 countries. ICE Barcelona 2025 beneficiaries were Gordon Moody, Fejar, and FES. The funding to FES supported the launch of a Catalan-language version of a campaign to raise awareness of the risks associated with digital media delivering educational materials and tools for use by schools and families.
“The relationship our industry stakeholders have with player protection goes beyond financial donations and I am delighted that the Safer Gambling Zone will be a focus for debate, discussion and collaboration,” said Dunn. “It’s hugely gratifying to reflect that many of the safer gambling advances players enjoy are as a result of discussions that have taken place during ICE and partnerships that have been forged at ICE.”
Headline sponsor of the 2026 ICE Sustainable Gambling Zone is Gamecheck. The safe gambling provider uses blockchain-based verification technology to provide legitimate operators with a tool to demonstrate that every game on their platform is authentic and unmodified, in the process turning integrity into a tangible competitive advantage.