Shelton, CT, December 7, 2021 - The National Indian Gaming Association and Clarion Events have entered into a strategic partnership to expand our respective brands and carry out the mission of serving and protecting tribal gaming.   

The National Indian Gaming Association protects and defends tribal gaming and hosts the annual Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention – the largest gathering of tribal leaders and casino executives in the country. This new long-term relationship will leverage Clarion Events' proven international track record in expanding association owned tradeshows and conferences. Clarion Events will utilize its multi-platform production reach to introduce Indian gaming into its family of ICE (International Casino Exposition) brands.

As two of the largest players in the gaming events space, the National Indian Gaming Association and Clarion Events have worked to move the gaming industry forward as a whole. Through their events and multi-media platforms they have strived to deliver industry leading content and breakthrough technologies and products. Clarion Events has a strong respect for tribal gaming and the transformative role it has played in the gaming community. In 2019, tribal gaming was a $35 billion industry and generated an additional $6.2 billion in ancillary revenues from hotels, entertainment, restaurants, and retail operations, while collectively ranking as the 11th largest employer in the United States. 

The National Indian Gaming Association’s annual tradeshow, the “Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Conference,” provides important access to new strategies, technologies and relationships in the tribal gaming industry. In July 2021, the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention was the first large scale gaming event to run in-person following the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was a success by every measure, with participation in step with 2019 numbers, bringing together both tribal leaders and commercial gaming operators along with the industry’s top suppliers. 

National Indian Gaming Association Chairman Ernie Stevens, Jr. remarked, “Tribal gaming is a dominant force in the gaming community. Before COVID, tribal gaming revenue had increased each year for the past decade – demonstrating the innovation and achievement of Indian Country. The work we do empowers our tribal communities and generates important revenue for economic development. We are already building back. As we look to establish a new normal, we are excited to join forces with Clarion Events. They honor the mission and vision of the National Indian Gaming Association, support its membership, and are experts in producing large scale tradeshows and conventions. With their partnership we will grow the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention and expand tribal gaming’s global reach through ICE.”

Striving to be the industry's leading partner, Clarion Gaming connects the global gaming community through business-critical intelligence, world-class events and meeting services. Clarion Events currently operates a robust portfolio of live events and digital content including the flagship event ICE, the largest global gathering of gaming operators in Europe, as well as iGB, a one-stop shop for information on the global interactive gaming industry and iGB Affiliate, which provides events and content for affiliate marketers in gaming. Yearly they connect 500,000 customers in the gaming community. 

Greg Topalian, CEO of Clarion Events North America commented, “We have had a great working relationship with the National Indian Gaming Association for the past 7 years. We greatly respect the work that the Association does for its members and the tribal gaming community. As part of Clarion Events’ ongoing strategy, we are actively looking to expand upon our current partnerships and work together with new associations to scale events and support their missions. Greater ties between the National Indian Gaming Association and our ICE brands will build on their standard of excellence and grow the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention to new heights.”  

The next edition of the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention will take place April 19-22, 2022 in Anaheim, CA. 

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About the National Indian Gaming Association
The National Indian Gaming Association is a non-profit organization of sovereign tribal nations with other non-voting associate members representing organizations, tribes and business engaged in tribal gaming enterprises around the country. As the go-to resource for the community on education, legislation and public policy issues, National Indian Gaming Association works to advance the social, economic and political success of its members and the Indian community, at large. For more information, visit www.indiangaming.org.  

About Clarion Gaming
ICE London is the biggest b2b gambling industry event in the world and embraces every aspect of the gambling ecosystem from games creators, distributors, operators and retailers, to trade associations, strategic bodies and regulators. www.clariongaming.com 

About Clarion Events:
Clarion Events operates over 180 events in 50 countries from 15 offices in the UK, the US, South Africa, Brazil, Germany, Singapore, UAE, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands. Clarion can trace its roots back to 1947 and takes great pride in being one of the oldest independent event organizers in the UK.  More recently the firm has developed an international portfolio of brands and now has interests in a number of global vertical industries including energy, security and defense, electronics, technology, fashion, retail, gaming and marketing. The teams at Clarion create uniquely effective and stimulating environments that can serve as a platform to build businesses, enhance customer relationships and accelerate product awareness. us.clarionevents.com.​​​

Press Contact: 
Samantha Grimaldi
samantha.grimaldi@clarionevents.com
203-242-8123