The gambling industry is facing calls to address sexism in the light of revelations about a conference featuring pole dancers, a Playboy-themed show and hostesses who reported being harassed. Undercover filming by the Guardian at the annual ICE Totally Gaming event in London revealed several companies defying a warning issued by Sarah Harrison, chief executive of the UK Gambling Commission, to tackle chauvinism at the trade show.



In a speech on the eve of the conference, Harrison said the regulator was considering boycotting an event at which women were “expected to wear nothing more than swimsuits”. But the conference, at London’s ExCel conference centre, opened with a Playboy-themed strip show and saw male guests ogling pole-dancers, while women working as hostesses claimed to have been propositioned for sex and groped.



Labour MP Jess Phillips, who sits on the women and equalities select committee, said: “It is time that companies woke up and realised that in 2018, using women’s bodies to sell stuff to men belittles both sexes. Worse even than this is people who think it’s just a laugh, who should understand that treating women’s bodies this way is part of the same culture that means schoolgirls routinely suffer sexual harassment and assault at school, for example.”

The Liberal Democrat deputy leader, Jo Swinson, said the evidence of sexism at the conference, which included hostesses claiming they had been propositioned for sex, was astonishing given the public outcry over the men-only Presidents’ Club dinner, where hired hostesses were also allegedly harassed. She said: “The complacent sexism of these gambling companies is astonishing, particularly after the scandal of the Presidents’ Club dinner and explicit warnings from the head of the Gambling Commission.”

Referring to hostesses at the gambling conference being required to sign non-disclosure agreements, she added: “Yet again we hear reports of men groping and propositioning women, and women being required to sign non-disclosure agreements - as if agencies think they can somehow absolve themselves of their responsibility to provide a safe environment for their staff. They cannot.”

Women in the gambling industry also criticised the events witnessed at the conference, but said broader change was needed in the industry. Alison Digges, managing director of gaming brands at high street bookmaker Ladbrokes, said: “The image of ICE doesn’t reflect well on the industry and is a symptom of the problem that not enough women are seated at top tables and driving decisions.



“We, as an industry, need to address these fundamentals rather than just focus on the window dressing of toning down conferences. This just sweeps it under the carpet and soothes consciences that a problem has been solved when we all know it hasn’t.”

Delaney Gordon, general manager of Grosvenor Casino in London’s Picadilly, said: “I don’t think there’s any place for that overt sexism in today’s age. We can be more intelligent in our promotions than pole-dancing and body paint.”

Tracey Damestani, chief executive of the National Casino Forum, said the industry needed more women in senior positions, which she said was the “best way to challenge stereotypes and change perceptions”.

Clarion, organiser of the ICE Totally Gambling event, said in a statement on Wednesday: “ICE London has been working with the European Casino Association to encourage respectful representation of women on exhibition stands. This programme started in 2016 and will continue.”