The Amusement & Retail Entertainment Expo (ARE Expo) is entering a new era for 2027, with organiser Swan Events announcing that the Manchester event will be renamed the Retail Entertainment Expo (REE) to reflect its expanding focus across the UK’s high-street leisure, gaming, betting and bingo sectors.
Taking place at The Cotton Sheds, Victoria Warehouse, Manchester on 27–28 April 2027, the newly branded REE will build on the foundations established by ARE during its first two years while widening the event’s reach to reflect the changing face of land-based entertainment.
The move recognises the increasing convergence taking place across the high street, where traditional distinctions between family entertainment centres (FECs), gaming, betting, bingo, hospitality and wider leisure are being reshaped by technology, changing consumer expectations and the need for operators to make more effective use of physical venues.
For 2027, REE will place an increased emphasis on the retail betting sector, alongside its established focus on amusement, gaming and retail leisure. Bingo will also form an important part of the expanded event, creating greater opportunities for suppliers and operators to share ideas across sectors that face many of the same commercial, technological and regulatory challenges.
The development follows increased collaboration with the Bookmakers Technology Consortium and The Bingo Association, whose involvement will help ensure that the needs and interests of their respective sectors are reflected within the exhibition and supporting content.
Swan Events Director Karen Cooke said the new identity represents the natural evolution of an event that was always intended to look beyond traditional industry boundaries.
When we launched ARE, our aim was to create an event that reflected how quickly the retail entertainment landscape was changing. After two years, it has become clear that the opportunity is even broader than we originally envisaged.
We are increasingly seeing common ground between amusement, AGCs, bingo, retail betting, pubs and other forms of high-street entertainment. Operators are looking at many of the same issues – technology, payments, customer engagement, regulation, staffing, data and how to keep physical venues relevant and appealing.
The move to Retail Entertainment Expo gives us an identity that reflects where the event is going. REE will provide a platform where those different parts of the industry can meet, see new products, exchange ideas and, importantly, learn from one another.
The expansion of the retail betting element of the show will bring bookmakers, technology providers and suppliers more firmly into REE, reflecting the continuing evolution of the modern LBO and the role technology is playing in its future.
Howard Chisholm of the Bookmakers Technology Consortium welcomed the development: “Retail betting is going through a period of enormous change, and independent bookmakers in particular need opportunities to see new technology, meet suppliers and exchange ideas about how we continue to develop successful high-street businesses. Bringing those conversations together at REE has the potential to create something genuinely useful for operators, and we look forward to helping shape the event for 2027.”
The Bingo Association will also work with the organisers as the event expands its reach.
Paul Swindon, Head of Governance and Compliance at The Bingo Association, said: “Bingo has always combined entertainment, gaming and social interaction, and the modern bingo sector continues to evolve in response to new technology and changing customer expectations. REE provides an opportunity to bring those businesses together, share experience and explore technology and ideas that can help ensure our venues remain vibrant, relevant and enjoyable places to visit.”
