ICE Barcelona 2025 Event Report

The Slotsoo team attended ICE 2025 at the end of January. This annual event is the largest one in Europe and works as a gathering place for industry professionals. From casino operators, affiliates and game providers to licensing authorities, payment solutions and responsible gambling organizations – everyone who is something is present.

This was the first time the event was held in Barcelona and the new venue’s 120 000 square meter size broke the previous record held by ICE London 2024. We walked around and talked with both new and old actors in the industry to find out the latest news for casino players. Read our full report for ICE Barcelona 2025 below!

The Casino Industry Is Getting Fishy (in a Good Way)

The industry’s fishing craze is intensifying and there was way more fish-themed games showcased during ICE 2025 compared to last year. A couple new games managed to get our attention hooked.

First we have Pragmatic Play, who revealed their newest addition to their beloved fishing slot series (We have lost count of how many different games the Big Bass series consist of right now). The new game is called Bigger Bass Splash and it offers 5000x multiplier fish plus the option to buy super free spins. The game has a tropical vibe and was released on the 3rd February. Be sure to visit one of our recommended Pragmatic Play casinos to try it out!

The Swedish live casino world leader Evolution is also jumping on the train (or boat) by creating a fish-themed game show called Ice Fishing. It features a beautiful host dressed in fur-detailed clothing (but she wears no hat nor gloves, which is a must if you go ice fishing during the Nordic winters). This fast-paced game is not that based in reality though and sometimes the fish is so big that a helicopter is needed to lift it. Exaggerated entertainment in other words.

Tada Gaming, which we recently interviewed about fishing shooting games, also had news to share during ICE. They are moving the typically sea-themed game type to the land with their upcoming release Fortune Zombie. The game will be released later this Spring and you collect money by shooting zombies, mummies, Frankenstein and other dead creatures. We are surprised they won’t release it closer to Halloween.

Startups for Multiplayer Slots and AI-Generated Slots

While we saw many elaborate stands, that probably took hundred of thousands of euros to build, the ICE conference is not just a ”pissing contest” by the biggest players in the industry. It’s an important event for new companies to raise awareness about their product, to build new partnerships and to get in touch with investors.

ICE Barcelona 2025 had a dedicated section for innovative startups and there was even a competition where a dozen handpicked startups had presentations pitching their business for a chance to win some funding.

Out of the twelve there were two that are really interesting for slot players:

• MFC Games – Social 1 vs 1 slot gaming where you get matched with another player and then you take turns to play the same slot side by side. The one who gets the higher score wins the game. You can interact with the other player by sending different emojis etcetera.
• Xgenia – This company has developed products that uses AI to generate new slot games in mere minutes. The prompt-based system let’s you control not just the visuals, but also the maths behind the game (volatility, maxwin etcetera).

Keep an eye on our news section to hear more about the both slot startups in the near future.

Updates from the Payment Sector and Industry Regulators

Clarion Gaming, the organizer of ICE, had done a good job dividing the different parts of the industry into separate sections at the event venue. For example, companies focusing on land-based gaming had their own hall, and there was also dedicated sections for responsible gaming initiatives and casino media (where you could find Slotsoo featured in the GPWA Times magazine).

We spent most of our time exploring the hall for online game providers, and visiting the connected iGB Affiliate event where all the online casinos were located (more brands to be added to our list of casinos soon). But of course we also checked what’s new on the payment and regulation front.

There won’t be a comeback of Trustly casino on the unlicensed market. The Swedish payment provider is firm with offering their Pay N Play services to licensed operators only. So players who prefer sites without local license have to continue using alternative payment methods.

Talking about licenses, the recently renamed Curacao Gaming Authority was also present and gave information about the new law Landsverordening op Kansspelen (LOK) that came into force in December 2024. From the players’ POV we doubt there will be much change in the near future and active players can except to continue receive generous loyalty bonuses.