ICE had its first edition in Barcelona, from January 20 to 22, at the Fira Gran Via, after its stay at the ExCel venue in London. The event brought together various players in the gaming industry for three days full of networking, innovation, and debates on the future of the sector.
To review the first big event of the year, Yogonet was able to talk to Sebastián Salat, international president of Zitro. In addition to the company’s performance at the event, the executive shared his feelings about the main issues in the sector.
What is your assessment of the recent edition of ICE Barcelona, an event that this year left behind its traditional venue in London and managed to attract a large number of visitors and exhibiting companies?
Our participation as exhibitors in the first edition of ICE Barcelona has been a resounding success. The reception, both from international and Spanish customers, has far exceeded our expectations, which shows the importance of this event, as well as the success of our commercial offer, which included not only our product offering for international markets but also our range for the Spanish domestic market, as well as our growing library of games for the online market.
In addition, we decided to present ourselves at ICE with a spectacular staging that aimed to send a clear message of our commitment and determination to place Zitro among the leading companies in the global market. We were extremely pleased to see that customers received our message in an extremely positive way, which was evident after seeing the overwhelming response to our product proposal.
Zitro's stand at ICE Barcelona 2025
Which of the products presented by the company stood out the most at the event and how were they received by the customers who visited your booth?
At ICE Barcelona, we presented our CONCEPT cabinet line and its diverse library of new games, among which I would like to highlight Legendary Sword, Fairyland Quest, Lucky Vault, Cash Totems, Triple Charm Journey, Merging Fu Pots, and King Fu Frog. Each of these games features innovative game mechanics combined with high-quality graphics, animations, and sound, which are already a hallmark of Zitro products.
It should be noted that the CONCEPT cabinets are the building blocks on which Zitro builds its products based on interconnected machines. I am referring to our WAP, as well as to the Mega Lounge and Grand Mega Lounge, sets of interconnected banks of machines, with a great diversity of games, and which have in common their jackpot, either the Mega or the Grand Mega respectively. The interconnected machines in any of our lounges offer the player, in turn, a unique community experience in the industry.
Finally, I would like to highlight the enormous growth of Zitro Digital’s offer, with a portfolio of video bingo games and digital video slots of proven profitability. Among the latest games launched by Zitro Digital, I would mention Legendary Sword, which, after its success in the face-to-face gaming markets, debuted on ICE for the online market with its first game in the series, Avalon, along with other recent launches such as Fu Pots Winter, Fu Pots Spring, Calaca Cash, Striker’s Fortune, Monkey vs Dark Warrior, Twist Casino, as well as seasonal games such as those designed for Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day.
In short: ICE allowed us to showcase a product offering, covering the international, Spanish, and digital markets, in a spectacular format that amazed those who visited us, and placed Zitro among the elite suppliers to our global industry.
Legendary Sword presentation at ICE 2025
With ICE, the industry starts in 2025. What trends do you consider, from what you have seen in the event, that will be the ones that will mark the pulse of the gaming sector this year, and what are the main challenges you identify?
Regarding the land-based market, we have observed a clear evolution in the size and presentation of cabinets by all manufacturers. They are betting on larger hardware, wrapped by powerful multimedia resources, and designed to offer the face-to-face player an experience that, nowadays, is not possible to replicate in the online environment.
Likewise, new gaming experiences are emerging that transcend the individual machine, as in the case of our Grand Mega Lounge, where the community gaming experience is enjoyed by all players in the Lounge. This type of gregarious product offers a social interaction component, which is a competitive strength for face-to-face gaming, as online technology is not yet able to offer it.
On the other hand, the growth of online gaming is undeniable and was evident at the trade show itself. This expansion is driving manufacturers to invest more and more in this distribution channel, consolidating a trend that we consider irreversible. In this sense, new marketing management and control systems are being developed that facilitate the convergence between the physical and digital spheres, promoting omnichannel and cross-selling between land-based and online gaming.
Regulatory processes made great progress in Latin America during 2024, mainly in Brazil, but without leaving aside cases such as Peru and Colombia. What expectations does it generate for a company like Zitro that the region continues to move towards a more regulated market?
Nowadays, companies that are dedicated to the gaming sector require very important investment needs so that our products are up to date with the best technology. In addition, it is essential to have a wide and diverse offer of games that responds to the growing demand of consumers, who are more and more demanding and have more options to choose from.
Naturally, such major investments need the certainty of knowing that our products can be marketed in markets backed by a solid legal framework. So the advances in legal certainty in Latin America are excellent news for Zitro, which has chosen to invest and grow only in properly regulated markets.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2025/02/05/94197-sebastian-salat-34the-advances-in-legal-certainty-in-latin-america-are-excellent-news-for-zitro-34
