ICE Barcelona is behind us, and it’s time to finally put this incredible event into words. So read a quick wrap-up from our team: what it felt like to experience ICE for the first time, and what we took away after three intense days in Barcelona surrounded by an iGaming community. Keep reading!
Warm-up before the showfloor: our padel tournament in Barcelona
Is there a better way to kick off a major iGaming event than some sporty, friendly competition? We don’t think so!
Before we jumped into ICE mode, we did what we genuinely love: we organised a padel tournament together with our friends from LGS. Since we’re big sports enthusiasts, it’s slowly becoming our little tradition to organize such an event – a pre-conference reset that’s part networking, part endorphins. Around 25 people joined us in Barcelona for a two-hour tournament that was seriously competitive… but always in a friendly way. Huge thanks to Padel IT Barcelona for hosting us and helping with organizing this event!
The sporty atmosphere was exactly what we needed: plenty of action, a lot of calories burned, big smiles and a relaxed get-together afterwards with some food and drinks. It wasn’t just a chance to challenge ourselves on the court, but also a great moment to catch up with friends and meet new faces for a nice chat.
The level of the game was really high, so thank you again to everyone who joined and congrats to the winners! We can’t wait to organise another tournament with the LGS crew and bring even more people together next time. So stay tuned, we will keep everyone informed about our next padel plans.
ICE in numbers (and why they actually matter)
Once the padel dust settled, it was time to face the ICE giant. And honestly it was a pure pleasure to see the scale of it all: 65,000+ visitors over three days, 600+ exhibitors, and people coming from 186 countries. That’s the kind of scale that stays in your mind for a long time.
And it brings together the whole industry ecosystem – from operators and platform providers to game studios, payments, compliance, regulators, and everyone in between, which makes it a perfect place to talk, get inspired, and have fun. Then there’s the show floor itself. The variety of booths was mind-blowing – you could see everything from classic gaming cabinets and shiny new tech demos, to sparkling unicorns, models on treadmills, and (yes, really) even a meat-slicing machine.
This was our first ICE as a larger group – this time a team of six: Adam Mateja (CEO), Karol Chołody (COO), Dominik Grobel (New Business Specialist), Wiktoria Michalec (Growth and Outreach Specialist), Marta Wigórska (Growth Marketing Specialist), and me (Jagoda Dynowska, Marketing Manager). For us, it’s another step towards going deeper into the iGaming industry – learning more, meeting great people, and building valuable connections. And during ICE it’s just easier to do that, because conversations just flow, and small talk is always waiting right around the corner.
“ICE makes you walk, talk, walk again – and suddenly you realise you’ve done something like 20 km a day without noticing. And the best part? Every few steps can turn into a new conversation.” Wiktoria, Blurify
The real ICE value: connections
For us, this event was mostly about one thing: connections. For our CEO, Adam, it was another ICE and he admitted it just feels like coming home.
Over three days, that turned into 50+ meetings at total and became one of our strongest “conference totals” so far. And that’s before counting the extra stand visits, spontaneous chats on the show floor, and the additional events we joined after hours. Meeting people there is an unforgettable experience – some you already know, some you’ve only seen on LinkedIn, and some you’ll remember because you ended up having a surprisingly deep discussion about platform architecture while standing next to a slot cabinet.
“I’ve been to ICE a few times now, and it feels like home to me now. What I like about the event is that it sometimes compresses months of conversations into three days. This year was special because we showed up as a bigger Blurify team, and the energy was just amazing.” Adam Mateja, Blurify
What everyone was talking about: the themes we kept hearing
ICE always has shiny things. Big booths. Big launches. Big screens. But it’s worth pausing for a second and asking: where is the industry heading and what topics are likely to shape iGaming in 2026?
Across very different conversations (with companies of very different sizes), three themes kept coming back. And they match what ICE itself put on the agenda this year: AI/data, safer gambling, payments & fraud, and the operator “how do we scale in regulated markets” reality.
1) AI is past the hype stage – now it’s about usefulness
AI showed up everywhere, but the most grounded conversations were about its practical impact: personalisation, player journey optimisation, and risk operations in regulated environments. One of the sharpest points we heard: AI isn’t “new” – what matters is how operators use it, and personalisation is where the strongest ROI tends to appear.
2) Responsible gaming is not a sidebar anymore
ICE put visible emphasis on player protection and sustainability. The Sustainable Gambling Zone (plus dedicated safer-gaming content on the show floor and in workshops) made it clear that this topic is only getting more important, and regulated markets are tightening expectations. Operators want tooling that supports both compliance and long-term player health.
3) Different size, same pain: tech challenges repeat across the market
One thing that really stuck with us: whether someone was representing a big brand or a fast-growing team, the challenges often remain similar.
Integrations still take time. Platform constraints still block product ideas. Compliance still adds complexity. The difference is mostly how expensive the delays become at scale.
And that’s exactly the space where we come in – helping operators build or extend custom platform components, deliver integrations (games, payments, third-party tools), and modernise systems without slowing the business down.
Barcelona gave us the energy boost we needed and ICE made sure we’re starting 2026 at full speed. The event left us inspired, energised and full of new ideas. Thanks to everyone we met – we’re ready to go all in this year, and we’ll see you at the next event!
