"This year's ICE London is an excellent opportunity for us to highlight several new products"

ICE London has officially begun, and companies around the world are meeting at what is deemed the largest and most important tradeshow of the events calendar. Yogonet caught up with Miroslav Valenta jr, Sales Director of SYNOT Group, who highlighted the novelties they have prepared for this new edition and referred to the group's expectations for the rest of the year.

What will be the main novelties that the company will present and focus on at ICE London this year? Will you be showcasing any new products or services this time around?

This year's show is an excellent opportunity for us to highlight several new products. These include the release of a new premium Super Link system, currently available for both slots and VLTs. Each system offers 20 unique linked games linked to a common jackpot and each of these premium games has a pay-to-win feature, giving players the option to purchase a bonus game immediately.

We will also unveil the Magic Ball Link, a multi-game progressive jackpot system. We will showcase the final stage of this successful product, now enhanced with more game content and an upgraded jackpot.

Visitors will have the chance to play the latest linked games including Legend of Medusa, Big Mystery, Wild Job, and 88 Pearls. In addition to other linked games that are very popular in all the markets where we are present, such as Aztec Jaguar, Tiki Princess, and more, Magic Ball Link now offers 8 exclusive linked titles.

Visitors can also look forward to the debut of another new cabinet, the UP1-27, which builds on the design of the highly successful UP1-24 cabinet. With three 27" monitors, this cabinet represents the optimal solution within the range of cabinets equipped with 24" and 32" monitors.

SYNOT will also introduce the upgraded Blue Line, an exclusive gaming system designed for VLTs. The novelty offers a selection of top and already proven 25 games, remastered to Full HD while retaining the original feeling.

Furthermore, we are introducing a brand new addition to our portfolio - the Casino Management System. We look forward to launching this solution in the first country later this year.

We will showcase the mentioned novelties for the land-based sector, but of course, visitors can also look forward to our online section, where they will be welcomed by representatives from companies SYNOT Games and SYNOT Interactive. They will present not only the latest additions to the online platform and game content portfolio but also introduce a new product, RNG Roulette, as well as an innovative retention tool and more.

Given ICE London’s status as one of the major global events in the industry, what are your expectations for the expo, and what are the company’s key goals for the event?

Participating in this significant gaming event is already a tradition for our company, as we have been attending it regularly for many years. In addition to showcasing our extensive land-based and online portfolio, we always bring a number of new products to the show.

Every year there is a great interest in our products and a large number of visitors to our stand, which we are very pleased about. Attending ICE is a great opportunity to meet with our existing business partners from around the world. This enables us to discuss not only business opportunities within existing markets but also potential expansion into new markets.

Attending a show of this size is also a great way to make new business contacts and, of course, get feedback on our products. The event also gives us an important insight into the latest trends in the gaming business. I consider our presence here to be very important.

How would you describe the industry’s and your client’s current demands at the time? What markets will you focus on at the expo?

In addition to the continual innovation that we bring to all our products, the omni-channel solution has been a key element in recent years as operators try to connect land-based and online activities for their customers into one experience. We have been reflecting this strategy in our products for many years, not only by offering the same gaming titles for land-based and online but also by ensuring that our platform and gaming systems are in line with this strategy. This approach allows us to effectively meet the diverse needs of customers around the world.

In addition to keeping our dominant position in our key markets in Europe, we will focus on further expansion in Latin America and Asia during this year’s expo. Therefore, we have extended our portfolio with products that we believe will be successful in these territories.

SYNOT Group currently operates in more than 40 countries worldwide and more than a hundred representatives from a number of SYNOT Group companies, especially from several countries where we currently operate, will be attending the event, so our team will be able to provide all the specific details to visitors from around the world. Visitors will be warmly welcomed to our stand S5-230.

The event comes as we enter a new year for gambling. What is your assessment of how the sector developed in 2023, and what should we expect from it in 2024? What role will the company play in the upcoming 12-month period?

After the COVID-19 period, in 2022-2023, the gaming sector has returned to excellent condition, at least according to our experience. There has been significant interest from our customers to modernize their product portfolio. As we have been very active in developing new products, both land-based and online, throughout the COVID-19 period and even the last 2 years, we expect at least the same level of interest in our new products over the next 12 months.

What other industry events does the company plan to attend this year?

This year is probably going to be a record for us in the number of shows we attend, both as exhibitors and visitors. In addition to the London show, we traditionally exhibit in Madrid, Serbia, and Romania. We are also currently discussing our participation at G2E in Las Vegas. As we are preparing for expansions and further strengthening of our positions in both land-based and online markets, participation in this global exhibition is a great opportunity to present a wide portfolio of our products.

In addition to the above, our online teams from SYNOT Games and SYNOT Interactive are also actively participating in a number of iGaming exhibitions such as SiGMA Malta or SBC Summit. We also attend and sponsor a variety of other important events such as the Casino Operations Summit and Casino Inside.