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PDF Version - G3

GLOBAL GAMES AND GAMING MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2014 I WWW.G3NEWSWIRE.COM I WWW.G3-247.COM
INTERNATIONAL GAMING NEWS I KNOWLEDGE I STATISTICS I MARKET INFORMATION I DIGITAL AND PRINT
WWW.G3NEWSWIRE.COM
mexico
WWW.G3-247.COM - THE GAMING MEDIA VAULT
New details emerge regarding Mexico’s
update of its gaming legislation
1 0
GermaNy
Germany licences 20 online sports-betting
2 2
providers, but puts them all on hold
New Jersey
Multiple blows rain down on Atlantic City as
4 0
Trump Ent. files for bankruptcy
The Big Deal
gTeCh-igT
G3 interviews Renato Ascoli
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myaNmar
Myanmar considers casino bill as economy
4 7
looks to international investment
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Contents
octoBer 2014
04
09
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08
06
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03
01
WWW.G3-247.COM
SOUTH AMERICA NEWS
01: pArAGuAy
New proposals would give betting union a
much stronger voice and the state more
control over the gaming industry
EMEA NEWS
04: sWedeN
svenska spel has asked the swedish
government for permission to begin
operations of an online casino in 2015.
– G3Newswire pg 08
02: mexico
New details regarding mexico’s update of
its gaming laws reveal plans to change the
minimum entry age requirement
05: uK
Aristocrat inks deal to divest Aristocrat
lotteries for €10.5m in cash as playtech
expands its lotteries reach in europe
03: pANAmA
the casino industry in panama has been
unfairly maligned with claims that
casinos are unable to open bank accounts
06: GermANy
20 sports betting licensees chosen in
Germany – yet licences cannot be issued
as losing applicants pursue lawsuits
NORTH AMERICA NEWS
07: the BAhAmAs
in a summer of industry corporate
buyouts, Jcm Global is to acquire
futurelogic to its portfolio for us$72.2m
ASIA & OCEANIA NEWS
10: south KoreA
las vegas sands has proposed a marina
Bay sands style integrated resort in south
Korea allowing locals to gamble
08: mArylANd
horseshoe casino Baltimore celebrated
its grand opening in style by welcoming
Baltimore’s most influential citizens.
11: JApAN
Japanese government signals its intent by
setting up a task force to advise on the
future direction of the domestic industry
09: NeW Jersey
As trump entertainment files for
bankruptcy protection, further casinos in
Atlantic city are now due for closure
12: myANmAr
until recently one of the most isolated
economies on the planet, myanmar is
now forging ahead with big casino plans
G3Newswire.com delivers daily international gaming industry news
and information, with the G3Newswire newsletter circulated three
times per week to a 8,000+ database of gaming industry influencers
THE BIG DEAL - IGT/GTECH
A complemeNtAry offeriNG
lottery titan Gtech and casino giant iGt
plan to become the world’s largest end-toend gaming supplier
– interview pg 50
moviNG With the times
Betfred.com’s michelle livingstone
discusses the complexities of engaging
with customers across mobile and tablets
– interactive pg 64
portuGAl oNliNe
G3 interviews Adolfo mesquita Nunes,
portugal’s secretary of state for tourism
about the country’s new online legislation
– interactive pg 66
SINGLE WALLET GAMING
oNe choice for the siNGle-miNded
single Wallet Gaming offers operators the
ability to connect their customers to every
facet of their gaming business
– G3-247 report pg 52
Gaming Publishing
samson House,
457 manchester road,
manchester m29 7Br,
United Kingdom
0 3
Comment
octoBer 2014
Listening to Apple CEO, Tim Cook, preaching last month to his congregation at
the Flint Center, Cupertino, California, he delivered a range of new product
announcements from bigger bolder iPhones to the new iOS8 and the much discussed Apple Watch. Most of the announcements had already been leaked in the
press, but a big surprise was the reveal that Apple had been working on a NFC
(Near Field Communication) Payment solution. A demonstration showed a customer frustratingly taking seconds to pay by swipeable Magnet Stripe, as compared to the seconds of incredible ease via the iPhone 6. Later Mr. Cook also
showed that payments could also be made via the Apple Watch - again in blindingly fast seconds.
What was striking was that Apple portrayed this announcement as a world’s
first, as though Apple had suddenly invented NFC payments, which of course it
hasn’t. It was a slick presentation nonetheless and Apple did stress that this was
not the first time that this had been attempted, quoting Jenna Wortham of the
New York Times, who recently said: “A truly mobile wallet has long been
described as imminent. but it remains elusive... most have been a disappointment or have not yet worked well enough for mainstream adoption.”
Mainstream adoption is going to take years to come to fruition, but that’s not true
for the gaming industry. Single Wallet solutions are available right now from a
host of providers supplying not just retail solutions, but multi-channel payment acceptance,
Bundle single
from mobile, tablet and in-location. And while
Apple hopes to create a buzz around its own
wallet with
brand, tying users to their ‘i’ devices, the solutions
loyalty
available to the gaming community also offer
branding opportunities, but this time for the operprogrammes
ator offering this fast, simple and easy payment
and there’s a
solution. Bundle this with loyalty programmes
and there’s a massive incentive for players to
massive player
continue to play online, in-location and via
incentive...
mobile, all within the same branded account.
editoriAl
AdvertisiNG
editor
Lewis Pek
[email protected]
+44 (0) 1942 879 291
commercial director
John Slattery
email:
[email protected]
+44 (0)7917 166471
News editor
Phil Martin
[email protected]
+44 (0)161 236 6669
Associate editor (mAlAGA)
Karen Southall
[email protected]
consultant
John Carroll (BillerBecK)
[email protected]
correspondent
James Marrison
[email protected]
contributors
Daniel Lindsay
David Addison
Bepi Mottes
Mark Gibson
Rasmus Sojmark
0 4
Advertising executive
James Slattery
email:
[email protected]
+44 (0)7917 166471
productioN
sub editor
Lisa Nichols
senior designer
Gareth Irwin
production manager
Paul Jolleys
subscriptions manager
Jennifer Pek
commercial Administrator
John Pek
Events
octoBer 2014

September 30-October 2, 2014
G2E 2014
Location
Sands Expo & Convention Center,
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Organiser
Reed Exhibition Companies
383 Main Avenue
Norwalk
Connecticut

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the pieces to add value to your application.
October 9, 2014
BOS Bookmakers Trade Fair
Location
Wolverhampton Race Course,
United Kingdom
Organiser
Bookmakers Office Supplies Ltd.,
PO Box 9
Woodbridge

ENADA Rome 2014, Italy
CranePI.com
0 6
Rimini
Italy
47900
Tel: +39 0541 744250
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.enada.it
October 15-16, 2014
The Autumn Coin-op Show, UK
Location
Chelsea Football Club, United
Kingdom
Contact
Karen Cooke
Organiser
Swan Events
Technology that counts.
United Kingdom
IP12 3JN
Tel: +44 1394 383420
Web: www.bosmag.co.uk/bookmakers-trade-fair-2014/
October 15-17, 2014
Location
Rome Expo Centre, Rome, Italy
Contact
Sonia Bodellini
Organiser
Rimini Fiera Spa
Via Emilia 155

United States, CT 06851
Contact
Brett DeWeese
Tel: +1 203-840-5341
Fax: +1 203 840 9662
Web: www.globalgamingexpo.com
Office 10, Clare Lodge
41 Hollybush Lane
Harpenden, Herts
United Kingdom AL5 4AY
Tel: +44 1582 767254
Web: www.coin-opshow.co.uk

October 21-23, 2014
EiG European iGaming Congress
& Expo 2014
Location
Arena Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Contact
Shane Mortimer
Organiser
Clarion Events
Fulham Green, Bedford House

October 21-22, 2014
BEGE 2014 – Balkan
Entertainment & Gaming Expo
Location
Inter Expo Center, Sofia, Bulgaria
Contact
Milena Tsankarska
Organiser
BEGE
7 Kukush Str,

Sofia,
Bulgaria 1345
Tel: +359 2 812 9474
Web:
www.balkangamingexpo.com
October 27-28, 2014
Mobile & Tablet Gambling
Summit USA
Location
Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
Contact
Jonny Clegg
Organiser
Bullet Business
7-9 Fashion Street

69-79 Fulham High Street
London, United Kingdom
SW6 3JW
Tel: +44 207 384 7700
Web: www.eigexpo.com
London
United Kingdom
E1 6PX
Tel: +44 207 375 7193
Web: www.bulletbusiness.com
/mobile-tablet-gambling-usa
October 31-November 1, 2014
Summit for iGaming in Malta
Location
Intercontinental Bay Arena, St
Julian's, Malta
Organiser
SiGMA
Sundial Court No 7
Victor Denaro Street
Malta MSD 1604
Contact
Eman Pulis
Tel: +356 9926 3626
Web: www.maltaigamingsummit.com
0 7
G3Newswire
south AmericA NeWs
www.g3newswire.Com
move afooT To Change gaming law
New proposals would give betting union
a much stronger voice and the state
more control over the gaming industry
Paraguay - Legislation
el DipuTaDo honDureño augusTo Cruz ha
presentado una importante propuesta nueva para cambiar la
ley del juego en el país. Miembro del Partido Democristiano,
Augusto Cruz ha propuesto una ley que supondría un cambio
en el tipo fiscal para las máquinas tragaperras y afectaría a las
máquinas tanto de los negocios locales como de los casinos.
la asoCiaCión De loTerías De paraguay junTo
con la diputada Karina Rodríguez han mantenido encuentros
con el Presidente de la Cámara de Diputados, Hugo Velázquez,
para debatir cambios importantes en las leyes del juego de
Paraguay Las nuevas propuestas le darían en el futuro mucho
más peso a la asociación por lo que respecta a los procesos de
licitación y dejarían en manos del Estado un mayor control
sobre el sector.
una nueva legislaCión soBre el juego poDría
aprobarse en México este mismo mes, según indica Fernando
Zárate Salgado, Presidente de la Comisión del juego en la
Cámara de Diputados La nueva ley tiene como objetivo regular
el juego en el país, salvaguardar los derechos de los jugadores
y evitar el blanqueo de dinero.
el seCTor De los Casinos en panamá se ha
visto sacudido por un escándalo, con quejas relativas a que los
casinos no pueden abrir cuentas bancarias debido al hecho de
que se les ha empezado a asociar injustamente con actividades de blanqueo de dinero. Las reclamaciones se formularon durante el XVIII Congreso Hemisférico de Prevención del
Lavado de Dinero y el Combate del Financiamiento del
Terrorismo, celebrado en la capital panameña.
svenska spel, el monopolio sueCo Del juego
de propiedad estatal y operador de los cuatro casinos del país,
le ha solicitado al Gobierno permiso para operar un casino
online en 2015.
playTeCh ha susCriTo un aCuerDo Con el
proveedor global de sistemas y contenidos Aristocrat Leisure
Limited para adquirir Aristocrat Lotteries por 10,5 millones de
euros en efectivo, bajo reserva de ciertos ajustes y a la espera
de acordar definitivamente las condiciones del contrato.
sg gaming ha finalizaDo el lanzamienTo De su
nueva consola Clarity en los establecimientos de Ladbrokes.
La consola Clarity se instaló en la totalidad de las 2228 oficinas
de apuestas con licencia propiedad de Ladbrokes, y se trata de
un elemento clave en la estrategia de la empresa para 2014 y
sus intenciones de mantener una oferta sólida dentro del sector.
el operaDor De juego griego opap se esTá
aliando con el gestor de un fondo británico (Global Family
Partners) con intención de ganar la licencia griega de apuestas
en carreras de caballos. Se está ofreciendo una licencia de 20
años para realizar apuestas en carreras de caballos como parte
de un plan de privatización acordado con los acreedores internacionales de Atenas. Las carreras de caballos están siendo
operadas actualmente por ODIE, que registró un volumen de
pérdidas neto de 23,4 millones de euros en 2012.
0 8
Members of The Quinella Betting Union of
Paraguay along with Deputy Karina Rodríguez
have been in talks with the President of the
Chamber of Deputies, Hugo Velázquez in order to
discuss major changes to Paraguay’s gaming laws.
The new proposals would give the union a much
stronger voice when it comes to tender processes
in the future and would give the state more control over the industry.
Together they have urged for the creation of a new
technical committee which would meet in order to
discuss the issue and draw up plans which will be
then presented before The House of Deputies.
Members of The Paraguayan Gaming Commission
(CONAJZAR) have also been invited to take part.
Under the same raft of proposed changes
Rodríguez has also laid down plans to give the
state wide sweeping powers when it comes to the
industry which could limit the role of private
enterprise. Stating that there has been a clear lack
of transparency in the past when it came to the
gaming industry the legislator said that the government has been far too willing to turn a “blind
eye” to abuses within the industry in the past.
“The specific request is for the state to take action,”
he said, “and not simply to open it up to companies out to make a profit from gambling.”
Rodríguez also proposes that quinealla be placed
under state control
“We’ve been dealing with this issue for some time.
It has to do with successful experiences in other
countries where gambling has become one of the
most important sources of revenue for the
Treasury,” he said. Secretary General of the union
Abraham Diaz echoed Rodríguez’s statement saying that workers’ rights must be respected under
any law and claimed that there must be far more
transparency in bidding processes in the future.
As previously reported, despite some recent positive developments in the casino industry of late,
including the announcement of a major new
opening in the next months and stricter laws
when it comes to tackling illegal gaming, there is
growing speculation that the Paraguayan government is now seeking to place the industry in state
hands.
Fears were sparked by Head of The Paraguayan
Gaming Commission (CONAJZAR) Javier Balbuena
after a meeting with President Horacio Cartes in
August. After the meeting Mr Balbuena spoke of
“changing the current model and giving the State
major control over gaming income in order to
increase profits and increase state investment in
social spending.”
While gaming has proliferated rapidly over recent
years in Latin America, the local industry in
Paraguay remains small scale. Although there
have been a number of attempts of recent years to
open up the market a number of bidding processes
have been cancelled over claims of irregularities
and the casino industry remains underdeveloped
with little foreign investment in the industry.
Law put forward to change
gaming rules gains ground
HONDURAS
A major new proposal to change
gaming law in Honduras has been
put forward by Deputy Augusto
Cruz. A member of the
Democristiano (Democratic
Christian) Party Augusto Cruz has
put forward a law which would
change the tax rate for slot
machines and would affect slot
machines in local businesses as
well as casinos. In presenting the
new proposals the Deputy pointed out that Honduras’s latest
gaming bill changed gaming tax
rate to 5,000 lemperes (around
U.S$210) to 25,000 lemperes
(U.S$210 )which was a reduction
of almost 80 per cent compared
to the previous rate.
This, according to Cruz and other
proponents of a new gaming leg-
islation, is too great. Under the
new act Mr. Cruz proposes to
establish the previous tax rate
which would affect slot
machines in casinos, grocery
shops, convenience stores, markets, bars, cafes and restaurants
as well as other establishment
nationwide. The new tax rate,
once in place, would be managed
by the local mayor’s office.
Calls for a repeal of gaming laws
in Honduras have been growing
of late amongst claims that the
industry is not paying enough tax
and is being used for money
laundering. Deputies belonging
to the Partido Anticorrupción
(Anti Corruption) Party allied
alongside members of the Libre
(Free) Party first called for major
reform which would affect both
casinos and slot parlours nationwide in July. However, the new
proposals have caused some controversy with local operators
arguing that the tax rate will lead
to more closures.
Gaming in Honduras remains
very small scale and gaming law
has remained in many way
unchanged since 1977 when
Honduras passed its first gaming
act. The act was designed specifically so that casinos would
attract more tourists and improve
tourist infrastructure and allows
for table for both games as well as
slot machines. However, according to lawmakers who are proposing repeal of the old act, casinos have failed to attract tourists
and instead are attracting only
locals especially those who are
less well off. Licences are valid
for 25 years and are renewable
after that period every five years
and casinos must be part of a five
star hotel or resort.
G3Newswire
south AmericA NeWs
www.g3newswire.Com
new gaming aCT DeTails emerging
New details regarding mexico’s update of
its gaming laws reveal plans to change
the minimum entry age requirement
Mexico - Legislation
el Consejero De inTerior y DeporTes De la
región alemana de Hesse (HMDIS) ha emitido 20 licencias federales de apuestas deportivas online a toda una serie de operadores tanto locales como internacionales. Todos los operadores con licencia deben respetar las diversas políticas de
juego y apuestas deportivas que se recogen en el Tratado sobre
el Juego del Estado Alemán («Glücksspielstaatsvertrag»).
suzo-happ ha CulminaDo la aDquisiCión De
Comesterogroup S.r.l., un proveedor de sistemas de pago electrónico y equipos de autoservicio para los sectores del lavado de
coches, el juego, las lavanderías automáticas y el vending.
Comesterogroup tiene su sede central en Gessate, una localidad italiana a las afueras de Milán.
en esTaDos uniDos se ha heCho púBliCa oTra
adquisición importante, de modo que Global Cash Access
(GCA), un proveedor de soluciones de manejo de dinero en
efectivo y servicios de inteligencia para empresas, ha decidido
adquirir la empresa desarrolladora y distribuidora de tecnología
para el juego Multimedia Games por un precio de compra total
de 931,9 millones de euros (1200 millones de dólares) en efectivo.
gameaCCounT neTwork, un DesarrollaDor y
proveedor líder de contenidos online y software de juego para
B2B a nivel de empresa, ha anunciado una cooperación con un
operador estadounidense de casinos con operaciones en varios
estados para lanzar una experiencia online de juego simulado
para nuevos clientes y patrones ya existentes de casinos elegidos por el cliente en Estados Unidos.
Bally TeChnologies ha firmaDo un aCuerDo
con el grupo Ontario Lottery Group (OLG) para suministrar por
toda la provincia su solución centralizada de sistemas de juego
para casino.
hay más puesTos De TraBajo en peligro en
Atlantic City, toda vez que Trump Entertainment Resorts ha
presentado suspensión de pagos según la sección 11 de la ley
de bancarrota, una decisión que según los analistas supone una
amenaza directa para el futuro de Trump Taj Mahal.
las vegas sanDs ha propuesTo un Complejo
integrado al estilo Marina Bay Sands en Corea del Sur que les
permita a los habitantes locales jugar dentro de la jurisdicción
del Gobierno de Seúl. George Tanasijevich, Director Gerente de
desarrollo global y Director General de Marina Bay Sands en
Singapur, confirmó que el operador basado en Las Vegas ha
estado analizando el potencial de Corea del Sur para su próximo
gran proyecto.
el grupo hoTelero Travellers inTernaTional,
propietario y operador de Resorts World Manila en la Bahía de
Manila (Filipinas), ha afirmado que la primera fase de su segundo casino, valorado en 1100 millones de dólares, debe estar
concluida en el año 2018. Travellers, bajo control del Alliance
Global Group y de Genting Hong Kong, comenzará las obras de
construcción del Resorts World Bayshore en los próximos tres
meses.
1 0
A number of significant details have emerged
regarding Mexico’s new gaming act after an interview with Fernando Zárate Salgado, President of
the Commission of Gaming in the Chamber of
Deputies (right). Mr Salgado outlined a number of
wide sweeping changes which would affect the
current regulatory body, change the minimum
entry age and would establish a raft of new measures when it comes to licensing.
According to Mr. Salgado, a new Advisory Council
will be composed of the secretaries of Health,
Tourism, Economics and Government, as well as
non-governmental organisations so that the public may also participate in developing public policy, revise internal rules, establish procedures and
have a say as to how casinos found to be operating
outside the terms of their licence may be sanctioned.
It was also revealed that licences will be valid for
ten years and will only be renewable for a further
10 while the minimum entry age will be raised to
21. Crucially, the law will also ban the so called
“umbrella” licences whereby operators were able
to operate a number of slot parlours and sports
betting shops under a single licence. Instead, each
casino or gaming establishment will be issued a
single licence per gaming establishment.
According Mr. Salgado, the drafting of the new bill
is currently being hammered out in close consultation with the Mexican Gaming Association
(AIEJA) as well as the current regulatory body,
which comes for now under the control of the
Interior Ministry (SEGOB). All new establishments will have to go through a very “rigorous”
process before being approved and will have to
meet with a wide number of “comprehensive
rules.”
Gaming could also be used to promote tourism.
According to the AIEJA, talks are already underway with a number of hotel chains. The AIEJA has
been lobbying for changes to Mexico gaming laws
so that popular tourist destinations in Mexico such
as Cancun, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta could
see hotels with slot parlours on their premises if
the new project is given the green light by lawmakers. The new initiative was put forward by
the AIEJA in January this year and would allow for
20 to 30 slot machines to be housed in hotel lobbies or dedicated gaming spaces in hotels.
Chile adopts new anti-money
laundering rules for casinos
of five years from the last operation performed by them and must
be made available the Financial
Analysis Unit as well as the
Chilean Gaming Board.
CHILE
Legal Division Director of the
Financial Analysis Unit Javier
Cruz Tamburrino and Head of the
Chilean Gaming Board (SJC)
Renato Hamel Maturana have
signed a circular which updates
the rules that now apply to casinos operating in the country. The
new rules will mean that Chilean
casinos will have to meet international guidelines set by the
Financial Action Task Force
(FATF) when it comes to Money
Laundering and Terrorist
Financing from now on.
In addition, casinos will now be
required to develop a Manual on
“The Prevention of Money
Laundering and Terrorist
Financing” which will, amongst
other topics, cover the detection
and reporting of suspicious transactions and will also develop
other guidelines which will
include the ethical conduct of
staff and casino operators.
Mr. Tamburrino said that the
signing of the Joint Circular was:
“A powerful signal of coordination between two entities that
have a common plan to prevent
money laundering and terrorist
financing.” According to the circular, all casinos in Chile must
now have systems in place to
safeguard against money laundering and terrorism based on the
“Know Your Customer” concept.
The “Know Your Customer” concept means that the casino
knows the identity of the customer and understands the kinds
of transactions in which the customer is likely to engage in.
These conditions must now apply
to any customer gambling any
amount over U.S$3,000 (or its
equivalent in other currencies)
and also applies to those holding
a prominent public office such as
Senators, Congressmen, Mayors
and High Court Judges amongst
others.
As instructed in the new circular,
casinos must record and maintain
information related to the identification and understanding of
customers for a minimum period
The Financial Action Task Force
(FATF) is an intergovernmental
organization founded in 1989 on
the initiative of the G7. The
objectives of the FATF are to set
standards and promote effective
implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures
for combating money laundering,
terrorist financing and other
related threats to the integrity of
the international financial system.
G3Newswire
south AmericA NeWs
www.g3newswire.Com
Chile - enjoy hopes To ConTinue in viña Del mar
A company executive from Enjoy has stated that revenues in
Chile are beginning to improve after being hit by the smoking
ban and stated that the company plans to continue to operate the casino Viña del Mar in 2015 once the municipal
licences end.
General Manager of the casino of Viña del Mar Rodolfo Prat
said that the company has a long standing bond with the
local community and expressed his hope that Enjoy will continue to run the casino in the Municipality of Viña del Mar
even if the casino comes under the supervision of the Chilean
Gaming Control Board next year.
Referring to the fact that from the beginning of 2016 the
seven municipal casinos will come under the supervision of
the Chilean Gaming Board and the tax will be split equally
between the local municipality and the central government,
Mr. Prat said that the handing over of control to the Gaming
Control Board would not greatly affect its operations. This
was because the company’s “philosophy is to do things right,
independent of the regulator who audits us,” he said.
Mr. Prat went on to explain the reason behind the company’s
good fortunes in Chile. “Revenues have recovered gradually.
And today we are on a good footing, as we have been able to
respond to all the needs of our customers,” he said. The casino in Viña del Mar has experienced improved revenue over
recent months as a result of a rethinking of the management
model that has allowed the company to increase the number
of visitors and average bets with the strategy leading to a 29
percent growth in slot machine revenue compared to last
year.
uruguay - igT anD hru soar To panDora
IGT, and one of Uruguay’s most prominent casino operators,
HRU, are taking flight to Pandora, announcing the simultaneous rollout of IGT’s award-winning title, James Cameron’s
Avatar Video Slots, at two Entertainment Maroñas properties
across Uruguay.
“James Cameron’s Avatar™ is steeped in both exceptional
entertainment and industry-leading innovation,” said Janine
Roth, IGT VP of Sales for South America, Central America and
the Caribbean. “This game enables our valued partners at
Entertainment Maroñas to engage with players who seek the
most cutting-edge, compelling gaming experience.”
“We are excited to bring our customers one of the mostanticipated game releases of the year,” said Carlos
Benavides, Marketing Manager at HRU. “James Cameron’s
Avatar™ Video Slots delivers a truly cinematic experience
that puts players right in the middle of the highest-grossing
movie of all time. Having best-in-class content allows us to
maintain our foothold as one of the premier casino destinations in Uruguay.”
Housed on IGT’s Center Stage® platform and boasting jawdropping visuals and impressive surround-sound audio,
James Cameron’s Avatar™ Video Slots continues to turn
heads on casino floors around the world. In this captivating
gaming experience, players can explore unlocked content,
enjoy customizable options and view never-before-seen
bonus content – making players feel as though they have
taken flight to Pandora.
Banks unfairly penalise Casinos
The casino industry in Panama has been
unfairly maligned with claims that casinos
are unable to open bank accounts
Panama - Operations
The casino industry in Panama has been hit by a
scandal with claims that casinos are unable to
open bank accounts due to the fact that they have
become unfairly associated with money laundering. The claims were made during the Eighteenth
Hemispheric Congress on the Prevention of
Money Laundering and Combating the Financing
of Terrorism held in Panama City. Organised by
the Banking Association of Panama the conference attracts officials and representatives from
financial institutions including banks, credit
unions, currency exchanges, casinos, insurance
companies, and brokerage houses from around the
world
President of the organising committee, Julio
Aguirre said that casinos are increasingly having
problems with the money transfer agencies
authorised to operate in the Republic of Panama a situation which is particularly serious in light of
the fact that casinos all operate under licence by
the state. However, casinos are sometimes being
denied banking services due to fear that cash payments in casinos have made them vulnerable to
money laundering practices by criminal elements.
Mr. Aguirre urged the government to take steps
whereby a detailed risk profile and assessment
could be drawn and analysed thoroughly before
shutting down accounts simply because they considered to be high risk. Rather than distancing
Panama has been a bright spot in the industry
ever since 1998 when the government passed a
wide sweeping gaming law which permitted casinos as long as they were part of five star hotel
with a minimum of 300 rooms. The boom has
coincided with Panama’s growing tourist industry
and the gaming market in Panama is showing
signs of continued growth. Currently there are 18
fully fledged casinos and 26 slot parlours nationwide. According to the latest statistics, annual
earnings for the casino industry in Panama stood
at U.S$ 105m while slot parlours earned US$224m
last year with the industry employing 7,000 people.
CPI expands distribution its
agreement with Permaquim
ARGENTINA
Crane Payment Innovations (CPI)
has expanded its distribution
agreement with Permaquim S.A.
to enhance service in the Latin
American gaming market. The
goal of this strategic partnership is
to increase service across
Argentina, Bolivia, Chile,
Paraguay and Uruguay with the
MEI SC Advance and Money
Controls Ardac Elite note acceptors.
CPI has already achieved the
largest installed base in Latin
America. Under the revised
agreement, Permaquim S.A. will
continue distributing and providing service and support not only
for SC Advance but now also
Ardac Elite.
“Permaquim has an exceptional
track record of providing highquality equipment and technical
1 2
legitimate businesses the banks and other financial institutions should draw up profiles which
would only exclude only very high risk clients he
said.
support in the markets they
serve,” said Eric Fisher, CPI
President of Gaming. “They’re
responsive to customers in a
manner that provides service consistent with the CPI value proposition. Our strengthened relationship with Permaquim is a commitment to offer Latin American
gaming operators a one-stop shop
for industry-leading products and
service.”
Permaquim will be able to assist
operators with questions and recommendations for upgrading to
SC Advance and Ardac Elite.
“Our partnership with CPI has
given us the experience and
expertise to put our company in a
position of absolute leadership,”
said Paul Roger, General Manager
at Permaquim S.A. “Now, we can
satisfy the needs of gaming operators better than ever before.”
Mexico
New Gaming legislation
could be passed into law as
early as this month
according to fernando
Zárate salgado president of
the commission of Gaming
in the chamber of deputies.
the new law aims to
regulate gaming in the
country, safeguard the rights
of players and prevent
money laundering.
crucially, the new law has
found multi party consensus
in its draft stage and has
been developed alongside
all seven political parties in
the lower house. in
addition those involved in
the local industry have also
been consulted during the
process including major
players such as caliente,
televisa and codere. the
law will ban the so called
umbrella licences whereby
operators were able to
operate multiple locations
under a single licence.
Insight
BrAZil
impetus for oNliNe ANd lANd
BAsed GroWs With NeW Bill
potentially the largest gaming market in
south america and arguably already the
biggest, with enormous levels of illegal
gaming. can Brazil make the next step?
A new bill put forward by Brazilian Senator Ciro
Nogueira would permit online and land based
gaming and would reflect similar legislation in
place in countries in Western Europe. The bill
would be aimed at generating tax revenue from
the industry and regulate the local market, where
according to recent government studies turnover
made via offshore sports betting sites alone
amounts to around US$300m a year on Brazilian
sports. The bill also seeks to regulate land based
gaming as well. According to Senator Nogueira,
the country’s illegal gaming market is already
worth around approximately US$18bn.
Brazil is potentially the most lucrative market in
the region, but the government has been
traditionally averse to open up the market even
though Brazilians routinely gamble via offshore
betting sites and via an illegal street numbers
1 4
game called “The Animal Game.” While gaming
online is banned and there have been a number
of moves put forward in both the Lower and
Upper House to block internet access to offshore
betting sites, the huge popularity of online sports
betting has of late made the government rethink
the issue and consider proposals which would not
only provide the national lottery organisation of
Brazil (CAIXA) with the right to offer online
games but would also end the ban on land based
sports betting as well.
In January 2012 CAIXA along with the Ministry of
Finance began to look at ways to offer sports
betting online and in sports betting shop where
locals would be permitted to bet on the outcome
of local football matches. One of the most
significant findings during its investigation was
that the amount bet offshore on Brazilian sports
was six times the turnover recorded by
Timemania — a CAIXA run sports betting game
designed specifically to raise cash for local
struggling football clubs. Senator Nogueira
estimates that today around 8.6 million Brazilians
regularly gamble via offshore betting sites.
arguing that Brazil now remains
“among the 24.48 per cent” member
nations of the United Nations who do
not allow gambling the bill has now
been submitted to the committee on
regional Tourism Development in the
senate. it will have to then pass through
a number of committees before being
approved. However, given the
reluctance of senators in the past to act
on the issue whether the Brazilian
government actually does decide to act
remains to be seen.
The purpose of his new bill is to “legalise what
today exists even if it is hidden” according to the
bill and seeks to establish clear rules when it
comes to both the online industry and land based
industry. Arguing that Brazil now remains
“among the 24.48 per cent” member nations of
the United Nations who do not allow gambling
the bill has now been submitted to the Committee
on Regional Tourism Development in the Senate.
It will have to then pass through a number of
committees before being approved. However,
given the reluctance of senators in the past to act
on the issue whether the Brazilian government
actually does decide to act remains to be seen.
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svenska spel piTChes for iCasino
svenska spel has asked the swedish
government for permission to begin
operations of an online casino in 2015.
Sweden - iGaming
ein umfassenDer neuer vorsChlag zur
Änderung des Glücksspielgesetzes in Honduras wurde jetzt
vom Abgeordneten Augusto Cruz vorgelegt. Ein entsprechender
Gesetzesentwurf des Mitglieds der christdemokratischen Partei
würde den Steuersatz für Glücksspielautomaten in lokalen
Spielbetrieben, aber auch in Kasinos verändern.
miTglieDer von „The quinella BeTTing union of
Paraguay“ sind zusammen mit der Abgeordneten Karina
Rodríguez mit dem Präsidenten der Abgeordnetenkammer,
Velázquez im Gespräch, um bedeutsame Änderungen an den
Glücksspielgesetzen Paraguays zu diskutieren. Die neuen
Vorschläge würden der Union eine viel gewichtigere Stimme
verleihen, wenn es um zukünftige Ausschreibungsprozesse
geht und würden dem Staat mehr Kontrolle über die Branche
verleihen
lauT fernanDo záraTe salgaDo, präsiDenT Des
Glücksspielausschusses in der mexikanischen
Abgeordnetenkammer, könnten neue Rechtsvorschriften bereits in diesem Monat als Gesetz verabschiedet werden. Das neue
Gesetze zielt darauf ab, das Glücksspiel im Land zu regulieren,
die Rechte von Spielern zu schützen und Geldwäsche zu verhindern.
Die kasinoBranChe panamas wurDe von einem
Skandal erschüttert, in dessen Verlauf behauptet wurde, dass
Kasinos keine Bankkonten eröffnen dürften, da sie ungerechtfertigterweise mit Geldwäsche in Verbindung gebracht würden.
Diese Behauptungen wurden anlässlich des 18.
Hemisphärischen Kongresses zur Verhinderung von
Geldwäsche und zur Bekämpfung der Finanzierung des
Terrorismus’ erhoben, der in Panama City stattfand.
svenska spel, Der im BesiTz Des sChweDisChen
Staates befindliche Glücksspielmonopolist und Betreiber der
vier Kasinos des Landes, hat die Regierung um Erlaubnis
gebeten, ab 2015 ein Online-Kasino betreiben zu dürfen.
playTeCh haT vorBehalTliCh gewisser
Anpassungen und der Erfüllung von Abschlussbedingungen
einen Vertrag mit dem globalen Anbieter von Inhalten und
Systemen, Aristocrat Leisure Limited, über den Erwerb von
Aristocrat Lotteries für € 10,5 Mio. in bar geschlossen.
sg gaming haT Die einführung seines neuen
Clarity-Gehäuses im Ladbrokes-Estate beschlossen. Das
Clarity-Gehäuse wurde in allen 2.228 lizenzierten Wettbüros im
Ladbrokes-Estate installiert und stellt ein Schlüsselelement in
der Strategie von Ladbrokes für das Jahr 2014 dar, mit dem Ziel
ein starkes Angebot in diesem Sektor aufrechtzuerhalten.
im BesTreBen, Die grieChisChe lizenz für
Pferdewetten zu erlangen. ist der griechische
Glücksspielbetreiber OPAP eine Partnerschaft mit Global Family
Partners, einem britischen Fondsmanager eingegangen. Dabei
geht es um eine 20-jährige Lizenz zur Annahme von
Pferdewetten als Teil des mit Athens internationalen
Geldgebern vereinbarten Privatisierungsplans. Zurzeit werden
Pferderennen von ODIE betrieben, die 2012 einen Nettoverlust
von € 23,4 Mio. verzeichneten.
Bally TeChnologies haT miT Der onTario
Lottery Group (OLG) einen Vertrag geschlossen, um die zentrale
Systemlösung im Kasinobereich in der gesamten Provinz anbieten zu können.
1 6
Svenska Spel, the state owned gambling monopoly and operator of the country’s four casinos, has
asked the government for permission to operate
an online casino in 2015.
Svenska Spel reported a 6.2 per cent slide in profits and a decline in net gaming revenues to SEK
2.29bn (US $335,906) for the first quarter of 2014.
It reiterated its desire to operate an online casino
to improve its performance. The operator still
showed a profit of SEK 1.243m (US $182,090).
ferent way than available today in the market.”
Swedish online play at foreign sites already
equates to seven per cent of the Swedish gaming
market and represents 1.5bn in net sales.
Svenska Spel CEO Lennart Käll said: “If you look
at our mission, it’s a lot about us to provide attractive games, but at the same time be an alternative
to what we call the uncontrolled gambling, to curb
unregulated and illegal operators. The primary
purpose is not to increase our revenues, but this is
all about protecting the consumer and providing
opportunities for gaming tools in a completely dif-
Sweden’s gambling and lottery authority
Lotteriinspektionen has reported that the first half
of 2014 saw overall gambling revenues in Sweden
drop by three per cent compared to the first half of
2013. Lotteriinspektionen said the market had
been ‘sluggish’ with only sports betting showing
improvements.
Total revenues came in at SEK19.3bn with gaming
revenues dropping by 11 per cent, compared to last
year, falling to SEK7.8bn.
UK
William hill is set to be the first bookmaker in europe to introduce age screening across its twitter
accounts. the addition of this extra level of security by Britain’s biggest bookmaker will help ensure only
users who are of legal age to gamble are able to see content and interact with the brand. Age screening is a
way for brands and others to determine online whether a follower meets a minimum age requirement. the
new tool will be rolled out across the William hill group, including international locations in italy, spain,
the us, and the tom Waterhouse, centrebet, and sportingbet brands in Australia.
Novomatic records profits
boost in first half to €104m
AUSTRIA
Austrian-based slot giant
Novomatic reported record first
half profit of €104m (US$137m)
up from €66.8m
For the first six months of this
year, revenues reached €941m,
representing an increase of 15 per
cent compared to the first half of
2013. EBIT increased by 20 per
cent to €165m.
operator in the Netherlands for
around €20m marking the
Austrian slot giant’s first move as
an operator in the Dutch market.
Having bought the property in
2013 Novomatic has also relaunched what it describes as ‘the
latest flagship operation in
Macedonia’ with the new Casino
FlamingGO Gala. It also expanded
in the UK , where it bought
Luxury Leisure Unlimited and
SAL Leisure Limited through its
Astra division for €68m.
Alongside all these acquisitions,
Novomatic relinquished its share
of the Monticello casino in Chile.
The first six months were peppered with new acquisitions. In
January it bought Gibraltar’s casino from Gala Coral Group. It also
has bought the Loontjens arcade
Novomatic recruited more than
1,700 new staff during the first
half of the year taking its total to
17,519, up 10.7 per cent than in
2013.
Slot machine sales increased by
15 per cent to €941m whilst EBITDA increased by almost nine per
cent to €289.1m.
Franz Wohlfahrt, Novomatic’s
outgoing CEO, said: “The first half
year results for 2014 demonstrate
that our dual business strategy
has once again proved to be the
right way to a successful future.
We achieved an increase in gaming operation revenues of 17 per
cent. A significant growth in
turnover was also achieved in the
sales, e-business and betting segments.”
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playTeCh & arisToCraT vlT Deal
aristocrat inks deal to divest aristocrat
Lotteries for €10.5m in cash as Playtech
expands its lotteries reach in europe
UK - Corporate
Der innen- unD sporTminisTer Des DeuTsChen
Bundeslandes Hessen hat 20 Bundeslizenzen für OnlineSportwetten zugunsten einer Reihe sowohl internationaler als
auch lokaler Betreiber ausgestellt. Alle lizenzierten Betreiber
müssen sich jetzt an die verschiedenen Glücksspiel- und
Sportwettengrundsätze halten, wie sie im deutschen
Glücksspielstaatsvertrag dargelegt werden.
suzo-happ haT Die üBernahme Der
Comesterogroup S.r.l., eines Anbieters von elektronischen
Zahlungssystemen und Selbstbedienungsausstattung für
Autowaschanlagen, den Glücksspielbereich, Waschsalons und
das Automatengeschäft in ganz Europa abgeschlossen. Der
Hauptgeschäftssitz der Comesterogroup befindet sich im italienischen Gessate, ganz in der Nähe von Mailand.
eine weiTere grössere üBernahme wurDe in
den USA bekannt gegeben, wo Global Cash Access (GCA), ein
Anbieter von Lösungen im Bereich des Umgangs mit Bargeld
und Business-Intelligence-Services, den Entwickler und
Vertreiber von Glücksspieltechnologie Multimedia Games für
insgesamt $ 1,2 Mrd. (€ 931,9 Mio.) in bar übernimmt.
gameaCCounT neTwork, ein führenDer
Entwickler und Anbieter von B2B-Spielesoftware auf
Unternehmensebene sowie von Online-Spielinhalten verkündet die Partnerschaft mit einem US-Multi-State
Kasinobetreiber zur Einführung eines neuen OnlineSimulationsspielerlebnisses für neue Kunden und existierende
Stammkunden von vom Kunden ausgewählten Kasinos in den
Vereinigten Staaten.
DurCh Die BeanTragung Der insolvenz gemäss
Paragraph 11 des Insolvenzgesetzes durch Trump
Entertainment Resorts sind in Atlantic City weitere
Arbeitsplätze in Gefahr. Analysten sind der Meinung, dass
dieser Schritt die Zukunft von Trump Taj Mahal gefährdet.
las vegas sanDs haT Der regierung in seoul
ein integriertes Ressort im Stile von Marina Bay Sands in
Südkorea vorgeschlagen, wo den Einheimischen Glücksspiele
angeboten werden sollen. George Tanasijevich, Managing
Director of Global Development und CEO von Marina Bay Sands
in Singapur, bestätigte dass der Betreiber mit Sitz in Las
Vegas-dabei sei, das Potenzial Südkoreas als nächstem
Großprojekt zu analysieren.
Die Travellers inTernaTional hoTel group,
Besitzer und Betreiber von Resorts World Manila in Manila Bay
auf den Philippinen, erklärte, dass die erste Phase ihres US$ 1,1
Mrd. teuren zweiten Kasinos bis 2018 beendet sein werde.
Travellers, das von der Alliance Global Group und Genting
Hongkong kontrolliert wird, will innerhalb der nächsten drei
Monate mit den Bauarbeiten an der Resorts World Bayshore
beginnen.
japans premierminisTer shinzo aBes regierung
stellt eine Task Force zusammen, um über die künftige
Entwicklung von Kasinos zu beraten, wenn der Gesetzgeber die
Einführung integrierter Kasinoressorts genehmigen sollte. Dies
ist ein klares Zeichen dafür, dass ein positiver Ausgang für das
Kasinokonzept wahrscheinlich ist, denn der Regierung ist sehr
daran gelegen, dass die integrierten Ressorts bis zu den olympischen Sommerspielen 2020 in Tokio in Betrieb sind.
1 8
Playtech has entered into an agreement with
global content and systems provider Aristocrat
Leisure Limited to acquire Aristocrat Lotteries for
€10.5m in cash, subject to certain adjustments and
satisfaction of closing conditions.
It is anticipated that closing will occur shortly.
Once complete, the acquisition will position
Playtech’s land-based operation as one of the
leading suppliers of VLT systems in Europe and
Latin America, further extending its reach and
diversification across key regulated markets. The
deal will also enable Playtech’s land-based division to replicate its success in the UK with its
Videobet solution, increase market share within
the wider global VLT market and create crossselling opportunities in existing as well as new
jurisdictions.
Aristocrat Lotteries is based in Stockholm and is
the exclusive server-based gaming provider for
Norwegian lottery Norsk Tipping’s VLTs and supplies its system to a major operator in Italy – a key
jurisdiction for Playtech. The company has also
recently completed a successful pilot project in
another well-established regulated European
country which, if commercialised, is expected to
deliver further revenue opportunities.
Shay Segev, COO and Head of Retail, Playtech,
said: “We’re delighted to be acquiring Aristocrat
Lotteries, furthering a key element of Playtech’s
retail strategy. Playtech’s multi-channel solution
means that this content can be deployed across
any location and delivered through any device as
well as allowing operators to cross-sell their customers into digital channels.
“This is an excellent deal and further strengthens
our leading position to retail operators in key regulated markets, while also creating new opportunities to expand in those territories as well as others. The Aristocrat Lotteries business is led by a
first-class management team and has an excellent
team of developers. We look forward to working
closely with them in the future in order to build
and further the results they have already
achieved.”
The divestment comes two months after
Aristocrat bought US competitor Video Gaming
Technologies for $1.28 billion. CEO and Managing
Director Jamie Odell says the developments show
how the company is ‘sharpening its focus on the
business’ strategic strengths.’
While the latest sale is subject to certain adjustments and closing conditions Aristocrat expects to
tie up the deal this financial year. Aristocrat has
advised the sale will result in a non-cash write off
of about A$45m.
Aristocrat Leisure improved its profit to $57.4m in
the first half of the 2014 financial year.
Belgium
the start of september has seen the casino in Namur open around the clock becoming the first 24 hour
casino in Belgium. Karim tekaya, ceo of casino de Namur, said: “We are following the model of casinos in
las vegas. this is a first for a casino in Belgium.” the main reason for the around the clock opening is that
the casino is struggling with its bottom line with losses of almost €1m in 2013, although this was an
improvement on the year before. managed by a group called Gambling management, the aim is to attract
more than 4,000 players each week with the intention also of boosting package deals with tourist
operators from Northern france.
SG Gaming completes Clarity
terminals rollout to Ladbrokes
into cutting edge operational systems and technology, SG Gaming
continues to deliver fast installation times for all customers.
UK
SG Gaming has completed the
rollout of its new Clarity cabinet
to the Ladbrokes estate. The
Clarity cabinet was installed in all
2,228 Licensed Betting Offices in
Ladbrokes’ estate and is a key
element in the Ladbrokes 2014
strategy for maintaining a strong
offer within the sector. The provision of SG Gaming’s content from
their in-house content development team is an important part of
Ladbrokes’ overall offering.
SG Gaming and Ladbrokes also
worked in conjunction to deliver
bespoke training to shop management and staff, and developed
focused promotional plans with
staff to aid the implementation of
the new terminals.
Following initial trials of the
Clarity cabinet in late 2013,
Ladbrokes agreed in October to
retain SG Gaming as their sole
provider of server-based gaming
machines. The agreement
extended the long-standing partnership between SG Gaming and
Ladbrokes, which began in 2010
and runs through 2019.
The product rollout was finished
in just 14 weeks as a result of
seamless coordination between
both parties, and the strength of
SG Gaming’s operational infrastructure. On average, the installation of the new Clarity cabinets
took 90 minutes per shop. SG
Gaming uses a sophisticated system that allows for flexible delivery and installation dates. With
significant ongoing investment
Phil Horne, Group Managing
Director at SG Gaming, said: “The
relationship between SG Gaming
and Ladbrokes continues to go
from strength-to-strength. We
pride ourselves on our working
partnerships with our customers
and our operational excellence, in
particular, which is why we continue to invest heavily in our
infrastructure.”
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gaming enTers ThirD Dimension
GTecH’s sphinx 3D has proved a game
changer for the european casino sector
with installations now spanning the market
Europe - Casino Slots
GTECH’s SPHINX 3D game is now live on casino
floors throughout Europe. The SPHINX 3D game
made its European debut throughout Germany
with installations at all nine of the Spielbanken
Bayern properties in Bavaria.
uk – inspireD haT TriCk of appoinTmenTs
Inspired Gaming has made three appointments to bolster the
growth of its Virtual Sports division.
Mark MacCombie joins Inspired Virtuals as Business
Development Director, Al Sayce as Account Director and Neil
Brookes as Product Manager.
The new team members bring over three decades of industry
expertise with them, having previously worked at organisations including SkyBet, GTECH and GameAccount Network.
Steve Rogers, SVP of Virtual Sports and Mobile at Inspired,
comments: “The last year has been phenomenal for
Inspired’s Virtual Sports team – we have extended our geographical footprint to 35 countries and been particularly successful in Italy where our products are generating 10m bets
per month across retail, online and mobile.
“Underpinning the success of the Virtual Sports division is a
very hard-working and passionate team, but to keep growing
and supplying market-leading products we need to keep
strengthening the team with industry experts and fresh
ideas. During 2015 our customers can expect numerous
innovations that will further increase their Virtual Sports revenues.”
finlanD – ray launChes playTeCh live Casino
Finland’s national gaming operator has launched today with
Playtech’s cutting-edge live casino solution located in its own
purpose-built studio within its Espoo headquarters and featuring a new presenter concept.
RAY (Raha-Automaattiyhdistys – Slot Machine Association
Finland) has further extended its existing long-term relationship with Playtech and launched unlimited Blackjack,
Blackjack and Roulette tables. The initial launch includes
Playtech web version with mobile due to follow shortly.
Playtech offers a wide choice of live casino facilities in order
to meet the different cultural needs and requirements of its
licensees, including installing live casino within physical casinos to accommodate local regulations.
Playtech worked closely with RAY and implemented a purpose-built environment to accommodate its requirements
and the taste of its local audience. This included a new and
innovative look and feel of its live casino product and the way
dealers are presented to RAY’s customers.
“We are thrilled with the new product which is not only the
best in class and the most advanced, but also the most flexible and comprehensive which allowed us to have purposefully taken a friendlier and fresher approach to live dealer,” said
Timo Kiiskinen, Senior VP Business Operations at RAY.
2 0
Casinos in Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia,
and Slovenia have also implemented the game,
with more European countries to soon follow. The
United States also went live with SPHINX 3D
installations across various states including Las
Vegas, Nevada.
“The preliminary feedback we have received from
players at promotional events where SPHINX 3D
is live has been extremely positive,” said GTECH
International Vice President of Commercial
Gaming Marcel Heutmekers. “Players are enjoying the 3D effects, as they enhance the typical
gaming experience and add an extra level of
excitement. We are looking forward to installing
these machines in more casinos around the world
in the months to come.”
The SPHINX 3D game is the first of its kind to use
a glasses-free 3D display, and the first game
released as part of GTECH’s True 3D line. It pairs
autostereoscopic technology with eye- tracking
that constantly adjusts the image based on the
player’s line of sight. This generates a high-resolution image that leaps off the screen, creating an
experience unlike any other game on the market.
The game runs on the AXXIS cabinet, which creates a sense of personal space and maximizes
player comfort. The cabinet, combined with the
True 3D technology, produces an all-encompassing 3D experience.
“We’re very pleased about the launch of the
SPHINX 3D game in each of our nine casinos,”
said Staatliche Lotterieverwaltung Bayern Vice
President Josef Müller. “The product looks great
and customers immediately take to the machine’s
unique features and functionality. Players are
very impressed when they see the 3D effects for
the first time, and their reaction shows that we
made the right decision by adding the SPHINX 3D
game to our casinos.”
The latest European installations include Casino di
Sanremo in Italy, which is the first Italian venue to
offer its players the SPHINX 3D game, and the two
HIT Casinos Perla and Park in Nova Gorica,
Slovenia.
Slovenia
hitstars.it, the italy focused online site from slovenia’s hit casinos, has received approval from the italian
regulator, AAms, following an extensive process of inspection and certification that has granted hit a valid
license to operate games remotely in italy. the highly competitive italian online gaming environment sees
the launch of the hit platform with an exhaustive range of 140 different games options, from slot machines
by world’s largest producer, roulette, blackjack, poker (also in the tournament versions) and other card
games of skill (skill) games, bingo and sports betting. hitstars.it has also launched with a livecasino offer,
with croupiers from the casino and entertainment center perla in Nova Gorica, participating with online
gamers and location-based players at a specially denominated table in the center of perla.
OPAP in renewed bid to land
Greece’s horseracing licence
GREECE
Greek gambling operator OPAP is
partnering with a British fund
manager Global Family Partners
as it looks to win the Greek horse
race betting licence.
A 20-year licence to take bets on
horse races as part of a privatisation plan agreed with Athens’
international lenders is up for
grabs. Horseracing is currently
operated by ODIE, who reported
a net loss of €23.4m in 2012.
Privatisation agency HRADF
scuppered a deal with sole bidder
Intralot claiming it was not satisfactory and that the bidding
process would be now start again
from scratch.
OPAP’s bid will total €40m
($52.7m), representing a much
improved bid than the 5.2m
offered by Intralot. OPAP already
owns the sole licence in lotteries
and sports betting in Greece
where it has around 5,000 betting
shops.
OPAP’s second quarter were better than analysts expected with
earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortisation
(EBITDA) increasing by 50 per
cent to €68.6m. However a tax
bill of €21.6m saw net profit fall
by 44.5 per cent to €15.7m.
OPAP Invehas also recently completed a deal to buy a 90 per cent
stake in Payzone Hellas, a company that operates the largest
network of payment terminals in
Greece for €7.75m.
Payzone Hellas’ portfolio boasts
over 11,000 POS terminals which
will be used for adding credit to
OPAP gambling cards for online
betting. The deal is expected to
help OPAP lessen its dependence
on traditional betting outlets and
offer better access to its mobile
phone network.
G3Newswire
emeA NeWs
germany liCenCes sporTs-BeTTing
www.g3newswire.Com
20 sports betting licensees chosen in
Germany – yet licences cannot be issued
as losing applicants pursue lawsuits
Germany - Online gaming
souTh afriCa – unexpeCTeD
DeaTh of agi afriCa mD
It is with great sadness and a sense
of shock that Novomatic must
announce the unexpected death of
AGI Africa’s Managing Director,
Warren Banks, on September 2,
2014.
Warren Banks (50) resided in the Johannesburg suburb of
North Wold and is survived by his sons Wade (22) and Cavin
Banks (19) to whom we send our deepest condolences.
Warren Banks was an iconic figure in the African gaming
industry. His character is universally described as being ‘a
superbly professional gaming industry executive and a man
with a warm heart and a huge presence.’
With a long and successful career in the gaming industry
already established Mr. Banks joined the Novomatic family in
2000 and was instrumental in setting up, leading and directing the expansion of AGI Africa, the group’s subsidiary of
Austrian Gaming Industries GmbH.
In his private life Warren was father to two sons, Wade and
Cavin, of whom he was enormously proud, a keen golfer at
Ruimsig Country Club, a passionate rugby supporter and a
dedicated fitness enthusiast. At the time of his death Warren
was planning to run the Comrades Marathon on May 31st
2015 in his beloved South Africa.
Colleagues at AGI Africa described Warren Banks as a ‘fantastic leader, a friend to everyone and an inspirational figure
who has been taken all too soon.’
Jens Halle, Managing Director AGI, said: “We are all in shock
at the untimely passing of our friend and colleague Warren.
Our sympathies go out to his family, friends and industry colleagues. Warren’s loss is hard to bear but we will strive to
bring to reality the business objectives that he was already
planning and hope that they will stand as a fitting memorial
to a true friend and professional colleague.”
souTh afriCa - gpT To DisTriBuTe jCm in s. afriCa
JCM Global has entered into a distribution agreement with
Global Payment Technologies (GPT). Under the arrangement,
GPT will sell and service JCM’s entire line of bill validation
products in South Africa.
The agreement brings JCM products back to South Africa,
including JCM’s award-winning iVIZION, Transactional Bill
Validator (TBV) and the company’s new DBV series.
JCM EMEA General Manager Payam Zadeh said: “Our awardwinning product line of bill validators and other peripheral
equipment has set global standards. We are very pleased to
announce this arrangement with Global Payment
Technologies to bring JCM solutions to the operators in South
Africa who have been asking for our products.”
Wanda van Vuuren, National Sales and Marketing Director
for Global Payment Technologies, said: “JCM Global and its
line of products are internationally known for high quality
design and world-class service. We are proud to partner with
JCM to bring their solutions to South Africa.”
2 2
Online sports betting is finally to be legalised in
Germany. It has taken well over two years for the
German government to choose which companies
should be awarded a licence, following the necessary changes to the Interstate Gambling Treaty.
The Ministry of Interior and Sport of the state of
Hesse is responsible for this process.
9. Ladbrokes International PLC
10. Bet90 Ltd.
11. Deutsche Sportwetten GmbH
12. Personal Exchange International Ltd. – Mybet
13. Polco Ltd. – Betfair
14. Intermedia GmbH
15. Bernd Hobiger Wettbüro Goldesel
16. RULEO Alpenland GmbH
17. Racebets International Gaming Ltd.
18. Albers Wettbörsen Deutschland oHG mbH
19. IBA Entertainment Ltd. – Bet3000
20. Star Sportwetten GmbH
The 20 licences are as follows:
The future of sports betting in Germany looks
strong, despite these law suits. The German
Telecom (Deutsche Telekom) announced its
intentions to enter this market, stating its interest
in purchasing Deutsche Sportwetten GmbH
should this company win a licence which it has.
Currently Deutsche Sportwetten GmbH belongs to
an Austrian sports betting company called ÖSW
that is partly owned by Casinos Austria. The current market leaders Bet365 and Tipico did not win
a licence. Tipico, for example, has approx. 750
sports betting licences currently in operation in
Germany.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
The Administrative Court of Justice has already
received approx. a dozen law suits from companies that did not win such a licence. The
Administrative Court of Wiesbaden has prevented
the Ministry of the Interior of granting the 20
licences as in the next weeks the procedure surrounding the issuing of the sports betting licences
must be investigated.
In September, the 20 companies to receive a concession for sports betting in Germany were
announced. Originally the German government
wished to keep sports betting as a state-only
organisation and Oddset was responsible for this.
Private companies were banned and it was only
the rulings from the European Court of Justice that
forced the German government to open up the
market to private companies.
Cashpoint (Malta) Ltd. - Gauselmann
Admiral Sportwetten GmbH - Novomatic
ODDSET Deutschland Sportwetten GmbH
Oddsline Entertainment AG
Primebet International Ltd.
ElectraWorks Ltd. – Bwin
Digibet Ltd.
Bet at home.com Internet Ltd.
UK
playtech has signed an agreement with existing major licensee, sky Bet, for the provision of its marketleading casino and live dealer products. sky Bet players will have access to playtech’s comprehensive casino
games library, comprising table, card and slots games along with a wide range of branded content in web and
mobile formats. Additionally, sky Bet has selected playtech’s cutting-edge live casino offering to provide it
with the most comprehensive solution available on the market. this includes playtech’s live private
environment, allowing sky Bet to leverage its presence and positioning with branded and customised
content to deliver an improved player experience.
Evolution launches dedicated
Live Casino for Full Tilt brand
LATVIA
Evolution Gaming, the world
leader in video-streamed Live
Dealer gaming, has launched a
dedicated live casino environment for Full Tilt. Full Tilt is best
known as one of the world’s
leading poker brands and is now
expanding its offering of casino
games.
ers running both Windows and
Macintosh operating systems,
and also iOS and Android mobile
devices. The dedicated Full Tilt
live casino environment is staffed
by a dedicated team of over 50
dealers. The online casino area
and staff uniforms will offer an
experience that meets the high
expectations of Full Tilt players.
The Full Tilt dedicated environment, created within Evolution’s
Riga studios, includes three live
blackjack tables and one live
roulette table. All tables will be
available to players on a variety
of platforms, including comput-
Full Tilt players will also have
access to a variety of Evolution’s
generic Live Roulette, Blackjack,
Baccarat and Casino Hold’em
tables and to Evolution’s VIP
suite of live tables.
Commenting on Full Tilt’s move
into offering live casino services
to players, Sam Hobcraft,
Director of Casino at the Rational
Group, said: “Offering the best
live casino has always been core
to our strategy for Full Tilt and
we have worked very hard with
Evolution to create an environment that will be the very best
product on the market. It will be
offered to our customers through
all channels, but we are particularly excited about the mobile
product.”
Sebastian Johannisson, Head of
Account Management at
Evolution, added: “This is a
notable launch in that Full Tilt is
highly committed to Live Casino
as part of its offer to today’s and
tomorrow’s multi-channel online
gaming market.”
G3Newswire
emeA NeWs
www.g3newswire.Com
e-gaming Books souTh suCCess
acceptance has been immediate for
e-gaming’s range of VLT games with
both Latin american and spanish players
Spain - LatAm - VLTs
The neTherlanDs – suzohapp new appoinTmenT
Suzo-Happ is proud to announce
that Frank Kocik has joined the team,
taking on the newly created position
of Director OEM Supply Chain
Management.
Mr. Kocik will be responsible for managing the supply chain
for the ever-increasing demand for customer-build subassemblies and contract manufacturing, liaising with SuzoHapp’s large manufacturing plant in China and research and
development departments around the globe. In addition to
this, Mr. Kocik is assuming the responsibility for the complete
supply chain at Suzo-Happ.
Mr. Kocik brings over 20 years of experience with direct supply chain responsibilities for Europe’s largest gaming
machine manufacturer.
uk – evoluTion launChes wiTh royal panDa
Evolution Gaming has announced that Royal Panda, the new
online casino brand that launched in March 2014, has added
a full set of Evolution live games to its site.
Now available via the Live Casino tab at
www.royalpanda.com is Evolution’s full generic offering (Live
Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat and Casino Hold’em), plus VIP
tables, Slingshot Auto Roulette and Evolution’s multi-camera
Immersive Roulette, all streamed from Evolution’s studios in
Latvia. In addition, Royal Panda features Svensk Roulette,
the native speaking dealer table for Swedish players, which is
streamed from Evolution’s Malta studios.
Commenting on Royal Panda’s decision to select Evolution
Live Casino, Royal Panda Director Mark Podd said: “As one of
the best performing new online casinos of 2014,
RoyalPanda.com aims to offer its players the best games
around, so we’re delighted to add Evolution’s world-leading
Live Casino games to our portfolio. Whether players are sat
at their desktop or using tablets or mobile phones, there really is nothing like playing Evolution’s Live Casino games.”
germany - operaTor numBers roCkeT aT eig
The number of individual operators signed up to attend EiG
(Excellence in iGaming) has doubled year-on-year after
Clarion Events lined up a stellar list of speakers from outside
the gaming industry for the event in Berlin, Germany.
The ‘Outside-In’ agenda will provide gaming industry delegates with the chance to hear from leading decision-makers
who can offer fresh perspectives in fields such as customer
retention, behaviour and engagement.
With more than 600 registrations so far – a 38 per cent
increase on 2013 – the event takes place at Arena Berlin
from October 21-23, where organiser Clarion Events believes
EiG 2014 will set a new benchmark for networking and
knowledge-sharing opportunities.
“We listened to feedback from delegates and promised to
deliver growth in operators at EiG 2014, and the numbers
speak for themselves,” Kate Chambers, Portfolio Director,
Clarion Events, said. “More than 250 operators from 54
operating groups are signed up to date, representing significant growth year-on-year.
2 4
Almost one year ago the Czech company, E-gaming, started a joint venture in Spain with
Covimatic (Spanish industry veteran Antonio
Duran and the Palomares Family).
Today, the partnership has installed over 400
machines across the Spanish territory with
machine approvals for several of the country’s
autonomous communities. Right now, E-gaming is
the only company to have its VLT approved in
some of these communities.
At present, more than 200 machines are installed
in the Murcia community where results are above
expectation. Every month more VLTs are installed,
expanding E-gaming’s footprint in Murcia. E-gaming continues to find success in additional communities and are busy securing approvals for
other communities and other permits.
VLT operations are very different from street
machine arcades and have increasingly become
accepted by very well established number of
players in each region that has adopted VLT gaming. E-gaming is continuing its efforts to ensure its
machines are approved across most of the Spanish
communities.
The same acceptance of VLT gaming has also been
seen in Mexico, where a quantity of machines are
already in test in some of the best Mexican casinos,
with revenues for E-gaming's VLTs above average
in terms of machine income. Over 200 machines
arrived in Mexico last month and installation is
planned in the coming days and weeks,
Mexican players have accepted E-gaming’s platform almost immediately and the development
team is working hard to deliver a new library of
games in order to satisfy player demand.
E-gaming has big plans for Latin America as a
whole, with machines arriving in Panama in
September, where installation is planned in several casinos, with ongoing negotiations applying to
additional Latin American markets.
In the Czech Republic, E-gaming will soon launch
its own online gaming platform with live games,
poker and video slot machines. This new gaming
platform will be offered in several jurisdictions
whereby E-gaming plans to work together with
local partners, just as it has done so successfully
in Spain, Mexico, Panama and other countries very
soon.
GameAccount Network secures
iBridge integration patent in US
UK
GameAccount Network has been
awarded a patent by the US Patent
Office for its iBridge Framework.
The iBridge Framework enables
the integration of an Internet
Gaming System with a land-based
casino’s rewards points program.
This patent strengthens
GameAccount’s position in the US
market by granting unique intellectual property rights over the
mechanisms by which an Internet
gaming experience is converged
with land-based casino gaming.
The iBridge Framework module
extension for the GameSTACK
Internet Gaming System now
offers a range of rewards points’
incentives capable of being
awarded to patrons as an integral
part of the gaming experience.
The iBridge Framework delivers a
converged online-to-offline experience proven to encourage online
patrons to increase visitation to
the conjoined casino property.
More than 50 million US casino
patrons are estimated to hold one
or more reward cards used to
accumulate rewards points
redeemed inside casino properties.
Dermot Smurfit, CEO of
GameAccount Network, said:
“Developing sustainable competitive advantage in the US through
intellectual property protection
represents delivery of one of our
objectives set at the time of our
IPO. The patent demonstrates the
strength of our offering and validates our position as a key player
in the market. It represents significant progress towards our objective of growing through opportunities in the US. We believe that
this step will enhance our offering
and build on the already excellent
relationships we have developed
with leading US casino brands. We
look forward to making the
patented software designs available for licensing in due course.”
UK
Nick hares, who has
extensive conference
experience working across
a range of industry sectors,
has joined clarion’s
successful gaming division
as conferences event
manager. reporting to head
of content, Gaming, ewa
Bakun, he will have
responsibility for delivering
high profile gaming brands
including eiG, ice
conferences, GiGse, and
WrB. the law graduate
joins from Wilmington plc,
where he produced a range
of international events in
the uK, europe and Asia.
Kate chambers, portfolio
director at clarion, stated:
“Nick was the stand out
candidate from a long list of
applicants. he is a valuable
addition to the clarion
team, and will play a
central role ensuring that
we continue to produce
high calibre and engaging
events.”
G3Newswire
emeA NeWs
sun signs major Deal wiTh minor
www.g3newswire.Com
Thailand’s minor int. will acquire eight
hotels in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia,
swaziland and Zambia from sun int.
South Africa - Casino Operations
uk - sg gaming signs
Carrigill lBo ConTraCT
SG Gaming, a division of Scientific
Games Corporation, has signed a
four-year contract with Carrigill
Bookmakers, a long-standing independent. The new long-term partnership, which makes SG Gaming
Carrigill’s machine provider of choice, will see SG Gaming
supply Infinity and Vision cabinets to all Carrigill shops. In
addition, Carrigill will benefit from SG Gaming’s comprehensive support programme for independents, which includes
marketing support, promotions, best practice guidance, and
tailored staff training.
The new partnership will provide Carrigill Bookmakers’ customers with access to a range of exciting content developed
by SG Gaming’s in-house development team, including a
number of popular titles from the portfolio of WMS Gaming,
SG Gaming’s sister company.
Phil Horne, Managing Director of SG Gaming (top), said:
“Following ongoing discussion with Carrigill, it became clear
they were attracted to SG Gaming by our strong content
offering, overall support package and our ability to help drive
cashbox revenue. Better than any other provider, SG Gaming
recognises that independents require a complete service that
is tailored to their specific needs. We understand that, particularly for independents, it is vital that providers offer a complete package which offers comprehensive support across all
aspects of customers’ businesses.”
Minor International (MINT) and Sun International,
have agreed terms whereby Sun International is disposing a significant portion of its shareholdings and
interest in its Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia,
Swaziland and Zambia operations, consisting of
eight properties to MINT for a total consideration of
R679.5m (US$63.9m). Sun International and MINT
have also formed a new strategic partnership to own
and operate the African Assets going forward. The
Partnership intends to leverage both companies' core
strengths where Sun International will continue to
manage the casino operations, while MINT will
assume the hotel management, marketing and distribution under MINT's Anantara and AVANI brands.
Sun International will dispose of 50 per cent of its
interest in Zambia, and 80 per cent of its interests in
Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, and Swaziland. As a
result, MINT's effective shareholding will be 50 per
cent in Zambia properties, which include 173-key
Royal Livingstone and 212-key Zambezi Sun; 64 per
cent in 196-key Gaborone Sun in Botswana; 80 per
cent in 173-key Kalahari Sands in Namibia; 37.5 per
cent in Lesotho properties, which include 158-key
Lesotho Sun and 105-key Maseru Sun, and (5) 40.5
per cent in Swaziland properties, which are 149-key
Royal Swazi and 202-key Ezulwini Sun.
The proposed transaction and the partnership with
MINT in Africa are in line with Sun International's
strategy to optimise its capital allocation and
resources. The Partnership enables Sun
International to remain invested in the African
Assets but with responsibility for the casino component only, as well as to partner with MINT in other
African opportunities that have a casino Element.
Going forward Sun International will be able to give
greater focus to opportunities identified in Latin
America and Asia (where MINT has a strong presence) as further key growth markets for its core
casino business. In addition, MINT will commit its
pro rata share of new capital expenditure to realize
the revenue potential of the African Assets, thus giving Sun International more room to consider capital
investment opportunities elsewhere.
Sun International will use proceeds from the disposal to reduce its debt and provide capacity for its
strategic expansion initiatives.
The proposed transaction allows MINT to invest and
operate in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland
and Zambia, where MINT believes in secular
demand growth for quality accommodation. In addition, MINT will bring its hospitality expertise,
together with operational and distribution capabilities, to capture the growth potential of the African
Assets. The proposed transaction also fits with
MINT's expansion plans in Africa, where MINT currently owns eight luxury game lodges and resorts in
Kenya and Tanzania under the Elewana Collection,
and five hotel projects in Mozambique under MINT's
Anantara and AVANI brands.
The only African property outside of South Africa
owned by Sun International and not part of the
Proposed Transaction is the Federal Palace in Lagos,
Nigeria, in which Sun International and MINT are in
discussion regarding a possible investment by MINT.
Suzo-Happ acquires Italian
payments firm Comestero
uk – ainsworTh aDDs To key uk personnel
Ben Challenor and Stephen Miller have joined the Ainsworth
UK team. Ben Challenor (right) is well known and respected
in the gaming industry thanks to his time spent at Clarion,
supporting the ICE team in London. His proactive approach,
visiting exhibitors around Europe to understand their needs
further helped improve the exhibition quality. After having
spent almost four years at Clarion, Mr. Challenor explained
his move to Ainsworth, “I am incredibly excited about joining
such a globally recognised brand and one that is so well
known across the gaming industry. There are excellent
opportunities for us to grow even further within Europe”.
Stephen Miller has a proven track record as an entrepreneur.
After playing a key role in the family company for almost 20
years, Mr. Miller entered the gaming industry in 1997. He has
amassed experience for a UK gaming machine operator,
spent three years as a slot manager for a cruise line company and spent 12 years based in the Netherlands for a major
slot machine company. The mix of technical, product and
sales experience makes him the ideal person to embody the
position of Product Manager at Ainsworth UK.
2 6
ITALY
Suzo-Happ has completed the
acquisition of Comesterogroup
S.r.l., a provider of electronic
payment systems and self-service equipment to the carwash,
gaming, laundromat and vending
industries throughout Europe.
Comesterogroup is headquartered in Gessate, Italy just outside of Milan.
The Comesterogroup acquisition
significantly expands SuzoHapp’s presence in Key
European markets: Italy, France
and Spain; and broadens SuzoHapp’s diversification with
access to new end-markets
through Comesterogroup’s carwash and laundromat automation components.
Comesterogroup’s products
include the RM5 coin validator
that when combined with Suzo-
Happ’s hoppers and other coin
dispensing products, give customers access to complete coin
handling solutions that together
represent an installed base of
more than 2,000,000 units.
Comesterogroup has more than
5,000 customers that are an
important addition to SuzoHapp’s growing customer portfolio and their 150 employees are a
critical expansion of resources
and human capital.
The acquisition provides SuzoHapp access to new technologies
including Europe’s leading
closed-loop cashless system. It
will also result in significant
operational synergies in combination with Suzo-Happ’s existing
European business including a
broadened suite of products for
vending component solutions
and overall manufacturing
capacity.
UK
clarion events has
acquired a majority
interest in the slot
Academy and slot
summit events created
and run by respected
industry personality
lucien Wijsman. the
agreement, which was
ratified in london this
week, will see lucien
Wijsman retain a
significant shareholding in
the 'slot' brands as well as
an executive position on
the board. Julian Graves,
managing director,
clarion events Gaming
division, said: "We are
delighted to have agreed
this deal with lucien
which will see him remain
fully and intensively
involved with the
business, delivering
training, developing
content and nurturing a
cohort of expert trainers."
AmAtic BriNGs the iNNovAtioN
to romANiAN GAmiNG shoWcAse
Insight
romANiA
the entertainment arena expo plays a
small, but important, role in bringing
romanian’s gaming industry together and
amatic enjoyed its role in providing the fun
Once again AMATIC Industries has been
welcomed at an Eastern European gaming show as
the true alternative for premium gaming solutions.
This time it is the turn of visitors to the
Entertainment Arena Expo (EAE) – the key
Romanian industry exhibition.
This stylish Austrian developer and manufacturer
has its finger on the pulse of how tomorrow’s
gaming solutions can and will look today. This is
especially the case for the slant top called
Performer Grand Arc. The curved design makes
this slot stand out in any crowd and was
acclaimed as the most attractive cabinet by many
visitors to the last ICE in London.
The word is spreading and it was the turn of
Romanian operators to bring this form of
entertainment to their customers at the EAE event.
Naturally, the games are key and as the company
with the tagline ‘Multi Game’ with many years of
experience, the choice of games attracted visitors
from across the Romanian gaming sector.
Having its finger on the pulse of gaming applies
just as much to electronic roulette. Electronic
roulette is a further mainstay at AMATIC
Industries and the Solitaire solutions (separate
terminals) are the preference for players in
Romania. These state-of-the-art roulette
terminals are connected to the fully electronic
AMATIC roulette wheel. The EAE proved that
these are the solutions that operators are looking
for – being recognised as more modern and
entertaining for their customers in comparison to
large multi-player roulettes.
“This is truly a positive show, the best Eastern
European show for quite a while,” noted Thomas
Engstberger, Sales Manager at AMATIC Industries.
“Our combination of unique design and great
games for both slots and electronic roulette has
made us stand out as the true alternative for
premium gaming in Romania.”
ROULETTE TABLES
BLACK JACK TABLES
PUNTO BANCO TABLES
POKER TABLES
ACCESSORIES
PLAYING CARDS
SEATING
PST
River Drive
South Shields
NE33 1LH, UK
T: +44 (0) 191 456 6209
F: +44 (0) 191 427 1118
E: [email protected]
www.pstseating.com
Insight
uK AWp mArKet
GAuselmANN spells out its
BluepriNt for chANGe iN uK
germany’s gauselmann group is
concentrating its focus on the uK awp
market, offering end-to-end solutions
Any adult visitor to the UK will know just how
important ‘going to the pub’ is for the British. It
is a way of life – a chance to relax with friends
and colleagues – and reflects the social importance of interaction. Naturally times are changing and younger people are making more use of
electronic means of communication and social
networks. This has had an effect of the number
of pubs in the UK but also the type of pubs. As
older fashioned pubs may be closing, newer,
more stylish pubs are opening up.
The UK pub culture is changing on another front
as well which is key for the gaming market. The
traditional business model of providing singlegame reel-based machines is seeing increased
competition from video-based multi-game
machines. This is a transition that took place
back in 2006 in Germany. The parallels are
there to see in the UK. The Gauselmann Group is
the most successful supplier of AWPs in the
German market and equally has built up a
strong presence in the UK. The UK market is
therefore perfectly positioned to benefit from
the Gauselmann winning games and gaming
machines.
Blueprint Gaming unites the best of both worlds
in the UK gaming market – being a game developer and gaming machine supplier. The games
2 8
can be found in practically every gaming segment – such as AWP, LBO, VLT, bingo, online and
mobile. The machine division is headed up by
Simon Barff who is already foreseeing how the
UK AWP (Category C) market is changing and
the role the Gauselmann Group is playing. He
commented, “The old way was to provide single-game, reel-based machines that moved
from site to site depending on their popularity
Gauselmann is strategically
positioned in several segments
in the UK – with Blueprint for
game development and sales,
Praesepe in arcade and bingo,
and participation in Sceptre
Leisure that operates in pubs.
and age. This is a costly process and assumes
tight machine management control... It is vital
that machines like these are changed on a regular basis to maintain player interest, and to
leave a machine on-site for too long a period
will cause a loss of vital income. We know how
video-based multi-game AWPs have revolutionised the market in Germany – and that is
how we foresee the UK market going. We are
perfectly placed to play a key role here as our
parent company is the Gauselmann Group”.
Blueprint Gaming has already provided several
thousand video-based multi-game AWPs in the
market. The Gauselmann Group is strategically
positioned in several segments in the UK market
– with Blueprint Gaming for game development
and machine sales, with Praesepe in the arcade
and bingo segments and with a participation in
Sceptre Leisure that operates AWPs in the pub
segment.
The wide selection of cabinets – all developed
and manufactured at the Gauselmann headquarters in Lübbecke, Germany – enables customers to give players an unbelievable choice.
The new ‘Genie’ cabinet joins the already established ‘Playmaker’, ‘Vision Slant Top’ and
‘Vision Casino’ series. “These cabinets are built
to superb standards in Germany and offer multigame menus. The possibility to reprogramme
them on-site is the key benefit. The cabinets are
eye-catching and built to last. The fact that the
games are continually updated means that the
costly furniture removal process can be negated.
That gives retailers and machine operators
peace of mind and saves money”, explained Mr.
Barff.
The revolution in the German AWP market saw
the player base almost double. Providing affordable gaming entertainment in exquisite locations has strongly increased the appeal of AWP
gaming in Germany. This revolution could well
be applied to the UK market and the
Gauselmann Group is transforming its knowledge base to the UK to support this market
growth. “This will be for the benefit of the entire
UK market. Our machine and game popularity
coupled with our strong position in the UK as
both supplier and operator and the knowledge
from the German market will all be used to create a new exciting gaming environment for
players in the UK,” Mr. Barff concluded.
Insight
cyprus
Built for A flood of tourists
- But experiNciNG A drouGht
the Barfra tourism investment project was to create an oasis along the turkish cypriot
north-east coast, with mythologically-styled luxury resorts attracting mass tourism to
the area. the reality has been frustratingly slow, but there’s still signs of life...
The Turkish Cypriot coastline along the northeast of Famagusta has been the choice location
for the Cyprus Turkish Investment Development
Agency (YAGA), to establish its own Las Vegas
style casino destination, resplendent with five
star hotels and 18 hole golf courses. YAGA is the
agency charged with facilitating large local and
foreign investments in the north, but to date it’s
grand plans for the island have yet to fully
materialise.
Plans to develop the coastal stretch were first
unveiled in 2003 as the ‘Bafra Tourism
Investment Project’. Little development has
actually taken place for over a decade, though the
project has recently been given a new lease of life
following a progress review of developments by
the authorities. The decision has been taken to
impose stricter deadlines for implementation and
completion of planned activities in the area.
In some instances, the authorities have even
revoked previously signed contracts and leased
the freed-up plots anew in a bid to revitalise and
deliver the grand vision for a centre for
international tourism and gambling.
The project aims to increase the north’s tourism
capacity by at least 15,000 beds. The long-term
objective is for the entire Vokolida beach area to
become one large resort complex. This would
comprise a mix of luxury hotels and casinos, their
designs mostly inspired by and modelled on
themes from ancient history or mythology.
The Turkish Cypriot regime gave the go ahead to
build on land belonging to the government of the
Republic of Cyprus, previously classified as low
level forest. At the beginning of the millennium,
the designated area’s status was changed to
‘special tourism development.’ The new
classification meant that the land could be
developed and built upon, which has raised
serious environmental concerns.
In 2003, the area was divided up into 14 plots and
sold as 49-year-long leaseholds to 10 investors.
Most were private companies from Turkey.
3 0
eleven years on and only two of the
planned hotels are up and running and
no one seems happy with the project.
of the two functioning hotels now
operational, one, the 734-room Kaya
artemis, resembles the ancient Temple
of artemis from ephesus, while the
other, the 684-room Noah’s ark
(pictured right). Both have been
struggling since they opened in 2007
and 2011 respectively. according to
Noah’s ark deputy director, Zafer
Keskin, the authorities in the north failed
to deliver on what they had promised.
“Look around, we are in the middle of
nowhere. The planned development has
not happened. costs of running a hotel
here are twice as high as in Turkey,”
commented mr. Keskin.
The Turkish Development Bank put around
€224m into the project and the plan was that all
the proposed hotels would be built by 2007.
Money was also put aside for new roads and
related infrastructure.
The venture was supposed to strengthen the
image of northern Cyprus as a tourism
destination and create new jobs and income
opportunities for the local population. The
expectation was that there would be openings in
the burgeoning hospitality and tourism industry
for local workers and a commensurate growth in
demand for local agricultural produce to supply a
whole new range of catering outlets including
high-end restaurants.
Eleven years on and only two of the planned
hotels are up and running and no one seems
happy with the project. Of the two functioning
hotels now operational, one, the 734-room Kaya
Artemis, resembles the ancient Temple of
Artemis from Ephesus, while the other, the 684room Noah’s Ark (pictured right). Both have been
struggling since they opened in 2007 and 2011
respectively.
According to Noah’s Ark deputy director, Zafer
Keskin, the authorities in the north failed to
deliver on what they had promised. Speaking to
local news in Cyprus, he recently complained:
“Look around, we are in the middle of nowhere.
The planned development has not happened.
Costs of running a hotel here are twice as high as
in Turkey. Promised subsidies haven’t
materialised. Electricity is expensive. Water can
be a problem.”
Operators are doing what they can too. The
company owning Kaya Artemis has several
resorts in Antalya and to help sustain revenue
flow in its northern Cyprus hotel, the company
now offers clients a combination package
enabling those holidaying in the chain’s Turkeybased establishments to spend some of their
vacation on the island.
Noah’s Ark on the other hand, isn’t part of a larger
Insight
cyprus
group. It relies on special events to attract its
clientele and add to its appeal. The most recent of
these was an international poker tournament.
With prizes totalling a million euros, the
tournament reportedly drew more than 300
international professional and amateur players to
the tables.
Further planned investments
are on the drawing board for
construction in the immediate
vicinity of Noah’s Ark and Kaya
Artemis.
Both Kaya Artemis and Noah’s Ark are heavily
dependent on their casino operations for their
income. However, the casinos are struggling to
compete with similar establishments currently
flourishing in Kyrenia. Bafra supporters believe
that authorities must stop granting licences to
operators outside of the tourism project area in
order to boost its chances.
Officials claim the hotels should not have any
water problems because an Israeli-owned
desalination plant sited close by produces around
2000 cubic metres of water a day. However,
during the summer holiday season, the hotels
take priority over the water supply and the local
agriculture suffers.
Help also needs to be given to the local
agricultural community. At present the local
industry fails to even supply the existing hotels
with their needs. Farming in the region is almost
dead because most of the villages lack sufficient
water to sustain it.
Despite the contradictions and the history of
stop-go development, some further planned
investments are on the drawing board for
construction in the immediate vicinity of Noah’s
Ark and Kaya Artemis.
There’s the unfinished Babylon project that aims
to recreate the legendary Hanging Gardens of
Babylon, while another pays tribute to Rome’s
famous Colosseum. Yet another project is
described by its architects as ’a highly abstract
version of Roman Villa Hadriana in Tivoli.’
There remains optimism that the Turkish Cypriot
authorities are trying to turn things around for
Vokolida (Bafra). It’s the reason why they’ve gone
back to the drawing board, putting more thought
into planning the region’s infrastructure. The area
needs more social facilities, restaurants, bars,
dormitories for workers, more social activities and the authorities have promised to ‘develop
clusters of those for the entire area.’
If more hotels do open and the golf course starts
operating, the whole area could pick up very
quickly. There is a lot of private investment in the
land around the Bafra project, with many foreign
investors, Israel, United Kingdom, Iran, Lebanon,
and the Scandinavian countries having bought
plots. They have all been waiting for the
infrastructure to be put in place before
committing to their own projects in the area.
3 1
Insight
Apex GAmiNG
A BridGe BetWeeN tWo Worlds
- idrop liNKs slots ANd tABles
apex gaming’s
iDroP table
mounted solution
links table gaming
and slots gaming
by accepting and
validating tickets and
cash at the point of
contact with the player.
simple and easy to use, it’s a
dealer-friendly and extremely flexible.
idrop is a complete innovative link between live table gaming and slots. developed
by apex gaming idrop has made a major impact at casino strážný in czech republic
One of the most popular casinos in the Czech
Republic, Casino Strážný, has reported the
positive major impact the iDROP has had on its
business. Having installed iDROP, from Austria’s
APEX gaming, Casino Strážný has seen turnover
on live gaming increase by 20 per cent in the
space of a few weeks, with the slots income
remaining constant.
The iDROP is a new way to link table gaming and
slots together. It is a compact unit that enables
tickets to be used in the live gaming environment.
It’s a solution that removes a barrier between live
table gaming and slots, as tickets can now be
used across the entire gaming floor.
The iDROP consists of a banknote reader with
bunch note feed capabilities and a ticket printer
alongside a touchscreen display. Live gaming
players give their ticket to the dealer in exchange
for jetons. The player can specify how much
money should be exchanged into jetons. If only a
part of the ticket should be exchanged, the dealer
then gives the change to the player in the form of
3 2
a new ticket. The iDROP accepts the cash and the
player can now exchange cash for jetons. The
dealer places a bundle of notes into the iDROP –
the iDROP then validates and stores each and
every note individually. When the player wishes
to cash out, the dealer gives the winnings in ticket
form – via the iDROP.
slots and live gaming.
The iDROP has major benefits for both players
and operators. Summing up these benefits:
l
player BenefiTs
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l
Tickets can now be used over the complete
gaming floor – not only for slots, but also for
live gaming.
This gives the player the freedom to choose
where to play – moving freely between slots
and live gaming without having to go to the
cash desk to exchange tickets in tokens and
vice versa.
Promotional tickets can now be used on both
Players save time – they do not need to go to
the cash desk to get jetons – only to cash out
(which can also be done on a redemption
machine).
operaTor BenefiTs
l
l
Increased profits – a measured increase in
customer satisfaction = increased turnover and
profits. At Casino Strážný in the Czech
Republic, introducing the iDROP had a massive
20 per cent positive effect on turnover.
Secure – firstly: all banknotes and tickets are
validated and stored in the iDROP. False notes
Insight
Apex GAmiNG
are rejected and so cannot cause any harm.
Secondly, dealers have no access to this cash.
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
HOLD control – the operator has immediate
statistics on the iDROP contents – how many
bank notes of which denomination and how
many tickets of which value.
Complete accounting details – this information
is provided by the APEX accounting software.
Thus, operators have instant information on
the iDROP contents – including the number of
different notes and tickets. The operator thus
knows how much money is in the iDROP
before it is emptied.
Connects to any slot accounting system –
APEX has designed the iDROP to connect with
any slot accounting system via SAS.
Casino Strážný General Manager, Dieter Bettschar
“I knew it would make a
difference – but such a
difference, with a 20 per cent
measured increase – well, that
is simple amazing. This is a
true win-win for all of us.”
customers as the iDROP works automatically
Works even if no slot accounting system is
installed – the APEX accounting software
gives full details of the iDROP
Fast – the dealer can place a bulk of notes into
the iDROP – the iDROP does the rest
automatically.
Simple – the touchscreen display makes it
friendly and simple for dealers to use.
Time saving – dealers can focus more on the
l
l
l
Flexible – should the operator need to more
money for a hand pay-out, the instant
information on the iDROP contents means that
the operator knows exactly which iDROP to go
to in order to remove the cash.
Promotions – promotional tickets can now be
used for the entire gaming floor
Dealer friendly – the iDROP can also be used
as a tip box for dealers
Casino Strážný General Manager, Dieter
Bettschar, comments on the difference the iDROP
is making to his operations, “This is the product
we have all been waiting for. I see how my
customers feel more at ease as there are now no
barriers between live gaming and slots.
“My dealers are very happy as the iDROP is so
simple to use,” continued Mr. Bettschar. “And as
for me, I have instant control, knowing the exact
contents in each iDROP. I knew it would make a
difference – but such a difference, with a 20 per
cent measured increase – well, that is simple
amazing. This is a true win-win for all of us.”
APEX gaming recently exhibited the iDROP at the
Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. Johannes
Weissengruber, founder and CEO of APEX
gaming, added: “The feedback on the iDROP is
simple phenomenal. This is the next big thing for
gaming and we are proud to be leading this. The
customer and operator benefits are extremely
convincing.”
3 3
Insight
GAuselmANN Group
From part-time operator to global
gaming legend, paul gauselmann
celebrates his 80th birthday atop a
family business that has inspirationally
built an empire around one man’s vision
Courage, innovative spirit, hard work and a
wealth of ideas – these are the cornerstones that
describe the lifework of Paul Gauselmann. The
company founder and chairman of the eastern
Westphalian Gauselmann Group turned 80 on
August 26, 2014. The decision to develop games
and machines himself as well as to produce them
alongside the invention of modern gaming
arcades are just two of the major milestones that
the entrepreneur can look back upon. In
particular the sheer joy of playing – regardless in
which form – has always been his focus.
Paul Gauselmann made the transition from parttime businessman to the founder and owner of
one of the leading games and gaming machine
companies in the world with a turnover of almost
two billion euros and over 8,000 employees in
just 50 years. Born in 1934 near to Münster
(Westphalia), his professional career began with
the apprenticeship as telecommunications
inspector. A few years later he began to operate
juke boxes in his spare time. This was followed
by the move to complete self-employment in
1964. The entrepreneur opened his first gaming
arcade in 1974 and thus the first modern gaming
arcade in Germany. Only three years later he
introduced his first self-developed and entirely
innovative gaming machine called the ‘Merkur B’
to the market and so captured more than 50
percent share of the German AWP market from
1984 onwards. ‘Merkur B’ was also a synonym for
the relentless rise of the Gauselmann Group and
the precursor for the Merkur brand name. “Step
by step I gained the fundamental knowledge and
perseverance to enter the German AWP market
through my training at ‘Telefonbau und
Normalzeit’ and in the activities that followed.
The thorough wealth of experience I gained in my
youth before, during and after the Second World
War to create something out of little or indeed out
of nothing has been a major contributing factor
for the later entrepreneurial success of the
Gauselmann Group”, so explains the
entrepreneur the company’s rapid growth.
The Gauselmann Group is today the industry
leader in Germany and a mainstay in
international gaming markets. Paul Gauselmann
managed the transition from part-time
3 4
GAmiNG icoN celeBrAtes 80th
businessman to complete self-employment in
only seven years. Thus, the business developed
from a one-man company to one of the most
important gaming machine manufacturers and
arcade operators in the world. The purchase of
the well-known British arcade chain Praesepe in
2012 with 170 locations marked the biggest
acquisition in company history.
Alongside his own company success, Paul
Gauselmann has always focused on the wellbeing of the entire gaming machine industry. He
has decisively shaped the industry politics in
associations since the 1960s – in particular taking
the special political working conditions in
Germany into consideration. In this way Paul
Gauselmann has stood at the head of the German
AWP Industry Association (VDAI) for 33 years.
“Only when the industry is doing well can I take
my fair share” is his philosophy. A further
statement of his dedication to the gaming
machine industry has been the creation of both
industry-specific IHK apprenticeships ‘Coin-Op
Service Technician’ and ‘Coin-Op Specialist’. An
important milestone for further training and
education within the Gauselmann Group in the
past years has been the purchase and renovation
of the 500 year-old castle Schloss Benkhausen to
become a centre for training and courses. This
was completed in 2013.
As chairman of a globally active company with
local roots, Paul Gauselmann embodies
entrepreneurial responsibility and portrays
social, cultural and sports commitment at the
same time – mainly in the region of Lübbecke
and beyond. Thus, the entrepreneur supports
inter alia the tennis club Espelkamp-Mittwald
e.V. (TVE) where he himself became German
Champion in the age class 65 in 2010 as well as
the handball premier division TuS N-Lübbecke
team. The Gauselmann family takes its social
duties seriously as well. For example, Paul
Gauselmann is active as long-term chairman of
the charity ‘“Schlaganfall” – Neurologische
Klinik Minden e.V. Förderverein’ (Charitable
Trust for the Minden Stroke – Neurological
Clinic). Furthermore, Paul Gauselmann set up the
‘Gauselmann Foundation’ on his 65th birthday
which today has a nominal capital of EUR 5
million and whose proceeds are aimed at
supporting social and cultural projects in the
region.
Paul Gauselmann was decorated with the
German Federal Cross of Merit in 1993 for his
outstanding social commitment as well as for his
service within the German AWP industry. A
decade later this was increased to the even more
prestigious First Class of the German Federal
Cross of Merit. Furthermore, on his 70th birthday
in 2004, the towns of both Espelkamp and
Lübbecke bestowed him the dignity of honorary
citizenship for his untiring service to the region.
A strong family backs up the successful
businessman. Thus, Paul Gauselmann could
always count on the support from his wife Karin
and his four sons and in the meantime nine
grandchildren for which he is very thankful.
“Whether in the management board, supervisory
board or as part of the foundation – my family
has always been a great support to me in my
private and business life. My sons have made
major contributions to today’s company success
at the Gauselmann Group. My particular thanks
goes to my wife Karin who has advised,
supported and motivated me in every situation
for the past 47 years”, concludes the
entrepreneur.
G3Newswire
North AmericA NeWs
www.g3newswire.Com
Baha mar welComes new rules
changes to the Bahamian regulations
have been warmly welcomed by Baha
mar for expanding tourism options
The Bahamas - Legislation
une nouvelle proposiTion imporTanTe visanT à
changer la loi régissant les jeux de hasard au Honduras a été
lancée par le député Augusto Cruz. Membre du parti
Democristiano (chrétien-démocrate), Augusto Cruz propose
un changement de loi qui modifierait le taux d’imposition des
machines à sous et affecterait les machines à sous aussi bien
dans les commerces que celles installées dans les casinos.
les memBres De la « quinella BeTTing union »
du Paraguay, associés au député Karina Rodríguez, sont en
discussion avec le Président de la Chambre des Députés,
Hugo Velázquez, afin d’envisager des changements majeurs
aux lois régissant les jeux de hasard au Paraguay. Les nouvelles propositions accorderaient à l’union une importance
accrue dans les procédures d’appel d’offres futures tout en
accordant à l’Etat un contrôle plus strict sur l’industrie du jeu.
la nouvelle législaTion sur les jeux De
hasard pourrait être appliquée au Mexique dès ce mois-ci
selon Fernando Zárate Salgado, Président de la commission
sur les jeux de hasard de la Chambre des Députés. La nouvelle
loi vise à réguler les jeux de hasard dans le pays, sauvegarder
les droits des joueurs et prévenir le blanchiment d’argent.
l’inDusTrie Des Casinos au panama esT
atteinte par un scandale véhiculant la rumeur que les casinos
sont dans l’incapacité d’ouvrir des comptes en banque en raison de soupçons les associant injustement au blanchiment
d’argent. Ces allégations ont été formulées à l’occasion du Dixhuitième Congrès Continental sur la Prévention du
Blanchiment d’argent et la Lutte contre le financement du terrorisme, organisé à Panama City.
le gouvernemenT Du premier minisTre
japonais, Shinzo Abe, met en place un groupe de travail afin de
donner son avis sur l’évolution future des casinos dans le cas
où le législateur approuverait l’introduction de resorts intégrés
de casinos. Cette évolution indique clairement une issue positive pour ce concept de casino, alors que le gouvernement
tient à ce que les resorts intégrés soient opérationnels vers
2020, pour les jeux olympiques d’été à Tokyo.
playTeCh a signé un aCCorD aveC le
fournisseur mondial de contenus et de systèmes Aristocrat
Leisure Limited dans la perspective d’acquérir Aristocrat
Lotteries pour un montant de 10,5 millions d’€ en cash, sous
réserve de certains ajustements et dès que les conditions
prévues par l’accord seront remplies.
sg gaming a aChevé le DéploiemenT De sa
nouvelle console Clarity au sein du complexe de Ladbrokes. La
console Clarity a été installée dans toutes les 2 228 bureaux
de pari autorisés du complexe de Ladbrokes et constitue un
élément clé de la stratégie Ladbrokes 2014 visant à maintenir
une offre forte dans ce secteur.
l’opéraTeur greC opap s’esT assoCié au fonDs
d’investissement britannique Global Family Partners, car celuici est en passe de remporter la licence grecque sur les paris
hippiques. Une licence de 20 ans pour prendre des paris sur
les courses hippiques faisant partie d’un plan de privatisation
convenu avec les bailleurs de fonds internationaux d’Athènes
est en jeu. Les courses hippiques sont actuellement contrôlées
par ODIE, qui affichait une perte nette de pas moins de 23,4
millions d’€ en 2012.
3 6
Baha Mar has applauded the Parliament of the
Commonwealth of The Bahamas for tabling a
sweeping revitalisation of the country’s gaming
regulations, the first such major update since
Bahamian casinos were legalized in 1969. The regulatory changes would allow Bahamian casinos to
offer international travellers the latest gamingindustry amenities, including Internet, interactive
and mobile gaming; in-play sports betting; and
proxy wagering.
The new regulations would help to expand The
Bahamas’ international tourism industry, which
accounts for approximately 55 per cent of all
Bahamian jobs and nearly half of the country’s
Gross Domestic Product. The changes also would
help Baha Mar, the $3.5bn integrated gaming
resort, become a greater driver of the Bahamian
economy upon its Grand Opening in late Spring
2015. Once tabled, the bill will be debated in
Parliament before being put to a vote.
Baha Mar, which has worked with other casino
operators in the collaborative public- and privatesector effort to modernise The Bahamas’ gaming
laws, thanked Prime Minister Perry Christie for
taking a major step in expanding The Bahamas’
international tourism business. The proposed
changes would generate new Bahamian jobs;
stimulate private investment; and support the
Government’s investment of hundreds of millions
in tourism infrastructure, including a $409m airport expansion, enhanced cruise-ship facilities
and roadwork improvements.
“These regulatory updates would provide The
Bahamas and Baha Mar with a sustainable competitive advantage, which is vital for an economy
driven by international tourism,” Sarkis Izmirlian,
Baha Mar’s Chairman and CEO, said. “The
Bahamas has long been known as a stable gaming
jurisdiction, and these new regulations would put
us on a level playing field with the world’s most
successful casino markets such as Las Vegas,
Singapore and Macau. The regulations also would
allow us to offer private VIP gaming salons,
enhanced lines of credit, gaming junkets and other
amenities vital to attracting affluent international
casino customers.”
Paul Pusateri, Baha Mar’s COO, said: “The new
regulations and laws would enhance Baha Mar’s
ability to generate strong gaming revenues.
Technology-driven amenities such as internet
gaming, mobile gaming and in-play sports betting
will help differentiate The Bahamas in the highly
competitive gaming sector. They definitely will
help Baha Mar attract players from the Eastern
United States, Latin America, Asia and other markets that will be important to our success.”
The new regulations will allow proxy wagering,
meaning that casino licensees licensed on or
before February 1 2015 and who are part of a
resort hotel to operate remote wagering and proxy
wagering systems. This allows players to place a
bet without physically being on site, via proxy and
technical aids. They will also be allowed mobile
gaming with state-of-the-art technology to allow
players to wager via mobile gaming devices from
anywhere on the campus of a licensed casino
facility as well as internet gaming.
New laws allowing enforcement of gaming debt
allows a streamlined process for enforcement of
all debts incurred by gaming activities at a
licensed casino. Expedites process by which
licensed operators can collect debts from patrons
once they leave the jurisdiction. In-play sports
betting will also be allowed with casinos permitted to accept wagers on an event after the game
has started and remains under way.
Global Cash Access to acquire
Multi Media Games for $1.2bn
US
Another major acquisition has
been announced in the US, with
Global Cash Access (GCA), a
provider of cash handling solutions and business intelligence
services, agreeing to acquire
gaming technology developer
and distributor Multimedia
Games for an aggregate purchase
price of $1.2bn (€931.9m) in cash.
Under the deal, GCA will acquire
all the outstanding stock of
Multimedia Games for $36.50 per
share. The agreement has been
unanimously approved by the
boards of both firms.
“The acquisition of Multimedia
Games represents a gaming-relevant transformational opportunity to combine two companies
with rich gaming heritages and
uniquely positions GCA as an
important strategic partner to
gaming operators by offering
them deeper and more integrated
solutions across their entire gaming floor,” GCA President and
Chief Executive Officer, Ram
Chary, said. “This acquisition further strengthens and broadens
GCA's portfolio of solutions,
which has been embraced by our
customer base.”
Patrick Ramsey, Chief Executive
Officer of Multimedia Games,
added: “We are excited about the
opportunity this combination
provides to leverage Multimedia
Games' creative and innovative
game development capabilities
with GCA's expansive customer
base to provide best-in-class,
integrated solutions to the gaming community, and deliver
increased value and scale to our
respective customers and
employees.”
G3Newswire
North AmericA NeWs
www.g3newswire.Com
le minisTre allemanD De l’inTérieur eT Des
sports du Land de Hesse (HMDIS) a émis 20 licences fédérales
de paris sportifs en ligne au bénéfice d’opérateurs à la fois
internationaux et locaux. Tous les opérateurs ayant bénéficié
d’une licence doivent maintenant accepter les différentes politiques régissant les jeux de hasard et les paris sportifs figurant
au traité sur les jeux de hasard en Allemagne, le «
Glücksspielstaatsvertrag ».
suzo-happ a annonCé avoir aChevé
l’acquisition du Groupe Comesterogroup S.r.l., un fournisseur
de systèmes de paiements électroniques et d’équipements en
libre-service pour stations de lavage de voitures, jeux électroniques et les secteurs des laveries et de la distribution automatiques. Le siège de Comesterogroup est situé à Gessate, en
Italie, à la périphérie de Milan.
une auTre aCquisiTion majeure a éTé annonCée
aux Etats-Unis, avec Global Cash Access (GCA), un fournisseur
de solutions de manutention d’espèces et de services de business intelligence, acceptant d’acquérir Multimedia Games,
développant des technologies de jeux et des distributeurs, pour
un prix d’acquisition total de 1,2 milliards de dollars US (931,9
millions d’€) en cash.
gameaCCounT neTwork, un leaDer Dans le
développement et la fourniture de logiciels de jeux de hasard
professionnels en B2B et de contenus de jeux en ligne,
annonce s’être engagé dans un partenariat avec un opérateur
de casinos US actif dans plusieurs Etats, afin de lancer une
expérience en ligne de jeux de simulation pour de nouveaux
clients et une clientèle existante de casinos sélectionnés aux
Etats-Unis.
Bally TeChnologies a signé un aCCorD aveC
l’Ontario Lottery Group (OLG) afin de fournir une solution de
système central de jeux de casino pour toute la province.
DavanTage D’emplois sonT menaCés à aTlanTiC
City suite au passage en chapitre 11 du Code américain des
faillites de Trump Entertainment Resorts, une évolution qui,
selon les analystes, risque de menacer le Trump Taj Mahal
dans le futur.
las vegas sanDs a proposé au gouvernemenT
de Séoul, d’ériger un resort intégré de type de celui de « Marina
Bay Sands » en Corée du sud permettant aux locaux de jouer.
George Tanasijevich, Directeur général de Global Development,
et PDG de Marina Bay Sands à Singapour, a confirmé que
l’opérateur basé à Las Vegas était en train d’analyser le potentiel de la Corée du sud pour lancer son prochain grand projet.
le groupe Travellers inTernaTional hoTel,
propriétaire et opérateur de Resorts World Manila à Manila Bay,
aux Philippines, a déclaré que la première tranche de son second casino, d’une valeur de 1,1 milliards de US$, devrait être
achevée vers 2018. Travellers, contrôlé par le groupe Alliance
Global et Genting Hong Kong, démarrera les travaux de construction du Resorts World Bayshore dans les trois prochaines
mois.
svenska spel, le monopole D’eTaT Dans le
secteur des jeux de hasard et opérateur des quatre casinos du
pays, a demandé la permission au gouvernement d’ouvrir un
casino en ligne en 2015.
3 8
horseshoe - The Draw of luCk
Horseshoe casino Baltimore celebrated
its grand opening in style by welcoming
Baltimore’s most influential citizens.
Maryland - New operations
Horseshoe Casino Baltimore’s opening night
proved to be a great draw for the gaming entertainment complex as more than 15,000 guests
clamoured to be among the first to experience
Baltimore’s only casino. As guests explored the
casino’s new gaming amenities, they were treated
to special surprise performances throughout the
night at 14forty, a 24 hour multi-level entertainment venue. Pop star Iggy Azalea, legendary
songstress Gladys Knight and a set by DJ Pauly D
were among the surprise performances. Guests
also brushed elbows with celebrity chefs Guy Fieri,
Aarón Sánchez, John Besh and Duff Goldman as
they greeted revellers at the casino’s three signature restaurants.
The air of festivity during the opening hours was
further enhanced by the 1,700 new casino
Nevada
Nevada has now officially
joined iGt’s powerbucks
commercial multi-state
Wide Area progressive
(WAp) link. powerbucks
networked games in
Nevada casinos are now
linked to casinos in New
Jersey and deadwood,
south dakota. powerbucks
links progressive jackpot
pools between participating
jurisdictions. “the addition
of Nevada to the
powerbucks link is a truly
transformative milestone
for the gaming industry and
one that marks iGt’s
continued leadership in the
WAp space,” said iGt’s Joe
sigirst. “As the largest
commercial gaming
jurisdiction in the us,
Nevada gives the
powerbucks network the
critical mass needed to
grow jackpot liquidity at an
accelerated rate.”
employees, more than 50 per cent of whom hail
from the greater Baltimore area. Controlled by
Caesars Growth Partners, a joint venture between
Caesars Acquisition Company, and Caesars
Entertainment Corporation, Horseshoe Casino
Baltimore is designed to extend the city’s tourism
district south from the famed Inner Harbor and
neighbouring sports venues M&T Bank Stadium
and Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The casino
development is fully integrated within the surrounding area and will maximize connectivity
with existing hospitality operators as well as other
cultural and nightlife attractions. The casino site
was selected by the State and the City to foster
economic growth and create new jobs while
expanding Baltimore’s diverse entertainment
offerings.
Horseshoe Casino Baltimore boasts more than just
world-class gaming amenities. In addition to the
more than 2,500 slots, 100 table games and World
Series of Poker room the entertainment complex
features a variety of nightlife options such as
14forty, a 24 hour multi-level entertainment
venue, and signature restaurants.
US operator picks GameAccount
Network for Simulated Gaming
US
GameAccount Network, a leading
developer and supplier of enterprise-level B2B gaming software
and online gaming content,
announces a partnership with a
multi-State US casino operator to
launch a Simulated Gaming online
experience for new customers and
existing patrons of Client’s selected casinos in the United States.
It is expected that GameAccount
Network and the client will launch
their first Simulated Gaming website in the last quarter of 2014 subject to suitable regulatory
approvals following which the
Client’s identity will be publicly
disclosed. Simulated Gaming is the
innovative Internet gaming service
designed by GameAccount
Network specifically for landbased US casinos to launch in
advance of prospective realmoney internet gaming regulation.
Simulated Gaming offers a gam-
ing-as-entertainment consumer
website enabled with unique
monetisation features and a compelling portfolio of over 100 casino
slot, table and skill-based games
including poker, backgammon, gin
rummy, poker dice and blackjack
tournaments.
Launched in the US by
GameAccount Network in January
2014, Simulated Gaming has been
proven to monetise Internet traffic
to existing websites operated by
land-based US casinos with more
than 10 per cent of players spending on average three times more
than players of Social Casino
applications operated on
Facebook.com. Simulated Gaming
enables land-based US casinos to
tap into the Social Casino market
worth an estimated $1bn per
annum in the US in 2013, increases
property visitation among existing
patrons and drives acquisition of
new patrons.
G3Newswire
North AmericA NeWs
www.g3newswire.Com
mulTiple Blows hiT aTlanTiC CiTy
as Trump entertainment files for
bankruptcy protection, further casinos in
atlantic city are now due for closure
New Jersey - Operations
us – sg appoinTs savage as markeTing vp
Scientific Games has appointed Dan
Savage as Vice President, Corporate
Marketing, where he will work closely
with the company’s Gaming, Lottery
and Interactive groups to identify,
evaluate and leverage opportunities
to increase player appeal and positioning in the marketplace.
Additionally, he will provide leadership in the planned integration of Scientific Games and Bally Technologies.
Gavin Isaacs, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Scientific Games said: “Dan is a passionate leader with an
eye for detail and an unwavering commitment to continuous
improvement. His expertise in marketing, product definition,
brand management, product and customer research, and
experience in company integrations will greatly benefit and
speed the transformation of SG as we begin this exciting new
journey as a larger, customer-centric company.”
us – wms pays 300Th wiDe-area jaCkpoT
A very lucky player at the Lodge Casino in Black Hawk,
Colorado, US, has won a $1,391,728.01 jackpot on a WILLY
WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY slot machine. The
prize is the 300th jackpot on a WMS wide-area progressive
slot machine since the first installation in 2004. Within 36
hours of that 300th jackpot, two other lucky players hit
mega-wins on WMS machines at other locations for a combined total of nearly US$5m in jackpots.
The second winner hit a jackpot of $953,220.95 on THE
WIZARD OF OZ Emerald City slot machine at Aquarius
Casino in Laughlin, Nevada. The third jackpot was at
Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut on the MONOPOLY
Luxury Diamonds slot machine for $2,593,251.74.
us – gan signs Deq online DevelopmenT Deal
GameAccount Network has entered into an agreement with
DEQ Systems. The agreement is to launch DEQ’s table game
content enabled for regulated real money Internet gaming
and virtual currency-based Simulated Gaming focused on
the Italian and New Jersey regulated Internet gaming markets and Simulated Gaming deployments for US casino
operators.
Commenting on the deal, Dermot Smurfit, CEO of
GameAccount Network, said: “DEQ brings recognized,
authentic table games from casino properties, with a particular relevance in key Asian markets, for distribution online.
We’re delighted to work with DEQ to bring their selected table
game titles online in the United States for both real money
and Simulated Gaming, for Simulated Gaming in Asian markets and in Europe’s major regulated real money Internet
gaming markets.”
“We are very pleased to have entered into this agreement
with GameAccount Network. This is a strategic part of our
table game content product roadmap. Partnering with an
established, respected and expert partner who will deliver our
game content online into both real money and brick and
mortar Simulated Gaming customers is essential to drive
revenues.” added Joseph E. Bertolone, President and CEO of
DEQ.
4 0
More jobs are under threat in Atlantic City with
Trump Entertainment Resorts filing for Chapter 11
Bankruptcy, a move which analysts believe puts the
future of Trump Taj Mahal under threat.
Trump owns two properties; Trump Plaza, which is
due to shut on September 16, and the Trump Taj
Mahal, which analysts believe could now also shut
in November. Around 8,000 casino workers are
already expected to lose their jobs following a series
of closures in Atlantic City. Two casinos, the
Showboat and Revel, have closed already.
With Trump Plaza shutting its doors on September
16, and the Atlantic Club closing down in January,
Atlantic City, which began 2014 with 12 casinos, will
be down to eight. The potential closure of the Taj
Mahal would put another 2,800 employees out of
work. Revenue at Trump Taj Mahal was down $35m
to $108m in the first six months of 2014 whilst
Trump Plaza turned a loss of $9.8m with revenues of
$28m. Trump Entertainment offloaded the Trump
Marina hotel to Landry’s for $38m in 2011, who
renamed the Golden Nugget.
The company filed in US Bankruptcy Court in
Delaware, detailing liabilities of between $100m and
$500m, and assets of no more than $50,000. It didn’t
pay its quarterly tax last month and revealed it won’t
be able to make an interest payment to lenders at
the end of September. It is the fourth time Trump I
its various guises has filed for bankruptcy. It has
struggled since coming out of its last bankruptcy in
2010 with $350m of debt. It currently has over
$285m of debt
Cost-cutting negotiations with the main casino
workers' union have derailed. Local 54 of the UniteHERE union rejected proposals for workers to relinquish their health insurance and pension policies,
which would only have saved the casino $11m a
year.
Analysts believe the closings will benefit what has
become an oversaturated market with predictions
that the remaining eight casinos will perform better
with less competition. The closures will mean
Atlantic City only has 13,436 hotel rooms. Jim Wood,
Chief Executive of Meet AC, believes this will reduce
the city’s capacity to host large events.
"The available inventory will shrink by 20 per cent,
so the existing operators have to contribute more
rooms if we are going after the mega-city-wide conventions,” he said. “They will have to provide a larger room block."
Nevada
AGem has approved the membership applications of five new companies, bringing the trade group,
comprised of the world’s leading gaming suppliers, to a total of 143 members. the new AGem members are:
Asimex Global, mexico city - logistics and international trade management services; coloredge, New york visual brand imaging solutions in wide-format signage and digital-screen advertising; Gamblit Gaming,
Glendale, calif. - technology provider of real-money gaming in video games; robert half, menlo park, calif. world’s first and largest specialised staffing firm; and twain financial partners, st. louis, creative capital
solutions via debt and equity investments for Nevada-based gaming manufacturers.
GTECH partners with Arizona
Gaming Designs for lottery title
US
GTECH and Arizona Gaming
Designs have signed an agreement to bring Arizona Gaming
Designs’ patent-pending Plus or
Minus lottery game to GTECH
customers. Plus or Minus, also
known as 1-Off, gives players
another way to play 3-digit and
4-digit daily numbers games,
offering a chance to win even if
the numbers chosen don’t match
the numbers drawn by the lottery.
With Plus or Minus, players win
if one of their numbers is one
higher or one lower than the
winning numbers drawn by the
lottery. This partnership extends
exclusive, favourable pricing
terms to GTECH customers, some
of the country’s leading providers
of numbers games. Arizona
Gaming Designs is a provider of
unique game designs for lotteries,
gaming machines, casinos, race
tracks, and sports teams.
GTECH Senior Vice President of
Lottery Product Marketing
Stefano Monterosso, said: “Our
research continues to show that
lottery players value game
enhancements that improve
their chances of winning, and
GTECH remains focused on game
innovations that will drive lottery profits. Our customers are
always looking for innovative
ways to improve their players’
favourite games. We believe that
Plus or Minus is an excellent
opportunity for lotteries to do
just that on numbers games, and
we are happy to be able to offer
preferred pricing to our customers.”
Arizona Gaming Designs
President Ron Borruso added:
“Our objective is to develop new
games for the lottery industry,
providing players with the
opportunity to win more frequently and enhance lottery revenues.”
sls Bringing new life To vegas
shift interactive has signed a multi-year
deal with mGm resorts to launch the
interactivePro Table into Vegas market
G3Newswire
North AmericA NeWs
www.g3newswire.Com
Nevada - Casino Suppliers
SLS Las Vegas, the culmination of a year’s-long,
US$415m renovation of the legendary Sahara,
has now opened its doors welcoming the public
back to the North end of the iconic Vegas Strip.
A fully-integrated, entertainment-driven resort
and casino with more than 1,600 guest rooms
and suites, SLS Las Vegas features a curated
collection of hospitality industry trendsetter
sbe’s most beloved brands, refined and
reinvigorated for Las Vegas as well as original
concepts all set in an atmosphere that’s both
dynamic and approachable.
“This is the beginning of a new era for The Strip,”
said Sam Nazarian, Founder, Chairman and CEO,
sbe. “We are thrilled to throw open our doors
and show the world what we’ve been working
on for the past several years. It feels good to be
back in the former Sahara space, and we look
forward to creating new, legendary memories as
SLS Las Vegas.”
SLS is high-style collaboration between
Nazarian, James Beard award-winning chef José
Andrés and design visionary Phillippe Starck in
collaboration with globally acclaimed
architectural firm Gensler. It aims to delivers
one of the most unique gaming destinations on
the Strip. Stylish, sexy, comfortable and inviting,
the nearly 60,000 sq. ft. casino features
dramatic chandeliers, rich colours and an
intimate vibe. The gaming area offers about 800
of the latest slot and video poker machines,
more than 70 classic table games, a race and
Puerto Rico
the puerto rico tourism
company (prtc) has
formally adopted 11 Gli
technical standards. After
adoption, the standards will
be known as the prtc
Gaming technical
standards. “We developed
the Gli standards series to
help regulators, suppliers
and operators improve
compatibility,
interoperability,
simplification of product
development, and reduce
time to market. in
jurisdictions worldwide, we
have seen the success of
the Gli standards series,
and we are very pleased
that the prtc has formally
adopted these standards in
this jurisdiction,” said Gli’s
Karen sierra-hughes.
sports book presented by William Hill and three
table games located poolside. Conveniently
located across from the Cashier Cage, SLS Las
Vegas also offers an intimate High Limit Salon
with a gaming environment for those looking for
a more private experience, featuring table games
and slot machines, including video poker, video
slots and mechanical reels in denominations up
to $100.
SLS Las Vegas in collaboration with William Hill
offers a sports book experience featuring
groundbreaking wagering technologies designed
to provide guests with an unrivaled sports
betting offering. Sports book guests have access
to innovative wagering technology, including
William Hill’s market-leading mobile betting
platform available on iPhone, iPad and Android
devices. Additionally, the sports book features
an expansive HD video wall for viewing of
sporting events and betting odds, as well as fully
automated InPlay wagering.
Highlights of the property include
Andres’Bazaar Meat, a twist on his hugely
popular concept Bazaar; the second location of
The Sayers Club, one of Los Angeles’ best-loved
live music venues; celebrated restaurants
Katsuya by Starck, Umami Burger, Beer Garden
& Sports Book, Cleo and The Griddle Cafe; an
exclusive partnership with retailer Fred Segal
and The Strip’s most exhilarating nightclub, the
20,000 square-foot LiFE.
IGT snaps up half of Croc
Casino’s Costa Rica slot floor
COSTA RICA
IGT will command around half of
the slot floor when Croc’s Casino
Resort opens in December in Costa
Rica. Located in Jaco, Croc’s Casino
will open with a complete, end-toend IGT systems solution.
In addition to selecting IGT as its
primary provider of games on the
casino floor, Croc’s Casino has
chosen IGT’s Casinolink Casino
Management Systems suite
including Accounting, TITO
(Ticket-In; Ticket-Out), Player
Tracking, Promotions, Random
Riches Bonusing and Cage and
Table Accounting. Croc’s Casino
Resort will use IGT’s Universal
Game Adaptor devices tied to sbX
Media Manager to deliver content
and bonusing to the player screen
via Service Window.
Janine Roth, IGT VP SOLAC, said:
“Croc’s Casino Resort is all about
the ‘wow’ factor, with a design and
welcoming environment that
makes everyone feel special.
We’re helping to extend that experience to the casino, connecting a
great selection of player-favourite
IGT games to our systems and
Service Window technology to
enable personalised, engaging
player communications.”
Rory Hascall, Croc’s Casino Resort
President and COO, added:
“Selecting IGT for its Casinolink
Casino Management System and
its wide range of the latest hightechnology slot games was an
easy decision to make.”
us – Bally’s onTario Deal
Bally Technologies has signed an
agreement with the Ontario Lottery
Group (OLG) to provide the central
casino gaming system solution
throughout the province.
In conjunction with the OLG’s modernisation, OLG will be implementing Bally’s system technology to align and comply with “Conduct and Manage” responsibilities under Canada’s Criminal Code, and implement
enhanced responsible gambling tools to the casino gaming
facilities and operations across Ontario.
Bally Technologies’ Senior Vice President of North American
Sales and Corporate Marketing Robert Parente (pictured)
said: “It’s an honour to continue and expand our partnership
with OLG to provide leading technology gaming systems
throughout the province. This agreement demonstrates our
continued commitment to the needs of the Canadian gaming
market and we are very excited about working together to
help OLG fulfil its modernisation.”
us – arisToCraT appoinT CCo for Class iii
Aristocrat has appointed Maureen Sweeny as the company’s
Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), based in Las Vegas. Mrs.
Sweeny joined the Aristocrat team on 22 September, after a
distinguished 30-year career with IBM Corporation. As CCO,
Mrs. Sweeny will be will be accountable for Aristocrat’s Class
III sales and marketing footprint globally, including across the
Americas, Australia & New Zealand, Asia Pacific and EMEA.
Aristocrat CEO Jamie Odell said, “Maureen’s first-class operational and commercial skills will help us deliver a stepchange in our customer-facing functions, making sure our
customers get maximum benefit from the outstanding Class
III product portfolios we are now bringing to market.
“Maureen's appointment will deliver better consistency and
focus on our front-end capability, and improved service
across our global Class III businesses. I am delighted to welcome Maureen to the team,” Mr. Odell concluded.
us – sg on a roll wiTh ColoraDo loTTery
Scientific Games has signed an extension of its contract with
the Colorado Lottery to continue as a provider of instant lottery games and related services.
Under the agreement with the Colorado Lottery, Scientific
Games will continue as the Lottery’s primary instant game
provider for three additional years beginning July 1, 2014.
Laura Solano, Director, Colorado Lottery said: “Scientific
Games has provided instant games for the enjoyment of
Colorado Lottery players since we started doing business in
1983 with just one instant game. We look forward to three
more successful years with Scientific Games.”
John Schulz, Senior Vice President, Instant Products for
Scientific Games said: “Scientific Games is focused on delivering long-term instant product revenue growth for the
Colorado Lottery to help increase returns to its beneficiaries.
We are honoured to be their partner of choice and to have the
opportunity to continue to provide the Lottery’s primary
instant game portfolio through this important contract
extension.”
4 1
Comment
GAmeAccouNt NetWorK
A seismic shift in
social engagement
dana takrudtong, gameaccount network's vp sales - the americas, argues the benefits of
casino operators engaging with their players online courtesy of free to play social style gaming
There is arguably nothing more important to any
casino operator than their player database. The
cost of player acquisition and retention is staggering; for many large corporate operations marketing budgets reach near the half-billion dollar mark
annually. Few business channels have as deeply
symbiotic of a relationship to marketing spend
and return on investment than the gaming industry.
With the launches of three real money online
gaming markets in 2013, the United States now
has moved from looking at iGaming in the conceptual to the tactile with live online casinos at the
touch of our fingertips, all with an array of aesthetics and approaches. With little expectation of
additional real money gaming markets launching
until the second half of 2015 at the earliest, the
monetised social category remains the only
iGaming option for most operators and functions
as a means of marketing, engagement, and generating revenues.
The market is well aware of the presence of the
major operators and major suppliers in the social
casino space on Facebook and dedicated websites.
However, outside the top four players there has
been little movement from the operator side to
focus their marketing efforts online, yet alone
adopt free to play or monetized social style gaming and the question why? begs to be answered.
The most powerful brands in the world today exist
to engage, and they capitalise on the web as the
primary tool to do so. Have you downloaded the
Red Bull app? No, you can’t drink it, but you can
enter into a universe of music, culture, and of
course sport. So if you can do that with a beverage
company app, why can’t your casino players play
casino style games on your website?
4 2
Your brand should be online today to serve the
purpose not just of informing, but to engage with
the thousands of patrons your casino operation
has spent blood, sweat, and tears in acquiring and
to find ways to capture new players. That is one of
the key functions that GameAccount Network’s
Simulated Gaming performs. As described in our
Commercial Director Daniel Lindsay’s latest blog
post, Simulated Gaming is a hybrid between a
social casino and a real money gaming casino
online. Simulated Gaming is the culmination of
over a decade of systems development, content
integrations, and world leading supporting services and exists to provide operators with the 'how to
solve the why' problem.
Instead of visiting your website for a singular
piece of information, players can go to a customised Simulated Gaming website designed for
your operation and play their favourite slot
games, roulette, blackjack, and more. The offering, deeply integrated to the casino management
system via GameAccount’s patented iBridge connection, enables those players to purchase game
play credits to extend play and access VIP content
selected games and in turn be provided with in
casino loyalty at a point to dollar ratio significantly higher than they would typically receive from
in-casino gaming. What better way to directly use
the web to drive return trips to your casino operation?
Another reason I believe monetised social gaming
has yet to hit a tipping point of adoption is that
operators are viewing offerings like Simulated
Gaming as simply a gaming website and not as a
robust marketing, customer relationship management and revenue generation centre.
Today, marketing agencies or in house teams can
build and manage com’s and mobile sites, but
those teams aren't always equipped to create
manage enterprise gaming systems which maintain intelligent marketing and analytics centric
back office systems.
GameAccount has spent the last 18 months overhauling the iSight Back Office to be the most intuitive bonusing, reporting, and big data management tool. The years of investment into the development of GameAccount’s market leading
Simulated Gaming solution provides operators
with a low startup cost media platform with real
time marketing automations. With the continually escalating costs of deploying traditional media
in saturated marketing channels, access to a casino focused enterprise iGaming platform operating
in a Simulated Gaming modality enables operators to communicate the right offers to the right
players at the right time.
While the world of free to play and monetised
social gaming is a wholly new business channel
for many operators, site designers and game
experience designers (Candy Crush Saga has certainly shown its creators some sugar!) are capturing billions of dollars for their iterations of games
of chance and games of skill today. Operators
who’ve not already done so need to begin a seismic shift in how they engage their players online
and utilise systems which support capturing new
player data through the web, marketing, online
exclusive experiences that reward players for
digital engagement… ultimately an online brand
presence that is as exciting and engaging as their
casino floor. GameAccount provides the most
robust, content filled, and meaningfully integrated
offering on the market and are looking forward to
supporting more operator partners in engaging
and growing their player loyalty databases.
G3Newswire
AsiA & oceANiA GAmiNG NeWs
www.g3newswire.Com
sanDs hearT anD seoul projeCT
Las Vegas sands has proposed a marina
Bay sands style integrated resort in south
Korea allowing locals to gamble
South Korea - Casino Operations
China – gli names new BDm for gli asia
Gaming Laboratories International is
again expanding staff in Australasia,
naming Tom Chan as Business
Development Manager in the company’s Macao laboratory, GLI Asia.
“We are thrilled to welcome Tom to
the GLI team. We continue to grow
extensively throughout the Australasia region, and as technology continues to advance and become more complex, our
staff and our clients will be well served by having a development representative as knowledgeable as Tom on the GLI
team,” said GLI Australia Chief Operating Officer Espee de
Robillard.
philippines – resorTs worlD Bayshore By 2018
Travellers International Hotel Group, owner and operator of
Resorts World Manila in Manila Bay, in the Philippines, has
said the first phase of its US$1.1bn second casino should be
complete by 2018. Travellers, controlled by Alliance Global
Group and Genting Hong Kong, will commence construction
on Resorts World Bayshore within the next three months
with completion of the project delayed from the initial date of
2016 due to the turnover of the land.
Kingson Sian, President of Travellers International said of the
details: “We will disclose at an appropriate time. When you
open the latest, you would have seen what they have so you
can do something that they don’t have.”
The development will be the last licensee to open in Manila
Bay known as Entertainment City. Resorts World Bayshore
will include three hotels in its first phase with the Westin,
Okura and Genting Hong Kong Group all coming to the fore
with a combined total of 2,800 rooms. This latest development will be three times the size of Resorts World Manila.
souTh korea seeks To ConTrol soCial gaming –
South Korea's attempt to regulate social gambling has
resulted in a massive blockage of all the games available on
Facebook. The operation started at the end of August with
the ban on all financial transactions directed to Facebook
games, and continued with the full block of all the games
available on the popular social network.
Even if the move directly affects popular games such as
Candy Crush, Dragon City, and Farmville 2, it appears to be
part of Korea's plans to regulate the booming social gambling
industry in line with the country's Game Industry Promotion
Act (GIPA) adopted last December.
According to Korea's legislation, in order to legally offer their
games to South Korean citizens, the games' developers are
supposed to pay a state fee, and to submit an application in
order to have their products reviewed and rated by the Game
Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC).
Created to prevent the access of minors to games such as
Zynga's Texas Hold'em Poker and to have something in place
once also traditional poker rooms will decide to actively join
the social gaming arena, the dispositions included in the GIPA
de facto made the whole Facebook gaming platform illegal in
Korea, since they do not make any distinction between the
different games available on Facebook.
4 4
Las Vegas Sands has proposed a Marina Bay Sands
style integrated resort in South Korea allowing
locals to gamble to the government in Seoul.
George Tanasijevich, Managing Director of Global
Development, and CEO of Marina Bay Sands in
Singapore, confirmed the Las Vegas-based operator was analysing the potential of South Korea as
its next big project. He described South Korea as ‘a
top development opportunity for our industry, for
our company.’
South Korea is Asia’s fourth-largest economy. Mr.
Tanasijevich said Sands was looking for a site to
support Sand’s business model and has gone as far
as officially proposing to the Seoul government
that the operator build ‘a truly iconic building’ in
Jamsil at the site of the 1988 Olympic Games stadium in southern Seoul. Meetings, incentives,
conferences and exhibitions would be central to
the plan.
Mr. Tanasijevich confirmed that Sands would look
to relocate the baseball stadium, building a
40,000-seat dome, year-round facility that could
be used for sporting and other events every day of
the year. The aim would be to make Korea a
‘world leader in MICE business’ with a development boasting ‘iconic architecture’ making it a
‘major tourist attraction for Korea’ close to the
area’s waterfront.
South Korea locals are only currently allowed to
gamble in the government-owned Kangwon Land
casino about a three and a half hour drive from
the capital. GGR in South Korea came in at US$
2.7bn in 2013, more than the Philippines’ US$
2.6bn but less than Singapore’s US$6.4bn
Mr. Tanasijevich said a necessary element for the
project’s success would be the approval of locals
to gamble which he said would dispel any suspicions. He added though that appropriate entry
barriers could be applied to limit locals gambling
as in Singapore but they would be critical to a
project of the proposed magnitude.
He highlighted Sands’ success in Singapore where
a model is used to protect the vulnerable to make
sure that those who do play do so responsibly.
South Korea is seen by several operators as being
ripe for large-scale resort development.
South Korean operator Paradise and Sega Sammy
Holdings are developing a joint project near
Incheon airport, which is set to open in 2017. The
two companies will begin construction of South
Korea’s first integrated resort in October.
Genting Singapore plans to build a US$2.2bn casino resort in South Korea’s Jeju Island including 120
tables, 400 slots and 300 electronic gaming tables.
Featuring roller coasters, hotels with castle-like
facades and replicas of monuments like the Taj
Mahal and the Pyramids, the iconic destination is
aiming to be Jeju South Korea is home to 17 casinos
with all bit one of those being foreigner-only casinos, half of which are owned by local operator
Paradise and state-owned Grand Korea Leisure.
Paradise said that Chinese players made up
around 60 per cent of its player database,
accounting for more than 80 per cent of 2013’s
revenue.
Casino entrance fee proposed
to discourage local players
PHILIPPINES
Under new proposals put before
the parliament, Filipino casino
patrons who want to try their
luck at any of the country's casino venues will have to spend
P3,500 (€61) before entering the
gaming floor.
House Bill No. 4859 filed by
Misamis Oriental Representative
Peter Unabia proposes to impose
the hefty entrance fee on local
casino patrons, hoping that it
would make them think twice
before gambling.
"It would discourage the locals
from gambling in casinos," he said
in the bill's explanatory note.
"Moreover, the amount realised in
requiring entrance fees will serve
as additional revenues for the
socio-civic programs of the government."
According to the lawmaker, a
number of countries have already
adopted policies that will deter
their nationals from entering casinos, such as Singapore, Monaco
and India.Under Presidential
Decree 1896, a resident must have
a gross income for the previous
year of at least P50,000, as certified by the Bureau of Internal
Revenue, in order to be allowed to
play in the casino. In reality, the
requirement is neither observed
nor imposed.
Singapore
members of the Japanese
federation of Bar
Association (JfBA)
recently visited singapore
to study how the republic
has been preventing and
managing the social fallout
from gambling. the
association, which
represents all 35,000
lawyers in Japan and
advises the government,
hopes to present its
findings to parliament
before it sits on sept 29 for
a preliminary vote on a Bill
to set up casinos. "it has
been said that we are
likely to model ours after
the integrated resorts (irs)
in singapore," association
director, Koji Niisato.
G3Newswire
www.g3newswire.Com
japan seTs up Casino Task forCe
Japanese government signals its intent by
setting up a task force to advise on the
future direction of the domestic industry
Japan - Government
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government
is setting up a task force to advise on the future
development of casinos should legislators approve
the introduction of integrated casino resorts.
Taiwan – new Campus aDvanTages aDvanTeCh
The Advantech-Innocore team in Taiwan was one of the first
business units in the fast growing Advantech Corporation to
occupy the new purpose-built campus in Linkou just outside
of Taipei. Advantech Linkou Campus began operating in
2014. It is near to Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and
the downtown area, and it’s also close to the highway,
Taoyuan International Airport, and the soon-to-be-completed airport MRT. Linkou campus includes a total land area of
34,470 square meters (8.5 acres), and consists of an R&D
center and offices, while second and third phases will continue to expand the office area and will add a state of the art
manufacturing facility and warehouse and distribution center. The Linkou campus will provide a very efficient vertically
integrated workplace, from design and development to sampling and manufacturing on one campus.
Advantech-Innocore Managing Director Edward Price commented: “The new facilities at Linkou give our growing team
in Taiwan more space and fantastic resources under one
roof. The new campus will allow for more efficient use of
time with easy access to R&D and production facilities. We
expect to see the benefits of this new engine for growth
immediately.”
ausTralia – ChrisTmas islanD Casino To reopen
A parliamentary committee has suggested that the casino on
Christmas Island, a small Australian territory in the Indian
Ocean, 1,600km north-west of the Australian mainland,
should be reopened to boost the island’s economy. The
Christmas Island casino and resort was a popular gambling
destination for Indonesia’s wealthy elite in the mid 90s
before closing in 1998. The report stated: “The committee
recommends that the Australian Government commit to
facilitating the approval process to enable the reopening of
the Christmas Island casino. Neither mining nor immigration-related activities will sustain the island’s economy
indefinitely, and the casino has the potential to play a major
role in transitioning the Christmas Island economy.”
maCau - mgs unveils speCial show promoTion
Organizers of the upcoming Macao Gaming Show, taking
place across 18-20 November at the Venetian Macao, have
announced a special booth package promotion, which will
give exhibitors buying 50 booths an extra 50 booths free of
charge. Ross Zhang, Event Operation Manager at MGS, said
that at the cost of HK$1m, operators would be able to take a
stand space of 100 booths, adding that it would also be
offering 45-booth spaces for the value of 30 (HK$621,000)
as part of the special promotion.
“While reviewing our ongoing efforts to provide maximum
possible value for exhibitors and visitors, MGS has decided to
pull out all the stops and ensure companies at the show are
able to get the biggest space they are physically able to,” Mr.
Zhang explained. “We are on track to make the Macao
Gaming Show the most influential gaming event in the
region, produced by domestic firms.”
4 6
The move is a clear sign that a positive outcome is
likely for the casino concept indeed the government is keen for Integrated Resorts to be operational by the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in
Tokyo.
Toru Mihara, a professor at Osaka University of
Commerce who is consulting with legislators, said:
“Given the likelihood that the government will not
submit other important legislation which would
be given discussion priority, it’s highly likely that
the casino bill will be passed by November.”
ested following the casino bills failure to emerge
from June’s Diet session. It is though up for debate
in the Diet’s special session expected to begin
within the next two months.
The affect casinos will have on Japan’s pachinko
sector, which generated revenue of $36bn in 2013,
is also up for debate.
Global Market Advisors Partner Andrew
Klebanow believes Japan will follow a similar
model as Las Vegas where locals use neighbourhood slot halls rather than the large resort casinos.
Mr. Mihara added it would be ‘entirely out of the
question’ that the casinos would be limited to foreigners.
“Las Vegas has dozens of resort casinos with over
150,000 hotel rooms and over 70,000 slot
machines, yet there are 100s of taverns, slot parlours and other locations that offer a few
machines each.”
“I would estimate that about 80 percent of all visitors will be Japanese. The remainder will be foreigners,” he said.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley believe that 20 per
cent of Tokyo’s pachinko players will prefer to
play casinos, yielding slot revenue of $1.2bn.
A1.7 per cent second quarter decline in Japan’s
GDP has concerned politicians with the task force
seen as a way of keeping casino companies inter-
They believe Japan’s casino GGR could be less
than expected, pitching it at $22bn, half the
amount that other analysts have suggested.
Vietnam
Analyst in vietnam believe that large foreign investors are waiting to hear the final decision from the
government on vietnamese admission to casinos, which is expected to bring multi-billion dollars to vietnam.
it is thought that the new regulations could contribute to casinos comprising up to five per cent of the
country’s Gdp in the near future. meanwhile, the state would be able to collect tax from casinos, estimated at
nearly $1bn a year. currently, vietnam loses $800m in tax from the vietnamese who travel to cambodia.
Roxy Casino in Cambodia
struggles to gain its foothold
CAMBODIA
Roxy Casino, a newly renovated
casino in Bavet town owned by
publicly listed Australian firm
Cell Aquaculture (CAQ), held its
official grand opening last
month after a two-month trial
period, which returned
mediocre results for the firm.
In a filing to the Australian
Stock Exchange (ASX) dated
August 8, CAQ states that the
firm experienced operational
and administrative teething
issues during its soft opening
period. Despite the shaky start,
however, the newcomer to
Cambodia’s gambling industry
managed to attract modest
player traffic, largely brought on
by gamblers betting on World
Cup football matches.
“Since the Casino’s soft opening
on May 26, 2014, the casino’s
operations have been viewed as
a trail for the purpose of realising and attending to teething
operational and administrative
issues,” the statement, which
was signed by company secretary Deborah Ho, says.
“It was encouraging to note that
during the trial period, a count
of players at gaming tables were
noted every two hours and
yielded a average of 550 patrons
daily,” the statement continues,
adding that the firm has recently launched an online gaming
operation.
After purchasing the rights and
title to the casino in March, CAQ
invested some $2m into renovating the previously run-down
Roxy Casino, which is now one
of 10 gaming venues peppered
along National Highway 1 only
metres from the Vietnamese
border gate and employs more
than 350 staff. “Vietnamese
locals are the most important
market for the Roxy Casino due
to its proximity to Ho Chi Minh
City, which is the largest city in
Vietnam and about 87 kilometres to Bavet," the statement
says. “Marketing programs and
promotions are created to tap
into this primary market,
including attracting junkets
from Vietnam,” the statement
adds.
myanmar ConsiDers Casino Bill
Until recently one of the most isolated
economies on the planet, myanmar is
now forging ahead with big casino plans
G3Newswire
www.g3newswire.Com
Myanmar - Legislation
Casino licences may be issued to local hotels following the completion of a gambling law, though
some still question whether the country ought to
have legalised gambling.
While local media has reported that three-star
and above hotels near border crossings will be
allowed to operate casinos for foreigners only,
Ministry of Hotels and Tourism officials say any
such licences must wait for a gambling law.
“We haven’t issued any licences for casinos yet
because it is still considered a type of illegal gambling,” said U Myo Win Nyunt, a director from the
Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. The Ministry of
Home Affairs is currently working to create a
gambling law, he added.
Several casinos currently exist in Myanmar, but
they are unregulated and located in border areas
primarily to serve patrons in China and Thailand,
where gambling is illegal. It is common to see slot
machines and table games bustling with players,
even though regulation and control remains largely insecure.
The decision to issue special licenses to open a
brick-and-mortar casino in some strategic areas
of the country is motivated by the idea that this
would help the Republic of the Union of Myanmar
to attract a new kind of gambling-oriented
tourism.However, it’s expected that the Myanmar
government will come under fire from various
protest groups campaigning for the prevention of
Macau
entrepreneur stephen hung
has purchased the largest
rolls-royce phantom fleet
in the world, placing an
order for 30 Bespoke
extended Wheel Base
phantoms for his louis xiii
hotel in macau. this
transaction represents the
world’s single largest order
of rolls royces ever. two of
the fleet will be the most
expensive phantoms ever
commissioned. “macau is
rapidly evolving into the
luxury capital of the world,”
said mr. hung, “and we are
honoured to have the
opportunity to add to
macau’s many distinctions,
the world’s largest fleet of
rolls-royce phantoms,
including the two most
luxurious vehicles rollsroyce has ever built.
legalised casino gaming in the country.
After the complete segregation from the rest of the
world imposed by the military that ruled the
country from 1962 to 2011, the Republic of the
Union of Myanmar tried to consolidate its economy by developing its tourism.
Tourism has been on the upswing since the 2011
reforms in Myanmar. The country welcomed two
million foreign arrivals to the country last year,
almost double the number in 2012.
Myanmar routinely welcomed 750,000 to
800,000 tourists annually from 2009 to 2011.
Thailand was the largest single source of tourists
to Myanmar in 2013, making up about 15 per cent
of the total, followed by China and Japan. The
United States was the largest non-Asian source,
representing about six per cent of total arrivals.
Singapore aims to ban online
gaming and foreign advertising
SINGAPORE
Proposed new remote gambling
legislation could change online
gambling in Singapore if it is
enacted. At the next sitting in
Parliament, the legislation known
as the Remote Gambling Bill will
be debated in order to make it illegal to advertise online gambling to
citizens in Singapore.
integrity and law and order,” the
Ministry of Home Affairs stated.
ausTralia – Crown seCures ‘super’ Deal
James Packer’s Crown Resorts has secured a 17-year extension to its Melbourne casino licence from the Victorian government amid a raft of approvals that will bring more gaming
tables and pokies to Crown’s gaming floor.
Crown Resorts confirmed it had reached agreement with the
Victorian Government on a number of reforms to the
Melbourne Casino Licence which will improve the competitiveness of the Crown Melbourne integrated resort as a
tourism destination compared to other integrated resorts in
Australia and Asia. Its Melbourne casino licence will be
extended from 2033 to 2050.
The reforms will help boost Victorian tourism and create new
jobs as they will allow Crown Melbourne to compete more
effectively in interstate and international markets. Victorian
taxpayers will also benefit from a substantial upfront licence
payment to be made by Crown.
The agreement includes a ‘super tax’ on international and
interstate VIP program play will be removed from FY15.
Crown will be allowed to increase its table games by 40, the
maximum number of table games permitted to operate taking it from 400 to 440 tables with an additional 100 poker
tables.
It will also be allowed an extra 50 fully automated table game
terminals, taking its total from 200 to 250. Within the statewide limit of 30,000 gaming machines, Crown will be
allowed to increase its number of gaming machines by 128,
taking its total from 2,500 to 2,628.
The scope of the bill’s measures
are all aimed towards protection of
younger citizens and those vulnerable from being harmed or
exploited.
Crown will make a series of payments to the State including
a payment of $250m once the amendments to the relevant
legislation, casino management agreement and casino
licence become effective. A payment of $100m will be paid in
FY23 if the normalised gaming revenue at Crown Melbourne
grows by more than four per cent per annum from FY14 to
FY22.
The bill’s initiative will be to ban
websites that offer online gambling as well as a ban on advertising and it will allow authorities to
pressure banks and payment
providers to block fund transfers
to gaming operator websites.
The remote gambling industry in
2012 was estimated at $44 billion
with an annual growth of 9%
which is five times that of conventional to restaurant gambling in
Singapore. Now it is estimated that
the remote-gambling market in
Singapore along is said to be worth
at least S$376 million and growing.
An additional payment of $100m will be made in FY23 if the
normalised gaming revenue at Crown Melbourne grows by
more than 4.7 per cent per annum (compound) over the period from FY14 to FY22. There will also be a further payment
of $250m in 2033. Crown has guaranteed to pay the State a
minimum of $35m per annum in gaming taxes in relation to
the new gaming product over the six-year period commencing from FY16.
“Exempted entities will be subject
to strict operating conditions, in
the areas of social safeguards,
responsible gambling, gaming
Restrictions will also apply to
other forms of remote/online gambling on mobile devices and telephones.
Crown and the Victorian Government have confirmed that,
unless Crown consents, casino taxes will not be increased
and the Melbourne Casino Licence will not be amended.
4 7
Around the World in Eighty Days
DISCOVER
Vo y a g e s E x t r a o r d i n a i r e s
ICE is where it happens
A key date in our
events calendar
We would never miss
the ICE show
The most important
international show of the year
DISCOVER AT ICETOTALLYGAMING.COM
EXCEL, LONDON 3RD - 5TH FEB 2015
Totally Gaming
AFFILIATE PROGRAMMES, ASSOCIATIONS, AWPS, BETTING EXCHANGES, BINGO EQUIPMENT, CASH HANDLING, CASINO
MANAGEMENT, CCTV, CHIPS, COMPONENTS, CONSULTANTS, CRM, EPOS, FOBTS, FRAUD, LOTTERY, MEDIA, MOBILE,
ONLINE, PAYMENT, POKER, RECRUITMENT, REGULATORS, ROULETTE, SECURITY, SLOTS, SOCIAL GAMING,
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, SPARES, SPORTS BETTING, TABLE GAMES, VIDEO, WIRELESS
Interview
Gtech - reNAto Ascoli
A ‘Highly
Complementary’
Offering
lottery titan gtech and casino giant
igt plan to become the world’s largest
end-to-end gaming supplier
5 0
Interview
Gtech - reNAto Ascoli
in July of this year, gtech and igt made the blockbuster announcement of their intent to
merge. the deal, worth around $6.4 billion, is now being finalised, and is expected to be
complete by mid-2015. so how did this marriage come about, and what will the new entity
look like? g3 spoke with renato ascoli, gtech president of products and services and
general manager, to find out.
Why did GTECH acquire IGT?
The merger transforms us into an end-to-end gaming
company with the ability to serve clients across the full
gaming spectrum. Once we come together, we will be a
leader in all major gaming market segments – lottery,
gaming machines, interactive, sports betting, and social
gaming. The combination will create an unparalleled
offering and a complete portfolio of products and services for our customers.
Our businesses are highly complementary. GTECH provides industry leading lottery solutions, instant ticket
printing, and operation and management capabilities.
This is demonstrated in our leadership in the Italian
gaming market, as well as in other jurisdictions where
we operate lotteries on behalf of governments around
the world.
We’ve developed a comprehensive interactive gaming
platform that supports poker, bingo and casino games,
as well as sports betting products. Through our Spielo
product brand, we have become the leader in the manufacture and supply of video lottery systems and gaming
machines in distributed gaming networks.
Content is a significant driver of the success of any gaming program. With the foundation of IGT’s industryleading portfolio, we will have a library of games that
will surpass any other company in the industry. That’s
critically important as we look to enhance the distribution of popular titles to new platforms and channels.
In terms of commercial casino gaming equipment, IGT is
the leading manufacturer of slot machines. This will give
GTECH the ability to manufacture VLTs and other gaming equipment more efficiently.
In the social gaming space, IGT’s DoubleDown solution
is leading the way in monetising online play and
expanding the player base to attract a new demographic
of players. It is also a very good way to test games for
deployment in other channels and venues.
All in all, the offerings of the combined companies provide best-in-class solutions to address the needs of
players and customers across the entire spectrum of
gaming activities.
What are the biggest challenges that you face in
bringing together IGT and GTECH and how are you
managing the processes?
Merger activity naturally comes with its share of challenges, as well as opportunities. We must remain vigilant in ensuring that our customers know we are
focused on them. Our top priority is to keep the emphasis on the customer.
We are in the early stages of the planning process. We
have formed a Steering Committee of senior leaders
from both GTECH and IGT, which will be responsible for
overseeing and guiding the integration planning.
GTECH’s integration track record proves our ability to
navigate successfully through this process. We recognize that it is hard work, but we have consistently produced substantial results in previous acquisitions and
their resulting integrations. Beginning with
Lottomatica’s acquisition of GTECH, and then Spielo and
Atronic, each has improved our capabilities to manage
the process of integrating products and content in order
to provide our customers with a best-in-class offering.
What has been the reaction of your customers to
the announcement? What will be the real benefits
to the customer of this merger?
Our customers are enthusiastic about the merger. They
clearly recognise how this will help their operations. We
have emphasised that they will remain our focus during
the transaction.
We expect to see enhanced
innovation. We will have the kind
of scale that can make a real
difference in providing
customers with powerful and
innovative revenue-generating
gaming products, driven by our
industry-leading R&D efforts.
Once the merger is completed, they’ll have access to
best-in-class content, because we’ll have a library of
games that will far surpass any other company in the
industry. In addition, our customers will be uniquely
positioned to leverage the opportunities created by
ongoing convergence across all gaming channels –
including online, landbased, and mobile.
We expect to see enhanced innovation. We will have
the kind of scale that can make a real difference in providing customers with powerful and innovative revenue-generating gaming products, driven by our industry-leading R&D efforts.
We will also have the ability to manufacture gaming
machines and other gaming equipment more efficiently.
Both companies also have long histories and extensive
capabilities in systems; this transaction will build up our
systems offering.
In the social gaming space, DoubleDown will help customers to monetise play in the interactive space, and
expand the player base.
Most importantly, we will continue to make customer
service our top priority. Meeting our customers’ needs
will always be GTECH’s main objective, now and on an
ongoing basis after the merger.
Cost savings will be made, but how far reaching
will they be, and what areas will be the most/least
affected?
There will be efficiencies as a natural consequence of
the merger. However, because our businesses are complementary, we see very little overlap in the businessrelated segments, such as R&D and the game development studios. The major synergies will come from nonbusiness-related areas, such as support functions.
How long will it take GTECH and IGT to effectively
merge together?
This is challenging to predict at this stage in the process.
Due to the scope of this transaction, we believe it will
take some time. Once the transaction closes, we want to
deliver the benefits to our customers as soon as we can,
but we must also take the time required to do it right.
This is why the work of the integration Steering
Committee, and its planning process, is so important.
Will we continue to see the same level of choice, of
diversity of product and innovation with the merger of these two businesses?
At the end of the day, our customers are seeking topperforming products suited to their players and their
markets. A diverse product line is essential to ensuring
great performance in each unique market. Because each
company’s respective areas of strength are complementary, we expect to provide our customers with a wealth
of choice, including the largest and best-performing
game library in the industry.
What will happen to each of the individual divisions within IGT and GTECH? DoubleDown, IGT
Interactive, SPIELO Gaming, Systems and
Interactive, for example - will all these brands be
merged or kept as separate entities? What will
happen to these brands - and will ‘IGT’ continue to
be a brand going forward?
Both companies have gone through a re-branding
process relatively recently. Each has significant brand
equity. A review will be conducted to determine how
best to capture that brand equity, both in terms of the
company identity and the product brands. We’ll
announce the outcome of that process after the transaction has closed.
Why is ‘consolidation and scale’ such an important
and driving factor in the gaming business in
2014?
Customers are seeking growth beyond their traditional
gaming programs. They recognise that to grow their
player base, they need to expand their offerings and
provide them on the channels players are seeking,
whether it’s land-based, interactive, or mobile.
Suppliers are recognising that multi-channel offerings
are critical to their success.
For GTECH, this merger is about more than expanding
our scale. We believe that the combined entity will be in
the best position to respond to our customers’ needs
today and in the future — where content is truly the
driver of performance, and where players are seeking
the most entertaining games anytime, anywhere, on any
device.
5 1
G3-247 Report
siNGle WAllet GAmiNG
One choice for the
single-minded
single wallet gaming offers
operators the ability to connect their
customers to every facet of their
business, whether they are seeking
to play on-site, via mobile or tablet, or
from their home desktop pc. each
multi-channel gaming element is tied
together with a single wallet solution,
enabling the player to conveniently
play from the same ‘digital purse’
wherever or whenever they chose.
For the operator, the single wallet
tethers their customers to their own
branded ‘single’ source of funds for all
types of play.
During the Apple Live Event, held at the Flint Center in
Cupertino California, CEO Tim Cook announced that the
company was launching a series of new hardware and
software innovations. Amongst the applause for the
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6+, new iOS 8 and Apple Watch,
Apple also announced its new payments system - Apple
Pay. Apple’s new payment technology is designed to
replace the wallet. Apple Pay promises payments
through NFC technology and is launching in the US this
year with American Express, MasterCard and Visa
already onboard.
To work, Apple has to convince retailers that they
should invest in a system that’s essentially a slick payment solution and a very specific loyalty solution for
iPhone 6 users. If you have an iPhone 6, payments are
made simple, but for other phone users? And what’s in
it for the retailer? What are their benefits? Loyalty card
programmes give obvious benefits to retailers, driving
custom back through reward points and incentive
schemes. The benefits of an agnostic Apple Pay system
seem less appealing, and could be a hard sell. What
would be ideal is a single wallet solution that could tie
together land-based, mobile and online desktop pur5 2
chasing to a single retailer, ensuring loyalty through
simplicity and rewards via existing loyalty programmes. It may surprise you that the casino industry
has beaten Apple to the punch, not only in creating simple, single wallet solutions for players, but they have
also ensured that operators feel real tangible benefits
for adopting this cutting edge technology. We spoke to
the leading exponents of single wallet solutions in the
gaming industry to gauge the progress of these systems
and ask about the future of this technology.
who Does The single walleT appeal
To from a player perspeCTive?
Aleš Gornjec, General Manager at Comtrade
Gaming - Single wallet appeals to all kind of players,
especially the ones who use multiple channels (mobile,
online, land based casinos) and multiple products (from
sports betting, casino, poker, etc.), as it allows the player to have funds available immediately across all betting products. It also means they are constantly aware
of their total balance.
Luke Alvarez, CEO, Inspired Gaming Group -
Tailored
systems, such
as Playtech’s
Neon, which
was recently
implemented by
msc cruises,
allow for the
management and reconciliation of all
revenues, providing operators with
sophisticated analytics functionality that
enables them to audit and monitor all
operations. By implementing such
technology, operators can now chart
player activity across their lifecycle,
allowing them to facilitate the creation of
targeted marketing messages and
implement live promotions, avoiding any
specific cash requirements.
Luke Davis, Marketing Director, Playtech
“Single wallet is very handy for players who want to play
cross channel and with the same operator. Player segments that only gamble online wouldn’t find it useful
obviously, but it could interest retail players who perhaps haven’t tried a new phone app before.”
Luke Davis, Marketing Director, Playtech - Multichannel players have seen the single-wallet solution as a
G3-247 Report
concept that meets many of their previous demands.
With the extra benefits the system offers, such as additional player privacy, we are seeing these players set the
pace in terms of early adoption. However, the future
success sits with those players who are currently committed to mainly one channel, as over time they become
more aware of the benefits that specifically suit them.
For example, the ability to place a bet online and collect
winnings instantly in cash from a land-based environment, means players can counter previous concerns,
such as waiting 3-5 days for their funds to clear. This
was one of the main topics of concern for UK bookmaker Coral, who recently launched their ‘Coral Connect’
multi-channel solution. Utilising Playtech’s single-wallet functionality, Coral have been able to offer their
players instant cash access to their online accounts. This
allows their customers not only the ability to withdraw
winnings within seconds, but also for cash deposits that
can be used at home or on the go too.
By creating a cash centric environment, a new breed of
customers will become available to operators and by
doing so, create a reality out of what was once a dream
“Single wallet is very handy for
players who want to play cross
channel with the same operator.
Player segments that only
gamble online wouldn’t find it
useful, but it could interest retail
players who perhaps haven’t
tried a new phone app before.”
for both the online and offline gaming worlds.
Jan Volhejn, IT consultant, Synot - It has become a
norm for gambling operators to offer wide range of products, from casino games and poker to sports betting to
lotteries. Players, especially the young ones, expect single registration, single wallet solution and seamless user
experience using these products across all channels, not
only online and mobile, but also using VLTs, self service
betting terminals, or at a counter in a betting shop.
are we aT The poinT whereBy Cash is
Being ToTally replaCeD wiThin The
lanD-BaseD environmenT?
Luke Davis, Marketing Director, Playtech - Whilst
cash has always been a key element within land-based
venues, the introduction of new casino management
systems are of huge importance to the future of the
industry. Tailored systems, such as Playtech’s Neon,
which was recently implemented by MSC Cruises, allow
for the management and reconciliation of all revenues,
providing operators with sophisticated analytics functionality that enables them to audit and monitor all
operations. By implementing such technology, operators
can now chart player activity across their lifecycle,
allowing them to facilitate the creation of targeted marketing messages and implement live promotions, avoiding any specific cash requirements.
Cash will become less prominent within the land-based
environment over the course of time, as operators start
to fine tune a thin line between their own digital benefits and those of their players.
5 3
G3-247 Report
Gaming - Trends show there is shift towards this direction, but it will take a long way to reach this point.
Although many land-based players still prefer to play
anonymously, cashless systems and player membership clubs established themselves everywhere. Once
money gets into the casino system it can very conveniently circulate between machines or tables electronically either using cashless cards or tickets. But in many
cases initial deposits and withdrawals are still made
with cash and not electronically. There are already
many jurisdictions that allow usage of electronic wallets to simplify this process (players would deposit cash
into their wallet before they travel and visit a casino)
because in this way cash transaction are much easier to
monitor.
Jan Volhejn, IT consultant, Synot - Surely not.
Anonymity of cash is still attractive for many players,
especially in jurisdictions where registration is complex
and where verification of address and bank account
requires additional actions or documents from the player.
Luke Alvarez, CEO, Inspired Gaming Group “Cash is not being replaced in UK street gaming – there
are still regulations against using cards in UK bookmakers, so cash is very important. Players in the UK also
still like the cash experience of putting real money into
the machine.”
Because
inspired is a
digital gaming
company with
server-based
VLTs, it’s
relatively easy to
implement
single wallet solutions. it requires the
sharing of information between the landbased data centre and the online data
centre. it’s obviously impossible if you have
analogue machines that aren’t connected
to a data centre or don’t even have sas or
G2s. The big advantage for the operator is
having a single view of the player and
being able to increase player retention and
brand loyalty using rewards and by
personalising the customer experience.
Luke Alvarez, CEO, Inspired Gaming
Group.
are players now more relaxeD aBouT
paying for gaming TransaCTions via
CarDs, via moBile DeviCes, anD To
having These TransaCTions
effeCTively moniToreD in This way?
Luke Alvarez, CEO, Inspired Gaming Group “There isn’t any other option but to pay on card when
you’re playing online or on mobile, so people have got
used to it. As it is not face to face some people still feel
quite anonymous even though their spend and game
play is being tracked.”
Gaming - Yes, definitely, but this represents a change
society in general towards more and more online transactions, people are quite happy to pay for entertainment
via cards and gambling is no different to that. With a
Single wallet the transactions are becoming more transparent and the payment processing is much faster.
Mobile devices however are still not that widely used
for payments. This adoption is slower and is different
from region to region. In some regions it is used for
micro payments but not yet for bigger transactions.
Jan Volhejn, IT consultant, Synot - The situation is
changing, but there is much variation among countries
due to availability of different payment options. Usage
data show that younger players are more likely to use a
card or mobile payment than the older ones.
Luke Davis, Marketing Director, Playtech - The
growth of mobile specific activity indicates that player’s
are now more relaxed about paying for gaming transactions via a card, via a mobile. By ensuring reliable and
dependable systems, operators are starting to gain the
trust of a wider base of players and will continue to see
growth as long as they commit to doing so.
5 4
From a broader perspective, there are still concerns.
One of the main barriers operators have with converting land-based players into multi-channel players
stems around transactional monitoring. The one-wallet
solution goes a long way to counteracting these anxieties, with the ability to transact utilising cash being a
big draw. Depositing funds at a retail location and being
able to use them in any location, across a choice of
game content, on any device, is already proving popular
with players.
whaT are The aDvanTages for The
operaTor in uTilising a single walleT
soluTion anD whaT are The meChaniCs
in seTTing up This soluTion wiThin
BoTh The online anD offline
environmenTs?
Jan Volhejn, IT consultant, Synot - Registered players in land based gambling environment have for the
gambling operator two main advantages over the
anonymous ones: first, better knowledge of the player
behaviour for marketing and risk management purposes, second, less cash in the shops.
The key element of the single wallet solution is its simplicity for the player. Not only single logon for all products online, but also one loyalty card working across all
land based channels – in VLTs, at betting shop counter,
and in self service betting terminals.
Gaming - We would like to emphasize three major
advantages of a single wallet solution:
l
l
l
Easier player migration across multiple products (betting, casino, bingo) and channels (land-based, online,
mobile);
Enabling a single player view, which brings faster customer service due to the fact every single data about a
player is saved on one spot;
Great opportunity for cross-selling, as there are no
more boundaries and operators can attract players by
G3-247 Report
giving them bonuses which they can use in a land
based casino or online;
l
Central analytics based on all players activities combined with promotional tools improves player retention by awarding most valuable players.
Setting up a central wallet solution involves a separate
integration steps on both land-based and online side of
the business and at the end integration of these two
wallets. On the land-based side this involves introduction of some sort of cashless system that is based on
electronic wallet, which is typically already in place in
most venues. On the online side integration between 3rd
party content providers and platform wallet has to
enable seamless transactions. Operators today are still
often running remote wallets which means that players
have to manually manage transitions of their credits
between them.
“In terms of setting up this
solution, guaranteeing a total
sync between offline and online
activity, supported by detailed
team training and focused
marketing communications, will
ensure a smooth and successful
implementation.”
Luke Davis, Marketing Director, Playtech - Whilst
the range of benefits are vast, there are 3 clear advantages for operators utilising a single-wallet solution.
a player’s life-cycle, meaning they can start to tailor targeted activity based around player behaviour. Finally,
the element of loyalty that a single-wallet encourages is
indispensable to any operator. The strength of the promotions used to maximise player conversion between
channels, will ensure that players are more inclined to
utilise one brand.
Firstly, operators now have the ability to break down
obstacles that had previously prevented single-channel
players from growing into multi-channel players, with
cash access being a key tool. Secondly, the single-wallet
solution allows operators to enjoy complete visibility of
In terms of setting up this solution, guaranteeing a total
sync between offline and online activity, supported by
detailed team training and focused marketing communications, will ensure a smooth and successful implementation.
Luke Alvarez, CEO, Inspired Gaming Group “Because Inspired is a digital gaming company with
server-based VLTs, it’s relatively easy to implement
single wallet solutions. It requires the sharing of information between the land-based data centre and the
online data centre. It’s obviously impossible if you have
analogue machines that aren’t connected to a data centre or don’t even have SAS or G2S.
“The big advantage for the operator is having a single
view of the player and being able to increase player
retention and brand loyalty using rewards and by personalising the customer experience.”
Do players CurrenTly migraTe
BeTween lanD-BaseD anD online - anD
if so, whaT's The perCenTage of overall players ThaT move BeTween The
Two environmenTs?
Gaming - They do migrate, yes. There are more and
more migrations between land-based and online,
though the mindset of some casino managers is still fairly protective. They fear that if their land-based player
will start to play online they will have less to spend in
the casino. It’s important for both sides of the business
to be incentivised to cross sell.
5 5
G3-247 Report
Bally TeChnologies - moBile CreDiTs
The Mobile Credits application from Bally Technologies
revolutionizes slot play by enabling players to fund their
gaming directly from their mobile device. This groundbreaking technology removes the need for players to
visit an ATM or carry vouchers around on the casino
floor—possibly even eliminating the need for cash on
hand at all.
Mobile Credits is the industry’s first technology that
allows players to load credits onto their game from a
mobile phone or tablet. This cutting-edge product
empowers players to manage their funds through a simple and easy-to-use mobile application designed to
work on any tablet or phone, including Android and iOS.
As the next generation of funds management, Mobile
Credits provides many benefits to operators. This simple
solution will increase coin-in by reducing the time
spent away from a slot machine while players visit an
ATM or redeem vouchers. Guests will appreciate that
they only have to carry their mobile device in addition
to their player card, and that they can avoid the high
ATM fees found in many casinos. Mobile Credits enables
operators to transition from a cash to cash-less gaming
environment, modernizing the slot floor much like the
ticket-in, ticket out (TITO) technology that replaced
coin hoppers with printed vouchers.
venience of their mobile device. Meanwhile, more and
more people are using mobile apps to pay for their purchases at stores such as Starbucks. Mobile Credits takes
advantage of this global adoption of mobile payments
by enabling players to manage their funds “on the go”
from a smart phone or tablet, much like they would
their own banking accounts.
Mobile Credits works on any Bally gaming machine and
requires minimal or no retrofits to the machine, and NO
changes to the player club card. Additionally, as mobile
and online gaming grows, players can utilize Mobile
Credits to manage their funds across all channels –
land-based casino, mobile, and online.
Patrons already familiar with mobile banking and
mobile payments will be excited to use this new technology to transfer funds from a banking account to a slot
machine before and during their gaming session.
Mobile Credits keeps up with the increasing popularity
of mobile functionality used in banking and consumer
markets. Experts estimate that 45 million people and
growing use mobile banking to check balances, deposit
checks, transfer funds, and pay bills—all from the con-
After downloading the application from an app store –
or eventually from the casino’s mobile concierge app –
players configure the app to link to a banking or credit
card account. They can choose up to four secure
authentication methods to ensure that no one else can
Luke Davis, Marketing Director, Playtech - Current
migration is certainly evident, with clear indications
that savvy players are soaking up the individual benefits from both the online and land-based environments.
The same wallet will never be
enough to convince an onlineexclusive player to play also in a
land-based location. This can be
achieved with a special kind of
promotion like awarding
bonuses that can be redeemed
in casino.
However, the core of current migration stems from
player convenience rather than access, a matter that
will develop as operators implement single-wallet solutions and their players begin to understand the benefits
that specifically suit them and their needs.
of players betting in both environments, and this fraction does not change much. Some of them are people
who don’t trust internet and mobile payment services
and use self service betting terminals or betting shop
counter to top up their betting account with cash.
Jan Volhejn, IT consultant, Synot - While we are
witnessing transfer of players from brick-and-mortar
environment to the online world, there is about a third
are online-exClusive players more
likely To play in a lanD-BaseD loCaTion if They Can use The same walleT -
Luke Alvarez, CEO, Inspired Gaming Group “Players do migrate between land-based and online –
we’ve proven this through successful multi-channel
launches where we’ve seen increased performance for
these games versus retail only or online only games.
And we are starting to identify some of those cross
channel players more clearly from single wallet
schemes.”
5 6
access the funds from their mobile device: four-digit
personal identification number (PIN), security question,
image recognition, or voice recognition.
This solution offers flexibility to operators. Some casinos may choose to require a player club card to use this
technology. In that case, no modifications to the
machine are necessary and the player’s existing club
card can be used with no additional chip required.
Before or after inserting their card, players launch the
app and log in, then select how much money they want
to transfer to the game. The money is instantly transferred to the credit meter. If they have a remaining balance at the end of their gaming session, the money
would go back into the player’s Mobile Credits when
they cash out.
Other operators may prefer the card-less solution so
or will iT Be Cross-promoTions using
The single-walleT ThaT Drives mulTienvironmenT play?
Gaming - The same wallet will never be enough to convince an online-exclusive player to play also in a landbased location. This can be achieved with a special kind
of promotion like awarding bonuses that can be
redeemed in casino.
Luke Alvarez, CEO, Inspired Gaming Group “Typically if you’re an online only player then there isn’t
much that’s going to change your behaviour to go to a
venue. You might be a lapsed retail player, on bingo for
example, and then visit a certain venue again because of
a cross channel promotion.”
Jan Volhejn, IT consultant, Synot - Again, conditions
much differ among countries. Good single wallet solution
has advantages for both online and land based players.
The main driver is shared loyalty solution and availability of both cash and cashless payment methods.
G3-247 Report
age their funds “on the go” from a smart phone or
tablet, much like they would their own banking
accounts
l
l
l
Robust security feature allows players to choose up
to four authentication methods to ensure that no one
else can access their funds from their mobile device:
four-digit personal identification number (PIN),
security question, image recognition, or voice recognition.
Mobile Credits requires minimal or no retrofits to the
slot machine. In fact, no modifications are required
for operators choosing the player card option. Those
choosing the card-less option simply install an inexpensive beacon in their gaming machines
Mobile Credits can eventually provide cross-channel
functionality between an operator’s land-based
casino, mobile app, and website
The Benefits of Mobile Credits:
their players don’t need to carry around a wallet full of
player club cards. For this option, the operator would
install an inexpensive beacon inside their machines
that would detect when someone was standing in front
of it, similar to technology that pairs a phone with a
Bluetooth device. Mobile Credits effectively replaces
the player club card, with casinos still tracking their
players and players still accumulating points.
When Bally demonstrated Mobile Credits for customers
at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in September 2013,
casino operators responded extremely positively to the
product. Casinos said Mobile Credits would address the
challenge of appealing to the younger generation of
players who don’t carry cash and are used to doing
everything on their phones, including transferring funds
and paying for purchases.
Another benefit of Mobile Credits is that it will integrate
with Bally’s new Take ‘n Play product, which has generated tremendous excitement from operators. With
Mobile Credits, players who have transferred their
game to a tablet will not need to return to the machine
they are playing when their money runs out. They can
use Mobile Credits to load more money onto the game
from wherever they are at, whether in a lounge, restaurant, or outside.
How Mobile Credits is an Advancement over Previous
Technology:
Luke Davis, Marketing Director, Playtech - The single-wallet solution goes a long way towards actively
encouraging online-exclusive players to play in a landbased location. Features such as operators now implementing synced content across all channels, with players being able to utilise the same account funds, irrelevant of the channel played on, will undoubtedly change
player behaviour.
However, the key driver for multi-environment play
does stem from cross-promotional activity, particularly
for early stage adoption. Operators with the single-wallet functionality are able to use channel specific product
promotions to drive players into a channel that suits
them.
whaT are The mosT imporTanT elemenTs
of The single walleT soluTion - anD
will iT Be The righT proDuCT for all
lanD-BaseD/online operaTors?
Luke Alvarez, CEO, Inspired Gaming Group - “The
most important factor in getting single wallet technology
l
l
Mobile Credits is the first technology that enables
players to load funds onto their game directly from
their mobile device
Mobile Credits takes advantage of the global adoption of mobile payments by enabling players to man-
l
l
l
l
Casinos can increase coin-in by reducing the time
spent away from a game while players visit an ATM
or redeem vouchers
Offers convenience by eliminating the need for
players to carry cash or visit an ATM to load funds
onto a machine. Players will appreciate that they
don’t have to carry anything other than their mobile
device in addition to their player card, and that they
can avoid the high ATM fees found in many casinos.
Only possible machine modification is inexpensive
piece of hardware
Mobile Credits appeals to the younger generation of
players who don’t carry cash and are used to doing
everything on their mobile devices, including transferring funds and paying for purchases.
right is that it has to be a seamless experience for transactions so that it’s easy and the player has confidence in
the security of it.
l
“One common log in, being able to set preferences across
channels, and making the whole gaming experience
more personalised are also big advantages to get right.”
l
Jan Volhejn, IT consultant, Synot - Proper single wallet solution provides seamless experience to the players.
They can go from VLT to mobile to web to self service
betting terminal and use the same playing account and
earn the same loyalty points. The future undoubtedly
lies in this convergence of brick and mortar and online
world and a good shared wallet solution is advantage for
both online and traditional land based operators.
Gaming - The most important elements of a single wallet solution are:
l
Central loyalty & bonusing, where all game play on
any channel or product contributes loyalty points and
triggers potential promotions;
Analytics, on the basis of which you can track players
and make promotions and migrations of most valuable players;
Multichannel CRM, operators have to communicate
with players in a personalized way either via email
campaigns, printed adverts, in-game messages or
chat via online portal.
Where regulative restrictions allow land-based/online
operators to use this solution, this is most certainly the
right product.
Luke Davis, Marketing Director, Playtech - The
ability to have a single view of all your customers is
priceless. Operators with the single-wallet functionality
are now able to view a player’s full life-cycle, rather
than define them through the channel they have predominantly wished to use, as has been the case.
Being seen to offer choice to your players is an essential
5 7
G3-247 Report
element too. As players become more savvy and
demanding, the ability to meet their demands will
ensure operators are seen as the innovator, with modern
players most definitely picking up on that innovation.
As a complex system, there are a variety of elements to
the single-wallet functionality that makes all or part of
the concept the right product for multi-channel operators. Ensuring it is then implemented in the most ideal
way is the challenge however.
how Do you enrol a player inTo The
single walleT soluTion? whaT's The
BesT praCTiCe?
Luke Davis, Marketing Director, Playtech Clear positioning of the single-wallet solution will contribute to successful enrolment. Many of the previous
boundaries that have prevented single-channel players
from becoming multi-channel have now been removed.
For land-based only players, being able to play their
favourite games online, or deposit cash and play at their
own convenience, are big pulls. Ensuring the right angle
5 8
is taken with these customers is key for enrolment.
Positioning specific key messages for online-exclusive
players will encourage enrolment too. Whilst synced
content will also gather their interest, the ability to collect winnings in cash is the big demand they have been
crying out for.
Whilst there are no explicit best practice guidelines,
operators need to ensure they tailor communications to
shout about the specific player benefits that will ultimately encourage enrolment.
Gaming - The most important step, which is quite
often forgotten, is to educate players through every
marketing channel what the single wallet solution is
bringing to them.
Jan Volhejn, IT consultant, Synot - We offer very
simple registration to the traditional land based VLT
players used to the cash in cash out type of play. They
provide no personal data, only their mobile number, and
get a loyalty card. Using the card they can play for cash
as usual and they can transfer money between the VLT
credit and the shared wallet. Based on their play they
Proper single
wallet solution
provides
seamless
experience to
the players. They
can go from VLT
to mobile to web
to self service betting terminal and use the
same playing account and earn the same
loyalty points. The future undoubtedly lies
in this convergence of brick and mortar
and online world and a good shared wallet
solution is advantage for both online and
traditional land based operators.
Jan Volhejn, IT consultant, Synot
collect loyalty points which can be converted to play
credit.
If they want to play online or on mobile, they upgrade
their simple registration to the standard one with all the
usual information required and verified. The data show
that vast majority of players do upgrade their registration
and use it for sports betting or other products.
NEW DATES FOR
YOUR CALENDAR:
13 – 15 JANUARY 2015
ExCeL London Exhibition Centre
THE AMUSEMENT
& LEISURE SHOW
www.eagexpo.com
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Interactive
A singular vision for
payment solutions
the view of payment solutions specialists, First data, is that single wallet will become the
de facto way to pay for gaming, just as mobile wallets will become ubiquitous for standard
retail payments. First data’s Jonathan o’connor explains why.
From a payment processing perspective, how
complicated technically is the provision of a single
wallet solution for a player - one that would allow
them to play online, on mobile and on-property?
The complexity is directly related to the number
of vendors involved – that is why the PayLucky
solution simplifies single wallet solutions for merchants. First Data has multiple payment options
all in house, and does not require the same level of
integration. Providing a multi-channel solution
requires connections to many platforms – more
are available at a provider that can provide many /
most / all in a single connection. On-property
(brick and mortar) are serviced by established
players, so many of the connections to online
providers require separate connectivity – and
separate reporting. Online providers that are
working with niche acquirers / processors present
new challenges into what have typically been
mature/ stable environments. Operators /
Merchants should not have to sacrifice a common
reporting format to adopt online capabilities –
they should look to acquirers that can support
multi-channel experiences.
Is player verification and system vulnerability
made harder or easier to manage with the
increase in number of devices a player connects to
their wallet?
Player verification is generally manageable across
devices with the right technology partners.
Security vulnerability increases along with the
complexity and the number of vendors in the wallet. It is very difficult to ensure a standard level of
security for payment types that are outside your
control. Security needs to be designed into the
infrastructure from the ground up, and it is important to differentiate end-to-end security models
(processor) from point-to-point (gateway) models. While it is technically true that you can
achieve security in a gateway model, there are
multiple encryption / decryption processes and
6 0
more opportunities to attack the model – called
attack surfaces. Most merchants prefer extending
their security all the way from the point of capture to the processor environment, which keeps
things simple and defines clear boundaries of
responsibility for sensitive player data. The new
Apple Pay architecture supported by First Data is
Providing a multi-channel
solution requires connections to
many platforms. On-property
are serviced by established
players, so many of the
connections to online providers
require separate connectivity –
and separate reporting.
a large step forward – the combination of the
hardware based security with biometrics and
strong tokenization will impact both card present
and card not present payments going forward.
What kind of infrastructure does an operator need
to offer their players a single wallet solution? Do
they need to tie together lots of individual partnership agreements, or is there an ‘off-the-shelf’
solution ready in waiting?
Operators need connectivity to each solution that
they want to offer in the single wallet solution.
The fewer points of connectivity and message
types required, the better. In general, most solutions in the market require a patchwork of contracts and partnerships because very few players
have the breadth of solutions necessary to make a
single wallet solution possible. The PayLucky
wallet combines market leading payment solu-
tions for open loop prepaid, closed loop prepaid,
direct acquiring, and ACH into a single wallet that
can be leveraged across industries.
What do you see as the advantages of Single
Wallet Gaming and are there disadvantages too?
Advantages of Single Wallet Gaming:
l
l
Easier to pay-in / pay-out across payment
types
Better acceptance rates than credit card
acquiring only
l
Better opportunities for co-branding
l
Disadvantages of Single Wallet Gaming
l
l
l
Can be complex (lots of steps) and require
duplicate data entry depending on the number
of partners involved
May have the same risk models for different
payment types – risk models should be more
flexible and use customized risk models
Perceived vendor lock-in: some merchants do
not want to rely on a single source provider, but
this can be mitigated by choosing partners
wisely and contractual language.
Interactive
What’s the best way, in the view of First Data, to
establish single wallet gaming with the player?
How do you incentivise players to take up the
scheme?
The best way to establish single wallet gaming
with players is to provide the best player experience by having the broadest range of best of breed
payment solutions. Players will be incentivised by
getting a better rate of acceptance when they go to
play. When you make it easy for the players to get
what they want – a great online play experience
with easy ways to load their wallet and easy way
to get their funds out – they will adopt it strongly.
Targeted offers and promotions have a strong role
to play in behavioural modification – there must
be added value or incentives that cause players to
experiment with new payment types.
How far away is this from the offer to operators of
an end-to-end Single Wallet Solution? And what
are the biggest hurdles - technological, regulatory
or player perception?
There are end-to-end single wallet solutions
today, although the quality of the bundled payment solutions varies widely. The biggest hurdle
has always been regulatory in the US. There are
many mature payment solutions in the US that
have been proven in the retail space that can be
adopted in the gaming space by savvy operators.
The key thing to look for in a partner (in addition
to best of breed payment solutions) is someone
who understands the complexities of operating in
the gaming market and can navigate the high regulatory burden.
A great deal of the focus for Single Wallet is pointed at the US market, however, changes at the regulatory level late in the game has left many payment providers with platforms developed for
Federal, not State by State regulation. There’s a
fear that the difficulty in providing payment solutions in a hugely competitor market, with only a
handful of operators, will pose an unsurmountable
challenge. How does First Data view this issue?
Unfortunately we have to deal with the world as
it is – and the US market is driven by regulation.
Operators have to carefully consider what service
providers have the capabilities to enter and sustain payment services in highly regulated industries. Federal regulation looks to be some way off,
so in the meantime operators need to select partners that have the resources to evaluate regulations on a state by state basis.
example, the effect being on payment solutions
such as TITO?
Single Wallet gaming will become the de facto
way to pay for gaming, just as mobile wallets will
become ubiquitous for standard retail payments.
Gaming is one of the most attractive use cases for
players to utilize single wallets, due to the ability
to generate rewards and the flexibility of loading
from multiple funding sources. TITO will continue
to be a staple of the brick and mortar environments due to the existing investment in the infrastructure, but single wallets have numerous
advantages – from being able to automatically
identify the player to the ability to load value
from wherever you are.
Jonathan O'Connor,
general manager of
alternative markets at First
Data. risk management
What impact do you foresee single wallet gaming
having on the payments industry and ultimately
the gaming sector as a whole? Is this a game
changer in the sense that it will have a dramatic
and far-reaching effect? What do you see, for
6 1
Interactive
What’s in your
wallet?
comtrade’s aleš gornjec explores the
practicalities of single wallet gaming
in both technical detail and as relates
to the regulatory challenges such a
solution faces
The exciting but in many aspects quite traditional
gaming industry addresses some very core drivers
of human entertainment. Players are predominantly still playing traditional games, but the way
they are accessing and consuming these games is
changing. E-commerce, mobile phones and other
inventions of the last few decades have opened up
new communication channels that have not existed before. The gaming industry is following these
trends and offering players new forms of gaming
proactively.
The first major changes were introduced in the
year 2000 when IGT launched EZ Pay® ticket-in,
ticket-out technology, which brought a significant
change in the way players manage their funds
within the casino floor. The casino industry followed with the introduction of various ticketing
and cashless systems. On the one hand, players
can now very easily move from one slot machine
to another by using cards. Despite that, traditional
coin and bill acceptors are still used, and today we
typically see a combination of all types of cash
handling devices used in casinos. On the other
hand, gaming operators have started to track and
analyze players’ behavior in order to optimize
their business performance.
In parallel, a new era in the gaming industry commenced. First, online gaming operations were
introduced independently from the land-based
casinos and electronic wallets became the foundation of all transactions. However, they were initially distributed across various content providers.
P In such environments, players have to manually
transfer their funds between a central wallet and
remote casino/poker/bingo wallets. Online gaming was accepted by many players and started to
grow very fast. Operators and vendors tried to
6 2
keep up with this very fast pace and their technology was more complex and richer in functionalities almost on a weekly basis. Platforms and
game content were accessible to everyone and
players’ database became a core asset, often distributed across various systems, and thus became
more and more difficult to manage. As a result, a
need for a centrally managed wallet emerged.
player anD The operaTor BenefiTs
For the player, the single wallet system offers
instant availability of their funds on every betting
product. It thus appeals to all types of players,
especially the ones who use multiple channels
(mobile, online, land-based casinos) and multiple
products (sports betting, casino, poker, etc.). A
single balance enables the players to have a constant watch over their money; this transparency
gives players assurance that they are in total control over their funds. In large resorts, players can
seamlessly transit from slot machines to table
games; and single wallet can even be extended to
other resort services like dining or retail.
Although many land-based players still prefer to
play anonymously, cashless systems and player
membership clubs are emerging everywhere.
Once money gets into the casino system it can
very conveniently circulate between products
either using cashless cards or tickets.
From the operator's point of view, the key is to
find ways to improve customer experience, find
the right marketing activities that appeal to the
player personally, convince players to become
loyal clients, and ultimately achieve the optimal
business value from a single wallet solution.
Integrating gambling into a single, unified gaming
experience is only possible if the players can
migrate across platforms; a single unified account
enables players to seamlessly transfer funds and
bonuses across platforms. The convergence
between land-based and online also creates great
opportunities for cross-selling - previously exclusively online players can be given a bonus that’s
only redeemable in land-based casino. Online
sites can also engage land-based players when
they are not in the casino; a well-integrated network can bring a land-based experience to their
homes.
Once all products and channels are seamlessly
integrated into a central wallet, operators can
start running the following services on top:
auTomaTeD anD personaliseD
promoTions & Bonusing
Personalized promotions and bonusing, tailored to
individual player’s preferences, lifecycle and VIP
status is essential for effective player retention.
Advanced bonusing allows eligibility and incentive configuration based on business rules, possibility of automation and segmentation of large
number of players, and also full manual configuration for highly personalized awarding of VIP
players. Centralized campaigns help shape the
brand’s name and award the player’s loyalty to
the gaming provider. Well-integrated bonuses
also create opportunities for cross sales; bonuses,
which can only be redeemed on a different platform than the one they were awarded on, can
provide a strong incentive for the players to
migrate between channels.
CenTral real-Time analyTiCs
Central analysis of all player activities together
with promotional tools enables more efficient
player retention. Traditional retail operations had
to be managed with very limited amount of data,
Interactive
aleš Gornjec joined comtrade in 1996 (previously, Hermes softlab) as software developer
and project manager. in 2001, aleš founded the company's gaming unit and in 2013, he
was appointed General manager of comtrade Gaming – a newly formed strategic division
inside comtrade Group - with a goal to drive further growth and expansion.
but with modern server-based gaming solutions
this situation is improving. Online and mobile
operations are able to collect any type of data the
operator wants, but this is often still updated in a
central data warehouse with some delay. If the
casino operator can track players in real time the
retention campaigns and bonusing are more relevant and engaging. Advanced analytics also
enables player protection and temporary elimination of irresponsible players. Thus, the casino can
offer a solution that is both profitable and socially
responsible.
mulTiChannel Crm
The casino staff can engage players in a personalized manner via email campaigns, printed adverts,
in-game messages or chat via online portals.
Efficient and agile communication between players and staff creates the feeling of safety and
transparency; players know that they will be able
to immediately contact the casino’s staff in case
they have a problem.
player managemenT - single view
All the data about the player is stored in one spot.
This enables faster and more efficient customer
support. Customer support, personalized and tailored to the player, makes the player feel important. A system for managing cross-channel and
cross-product promotions is overseeing the player’s activity preferences, lifecycle status and
choices.
loyalTy
Loyalty module allows real-time eligibility evaluation and communication. When a player, for
instance, earns a certain number of points, or
qualifies for a certain VIP level, the system immediately communicates this to the player.
Responsive and engaging player communication
makes the interaction with the operator’s sites
much more appealing and rewarding for the players.
Setting up a central wallet solution involves integration on both the land-based and online side of
the business. On the land-based side, it involves
the introduction of some sort of cashless system
that is based on central electronic wallet, which
nowadays are already present in most venues. On
the online side, integration between 3rd party
content providers and the platform wallet is necessary as eWallet has to enable seamless transactions. Operators today are still often running
remote wallets meaning that players have to
manually manage transitions of their credits
between them.
The basis of a successful gambling business is the
lasting relationship between the client and the
casino. The relationship is based on engaging,
personalized and tailored player support that is
only possible with a unified player profile.
Bonusing and retention campaigns have to be
automated in order to be efficient and agile, yet
adoptable and tailored to the player. Meaningful
awarding of bonuses can only be achieved with
precise analysis of the player’s behavior. For a
unified and engaging player experience, a seamless transition of funds is necessary.
One of the foundations of a lasting relationship
between the player and the casino is responsible
gaming. Advanced player analytics allow the
early detection and prevention of pathological
spending patterns. Socially integrated gaming that
aims only to provide entertainment and tries to
prevent player exploitation is the foundation of
the lasting relationship that is beneficial both for
the casino and for the player. Real player protection can only be achieved if all player activity is
monitored and players can centrally set their limits. This is still valid for their activity within a single operator – to achieve complete protection, a
jurisdiction wide monitoring would be needed
like the one in place in Belgium. In Greece they
are already thinking in this direction and will
centrally monitor all player activity on all new
VLT terminals across the country. They will however still have separate wallets in place for VLT
and online operations. The European Commission
adopted the recommendation on principles for the
protection of consumers and players of online
gambling services and the prevention of minors
from gambling. The recommendation encourages
member states to pursue a high level of protection
for consumers, players and minors through the
adoption of principles for online gambling services and for responsible advertising and sponsorship of those services. Central wallet can serve as
a single point of deploying all these protection
measures and can also be a point that regulators
can supervise in case real time monitoring is
required by law.
Today, quality games and an established name
are no longer enough to succeed in the gaming
business. Players are seeking more than just a
game; they demand a comprehensive entertainment solution that fully integrates all types of
gaming products and channels like land-based,
online and mobile. Central wallet with integrated
value added services that enable operators to
communicate with players in a personalized way
and offer them products and services they prefer
can help build an entertainment experience of the
future.
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moBile/tABlet GAmiNG
Michelle Livingstone will be
exploring this topic at the
EiG show in Berlin.
moving with the times
at the eig show in Berlin this month, michelle livingstone is discussing how BetFred.com
is ‘standing out from the crowd’ through their mobile operations with a twist - part of a
series of case studies highlighting operators who have stood out in 2014. in this g3
interview she explains the processes behind BetFred.com’s mobile development
How mobile are players when using their devices are they on the move or simply connected at
home?
We typically find that players are continually on
the move, and the beauty of mobile play is that
you can pick up your phone on the go and log on
whenever you have some spare time. This means
businesses should look to make the path to mobile
play as short as possible, to ensure players can
access their favourite games as a quickly as possible. Quick access helps to improve the user experience, as many players know what they are
looking for and want to navigate around the
games portal without having to click through
numerous pages to play.
How long are the gaming periods on mobile and
tablet - How do they compare to play on other
devices/ machines?
On average a mobile player spends less time per
session than a web player, however, a mobile user
will have more sessions throughout the day. It is
useful to understand this when marketing to
mobile players, as we are able to reach out to individuals during the day via a variety of channels,
which can really help boost player numbers during quieter periods.
Which is more important from an operator's perspective - mobile or tablet play?
Both are important as customers will use different
devices throughout the day, so it is important to
send timely communications, for example mobile
specific offers when customers are likely to be on
the move. Tablets are becoming the primary
device in many homes, so when considering
redesigns for the mobile portal it is important to
consider how the portal will look and feel on a
tablet.
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What mobile/tablet platform developments are
shaping game interactions with players?
With tablet devices having a much larger screen
than mobile devices, this has enabled Betfred to
develop games for tablets with the same capabilities as desktop.
The product team have been working on introducing quick deposits and side games that give
you the ability to play on roulette whilst placing
Desktop will always have a
place, but in the next couple of
years we expect that it will
become second to tablet and
mobile. The introduction of the
Apple Watch is a great
example of how technology is
constantly changing.
in play sports bets. Future developments are
focusing on creating a seamless customer experience whether they are playing on tablet or
mobile.
Is it harder to retain a player on a mobile device as
compared to traditional mediums?
From our experience, I would say that we haven’t
found this to be the case. We have seen a significant rise in mobile players and have subsequently
implemented a number of new marketing methods that has enabled us to communicate effec-
tively with mobile only players. For example,
push messaging allows us to segment players
based on behaviour and emails have been optimised to be responsive to the mobile device. In
addition, we still use the more traditional methods
of communication such as direct mail, SMS and
outbound calling.
How do you gain traction with mobile/tablet players - How do you get their attention in the first
place?
In the first instance we have number of methods
and channels that we use to attract new customers, one of which is PPC.
We need to think carefully about the customer
experience when using a paid search, as Google
class the tablet as a desktop device. This can
cause problems when promoting desktop games
that are unavailable on tablet and mobile. Once
we have a potential customer’s attention, it is
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moBile/tABlet GAmiNG
important we make the sign up process as easy as
possible, which is why clear instructions appear
over the sign up form when loading, to explain to
new users how to navigate the mobile site.
nos will instantly recognise these games online.
The experience has become a lot more seamless;
games don’t need to be modified, just developed to
work on mobile.
How different are the games on mobiles and
tablets and how different should the games be on
these devices?
Will mobile/tablet gaming become the dominant
form of interactive/ online gaming - and what
does the future hold for desktop play?
In the past third party providers have focused on
developing web games and releasing these ahead
of mobile, however, the last 12 months has seen a
rise in dual launches in which mobile and desktop
games are being released at the same time. From a
CRM point of view it is much easier to market
games that are available on both platforms simultaneously as this improves the overall customer
experience. This is evident in the positive impact
we have seen on player numbers.
Desktop will always have a place, but in the next
couple of years we expect that it will become second to tablet and mobile. The introduction of the
Apple Watch is a great example of how technology
is constantly changing. We don’t know what the
future holds and we might find that mobile and
tablets become less important as new devices and
means of communication are established.
Those who have played games such as Rainbow
Riches, Cleopatra and Da Vinci in land based casi-
What will the adoption rate for single wallet solutions be across a land-based location's customer
base and how long will it take to achieve this?
Our ultimate goal is to have one wallet for the
Betfred customer: from play in the shops to online,
we want players to access their funds in one
place. One seamless experience for loyal customers is something that Betfred is focusing on.
Michelle Livingstone,
Games and casino crm
manager at Betfred.com
Betfred.com is owned and
operated by Petfre (Gibraltar).
Petfre (Gibraltar) is a Gibraltar
based company that is
responsible for operating the
Betfred brand online. Licensed
by the Government of
Gibraltar and regulated by the
Gibraltar Gambling
commissioner.
6 5
Interactive
portuAl - oNliNe GAmiNG
Adolfo Mesquita Nunes will
be exploring this topic at
the EiG show in Berlin.
portugal online, open and
adaptable to future change
adolfo mesquita nunes is portugal’s secretary of state for tourism and will be
speaking at the eig conference in Berlin this month. mr. nunes will be presenting a
case-study of portugal’s plans for the regulation of online gaming across the
country and g3 took the opportunity to quiz him about his presentation
In the past, the Ministry of Finance and the IGJ has
failed to meet deadlines on the drafting of legislation for online gaming and sports betting in
Portugal - what have been the difficulties in drafting the law and why has it taken so long?
The Portuguese Government has already notified
the European Commission on the online gaming
legislation drafted by the Government and it is
more important now to focus on the final approval
and implementation of that legislation than to list
the difficulties in drafting the law. Portugal is not
the last country to legislate.
ed by the Gaming Inspection Service.
Could you summarise for our readers the key
points of the new legislation and the reason for
their implementation?
l
l
How much revenue is the government expecting
to generate from online gaming in Portugal, and
how realistic are the goals in a country still hurting
from the fiscal bailout?
l
The revenue from online gambling is not the main
objective of our legislation. As such, we have not
assumed any specific goal on that matter. In fact,
the main objective of the Government is to legalize this activity and bring to the legal market the
operators and gamblers operating in the parallel
economy.
l
What extra responsibilities has the Turismo De
Portugal acquired in relation to the regulation of
online gaming and how will these duties by split
with the Ministry of Finance?
Through his Gaming Inspection Service, Turismo
de Portugal is already the regulator for the landbased games. From now on, it will have enhanced
competences regarding supervision, control and
regulation and also in penal matters, in order to
ensure the regularity of the operation and practice
of the online licensed games and bets. There is no
responsibility in these matters committed to any
department of the Treasure or of Ministry of
Finance. Even the liquidation of taxes is conduct6 6
l
An open model based on the system of licenses
granted to the operators that prove to fulfill an
amount of technical, financial and liability requisites
An efficient control, inspection and regulation
performed by the Gaming Inspection Service
which guarantees the security and transparency of the operation of online gambling
An amount of procedures and obligations to the
parts involved in this activity aiming to protect
minors, persons with addition problems, to prevent fraud and phenomena of money laundering
Advertising will be allowed, but with some
restrictions, in particular in what concerns to
minors and responsible gambling
The violation of law or of the rules determined
by the Gaming Inspection Service are subjected
to high fines.
When will the new legislation become law?
We have already obtained an authorisation from
the Parliament to legislate, needed because this
involves fiscal matters and criminal issues. Now
we have a project of the decree that has already
been notified to the European Commission and we
are waiting for its approval. Once it’s obtained we
will proceed with the legislative process and final
approval by the Portuguese council of ministers
that then will became law.
Adolfo Mesquita Nunes
was appointed as secretary
of state for Tourism of
Portugal in February 2013.
He was previously a senior
associate in one of the
Portuguese biggest and
leading law firms (mLGTs)
mainly practicing in the
areas of public procurement,
environment and urban
planning, as well as in the
areas of procedural matters
and administrative litigation.
elected as a deputy to the
Portuguese Parliament in
2011, mr. Nunes was Head
of the office of the xVi
Portuguese Government
minister of environment and
Urban Planning between
2004 and 2005.
The levels of taxation average
those of European countries
which have already regulated
online gaming, considering the
different types of online
games of chance and sports
and horse betting - and the
operators won’t pay any other
tax besides the gaming tax.
Interactive
portuAl - oNliNe GAmiNG
Portugal is relatively late to the European igaming
party, but has had the chance to appraise the
existing models of its neighbours. What are the
examples of best practice that you have adopted
in creating Portugal’s new igaming legislation and what’s unique to Portugal?
Although some countries adopted similar models,
it is clear for us that every country has its own
gaming tradition and social views on that. The
same happens with Portugal. We adopted an open
model mixed with several aspects coming from
our own social and historic context. Please let me
enhance that this the first time this matter is regulated in Portugal, while other European countries
already have some years of practice and experience which allows them to improve the terms of
their initial rules and change the legislation. That
is also our purpose, to implement a model that
after a few years and with gained experience, that
we can recollect and make the necessary changes
and improvements.
There has been concern raised regarding the levels of taxation to be imposed on operators in
Portugal. Can you confirm the final figures,
explain how you’ve arrived at the levels and
describe how the market is to flourish when all the
reports indicate that the tax regime is overly
oppressive?
The levels of taxation imposed are positioned on
the average of the European countries which have
already regulated online gambling, considering
the different types of online games of chance and
sports and horse betting and the operators won’t
pay any other tax besides the gaming tax.
In Portugal’s tourism sector you’ve cut red tape,
reduced taxes and made it easier to set up businesses - what are your long-term goals for the
igaming sector in Portugal and how are you
ensuring that it’s a success too?
The option for an open model is already an
answer to your question and highlights our intention of having a model simultaneously attractive
and competitive to the operators and rigorous in
order to ensure safety and confidence to the gamblers so that all the actors, companies and gamblers can rely on.
6 7
Interactive
Betclic everest Group
Isabelle Andres will be
EiG show in Berlin.
managing disruption
and digital innovation
isabelle andres, ceo, Betclic everest group, will be speaking this month at the eig show in
Berlin. her topic is an arresting one - envisioning how new technologies will apply to digital
gaming and igaming leaders. ms. andres will share her vision for the future and views on
technological innovation, research and development, the applicability of disruptive
technologies to the igaming space and how legacy companies can innovate with speed
and agility to remain relevant and ahead of the game.
Companies invest aggressively - and successfully
- in the technologies that retain their current customers, but often fail to make other technological
investments that customers of the future
demand. Is this true of the igaming sector?
Well, you are right, igaming sector, as the whole ecommerce industry, are surely investing in all
CRM technologies aiming to enhance their current
customer relationships. From a very active
Customer Service to a best of breed CRM system
able to look after their clients at all time and
through any devices. And I would also say that, as
for Customer of the future, igaming sector is also
good at driving them to their websites. This particular sector has always been very focused and talented, notably through high technology usage, in
acquiring customer through different tools such as
optimization of affiliation model, or latest
SEO/SEM technics.
But compared to other e-commerce websites,
igaming sector has not embraced all other usage
of latest technology. For example, the majority of
the operators came late to full-power mobile
usage, does not optimise content yet, and do not
develop mainstream new entertaining way of
gambling so far. So all in all I would invest from
the igaming sector a further investment in those
areas rather than focusing exclusively on the
next-to-come technology (even if we have to also,
obviously).
technical usage. Moreover, igaming sector is at an
important stage were regulation is forcing us to
review our current architecture. It obliges us to
perfect our development, this is the opportunity
to look at the latest technics and improve ourselves.
How do you identify the significance of disruptive
technologies as opposed to sustaining technologies? And who do you listen to about the importance of new technologies - marketing and
finance, or your technical personnel?
In the internet industry, disruptive technologies
has only an interest if it is meant to be used by a
big audience. E-commerce websites shall look
into any innovation and technology that will give
customer more reasons to stay on their websites
and buy more products. It has to give competitive
advantage. This is why, all disruptive technology
shall be challenged by each stakeholder (marketing, finance, technical…). At BEG we decided to
create a Product and Innovation department
directly under CEO’s supervision. It allows us to
manage current product using best of breed user
experience and technology and also study major
trends, create Proof of Concept etc..
How can companies stay at the cutting edge of
technology in the igaming sector, without
exhausting resources in the wrong direction?
One of the reasons ascribed to businesses that fail
as disruptive technologies upset their markets is
that many ‘stay too close to their customers.’
Customers wield extraordinary control in directing
a company’s investments - to the point that innovation can stagnate within established businesses. How do you remain creative and still deliver
what the customer wants?
By embracing who they are: e-commerce website
and entertainment companies. This gives Igaming
sector both a clear field of improvement and some
model to look after. First of all, other kind of ecommerce websites are ahead as regard to cutting
edge technology. We shall not be afraid to learn
and copy the best techniques. We do have reference, we shall be able not to repeat the first mistakes made and more try to optimise e-commerce
You should be able to consistently have a 360°
vision. Externally, it is important to look to at all
trend within igaming sector, but also to closely
study all internet industry technological evolution
and embrace user experience trend as the real
main one will spread over any sector of internet.
Internally, we have to remember that most of the
time the Customer does not know the exact product he wants, but he knows what objectives he is
6 8
after entering to a website. This is where creativity has to be focused: fulfilling such customer
objective by any innovative, user friendly means.
Being customer centric does not mean Customer
controlling your product but you product focused
on increasing customer’s stickiness by helping
him to achieve his goal.
Most businesses seek to meet the needs of their
mainstream customers, addressing the next generation performance needs - while rarely are they
at the forefront of commercialising new technologies that appeal only to small or emerging markets. You’ve said in the past that the igaming sector is not a mature sector, at least not yet - but is
it adopting a mature market’s approach to chasing the mainstream?
Indeed, igaming sector is getting more mature
every year, but we are not there yet. All actors
have still to improve our offer to such mainstream. Looking at other e-commerce websites
there are definitively a lot of enhancement to
learn from them. We also can look at this as an
opportunity. Igaming sector has still the spirit to
look for innovation. As we have to still to perfect
our offer and product, we have possibility to more
heavily think to the future of customer needs and
even try to optimise e-commerce technics.
Should the igaming sector be diverting resources
from known customer needs in established markets to markets and customers that seem
insignificant or do not yet exist? Should this be a
goal when companies must still meet the needs of
established customers and fend off competitors
too?
This is definitely part of the difficult resource
allocation equation. Internet and technology are
evolving so fast that you do not want to be overwhelmed by something you did not study and
prepare for. Every major customer usage has been
a real wave that is very hard to support if you are
not prepared. For example Tablet: it was a fully
new usage, between a computer and a phone. It
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Betclic everest Group
was even not sure to really be adopted by customers, but as soon as it has been by the early
ones, it really spread over internet user only in a
few months. Igaming sector has even more to look
after innovation, as our customer base is quite
young and even is frequently renewed. Such
young audience is the one that is the most targeted by new technologies and innovative product,
so Igaming operators shall be looking for new
opportunities
surely because it as one the basic since the beginning.
responsibility to really support those choices and
have all the company embrace them.
Has the emergence of new companies into the
igaming sector slowed as a result of a lack of
technological innovation, or has the scale of the
technological infrastructure now grown to such a
size, that the barrier to new entrants is to too
high? Can start-ups still make an impact in
today’s igaming sector?
Is the igaming sector in a phase of ‘second to
invent’ or are we still seeing the same level of
technological investment from all the major players in this sector?
Are successful businesses the ones most susceptible to disruptive technologies, as their focus on
their main customers can blind them to important
new technologies in emerging markets?
It is not the technical infrastructure that is a real
barrier. There are still emerging companies that
can make some difference. For example Mr. Green
is one of the latest in the igaming landscape and it
manages to be one of the leader in stand-alone
casinos. Even Betclic Everest Group is not that old
compared to lot of historical gaming companies.
And in a few years, we managed to be leading in
many countries. Probably the difficulty and the
opportunity are more in regulation: it is more a
barrier than the technical infrastructure and yet,
it can also allow the operators to re-invent themselves. As long as we are forced to modify our
technical architecture to comply with the different regulation, we have the possibility to use
some new developing technics, to re-think user
experience and even to try new concept.
Internet is a specific landscape. There is two kind
of business that are able to create and use disruptive technology. The Biggest companies such as
Amazon, Google or Apple. They do have the
means, the resources and the time to look at all
emerging needs, and even sometimes create some
needs. You also have startups, their direct development and chance to survive are depending on
finding new product, using new technologies and
answering new needs. In the middle, you shall still
see innovation but probably more as differentiation and optimization means rather than a full
new product discovery.
What is the performance trajectory, the rate at
which a product/service has improved, and is
expected to improve over time, of the igaming
sector? Is the industry in a constantly evolving
state?
Internet as a global sector is indeed in constant
evolving state. IGaming sector is a little bit particular. It is known that performance trajectory is
higher and higher when innovation and diversification has been set up since the beginning.
Igaming sector has been more in a copycat mode
rather than an innovation mode. There are areas
of Igaming sector where the performance trajectory has been better such as acquisition marketing, where igaming sector did really innovate and
Do the upper and lower levels of management in
legacy businesses view the needs for technological development in the same ways?
I would imagine that global investment are the
same for all major players as we are all facing the
same kind of challenges: cost increase, more and
more evolving offer with odds and in play management, or regulation consequences. But as the
same time, if I take Betclic Everest Group for
example, we know that we want to have best of
breed technical platform in order to better serve
our customer, so investing in the technological
field is not only a need but also an ambition. We
also want to be able to invent and differentiate
ourselves. We strongly believe that the coming
phase of igaming sector will be the product phase.
At the beginning, it was a marketing acquisition
sector, then it evolved into cost optimization
phase. We are now entering into a phase that will
be more looking at the customer needs, the product and the user experience. Thus, there will be a
need of still optimising but also more being creative and innovating. We could only settle for
being only copycat, but we are lucky enough to
work in a still growing market, thus it is constantly evolving. Therefore we have to manage to be
agile enough to adapt, invest and innovate.
Both sides are sharing the spirit of having best of
breed technologies. But it often happens that priorities and timing are not the same for upper and
lower levels of management. Operational teams
are looking for more immediate result that are
directly improving their offer and on which they
feel they can instantly rely on to increase profit.
As senior management, we also have to look to a
broader environment. We are defining a vision
and a strategy. To sustain those, there are some
investment and development that does need
attention and prioritization even if this is for a
longer time to market. This is top manager’s
Isabelle Andres,
ceo, Betclic everest Group
Betclic everest Group is a
european group of online
gaming and France’s leading
private operator with a unique
portfolio comprising five
diverse and complementary
international brands: Betclic,
bet-at-home.com, everest,
expekt and monte carlo
casino.
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Interactive
AlterNAtive pAymeNts
Fred Chesnais will be
EiG show in Berlin.
two sides of the same coin
exploring the synergies and business opportunities between the real-money gaming and
the video gaming industries, atari’s Fred chesnais will at eig expanding on the company’s
recent partnership with pariplay and what this means for the player and the industry as
the video/console gaming sector colides with the social and real-money gaming sector
Casino, an Atari 2600 video game released in 1978,
allowed video game players to play blackjack,
five-card stud poker and poker solitaire.
Undoubtedly crude by today’s graphical standards, the game gave players at the time the
opportunity to experience casino-style gaming on
a cutting-edge gaming console. Fast forward 36
years and Atari is back in the casino market once
again, but this time for ‘real.’ Atari is launching
two casino platforms, one for real money gaming
internationally and in selected US states, and a
social casino populated by virtual currency. It’s a
return that also sees Atari bouncing back from the
brink, having entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2013, the company has been
revitalised and refinanced to meet the gaming
needs of the next generation of players.
Atari has been resurrected by its current CEO,
Frederic Chesnais. Formerly the CEO of Atari
Interactive, Mr. Chesnais has pulled together
financing to not only save the Atari name, but to
bring the brand back to prominence in new gaming sectors. Today, the company renowned for its
gaming brands; Asteroids, Centipede, Missile
Command, Pong, Haunted House, Test Drive,
Alone in the Dark, and Rollercoaster Tycoon; are
powerful properties upon which Atari is delivering compelling games online (i.e. browser,
Facebook and digital download), on smartphones
and tablets and other connected devices. As a
licensor, Atari also continues to extend its brand
and franchises into other media, merchandising
and publishing categories.
In April, Atari announced a worldwide long-term
strategic partnership with PariPlay, an imaging
and lottery developer, to launch Atari’s video
game brands across real money gambling formats,
including iLottery, social, online and mobile platforms. In addition, Pariplay will distribute Atari
branded games throughout the Pariplay network.
G3 spoke to Mr. Chesnais about his plans for
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Atari’s social and real money gaming platforms.
There are lots of IP licensing deals for film, TV and
gaming brands. Universal Studios, Hasbro and
Endemol have all made a small fortune from selling these rights. The strategics partnership
between Atari and Pariplay appears to be much
more than simply taking clone games and relabelling - why is Atari taking this route?
Usually, the types of licensing deals are very
straightforward. You provide the IP and the devel-
Usually, the types of licensing
deals are very straightforward.
You provide the IP and the
developer does the rest, taking
the game completely from AZ. However, this deal is very
much a joint venture. Pariplay
are providing the expertise in a
real-money environment.
oper does the rest, taking the game completely
from A-Z. However, this deal is very much a joint
venture. Pariplay are providing the expertise to
create these games in a real-money environment.
However, we are the ones in charge of user acquisitions. Atari is talking to the community, building
on our games expertise and marketing knowledge
to recruit and retain players. I believe in the longrun, to acquire expertise and build stability, the
users have to be Atari customers. If they are not
Atari users, if they are someone else’s, then
you’ve lost the value of the acquisition. We want
to build an Atari audience and believe that this is
the strategic way to approach this. If you can’t
Fred Chesnais is the ceo and chairman of atari, the
iconic brand. chesnais became ceo and chairman of the
Board of atari in early 2013 and is now the largest
shareholder of atari. chesnais was previously coo and
cFo of the atari Group from 2001-2004 and ceo of
atari interactive until 2007. when chesnais left atari in
2007, he created the company i2G which produced the
hit game Jillian michaels: Fitness Ultimatum for the
Nintendo wii. chesnais sold i2G in 2011 and later
produced online survival multiplayer games. He returned
to atari early 2013 to re-boot the brand and produce
interactive entertainment content across many
platforms, using atari's global portfolio of properties. in
2014, atari has launched multiple games across various
platforms including rollercoaster Tycoon(r) 4
mobile(Tm), minimum, and Haunted House. atari has
announced the launch of atari casino for the fall of 2014.
communicate directly with your players then
ultimately you’re not building value for the
future.
What are the differences between video games
and real money games in terms of their creation and how do you bridge that divide to create Atari
real-money games that work at both levels?
We understand that real-money gambling is different, but the elements that make a great game
remain the same, and it’s these elements that
ensure that people really engage with the brands.
At the same time we understand that we have to
create a community, our own community, and
interact one-to-one with our Atari customers.
Rollercoaster Tycoon is one of most successful
games in mobile right now - it’s a great game and
one that’s able to engage with this gaming community. Our job is to talk with that audience,
build relationships and really engage with the
player. We have a lot of expertise in managing
communities. We know what they need and what
motivates them to play.
Interactive
AlterNAtive pAymeNts
Many of today’s slots developers hail from the
days of pinball manufacturing. Why is it that so
few video-game developers took the leap into real
money gaming?
First, I’d say that in the past there was a fear of
entering new business areas, even one adjacent to
existing areas of expertise. You have to take a leap
of faith and grasp new opportunities, which in the
past was something that scared investors. The
second reason, is that when you have a team of
developers who are very good at creating, let’s say
a racing game, you don’t want to divert their energies in a new, uncharted direction. We didn’t have
the facility to create real-money games in the
past, and the idea of external partnership wasn’t
part of the existing business. Finding a studio like
Pariplay that can bring Atari’s games to a whole
new audience is extremely exciting and allows
our developers to continue to make the games
that they love making.
What does Atari bring to social and real-money
games that we haven’t seen before?
The community is the most important element
that we bring to both real money and social gaming. Ultimately, a slot game is a slot game. Yes,
we’re going to have the best game-play, in both
gambling and skill-gaming terms, but there’s so
much more you can do to really innovate in terms
of the environment and community. If I play an
Atari game, I want to be able to interact and chat
with others like me. If I go to Atari Casino, I’m
there sharing an experience with players who
have the same interests as me. If I visit other
websites I find myself in unfamiliar surroundings,
with language, culture and social differences,
which are all barriers to the gaming community.
There’s less pleasure in experiencing games when
you’re not part of the shared community.
I believe that you have to be connected with your
audience to be able to create a community experience. You have to understand and appreciate
what motivates your players. If you play a social
game, for example, with prizes that enable you to
win, for example, a coffee machine, you’ve got to
be 100 per cent sure that your audience is looking
for multiple coffee machines for their home. You
have to offer the rewards that the player is looking for from their gaming experience. If you visit
Las Vegas, you visit and play in the casino in
which you’re most comfortable, which suits you
and which fits they way you want to play. You
want to be part of an environment and play in a
community of like-minded people. Visiting the
Hard Rock, the Wynn or MGM says something
about the person you are and about the community in which you want to play. Players want to
identify with the games and the people playing
those games and it’s the same for both Atari’s
social and real money communities online.
If your target market is the generation of players
that grew up on classic Atari console titles, can
you still draw a new generation of younger players
to these games?
It’s something will learn as we go. Young players
will head to the Atari brand, just as they did in 70s
and 80s, because it’s part of pop culture. The
games we create today, like Rollercoaster Tycoon,
are as relevant to the young people playing right
now as those who enjoyed Centipede and
Asteroids as beloved brands from their past. Atari
is here for the long-term, this is not a hit and run
project. If it were short-term, I’d have entered
into a traditional licensing agreement and used a
third-party to host the games and create the community.
Gaming mechanics and ‘hooks’ are notoriously
rigid and fixed when it comes to free-to-play, play
for fun and real money gaming. How do you walk
that tightrope between player engagement for a
real money reward, as opposed to a high score
challenge?
I think for us, the balance has to be weighted
towards the gambling experience. You have to
satisfy the players. In terms of walking a
‘tightrope’ between engagement and reward,
that’s the challenge of great game design. We’ve
got to analyse the feedback of the players and
grow this community. As I said, this is a long-term
project for Atari to create its own online community of players. We’re not expecting instant success, instant results. To date, we have created
more than 20 curations, add-ons to Rollercoaster
Tycoon, tweaking and changing the game as we
grow. It’s all about satisfying the community and
you can only do that by listening to their feedback
and responding.
The expectation is that you’ll be launching with a
series of classic brands in Q4, but is there the
potential to create new IP under the Atari brand
that will excite the real-money audience?
There’s always room for new games. As we’re
launching Atari Casino, there’s an audience
expectation that they’ll be playing all the famous
games and brands, but as this is a long-term venture, we know that we can introduce new games
very rapidly as we progress. For us, this is a natural extension of the business, from video games, to
skill games and real money slot games.
It is going to be a great site with great games and a
real community centered around those games.
You can only achieve this if you are involved as an
operator in the process. Players need to know that
they are playing in Atari’s community, not with a
third-party licensor. I think this is good for the
audience and will be good for Atari too.
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Interactive
cherry Group
online Gaming with a cherry on top
cherry has a 50+ year gaming history stretching back to 1963, having built its business
in the restaurant gaming sector in sweden. rapid diversification in the last 15 years has
seen the business continue growing in the land-based sector, while dramatically
expanding online. g3 interviews ceo emil sunvisson about cherry’s future growth.
Emil Sunvisson was appointed CEO of Cherry in
2011, the same year that the company launched
Europe’s biggest daily lottery draw,
EuroLotto.com. Since then Cherry has launched
EuroSlots.com, CherryAffiliates.com and
CherryCasino.com, and with its new Klubblo
Swedish sports lottery about to launch before the
end of the year, Mr. Sunvisson has overseen a
transformational period in the history of the company.
G3 spoke to Mr. Sunvisson on a recent visit to the
UK in relation to the latest Interim Report showing Group turnover increasing by 24 per cent, with
online up 38 per cent and restaurant casino
turnover rising by nine per cent. The company
also acquired rival JPC Casino in 2014 and seeks to
build on its investment in games developer,
Yggdrasil Gaming, as its portfolio of games
expands from lottery products into slots games.
Why has Cherry’s online business grown so
strongly over the last six months? What are the
contributing factors?
Last year, we launched three new products alongside a very aggressive marketing campaign that
was aimed at building the brands in the
Scandinavian markets. In Sweden, everyone
knows Cherry. We are represented in every night
club and bar - providing games for one million fiscal players every year. We have a big head start
with the Cherry name, which automatically connects us with 50 years of credibility and trust.
There have been so many newcomers to the market, but none have the trustworthy image of the
Cherry brand.
Our success has been a combination of new products and heavy marketing. You have to also
understand a little of our history. Previously, we
operated on a white label platform, which generated low fixed costs, but very high variable costs.
Now that we have built our brands on our own
platforms the situation is reversed. We have
grown through economies of scale, which has pro7 2
portionately increased our marketing budgets.
When you look at the costs imposed on the business, the minimum starting point is the provision
of the highest quality gaming experience for the
customer. You have to provide certain functionalities in terms of the technology and provide support for affiliates - this is the minimum requirement of a standalone operator with their own
platform. Beyond that, as long as we’re seeing
acquisition cost lowers than customer lifetime
values, we know that we’re getting the balance
right. We know that the marketing of our brand is
attracting new customers and is effectively reactivating existing customers too.
Online, in terms of revenue,
passed land-based in 2014.
We will continue to operate
the restaurant business as it
generates positive cash-flow,
but our big ambitions are
focused online, which is where
we plan our investments.
In your report you mention that new payment
solutions in Restaurant Casinos with faster transactions and greater reliability have contributed to
growth - could you elaborate on the systems that
were introduced and specifically what impact this
has had on the business?
We installed new payment terminals at all 350
tables within the group. The payment terminals
are much, much quicker than before. We’ve
reduced the transaction time as a result from 30
seconds to 10 seconds. We can even take payments offline if there’s no Internet connection.
The reason for the change is that we are operating
in the low stake blackjack sector, in which we
depend on volume of low value bets. We operate
11 boxes on every table, which means that during
our peak hours on Friday and Saturday nights the
switch from 30 to 10 seconds to process transactions has really helped to both improve the player
experience and contributed to our growth.
Why has the land-based restaurant business in
Sweden continued to grow when we’ve seen figures from across Europe of stagnating visitation
levels and falls in income levels?
The trend is declining, but we have been able to
grow in a declining market, taking players from
competitors and through acquisitions. There is a
big overlap when you consider that we have one
million annual fiscal players, primarily young
male players, where there’s a very big spillover to
online casinos. You have to recognise that landbased and online are very different. You need to
understand the player - our business is all about
the excitement of gambling and respect for the
player. Our restaurant casino business is part of
our Swedish land-based licence and we’re not
allowed to promote the online business to
Swedish players. The strength of the Cherry brand
helps, of course, but we look forward to the regulation of online licensing in Sweden and the
potential of online and land-based synergies.
Is volume a key factor in the success of the
Restaurants business - with 67 per cent of the
market, is the experience the same from location
to location - and how important was the acquisition of JPC Casino this year?
We acquired JPC Casino in Spring, a business that
currently accounts for five per cent of revenues.
When you are operating profitably and managing
overheads, incorporating other businesses into
the Group brings economies of scale. We currently have 350 tables in 270 venues in Sweden, moving from 50 per cent marketshare to 67 per cent in
just a few years. Our nearest competitor currently
operates 18 venues as a comparison.
Has Cherry’s online business completely eclipsed
its land-based operations? Which is the most
important in terms of future growth and do you
see a time whereby the group is solely an online
operator?
Online, in terms of revenue, passed land-based in
2014. We will continue to operate the restaurant
business as it generates positive cash-flow, but
our big ambitions are focused online, which is
where we plan our investments. Cherry will be
more and more depending on online in the future.
Our DNA, however, will remain Swedish, despite
operating the business in Malta.
Why did Cherry invest in Yggdrasil Gaming what’s unique about its games and what are the
long-term aims for the business?
Our interest in the business began with founder
Fredrik Elmqvist. He has a track record in the
igaming sector and when we were looking to
migrate EuroLotto to our own platform, lotteries
Interactive
cherry Group
were very interesting to us in terms of player
acquisition. You have a high turnover of slots
players, whereas lottery players are much more
loyal. Yggdrasil Gaming had a portfolio of games
that we found attractive, especially the video
scratch games, which was initially how we began
our relationship with Yggdrasil. We invested and
supported the company financially and in
December Yggdrasil launched its first online slot,
Jokerizer, which became a very interesting game
for other operators, Unibet, Betsson, Mr. Green
etc. Yggdrasil has now released five slot games as
part of its growing portfolio. The company is
autonomous and we look forward to capitalising
on the next set of agreements that Yggdrasil has
recently signed.
Many online operators found immediate success
and generated instant revenue, which made it
unnecessary to really concentrate on building a
brand. As competition and taxes have increased,
there’s much more pressure on individual brands
to identify with their players. How has Cherry
sought to create a unique and memorable gaming
experience - while at the same time building its
brand?
We have seen a lot of new brands entering the
market focused on customer acquisition, promising first time deposit bonuses, but not considering
loyalty, which means that profitability is not sustainable. Cherry’s history and heritage is an asset
that we have leveraged in our marketing campaigns. When we advertise, a large proportion is
brand building. We focus on the loyal customer
and the ways in which we can ensure they stay
with us for the long-term. This industry has a tendency to encourage bonus hunters, but drawing in
players with welcome bonuses isn’t the way to
establish long-term player relationships.
How important are mobile and tablet games in the
portfolio right now and with Klubblo receiving its
gaming licence, what are your expectations of
success in the lottery sector?
We are seeing growth in both mobile and tablets,
but it’s tablets that are growing even faster. For us
the tablet sector is very interesting and we’re seeing a marked upswing in bets. Many operators
have simply rescaled versions of their mobile
platform to tablet, but if you scale up mobile,
which has the bear necessities on screen due to
size constraints, the experience is much diminished. We’re giving tablet users their own playing
environment.
I believe the gaming licence is critical to our
progress and we have a dream partner in the
Swedish Sports Alliance. In total there are 20,000
sports clubs in Sweden and Klubblo enables the
player to specify which club they will support.
You can pick a small local club in which your kids
are currently playing, or a national team - the
choice is in the hands of the player. You can support rowing, water-skiing, archery, whatever. The
lottery received the licence at the end of August
and will launch end of this quarter.
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Interactive
the future coNsumer
Adaptability and
future trending
Mike Hebden,
Head of casino Games,
microgaming
one of the topics at this month’s eig show in Berlin is looking to understanding the
key factors to adapting content and enhancing the user experience as well as
thinking about the consumer of the future. g3 spoke to mike hebden, head of
casino games at microgaming for his take on this beguiling issue
What are the key factors you’d isolate in the
process of content development in the creation of
games/content for the consumer of the future?
When designing and developing games it is essential that they are built to work to best effect on the
plethora of devices available to consumers now,
and those that will be purchasable in the near
future. This includes the multitude of smartphones, tablets and phablets, and the impending
wearable tech devices which are projected to
grow in popularity over the coming years. With
mobile gaming growing significantly, and the
number of devices available in the market continuing to rise, this is becoming increasingly more
important. And of course we mustn’t neglect the
large percentage of players still using laptops and
desktops.
Furthermore, we don’t only have to prepare for
new devices, but also anticipate changes in operating software, such as iOS8 and its recent
release. We have to adapt our content to ensure
every single one of our games is playable on this
new software – it’s not an easy task, but it’s a
necessary one.
Have you identified your ‘consumer of the future’?
What do they look like and how different are they
from the consumer of today?
The consumer of the future is the consumer of
today! What’s changing is that players aren’t
sticking to one form of technology or one way in
which they consume our product. They are adapting to ever more rapid advances in technology and
changing how, when and where they interact with
our product - players are becoming ‘multi-device’
and we expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future. With this it’s important to remember that players will expect a high quality,
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dependable experience on every device they use
– players are definitely becoming more savvy.
That’s why we’ve embarked on an omni-platform
strategy – our goal is to offer the same experience, through registration, banking, balances and
play, no matter the device.
What are the attributes of ‘future’ players? Are
they just the same profiles with small changes
and tweaks, or will there be radical shifts in the
players and their behaviours in the future?
The ‘in app purchase’ model of social gaming hasn’t really migrated into traditional gambling as
much as expected. Social gaming players have
become increasingly more expensive to acquire,
are difficult to convert into paying customers and
can switch allegiance to the latest thing en masse.
But the younger demographic in particular are
now familiar with the social mechanics around
these games, and they have been an early barometer of how, when, where and on what devices
players will move on to consume other experiences. And so I do expect we will see some of
these social mechanics being incorporated within
traditional gambling experiences going forward. I
don’t expect radical shifts, but smaller changes,
yes.
How useful is it to look at what might happen with
player developments and how far into the future
do you look, as opposed to planning ahead and
actioning changes?
It’s not just useful, it is imperative! Adapt or die.
We’ve always studied player developments and
planned for the future of the industry. Mobile is
probably the best example I could give.
Microgaming anticipated the growth of mobile
before anyone else and we actually launched our
first mobile casino product 10 years ago! We
Interactive
the future coNsumer
invested heavily in this. Looking back, you could
say maybe we were too early, but what this
meant was that we were well equipped for when
mobile really took off. Today, we believe mobile
gaming has reached its tipping point, and we’re
now seeing the fruits of our labour.
Furthermore, the formation of our Quickfire platform in 2010 is an ideal illustration of how we
adapt to market changes. Quickfire is a tailored
offering designed to respond to a definable market need. It provides a rapid way to deliver our
premium content to operators; it is an appealing
solution for a certain type of operator looking for
content-only integration. Quickfire has been
highly successful since its launch, growing at an
astonishing rate year-on-year.
Our research and development team play a huge
part in looking at the future of the industry - we
look as far ahead as possible. For example, wearable tech has suddenly become the buzzword in
the industry, but in reality this is something we’ve
been looking at for several years now - we even
showcased our gaming content on smartwatches
and Oculus Rift at ICE 2014. It’s thanks to an
eager, talented team that we remain at the forefront of these new technologies.
How much can you influence player behaviour to
shape the expectations of the player both now and
into the next generation of players?
Without necessarily being fully aware of it, I
think we have been influencing player behaviour
since we launched the world’s first true online
casino in 1994, and I look forward to us continuing to do so. Our superb game design teams are
constantly pushing the boundaries of what can be
done in terms of graphics, sounds and game features. They lay down the challenges to our hugely
talented development teams to utilise the latest
techniques and technologies to deliver these new
experiences to as many players as possible.
Players come to expect this level of experience
and want to be surprised by new ones – and that’s
what we love to do.
Are player tastes already giving indicators as to
their preferences in the future?
We can see through increased gameplay on
mobile devices that this will be the preferred
playing method in the future. As such, it’s important that we continue to develop our mobile product, ensuring players can experience their
favourite games on their preferred devices.
We are also seeing different product lines grow in
popularity, for example multi-player. Multi-player is an extension to the casino product that provides more of a community-based type of gaming.
We’ve seen multi-player grow significantly in the
past few years and we’ve embarked on a rapid
roll-out of new multi-player content alongside
some mega tournaments which have proved very
successful. This is where the increased social element of gameplay comes in!
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Interactive
the future coNsumer
Is the industry developing games at present that
will appeal to future players?
We definitely are. Our games are designed for
longevity and we have slots that were developed
years ago that are still incredibly popular today Avalon is the perfect example of this. Avalon
launched on the download casino platform in
2006, followed closely by an instant-play Flash
version. We then released a mobile version in
2010, followed by a multi-player game in 2013.
Even though the slot was launched eight years
ago, it continues to be a top-performing game in
terms of traffic, number of spins and net wins. In
February 2014, we released Avalon II, and we
have no doubt that this masterpiece will be a popular game for a very long time, just like its predecessor.
Not forgetting, our branded content titles such as
Terminator 2, Jurassic Park and The Dark Knight
are timeless classics. We sign licensing deals with
brands that are iconic, as these games will appeal
to players for years to come.
What trends are developing with players as they
use content on different devices - are they expecting the same experience across different platforms? Should you strive to deliver a homogeneous experience on mobile, tablet, desktop and
in-location - or should there be clear distinctions
between the experiences?
When comparing usage on mobile and tablet
devices to that of PC users, the average session
time on a mobile device is noticeably shorter than
the average session time on a PC – but that is to
be expected. Mobile and tablet devices are principally being used when people are on the go - short
bursts of usage - whereas PC users are at home
and have the ability to play for a longer period.
Yes, absolutely, the player wants a seamless
experience, and they want to be able to play their
favourite game on whatever device they are using.
But the game should be presented so that it best
uses the features of the device it is being played
on. That means the game needs to conform to the
screen size, resolution and the operating system
of their device.
A homogeneous experience is the ideal scenario
and that’s what we’re striving for. Our intention
remains that we want to offer a player the exact
same experience for registration, banking, balances and play, no matter the device.
What are your most valuable tools in enhancing
the user experience and how are you utilising
them to best effect?
Our experience and knowledge. We have a talent
pool of over 1,500 people around the world losing
sleep on developing content. Our team invests a
lot of time in understanding how players interact
with games, what bonus features work best,
which themes are most popular, which colours
and soundtracks are appealing, and all of these
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Regulation is the future of the
industry; it is inexorable, and
the industry must learn to
embrace this. In anticipation of
increased regulation, we’ve
shaped and developed our
business with this in mind, and
that allows us to enter
regulated markets with ease.
industry, and it will become even more important
as the industry grows and becomes more competitive. We fully recognise this and that’s why
Microgaming has an extensive portfolio of patents
relating to our games and technology.
How important are the regulatory changes taking
place in the UK right now in terms of competition,
consolidation and future growth?
Regulation is the future of the industry; it is inexorable, and the industry must learn to embrace
this. In anticipation of increased regulation, we’ve
shaped and developed our business with this in
mind, and that allows us to enter regulated markets with ease. We are applying for the necessary
licenses in the UK and looking forward to being
awarded these in due course.
factors are taken into consideration when developing gaming content to ensure the user experience is second to none.
The regulatory changes taking effect in the UK are
significant for all involved, but it’s too early to
comment on how this will affect competition,
growth and consolidation - time will tell.
Is bespoke/unique content going to become more
important as operators seek to define their USPs
to players? And will IP become even more important in distinguishing games in the future?
If you had infinite resources available to you what would you be pouring those resources into
right now? Manpower, new technologies, security,
new markets…?
We have developed a number of bespoke games
for operators, such as I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out
Of Here for 32Red, which launched last
November ahead of the 2013 television series. To
a degree, bespoke and unique gaming content will
become more important, but having the best
quality games is far more essential.
Fortunately, Microgaming has significant
resources available to tackle the many challenges
involved with this hugely competitive and global
industry. If we had infinite resources I don’t think
we would ever put all our eggs in one basket and
have sole focus on one area of the business; manpower, new technologies, security, product development, new markets and regulatory changes all
go hand in hand.
Yes, IP has always been integral to the eGaming
Venetian Macao
18-20 November 2014
By Asia
for the world
MGS is back and even better!
Feature rich
Now’s the time to book your attendance at MGS 2014 18th – 20th
November.
MGS is the only show that is truly representative of the Asian gaming
industry.
And the only event to earn the title ‘by Asia, for the World’.
Visit the highly acclaimed Slot Experience Center.
Gain invaluable knowledge at the Macao Gaming Summit.
Promote your brands on MGSTV.
Come and see the entire gaming industry
Gaming Equipment & Accessories.
Gaming Promoters & VIP Clubs.
Casino Fixtures & Fittings.
Promotional Services & Memorabilia.
Food & Beverage.
Entertainment & Performance.
The best networking in Asia
Invaluable business networking opportunities.
Get to know potential business partners in a relaxed and casual
atmosphere.
And we will even help pay your way!
The Macao SAR Government is once again offering attractive
subsidies to qualified buyers from air fares to hotel accommodation,
making MGS the key annual meeting hub for casino procurement
teams.
MGS means business
Event Organiser
Exhibiting at MGS makes fantastic business sense.
Reach out to casinos, integrated resorts, regulators and gaming
affiliated businesses.
83% of MGS visitors are either decision makers or have direct input
to purchasing decisions.
An overwhelming majority (99%) said they would be returning to
MGS in 2014.
Supporting Organizations
博彩監察協調局
Direcção de Inspecção e Coordenação de Jogos
For more information and to book your place
at Asia’s ‘must attend’ gaming exhibition
contact [email protected], visit
MacaoGamingShow.com or telephone
+853 6363 0080 or +852 6329 6008
PRC hotline: +86 180 6387 4408
Event Co-Organisers
Event Contractor
Interactive
plAyer relAtioNships
how to solve the problem
of player acquisition
the social casino sector continues on an owards trajectory, but as fierce competition
between operators continues, intense pressures are being felt across the sector
Two years ago the social casino market was valued at $5.4bn and it has continued to reap the
rewards of a perfect storm.
There are number factors which have contributed
to the markets rise. Firstly, there has been rapid
acceleration in the mobile technology behind
smartphones, tablets and other devices which has
enabled social gaming networks to grow at an
unprecedented rate.
In addition, the discoverability and popularity of
social casino games has gone hand-in-hand with
the emergence of the Free-to-Play model, which
has opened social casino up to a broad and diverse
audience demographic.
With millions of players playing social casino
games, operators have been able to capitalize on a
simple monetization model, in which the more
players you bring into the game the more money
the game makes. As a result, the market has been
heavily focused on acquisition, with companies
like Zynga, DoubleDown Casinos and Caesars
Interactive investing huge marking budgets to
ensure the long term success of their games.
However, there’s trouble in paradise and the gravy
train which has been so reliable is slowly grinding
to a halt. Soaring acquisition costs alongside
fierce competition in the market has threatened
the long-term viability of this model.
The complex, resource hungry nature of the
acquisition marketplace is one of the main factors
that are driving up costs. In many cases it now
costs more to bring a new player into the game,
than that player is ever likely to spend. This has
forced operators to come to terms with some
uncomfortable truths and look for new ways of
balancing the viability of their games.
There has also been an explosion in the number of
games available. In social casino where the core
product tends to be pretty standardised from
operator to operator, winning the hearts, minds
and wallets of new users has never been more
challenging.
This also has a knock-on effect on discoverability, with the app stores now brimming with social
casino games all offering a similar product. Of
course, operators have the option to invest in app
store optimisation services, but this approach just
adds another layer of cost and complexity.
So what is the answer? Social casino operators
are responding to these challenges in two ways.
Some operators are starting to look to new channels such as TV advertising to drive acquisition,
with some very encouraging results from recent
campaigns. As competition for ad space is less
competitive in TV advertising, it is fast becoming
an important tool in the acquisition armoury.
The other main initiative is to focus on retention
and engagement as a way of increasing the number of players which go on to spend in the game.
Logically, the Cost Per Install (CPI) vs Lifetime
Value (LTV) conundrum can be solved by driving
down the cost of acquisition but in a competitive
environment this is impossible. And you waste a
great deal of resource trying to find the right combination of acquisition partners to deliver high
quality players with a good return on investment.
Organic acquisition is tough; and paid acquisition
can soak up a lot of budget with little rewards. It
is not unusual for studios to burn through $250k
of acquisition spend with limited understanding
of how profitable that spend has been.
As a result, it’s much better to concentrate on
7 8
Mark Robinson,
ceo DeltaDNa
The biggest change in our
industry has been the
realisation that we have a
perfect environment to build
responsive experiences for
players based on individual
playing styles– gifting chips to
players that are struggling,
rewarding VIPs for their loyalty
and matching players of equal
competency.
Interactive
But some players are experts and some players
are novices. Giving both groups the same game
experience is the worst of all worlds, but if you
can recognise an expert player early in the game
play and then send them to more challenging
parts of the game then the experience is improved
and retention increased.
Similarly giving novices enhanced tutorials and
making sure that in a multiplayer environment
they play against opponents with similar skill
level, again, increases retention.
That is why game personalization is so important;
making games responsive to player behaviors and
ensuring engagement is maximised.
New Player Relationship Management technologies such as deltaDNA can collect and analyse
player behaviors in realtime and change the game
experience dynamically creating well balanced
and fun experiences based on individual playing
styles and competency.
player relaTionship managemenT
Customer Relationship Management has long
been the focus of the finance and retail sectors
who work very hard to make sure their consumers return. This is no different in the virtual
world of the game. Understanding that all players
are not the same and identifying different playing
styles and behaviors is paramount to successful
Player Relationship Management and the key to
winning the CPI battle.
By thinking about the player experience very
clearly, and also, taking into account, that players
have different levels of competency, patience,
momentum and competitiveness, it is possible to
maximise engagement.
Once engagement is maximized, revenues will
increase as the players begin to value the opportunity to maintain and deepen their gameplay. As
lifetime values increase then acquisition becomes
more affordable and, instead of a downward spiral chasing more and more elusive quality
recruits, the whole viability of the game is fundamentally changed.
increasing engagement first. The industry lives
with very poor retention levels in general.
Imagine any business that was content with 7 out
of 10 customers never returning.
make iT personal
The biggest change in our industry over the last
two years has been the realisation that we have a
perfect environment to build responsive experiences for players based on individual playing
styles– gifting chips to players that are struggling,
rewarding VIPs for their loyalty and matching
players of equal competency so that everyone
joins in the fun.
Social casino operators are now focusing on how
they create their player onboarding experience so
that engagement is maximized in session one and
beyond.
It used to be the case that the games industry
made games for itself. What we mean is that 20
year old guys would be making games for a 20
year old male audience. With the advent of online
games that is no longer the case and game play
has become a much broader demographic. We
know that older females are a key group for slots
games whilst middle aged men are a key demographic for poker.
This means that developers are no longer able to
rely on their own game play experience to make
well balanced environments. And this is why
recently the industry has been struggling with
low retention rates.
The focus on giving different players an engaging
first 60 seconds is vital to ensure you build an
active and loyal base which will in time monetize.
Giving players the kind of game they want means
being able to track, anticipate and respond to different behaviors instantly via micro-personalization. But performing that level of in-depth analysis on the colossal amounts of event data streaming in from games, many of which have millions
of monthly active users, requires data management that’s smarter – and faster – than ever
playspaCe Case sTuDy: player
relaTionship managemenT in aCTion
Playspace is one of the most successful Social
Casino operators in Europe. Since being founded
in 2011, it’s cross platform, multi-player games
which include Bingo, Parchis and Slots have
gained over 7m registrations.
The games have many common engagement and
monetization mechanics including free coins each
7 9
Interactive
day and unlocked features as players level up.
However, like many publishers and developers,
Playspace found that rising acquisition costs were
impacting the profitability of its games.
key player segments and understand where there
were retention issues and opportunities for further spend, forming segments to describe key
behaviours including:
As result, deltaDNA and Playspace collaborated to
address the engagement blockers and create to
personalized experiences for players.
This allowed the development and implementation of realtime targeted in-game messages during the early gameplay, which focused on areas
including expanding the tutorial for novice players, hints on good strategy and less payment messages.
After an assessment of the game design, some
very familiar initial findings emerged:
l
l
l
l
Engagement metrics were static and needed to
improve
Novice users required a better on-boarding
process
There was an imbalance in the economy with
excessive gifting dampening spend and causing
inflation problems
There was a lack of player insight driving
development decisions
deltaDNA worked with Playspace to understand
8 0
This maximised player engagement, while the
monetization strategy then personalized the game
for intermediate and expert players. These players we’re offered things like customized games
and offers, rewards for leveling up (credits and
items) and the opportunity to play against other
leaders.
The resulting realtime in-game messages and
dynamic adjustments to game balancing gave
each player a tailored experience based on their
playing style.
The results were incredible. A 350% increase in
very engaged users (playing more than 10 days in a
row) and a 26% improvement in Returning Players
Item sales in the store increased by six times and
whales significantly increased their spending with
a fivefold increase in number of transactions and
an eightfold increase in transaction value. The
inflation problems from gifting were also
addressed by this increase in spending.
summary
While player-relationship management is fundamentally focused on improving player engagement, it also helps significantly with retention and
monetization. By understanding player behaviours
and responding through realtime personalization
to give players the experience they want, engagement and lifetime value is dramatically increased
and acquisition budget can be spent with confidence that new players will drive increased profitability.
Why acquisition will continue to be a challenge for
social casino operators, by increasing lifetime values though more sophisticated game personalization, the industry can continue to flourish.
02
01
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
Social Gaming
DoubleDown Interactive
“DoubleDown casino brings the authentic wheel
of Fortune slot machine experience to the mobile
and desktop environment, enabling fans of the
most popular slot machine of all time to
experience their favorite game anytime,
anywhere,” said will Daugherty, senior Vice
President and General manager of DoubleDown
interactive. “DoubleDown casino players and
wheel of Fortune fans alike will love the
authentic wheel of Fortune Double Diamond
experience. The game features the classic threereel configuration with wild and multiplier
symbols for two times the winning
entertainment.”
This first in a series of wheel of Fortune titles to
launch as part of the multi-year agreement with
sony Pictures consumer Products. as part of the
agreement, iGT will also develop additional
wheel of Fortune mobile and online games for
DoubleDown casino and for-wager online play
worldwide through 2024.
“we are excited to extend our successful
partnership with iGT to bring the wheel of
Fortune experience to consumers in a variety of
online platforms worldwide,” said Greg
economos, senior Vice President of Global
consumer Products for sony Pictures.
DPX-E130
Components
Advantech-Innocore
advantech announced the arrival of DPx-e130,
a complete gaming system designed specifically
for the revised italian awP3 market regulations.
a full aams compliant software aPi and libraries
provide for simple integration of the smart card,
fiscal interfaces, security, i/o and coms to the
aams servers. The new gaming system will be
showcased in G2e Las Vegas (at Booth 1623).
The system uses very little power which is drawn
through the Jamma interface, with onboard
regulation to provide a robust power interface for
new and retrofit applications for awP3 and
comma6a+ markets. The system, based on the
amD G-series embedded platform, is designed
to be low power with high performance and 5year life cycle support—all at a very competitive
price. DPx-e130 gaming system will be
showcased in G2e Las Vegas.
Designed specifically for comma 6a+ gaming
machines, DPx-e130 is fully compliant with the
new awP3 aams standard, and features a
Jamma 28 way edge connector for i/o, power,
audio, security, and coms. Plus, it has an aams
smart card, strong security for game assets,
access control and authentication. The DPxe130 uses a smart card interface compliant with
iso7816-1,2,3 and iso / iec 7810:2003.
DPx-e130 incorporates radeon HD integrated
graphics delivering powerful acceleration for
Directx 11, and openGL 4.1, with support for up
to two simultaneous independent monitors.
while targeted primarily at the italian market, the
DPx-e130 has so many features it makes an
ideal solution for many other markets that
require a very cost effective fully integrated
secure gaming system.
Products
lANd-BAsed & iNterActive
ROMAN CHARIOTS
Online Slots
Williams Interactive
williams interactive has launched the roman
chariots online slot game, the first game added to
the williams interactive game server library
powered by the offline hit game engine,
supercharged reels. games powered by this engine
feature three miniature bonus reel sets atop the
main slot game, one or more of which will “charge
up” with win multipliers each time wild symbols fill
reels 2, 3, or 4 of the main game.
“we’re excited to add the roman chariots theme
and the game engine supercharged reels to our
portfolio of authentic vegas-style slot games,”
commented robin littleworth, senior director game
development for williams interactive. “the minireels and multipliers are designed for short-term
persistence, providing players the potential to spin
multiple feature reels with multipliers well over 100x
for the chance to win big. it mimics the feeling of
craps where the suspense builds on every play, and
provides a unique gameplay experience for online
casino players!”
03 PANOMERA - BASELINE, TOPLINE AND NIGHTLINE
Security
appropriate line has been selected on the basis
Dallmeier
of illumination, the right Panomera can quickly
be found based on the expanse of the scene and
the desired recognition range.
The new Panomera lines differ primarily in light
sensitivity and frame rate. Baseline, with a frame
rate of 12.5 fps and a light sensitivity of 0.5 lux is
an excellent choice for well-lit scenes. Topline,
with a light sensitivity of 0.1 lux and a frame rate
of 30 fps is an "all-round talent" for good to
moderate illumination. Nightline, with a light
sensitivity of 0.002 lux and a frame rate of 30
fps, is ideal even for night-time applications.
Thus any situation at all can be mastered
brilliantly, including those where lighting is poor.
The models within the individual series differ by
the number of sensors they have and thus by
their aperture angle and the distance up to which
persons can be recognised or identified. Despite
the large variety, it is still easy to choose the
most suitable Panomera model: as soon as the
what all models have in common is the
innovative lens and sensor concept: with
Panomera a huge area can be surveyed from a
single location, for the multifocal sensor
technology supplies a unique overall view of the
entire scene even while capturing the finest
details, including those at large distances. The
result is a significant reduction of infrastructural
demands: in places where, in the past, several
HD or megapixel cameras would have had been
required, now, one Panomera multifocal sensor
system is sufficient.
Panomera far exceeds the conventional Full HD
1080p standard and megapixel resolution.
regardless of which part of the area under
surveillance an operator concentrates on and no
matter when, with Panomera all events are
entirely covered at all times. Therefore, an
incident can always be re-constructed to be
used as evidence in court, no matter where it
took place and even at a later point in time, and
individuals involved can be identified.
THE ARGYLE OPEN
Online Slots
Microgaming
golf-themed, the argyle open, is a five reel, 40 line
video slot. the game centres on a three-stage
tournament bonus, triggered by three or more
scatter symbols. microgaming has taken this online
slot, originally launched on the casino platform in
2010, and developed it for tournament play. the
argyle open tournament slot has been used for
september’s €100,000 network tournament. entry
into golf’s finest challenge was just €10; the top 50
players will win a cash prize and the champion took
home €5,000.
James Ford, product manager for microgaming's
multi-player games, comments: “For us, it’s all
about timely content; delivering games to our
operators’ players that will get them excited and
keep them engaged. september held one of the
biggest tournaments in the golfing calendar, so
what better time to deliver the argyle open
tournament slot and the associated €100,000
network tournament? you don’t have to be at
gleneagles to be a part of the golfing action!”
8 1
Information
ADVANTECH-INNOCORE– pg 29
www.advantech-innocore.com
ALFASTREET – pg 15
www.alfastreet.si
suBscriBe
AMATIC INDUSTRIES – pg 43
www.amatic.com
APEX GAMING – pg 05
www.apex-gaming.com
ASIA GAMBLING BRIEF – pg IBC
www.asiagamblingbrief.com
AUSTRIAN GAMING INDUSTRIES – pg 09
www.austrian-gaming.com
www.G3Newswire.com
www.G3-247.com
Social Networking
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Connect with G3 across every type
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'relevant' gaming news items.
The newly launched G3-237.com
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magazine feature and report G3 has
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BALLY TECHNOLOGIES – pg IFC
www.bally-tech.com
G3i App - iOS & Android
CASINO TECHNOLOGY – pg 21
www.casino-technology.com
COMTRADE GAMING – pg 35
www.comtradegaming.com
EAG – pg 59
www.attactionsexpo.co.uk
E-GAMING – pg 37
www.e-gaming.cz
EVOLUTION GAMING – pg 17
www.evolutiongaming.com
GAMING LABORATORIES INT. – pg 25
www.gaminglabs.com
GAMEACCOUNT NETWORK – pg 13
www.gameaccountnetwork.com
The international gaming industry’s
daily portal for news
ICE TOTALLY GAMING – pg 48-49
www.icetotallygaming.com
Gaming Publishing launched its G3i
app in august 2011. The first to
launch a magazine app, the response
has been overwhelming, as the app
now provides readers with instant
access to their favourite gaming
magazine wherever and whenever
they want. we have now added
android to this functionality, allowing
readers to download magazines for
free from the apple app store and
their android marketplaces.
Download back-issues or the latest
magazines today.
JCM GLOBAL – pg 04
www.jcmglobal.com
MACAO GAMING SHOW – pg 77
www.macaogamingshow.com
MEI – pg 06
www.meigroup.com
PATIR CASINO SEATING – pg 11
www.patir.de
PRESTIGE SEATING TECHNOLOGY – pg 27
www.pstseating.com
SUZO HAPP – pg 07
www.eu.suzohapp.com
subscribe at www.g3-247.com to print and digital editions
SYNOT– pg 45
www.synotloterie.eu
subscribers have 24/7 access to the complete G3 reports back catalogue, reduced rates for the latest market
reports, access to the complete G3 back issues library, discounts on commissioned reports, discounted
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TCSJOHNHUXLEY– pg 19
www.tcsjohnhuxley.com
TRADOLOGIC – pg 39
www.tradologic.com/g3.com
WILLIAMS INTERACTIVE – pg OBC
www.williamsinteractive.com
G3Newswire.com delivers daily international gaming industry news and information, with the G3Newswire
newsletter circulated three times per week to a 8,000+ database of gaming industry influencers
Disclaimer: All contents© Gaming Publishing Limited 2014. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the express permission of the publisher. While we make every effort to ensure that everything we print in Global, Games and Gaming (G3) is factually correct, we cannot
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