Transcript
OFFICIAL MAGAZINE
GLOBAL GAMES AND GAMING MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2015 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
Mexico fast-tracks new gaming law to replaced out-dated Act of 1947
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SPAIN
Novomatic acquires majority shareholding 1 4 in GiGames and Conei Group
NEW JERSEY
Last minute taxation strategies proposed to 3 4 save Atlantic City’s remaining eight
Greece VLT
updaTe News and statistics
SOUTH KOREA
Genting Hong Kong is to invest US$117.2m 4 6 in a joint venture with Landing Int.
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Contents JaNuary 2015
05 08
06 04
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03 02
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WWW.G3-247.COM SOUTH AMERICA NEWS 01: mExICo Having fast-tracked its a new gaming law mexico has finally replaced the country’s out-dated act of 1947
EMEA NEWS 04: spaIN Novomatic Group of Companies’s spanish subsidiary has become majority shareholders of GiGames and Conei
– G3Newswire pg 08
– G3Newswire pg 14
02: BrazIL the Brazilian police force has instigated a major crackdown on an alleged illegal gaming ring across several states–
05: EstoNIa olympic Entertainment Group (oEG), has been ranked as first among the top 100 successful Estonian companies.
G3Newswire pg 10
– G3Newswire pg 16
03: puErto rICo the government of puerto rico has made sweeping changes to its horse racing legislation that has met with approval
06: uK four operators have continued to express their interest in the stalled middlesbrough casino project with movement in sight
– G3Newswire pg 12
– G3Newswire pg 22
NORTH AMERICA NEWS 07: NEVada the american Gaming association (aGa) has released a comprehensive set of antimoney Laundering Best practices
ASIA & OCEANIA NEWS 09: austraLIa aquis Casino acquisitions, the company bidding to build a a$4.2bn casino project in Cairns , is to complete in Canberra
– G3Newswire pg 32
– G3Newswire pg 42
08: NEw JErsEy Last minute taxation strategies proposed to save atlantic City’s remaining eight casinos as unemployment rockets
10: saIpaN Imperial is to launch 510m new shares on the HKsE to raise funds for a HKd774m casino project on the island of saipan
– G3Newswire pg 34
– G3Newswire pg 44
08: NEw JErsEy Borgata has announced details of the $13m property-wide renovation taking place over the next several months
11: soutH KorEa Genting Hong Kong is to invest us$117.2m in a joint venture with Landing International development
– G3Newswire pg 38
– G3Newswire pg 46
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
MARKET REPORT GrEECE VLt updatE market report detailing the recent changes taking place in the Greek market as VLt gaming is introduced to the marketplace – G3-247 market report pg 78
BCN worLd ENtErs sECoNd pHasE the Government of Catalonia has announced the four successful applicants that have passed into the second phase – Insight pg 28
NEpaL CasINos rEopEN Nepal’s casino industry is likely to be back in business soon, however operators are still concerned about new regulations – Insight pg 48
EXHIBITIONS How ICE Is mappING tHE futurE ICE is a must attend for exhibitors from across the world - G3 charts the journeys of two poles apart exhibitors to ICE 2015 – Exhibitions pg 56
Gaming Publishing Samson House, 457 Manchester Road, Manchester M29 7BR, United Kingdom
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Comment JaNuary 2015
While putting together this month’s preview to the ICE show in February, Clarion Gaming asked for a blog of memories from my ICE exhibitions past. My 14 years of shows have blurred together somewhat, but I can clearly remember my first ICE back in 2000. Riding the escalator from the roaring cacophony that was the ATEI show below, the upper level of Earls Court in London was a strung out horseshoe of an exhibition floor, weaving between pillars and low ceilings, it was an intimate affair that felt muffled and refined compared to its pennyarcade cousin on the floor below. The passing of ATEI as a con-joined exhibition was something for which is was easy to spill crocodile tears. Striking compared to today were the stands themselves. No double decks, meeting rooms or acres of carpet, the ICE show was a lean operation. While today it’s not unusual for a games developer to launch 50+ games at a single exhibition, in 2000 the stands had only a handful of new games, perhaps less than 50 new games for the entire event. Interviews were conducted on the stand, pressed between guests and stacks of games. And they were interviews with CEOs and Managing Directors. Few companies had dedicated marketing staff, so the heads of Novomatic, R.Franco, Gauselmann etc., were all available to discuss the products that they personally had put their time and effort into developing. The interviews were often raw and unedited, with the lack of filters that are applied to today’s managed events. There was a trust that FEW COMPANIES you’d get the story right, or face a grilling at the next event on the calendar. HAD DEDICATED
MARKETING STAFF, SO INTERVIEWS AT ICE WERE WITH THE HEADS OF ALL THE MAJOR COMPANIES
Gossip and rumour was a currency of the shows then - with the tacit knowledge that while nothing was for print, it was no holds barred in terms of the rumour mill surrounding appointments, departures, mergers and acquisitions. You could start a rumour on one stand and meet it coming back as you followed the horseshoe around to its natural conclusion. And then there were the parties. What happened to the parties? Not that I remember much about those...
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 Rory Shanahan
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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 JaNuary 2015
January 13-15, 2015
EAG International Expo 2015 & Visitor Attraction Expo, London
Location ExCeL London Exhibition Centre, London, UK Organiser EAG/Swan Events Office 10, Clare Lodge 41 Hollybush Lane Harpenden, Herts
February 3-6 2015
ICE Totally Gaming 2015, London
Location ExCeL London Exhibition Centre, London, United Kingdom Organiser Clarion Events Fulham Green, Bedford House 69-79 Fulham High Street London
Irish Gaming Show, Dublin Publications 8 South Ring Business Park Kinsale Road, Cork, Ireland Tel: +353 21 431 6776 Email:
[email protected] Web: www.irishgaming.ie
March 9-11, 2015
Gaming Technology Conference, Las Vegas
Location Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Contact Lesley Grashow Organiser BNP Media Gaming Group
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United Kingdom SW6 3JW Contact Gareth Dedman Tel: +44 (0)20 7384 8120 Email:
[email protected] Web: www.icetotallygaming.com
March 3-4, 2015
Location Red Cow Moran Hotel, Dublin, Ireland Contact Susan Feery Organiser Gaming & Amusement
United Kingdom AL5 4AY Contact Karen Cooke Tel: +44 1582 767254 Email:
[email protected] Web: www.eagexpo.com
2401 W Big Beaver Road, Suite 700 Troy, Michigan United States MI 48084 Tel: +1 203 938 2782 Email:
[email protected] Web: www.tablegamesconf.com
March 17-19, 2015
iGaming Asia Congress, Macau
Location Grand Hyatt, Macau Organiser Beacon Events 20/F Siu On Centre 188 Lockhart Road Wanchai
Hong Kong Tel: +852 2219 0111 Email:
[email protected] Web: www.igamingasiacongress.com
March 18-19, 2015
FADJA Peru 2015, Lima
Location Atlantic City Convention & Entertainment Center, Lima, Peru Organiser 3A Productions Amador Merino Reyna Street No 307
Of 602 San Isidro Lima Peru 27 Tel: +51 1 716 2728 Email:
[email protected] Web: www.fadja.com.pe
March 18-19, 2015
Caribbean Gaming Show & Summit 2015, Puerto Rico
Location San Juan, Puerto Rico Organiser CGS Group Investments LLC Southeast Financial Center 200 South Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 2790
Location Rimini Fiera, Rimini, Italy Organiser Rimini Fiera Spa Via Emilia 155 Rimini, Italy 47900
Miami, Florida United States FL 33131 Tel: +1 305 394 9292 Email:
[email protected] Web: www.caribbeangamingshow.com
March 18-20, 2015
ENADA Spring, Italy Contact: Sonia Bodellini Opening Times: 10am-6pm Tel: +39 0541 744250 Email:
[email protected] Web: www.enadaprimavera.it
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G3Newswire soutH amErICa NEws
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unanimousLy approVed new Law Having fast-tracked its a new gaming law Mexico has finally replaced the country’s out-dated Act of 1947 Mexico - Legislation
con 297 VoTos a faVor, 34 en conTra y 17 abstenciones, el Parlamento de México ha aprobado finalmente la nueva Ley Federal de Apuestas y Sorteos. Dicha ley tiene como objetivo regular el sector del juego de una forma más eficiente, salvaguardar los derechos de los jugadores y hacer más transparente el proceso de concesión de licencias. eL dipuTado nacionaL arGenTino omar ducLós ha presentado un nuevo proyecto de ley a la Cámara Baja para regular la publicidad y la promoción del juego. La nueva ley restringiría severamente los anuncios publicitarios de juego para salvaguardar a la población frente a la ludopatía y sus consecuencias negativas. La poLicía federaL de BrasiL ha puesTo en marcha una operación a gran escala en varios estados bautizada como Operação Trevo (Operación «Trébol») que tiene como objetivo desmantelar una banda criminal acusada de llevar a cabo actividades organizadas de blanqueo de dinero y juego ilegal. dos casinos han cerrado sus puerTas en Costa Rica, lo que refleja el continuo declive del sector del juego en el país. Según la prensa local, los elevados costes operativos han forzado el cierre de dos casinos, el Casino Europa ubicado en el Hotel Europa y el Casino Europa que funcionaba en el Hotel Radisson. Estos cierres, consumados a finales de noviembre, han supuesto la pérdida de 200 puestos de trabajo. como refuerzo de su infLuencia cada Vez mayor en Latinoamérica, Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) ha sido registrada oficialmente como laboratorio para realizar servicios de prueba y certificación en Paraguay. eL ausTríaco noVomaTic Group, a TraVés de su filial española NOVOMATIC Gaming Spain, se ha hecho con la participación mayoritaria en GiGames. en VisTa deL enorme desarroLLo deL jueGo online y de la apertura de un nuevo período de solicitud de licencias por parte de la Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), el Grupo R. Franco ha decidido entrar en el sector online. eL primer compLejo de casino deL sur de Chipre ha despertado un enorme interés, según noticias de la prensa local que vinculan el proceso a Caesars Entertainment, Genting y Las Vegas Sands. eL operador francés joa acaBa de aBrir La extensión de juego en su Casino D’Uriage, ubicado en la localidad de Saint-Martin d’Uriage (Ródano-Alpes). El diseño incluye el uso de cristal tintado opaco en tonos naranja, rosa y rojo para crear un espacio de casino contemporáneo. eL noVomaTic Group ha anunciado que Jens Halle, todo un veterano en el sector del juego, abandonará sus cargos conjuntos como Director Gerente de Austrian Gaming Industries GmbH y Director General de Novomatic Americas Sales LLC.
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With 297 votes for, 34 against and 17 abstentions, the House of Representatives has finally approved the new Federal Betting and Raffles Law. The new law aims to regulate the gaming industry more efficiently, safeguard the rights of players and make the licensing process more transparent. The new law has been the result of many months of work by the special committee first convened to look into the issue back in April 2013. The committee made up of 11 deputies was charged with looking into how licenses had been granted by the Interior Ministry (SEGOB) after growing reports of corruption and allegations that former members of SEGOB had trafficked licenses. SEGOB and committee members agreed on the terms of the new act after a two hour meeting last week. The new act rules that each casino or gaming establishment will be issued a single licence per gaming establishment, raises the minimum entry age from 18 to 21 and creates a new gaming control board called the National Institute of Gaming and Raffles. After meeting with the members of the committee to discuss the new measures The Head of Mexico’s Interior Ministry Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong said: "The Interior Ministry and Deputies of the House
have agreed to fast track the issue which will allow for new modern legislation with a clear and transparent rules which fit in with the country’s current needs and generates certainty for those who take part in this activity. It does so by replacing the Federal Betting and Raffles Law which dates back to 1947 and is now obsolete.” After being fast tracked to the Lower House lawmakers voted unanimously in favour of the new bill. In a number of last minute developments it was revealed that licences will now be valid for twelve years and can be extended for a further ten. This could cause some disappointment amongst operators as local insiders had argued that licences should be valid for up to 12, 15 or 20 years, with the same extension time in order to encourage foreign investment on a large scale. The new law also bans mini casinos which would have allowed operator’s licences to house up to 30 machines per site.
Lawmaker calls for major restrictions on advertising ARGENTINA National Deputy Omar Duclós (GEN Party - pictured right) has introduced a new bill to the Lower House that would regulate the advertising and promotion of gaming. The new law would severely restrict the advertising of gaming in order to safeguard the population from gambling addiction and its negative consequences. The initiative states that Argentine television watchdog AFSCA (The Federal Authority of Audiovisual and Communication Services) would be responsible for the monitoring and compliance of the new regulations. Failure to comply would include heavy fines for those companies found to be breaking the law. New laws are necessary, according to the legislator, in order to change the growing perception that legal gambling is a secure source of income for the Treasury. Speaking before the
Lower House, Mr. Duclos said that it was essential, “to adopt concrete measures to raise awareness when it comes to the negative effects of compulsive gambling and problem gambling.” As a result the new bill prohibits the promotion and advertising of gambling across all media platforms except within gambling centres themselves. And when present they must clearly outline the negative consequences of excessive gambling. Highlighting the growth of gambling advertising in Argentina Mr. Duclós said: “In our country there are many advertisements for lotteries, casinos, racetracks and bingo on television, radio, in print and electronic media as well as signage on public roads, stadiums and malls, which target a large number of potential consumers, and they provide a picture of gaming as a leisure and enter-
tainment activity associated with happiness and good fortune. Some of these ads are promoted by State institutions.” Advertising of gambling has become increasingly present in local media for both the land based and online sector over recent years even though online gaming is illegal in the autonomously governed city of Buenos Aires. And while online gambling is legal throughout the rest of the country it is only where permission is granted by the regional governments where they operate. However interactive gambling sites often promote themselves via cable television and local chat shows.
G3Newswire soutH amErICa NEws
www.G3newswire.com
crackdown on iLLeGaL GamBLinG The Brazilian police force has instigated a major crackdown on an alleged illegal gaming ring across several states Brazil - Operations
Lawrence ho, co-presidenTe deL operador Melco Crown Entertainment, con sede en Macau, está intentando abrir un casino en la República de Georgia. Según un expediente presentado a la Bolsa de Valores de Hong Kong, el Sr. Ho aspira a conseguir 50 millones de dólares con la venta de acciones en una sociedad instrumental a través de su empresa de loterías china MelcoLot Limited. sTaTion casinos, eL primer operador en ofrecer juego en casinos online legales en Estados Unidos, se dispone a cerrar su negocio de póquer online en Nevada, Ultimate Gaming, alegando que no ha conseguido alcanzar sus objetivos financieros. GameaccounT neTwork ha suscriTo un acuerdo con Spin Games, con sede en Reno, para integrar el servidor de juego remoto de Spin Games (RGS) y lanzar su cartera de juegos en HTML5 para Simulated Gaming a nivel nacional en Estados Unidos, además del juego en Internet con dinero real en ciertos mercados regulados. eL comiTé de conTroL deL jueGo de neVada ha aprobado que Blackstone Group, el fondo de inversión de capital privado, obtenga la licencia para comprar el Cosmopolitan Casino en Las Vegas. Blackstone declaró en mayo sus intenciones de adquirir el Cosmopolitan de manos del banco alemán Deutsche Bank por 1730 millones de dólares.
The Brazilian Federal Police Force have launched a large scale operation across several states called Operação Trevo (Operation Shamrock), aimed at dismantling a criminal gang accused of running a money laundering and illegal gambling scheme. According to police sources, the gang has been active in 13 states and the scheme involved the popular Jogo do Bicho game (The Animal Game) and illegal slot machines. Police sources estimated that the organization handled approximately 1.5bn Reais. The operation, which involved over 300 police officers, had orders to arrest 57 individuals and seized houses and other properties belonging to members of the gang. The arrests were the culmination of a nine month investigation into illegal gaming in Brazil and arrests were made in the starts of Pernambuco, Alagoas, Goiás, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Amazonas, Espírito Santo, Pará, Rio de Janeiro, Piauí, Rio Grande do Sul, Bahia and Paraíba. According to police, the band took advantage of a fake charitable lottery and then used the money for money laundering activities. Meanwhile, another gang leader based in São Paulo, was responsible for the provision of illegal slot machines operating in a number of states nationwide. The group also, according to the investiga-
tion, acted to ensure the money used in the popular Animal Game in the Northeast of Brazil , was used for money laundering purposes. Illegal gambling in Brazil has been a long running issue and gambling in Brazil is the most politically charged issue in the region due primarily to the proven links between gambling and organised crime. Worth billions of dollars each year, The Animal Game, an illegal street lottery, is played widely and numbers runners have repeatedly been found to operate bingo halls and offer politicians and local officials bribes in return for closure. Casinos were first banned in 1946 by President Eurico Gaspar Dutra and casinos and online gambling remain prohibited under Brazilian law. While bingo halls were banned in the aftermath of the bingo scandals of 2004 since then the majority of bingo halls have been able to remain open by individual judicial order or via specific legislation now in place in several Brazilian states.
una fiLiaL conTroLada aL 75 por cienTo por Century Casinos ha sido elegida por Horse Racing Alberta (HRA) para operar la red de apuestas de caballos parimutuales fuera de hipódromo de Alberta del Sur a partir de 2015.
order to boost tourist infrastructure and were only allowed in hotels. With around 50 casinos now operating nationwide the vast majority are located around the most well-known beaches with another handful located in the capital.
GaminG LaBoraTories inTernaTionaL (GLi) ha reubicado su laboratorio de Colorado trasladándolo a unas nuevas instalaciones de aprox 3700 m² en Wheat Ridge, Colorado. La nueva ubicación estará plenamente operativa el 1 de diciembre. aquis casino acquisiTions, La empresa que está detrás de la licitación para construir un espectacular casino y un proyecto de complejo recreativo valorado en 4200 millones de dólares australianos en Cairns (Australia), se dispone a finalizar en Navidad su adquisición del Casino de Canberra tras haber conseguido un descuento de 3 millones de dólares sobre el precio de venta. marie sTephens properTies ha presenTado sus planes para un hotel-casino valorado en 250 millones de dólares australianos que tendrá la forma de una perla gigante y que está diseñado para flotar mar adentro en la Costa Dorada de Australia. GenTinG honG konG se dispone a inVerTir 117,2 millones de dólares en una empresa de capital conjunto 50/50 con la promotora inmobiliaria china Landing International Development para desarrollar una planta de juego en el Hyatt Regency Hotel, ubicado en la isla surcoreana de Jeju.
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Two more casino closures add to Costa Rica industry woes COSTA RICA Two casinos have closed their doors as the gaming industry continues to decline in Costa Rica. According to local news reports, high operating costs have forced two casinos, the Casino Europa located in the Hotel Europa and the Casino Europa operating in the Radisson hotel to close. The closures, which occurred late November, have left 200 people out of work. After the announcement The Ministry of Labour met with representatives from the Hotel Europa, along with five union
officials and quickly reached an agreement regarding their severance pay and annual bonuses. Labour Minister, Victor Morales also confirmed that workers will be given additional training so that they may find other work. The closure is the latest in a number of closures over recent months including the Royal Dutch Hotel and Casino. Located in downtown San Jose the casino had been open for over twenty years. In common with many other countries in the region, casinos were first permitted in
There have been a number of significant closures of late due to additional obstacles such as the smoking ban and taxes which have forced other larger operations to reduce their running costs. Industry insiders have warned that a number of casinos are running at a loss and could soon also close. In January, Jorge Hidalgo, President of the Association of Costa Rican Casinos, said the industry in Costa Rica has been struggling for 16 years due to a lack of regulatory framework when it comes to casinos and operators have consistently criticised the government due a lack of regulation when it comes to illegal gambling and high tax rates.
G3Newswire soutH amErICa NEws
www.G3newswire.com panama - reVenues sLump By 17.2 per cenT Gaming income generated for the state is down by 17.2 percent in Panama going down by U.S$1.4m in October compared to the previous month. According to statistics released by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in October gaming revenue generated by the industry for the government stood at around US$6.8 while in September it stood at U.S$8.3m. According to the report, Type 3 slot machines (classified as Type A slot machines in Panamanian gaming law) generated US$3.4m for the state. This was followed by tax revenue generated in casinos which stood at around US$2m. Meanwhile tax gaming revenue for Type C machines stood at around US$1m. Categorised as Type C in Panamanian gaming law, type C slot machines may only pay a maximum of US$200 per machine in prizes. According to the president of the Association of Managers of Gaming (ASAJA), Antonio Alfaro, the decline in revenues could, however, simply be down to the fact that January, March and August are the busiest times for the casino industry due to the higher influx of tourists during these months. In addition local insiders say that revenue in casinos are down due to the rapid growth of slot parlors in the country - an issue that could well be addressed by the government in the near future. According to statistics released by the ASAJA there are 7,300 slot machines in slot parlors in Panama and 5,400 slot machines located in casinos. While the most recent statistics may not be that troubling, as reported in November revenues across some sectors is on the decrease for the first time in ten years according to statistics released by the Panamanian Gaming Control Board (JCJ). According to the JCJ a total of U.S$129m was bet in the first six months of this year compared to U.S$147m in the same period in 2013. All the same Panama has been a bright spot for the industry for some years. paraGuay - GLi receiVe paraGuay accrediTaTion Further strengthening its reach in Latin America, Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) has been granted registration as a laboratory that conducts testing and certification services in Paraguay. The registration was granted by the National Gaming Commission (CONAJZAR), the gaming and lottery regulator in Paraguay, and covers devices and systems for gaming and lottery. GLI has been very active and supportive of regulators and suppliers throughout Latin America and the Caribbean for more than 16 years, and this new accreditation in Paraguay further strengthens the company’s position in the region. “We are proud to be recognized by CONAJZAR by authorizing our registration as a lab in the jurisdiction. We are thankful to the regulator for the trust that this recognition means,” said GLI Director of Latin American Development Karen SierraHughes. “GLI continues to be the leader in the Latin American and Caribbean Region. We do this in part by being ready to fulfill all requirements set forth by regulators to establish the technical compliance process, and by complying in a timely and efficient manner with the laboratory registration process. In addition to regulatory support, suppliers will be able to reach out to GLI for their testing and certification needs for this exciting jurisdiction,” Sierra-Hughes added.
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Law chanGes haiLed By indusTry The government of Puerto Rico has made sweeping changes to its horse racing legislation that has met with approval Puerto Rico - Legislation The Puerto Rican Senate has approved a significant amendment to its Horse Racing Laws. The Amendment has been welcomed by local industry experts who say that that the new amendment will bring a new lease of life to the industry, which has suffered a number of serious setbacks over recent years. The Senate voted in favour of the new bill by 27 votes to 21 with two absentee votes. The amendment now only needs to be signed by governor of the Governor of Puerto Rico Alejandro García Padilla before going info force. The bill went through several changes as it went through its draft stages with Senators finally agreeing to reduce taxation imposed on bets from 10.54 percent to 4 percent. The new law also creates a new fund which will be destined for promoting thoroughbred breeding and acquisition programs for thoroughbreds so that races in the future are more attractive to fans. President of the largest racetrack in Puerto Rico Ervin Rodriguez Velez welcomed the new move and thanked Senators for, “the sensitivity with which they endeavoured to address the socioeconomic problems the sport-industry faces for the first time in many years.” Mr. Velez went onto say that the amendments to the law marks a major change to the industry and will signify, what is hoped, a major reversal in the decline in tax revenue for the Government gener-
ated by the racing industry. “The current economic situation has resulted in layoffs within the horse racing industry and reduced working hours,” Mr. Velez said. “It has reduced the number of races, the number of betting outlets and the total of registered horses, which has negatively affected the dynamics of the sport and its appeal as a game of chance.” The crisis has been especially acute for the horse racing industry due to the rise of casino gaming and illegal gaming on the island. The crisis has caused government revenues related to horse racing alone to have decreased from US$ 31.4m in 2005 to about $13.2m in 2013. Local experts had predicted that the industry would continue to decline if the government did not move to quickly to approve new measures. It is believed that the executive will sign the amendment this week and that the project will come into force within the next 60 days.
Revenues for Chilean casinos up by over seventeen per cent MEXICO Revenues continue to increase in Chile. According to statistics released by The Chilean Gaming Control Board (SCJ) gross gaming revenues for the 16 casinos operating in Chile stood at US$38.5m in October a 17.8 percent increase compared to the previous month. The 16 municipalities and 11 regions where the casinos are located received a total of US$6.4m in gaming tax revenue while casinos generated an additional US$2.2m in tax on entrance fees for the state. On top of this amount the casinos also generated US$6.1m in VAT. In terms of gross gaming income generated by the casinos, the Monticello Grand Casino came in first place with 27 per cent (US$6.128m). In second place came Casino Rinconada with 15.5
percent or US$3.524m of market share. Meanwhile, in third place was Marina del Sol with 12.1 percent - a US$2.750m share of the market. This was followed by Enjoy Antofagasta 9.3 percent (US$ 2.104m), Dreams Temuco 6.6 percent (US$1.490m), Dreams Punta Arenas 5.0 percent (US$ 1.126m), Casino Sol Calama 4.7 percent ($1.076m), Dreams Valdivia 3.8 percent (US$854m), Gran Casino de Talca 3.7 percent (US$839m), Antay Casino & Hotel 2.8 percent (US$632m), Casino Sol Osorno 2.1 percent (US$486m), Casino Gran Los Ángeles 1.8 percent (US$405m), Casino de Colchagua 1.7 percent (US$394m), Casino de Juegos del Pacífico 1.7 percent (U.S$381m), Dreams Coyhaique 1.3 percent (US$294m) and finally Enjoy Chiloé 0.9 percent (US$211m). According to the latest statistics
released by the SJC, the 9,635 slot machines in operation in October handed out an average of 93.9 per cent of the stake. While the total bets made on slot machines stood at $503.6 m the prizes handed out stood $472.9m leaving a total win for the casinos of US$30.m. As revenues increase the casino industry in Chile is set to continue to expand with the municipal casinos now scheduled to come under the control of the Gaming Control Board in two years time. According to the terms of Chile’s 2005 act, the eight casinos that were already licensed before 2005 were set to come under the supervision of the Chilean Gaming Control Board at the end of next year, and the tax would be split equally between the local municipality and the central government. However agreement has been reached whereby the casinos, which were already licensed before the new act, now have an additional two years before their licences expire.
G3Newswire EmEa NEws
www.G3newswire.com miT 297 ja-sTimmen, 34 GeGensTimmen und 17 Enthaltungen hat das mexikanische Repräsentantenhaus endlich dem neuen Bundeswetten- und Gewinnspielgesetz zugestimmt. Das neue Gesetz zielt darauf ab, die Glücksspielbranche effizienter zu regeln, die Rechte von Spielern zu wahren und den Lizenzierungsprozess transparenter zu gestalten. arGenTiniens Vize, omar ducLós, haT eine neue Gesetzesvorlage im Unterhaus eingebracht, wonach die Werbung für das Glücksspiel geregelt werden soll. Das neue Gesetz würde die Werbung für Glücksspiele erheblich beschränken, um die Bevölkerung vor der Spielsucht und deren negativen Konsequenzen zu schützen. unTer dem namen operação TreVo (operaTion Kleeblatt) hat die brasilianische Bundespolizei eine groß angelegte Operation über mehrere Bundesstaaten mit dem Ziel gestartet, eine kriminelle Bande zu zerschlagen, die der Geldwäsche und des illegalen Glücksspiels bezichtigt wird. zwei casinos mussTen im zuGe der fortgesetzten Talfahrt der Glücksspielbranche Costa Ricas ihre Pforten schließen. Laut lokalen Presseberichten haben hohe Betriebskosten zwei Casinos, nämlich das Casino Europa im Hotel Europa und das Casino Europa im Hotel Radisson, gezwungen zu schließen. Diese beiden Schließungen, die Ende November stattfanden, kostete 200 Menschen ihren Arbeitsplatz. GaminG LaBoraTories inTernaTionaL (GLi) erweitert seine Präsenz in Südamerika. Das Unternehmen erhielt die Registrierung als Labor, das Tests und Zertfizierungsdienst-leistungen in Paraguay erbringt. die ösTerreichische noVomaTic Group erwarB über ihre spanische Tochtergesellschaft NOVOMATIC Gaming Spain eine Mehrheit der Anteile an GiGames. anGesichTs der enormen enTwickLunG des Online-Glücksspiels und des Beginns einer neuen Periode der Erteilung von Lizenzen durch das General Directorate on Gaming (Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ)), hat sich die Franco Group dazu entschlossen, in die Online-Branche einzusteigen. LauT LokaLen zeiTunGsBerichTen, die caesars Entertainment, Genting und Las Vegas Sands damit in Verbindung gebracht haben, war das Interesse am ersten Casino-Ressort im Süden von Zypern gewaltig. der französische BeTreiBer joa haT jeTzT Bei seinem Casino D’Uriage in Saint-Martin d’Uriage in der Region Rhône-Alpes seinen Erweiterungsbau eröffnet. Dabei kommt undurchsichtig lackiertes Glas in Orange-, Pink- und Rottönen zum Einsatz, das eine zeitgemäße Casinofläche ausmachen soll. cenTury casinos 75%iGe TochTerGeseLLschafT wurde von Horse Racing Alberta (HRA) ausgewählt, das PariMutuel Wettsystem für Pferderennen außerhalb der Rennplätze im Süden Albertas zu betreiben, das 2015 an den Start gehen wird. marie sTephens properTies haT pLäne für ein A$ 250 Mio. Casinohotel, das die Form einer gigantischen Perle haben und vor der Goldküste von Australien schwimmen soll.
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GiGames joins noVomaTic Group Novomatic Group of Companies’s Spanish subsidiary has become majority shareholders of GiGames and Conei Spain - Corporate Austria’s NOVOMATIC Group, through its Spanish subsidiary NOVOMATIC Gaming Spain, has acquired a majority shareholding in GiGames. Through the newly announced partnership with NOVOMATIC, Europe’s largest gaming group and a major player on the world stage, GiGames and the Conei Group are now confident of ensuring continued growth as manufacturers and distributors of gaming equipment and on expanding and improving their product offerings.
The NOVOMATIC management is convinced that the longstanding experience of GiGames and the Conei Group, as a local and successful manufacturer and operator, will greatly help the Company to consolidate and further enhance its future market position in the Spanish gaming sector, clearly acknowledged to be one of the most important gaming markets in Europe. Pictured above left - right: DI Ryszard Presch, COO Novomatic AG, Mag. Harald Neumann, CEO Novomatic AG,, Josef Segura, Managing Director Conei Group, Prof. Johann F. Graf, Founder and Majority Shareholder Novomatic Group Nullam quis Juan Lao, Founder and President Conei Group, Mag. Bernhard Teuchmann, Managing Director Novomatic Gaming Spain and Francisco Poveda, Managing Director GiGames.
Spain In view of the huge development of online gaming and the opening of a new period for submitting licences by the General directorate on Gaming (dirección General de ordenación del Juego (dGoJ)), the r. franco Group has decided to enter the online industry and has applied for the corresponding licences by way of the r. franco digital company. r. franco digital will apply for two general licences: a) bets and, more specifically, sports betting; and b) other games: slots, roulette, blackjack and baccarat.
ICE set to become Germany's international trade show UK The cancellation of the IMA trade show, scheduled to take place in Düsseldorf in January 2015, will effectively make London's ICE Totally Gaming the German industry's 'international trade show' according to Lars Rogge, Managing Director of Bally Wulff, one of the principal German machine manufacturers. "I would expect there to be at least 300 of the most important German operators visiting London for the show," he said. "For us – and our fellow machine-makers in Germany – ICE will therefore become our principal international showcase. We will feature
our machines for Italy and Spain there." Responding to the news Kate Chambers, Portfolio Director responsible for ICE, said: "When Germany had no IMA show in 2013, we welcomed a large number of German gaming professionals to what was the first year at our new home at ExCeL. As part of the broader gaming family we sympathise with the complex political situation, which has caused the cancellation of IMA. ICE is a unique meeting place for the international gaming industry and we look forward to welcoming German operators in even
bigger numbers to London in February." With what is the busiest show floor in gaming, ICE features a significant number of German exhibitors including the Gauselmann Group subsidiary Merkur Gaming, which confirmed that it will be bringing an ‘extensive’ selection of gaming cabinets to ICE. Discussing the offering, the company's managing director Ralf Markmann added: “Never before has Merkur Gaming offered so many gaming possibilities at an exhibition. We understand that each market has its own special requirements, which is why visitors to our stand can expect solutions for a host of markets, including Spain, UK, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Italy and South Africa."
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oeG: esTonia’s Top ranked firm Olympic Entertainment Group (OEG), has been ranked as first among the top 100 successful Estonian companies. Estonia - Corporate
sTaTion casinos, der ersTe BeTreiBer, der legales Online-Casino-Glücksspiel in den USA anbietet, gibt sein Online-Pokergeschäft Ultimate Gaming in Nevada auf, da das Geschäft seine finanziellen Ziele nicht erreicht habe. GameaccounT neTwork haT miT spin Games miT Sitz in Reno einen Vertrag geschlossen über die Integration des Remote Gaming Server (RGS) und den landesweiten Start des HTML5-Spieleangebots für Simulated Gaming in den USA sowie Echtgeld-Internetglücksspiel an ausgewählten geregelten Märkten. die aufsichTsBehörde für das GLücksspieL von Nevada genehmigte der Blackstone Group, einem PrivateEquity-Fonds, die Lizenz für den Kauf des Cosmopolitan Casino in Las Vegas. Blackstone sagte im Mai, dass das Unternehmen Cosmopolitan von der Deutschen Bank für US $ 1,73 Mrd. kaufen wolle. Lawrence ho, sTeLLVerTreTender Vorsitzender von Melco Crown Entertainment aus Macau, beabsichtigt ein Casino in der Republik Georgien zu eröffnen. Laut seiner Einreichung bei der Hongkonger Börse hofft Herr Ho $ 50 Mio. durch den Verkauf von Anteilen an einer eigens dafür gegründeten Gesellschaft über seine chinesische Lottogesellschaft MelcoLot Limited sicherzustellen. GaminG LaBoraTories inTernaTionaL (GLi) haT sein Labor in Colorado an seine neue, 40.000 Quadratfuß große Anlage in Wheat Ridge, Colorado verlagert. Der neue Standort ist seit dem 1. Dezember voll funktionsfähig. aquis casino acquisiTions, das unTernehmen hinter dem Angebot über den Bau eines spektakulären $ 4,2 Mrd. teuren Casinos und Ressort-Projektes im australischen Cairns, wird wahrscheinlich die Übernahme des CanberraCasinos bis Weihnachten perfekt machen und hat sich einen Preisnachlass von A$ 3 Mio. auf den Verkaufspreis gesichert. die nepaLesische reGierunG isT BereiT, siLVer Heritage Limited mit Sitz in Hongkong zu genehmigen, ein Casino im Shangri-La Hotel & Resort in der Hauptstadt Kathmandu zu betreiben.
The list of the most successful Estonian companies is annually published by the largest Estonian business daily Äripäev. The ranking is based on top 500 Estonian companies with the biggest revenue and developed taking into account also operating profit, revenue and profit growth, profitability and asset productivity. OEG ranked the first ahead of Elering AS, company managing the Estonian electricity system; Riverside OÜ, a construction company; Port of Tallinn and Eesti Energia AS, an international energy company operating in the energy market of the Baltic and Nordic countries. According to Mr. Armin Karu, Chairman of the Board of OEG, the company is proud to be ranked as the most successful enterprise in its home market. “We have put a lot of effort into building a prosperous international business keeping the high satisfaction of our customers and the best industry standards at the same time in all our markets,” Mr. Karu said. “Our ambition never settles, however, and we are continuously looking for possibilities to expand and grow our business in Europe even more as well to other continents,” he said, adding that the company is currently build-
ing a brand new luxurious Hilton hotel and the largest ever Olympic Casino that will be opened in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia by the first half of 2016. In addition to being ranked as the most successful company in Estonia, OEG has received several other substantial recognitions recently, having also been named the most competitive service enterprise in Estonia and the Casino Operator of the Year at the Totally Gaming Awards in London in 2013. With more than 2,600 employees, Olympic Entertainment Group is the largest provider of casino entertainment in the region. OEG is a full member of the European Casino Association (ECA). The Group operates casinos in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Belarus and Italy.
Germany edict egaming recently signed a partnership with the international casino operator LeoVegas. edict will offer a selection of merkur slot games to its global player base. the new developed edict Game Bridge will deliver the games, which allows large operators to integrate the famous merkur slots via an apI easily to their game portfolio. “this is a great opportunity for LeoVegas and edict. I am sure their players base will enjoy the unique experience that the merkur slot games offer and we can gain from their mobile experience,” comments dominic-daniel Lienard, CEo of edict. the edict Game Bridge currently offers 10 merkur slots to large sports betting or casino operators.
license will cost €2.5m for the first four years of operating, then €5m for the next four.
GenTinG honG konG wird us $ 117,2 mio. in ein 50/50-Joint-Venture mit dem chinesischen Bauträger Landing International Development investieren und eine Spielfläche im Hyatt Regency Hotel auf der südkoreanischen Insel Jeju betreiben. ezuGi haT sein LiVe-casino-sTudio Bei einer der größten Gruppen Kambodschas, der Dai Long Company eröffnet, die Besitzer und Betreiber des Grand Dragon Resorts und Casinos ist. die james packers crown-Gruppe sTehT Vor neuen Hürden bei ihrem Bestreben, ein $ US 400 Mio. teures Casino in Sri Lanka zu eröffnen, nachdem der Präsident des Landes damit gedroht hatte, neue Abgaben auf das Glücksspiel zu erheben, falls er die bevorstehenden Wahlen im Januar gewinnen sollte. die noVomaTic Gruppe GaB BekannT, dass ein Veteran der Glücksspielbranche, Jens Halle, seine kombinierten Positionen als Managing Director, Austrian Gaming Industries GmbH und CEO of Novomatic Americas Sales LLC aufgeben wird.
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The bill paving the way to the licence, which will also be allowed two satellite casinos alongside the larger resort style licence, is expected to be submitted to the house soon.
Caesars, Sands and Genting all linked to new Cyprus casino CYPRUS Interest in Southern Cyprus’ first casino-resort has been immense according to local news reports that have linked Caesars Entertainment, Genting and Las Vegas Sands to the process. Caesars has already sent repre-
sentatives to Cyprus to present their case to financial ministers. The plan is to offer the winning operator a 30-year license, with a guaranteed monopoly for the first 15, in exchange for 15 per cent of the establishment’s annual gross revenues. The annual gaming
A ministerial committee meeting between the Finance, Commerce, Interior, and Justice Ministers were told that Legal Services had now completed the review of the relevant bill. The resort casino must have at least 1,000 slots and 100 tables alongside 500 hotel rooms. The winning casino bid is expected to be announced by August 2015.
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moVemenT for middLesBrouGh Four operators have continued to express their interest in the stalled Middlesbrough casino project with movement in sight UK - Licences The delayed development of Middlesbrough’s ‘large’ casino licence could finally get under way with Stockton-based developers Jomast putting forward a three phase development programme. It has signed an agreement with hotelier Premier Inn to complete phase 1, which if approved would see the construction of an 83 bed hotel, and confirmed it has ‘positive interest’ from four casino operators.
Kubilay Özer is welcomed to the APEX team by Johannes Weissengruber ausTria – kuBiLay ozer joins The apex Team Kubilay Özer has been appointed as Global Sales Director for APEX gaming. Mr. Özer will manage worldwide sales at APEX gaming in all markets, including casino, AWP, VLT, online and mobile. The position of Global Sales Director has been especially created at APEX gaming to reflect the growing international demand for the company’s solutions. “We are setting the management structure, knowing that our company motto to take gaming to the ‘next level’ has been mirrored in the demand for our solutions. We are thrilled to have gained such a professional gaming person in Kubilay Özer who will be responsible for the sales department, covering all markets and all products. I have great respect for Kubilay. This appointment is the natural next step after having appointed Max Pessnegger as Chief Executive Officer. We are taking our management structure to the next level”, explained Mr. Johannes Weissengruber, Chairman and founder of APEX gaming. Mr. Özer has gained extensive knowledge of the global gaming market in his previous position working for a leading payment systems company. BeLGium – inTerBLock appoinTs maGendans Interblock has announced the appointment of Patrick Magendans as new Director of Sales for Europe. Patrick has joined Interblock to lead its sales department in Europe with over 25 years experience. He started as a field engineer and has worked his way through many different positions. Patrick brings a wealth of knowledge and has previous experience with Interblock’s current customer base in Europe. uk – hippodrome To hosT icc conference The iconic Hippodrome Casino, situated in London’s Leicester Square, has been chosen as the venue for the 2015 International Casino Conference (ICC), taking place on Monday February 2. Organised jointly by Clarion Events and the European Casino Association, the ICC serves as the curtain raiser to ICE – the world’s biggest B2B gaming event – which runs from February 3-5 at London’s ExCeL Centre. Co-organised with the European Casino Association, the 2015 ICC will bring together Presidents, CEOs and Board Members of all of the largest casino groups in Europe. The Conference will provide delegates with a platform to exchange views on issues affecting the land-based industry while giving them access to key speakers.
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A report to Middlesbrough Council’s Executive said the three phase development would increase the appeal of the overall scheme each phase providing ‘greater confidence to both investors and prospective occupiers that the scheme is both deliverable and successful.’ The report blamed the economic downturn for having ‘a major impact in taking schemes forward nationally.’ “Casino and hotel development across the country
have proved difficult and Middlesbrough has proved no exception to that, which is the reason why the development has not progressed as quickly as anticipated,” the report stated. “However, with the upturn in the wider economy, development in Middlesbrough is improving across a number of sectors, including the hotel market, as proved with the development of the Holiday Inn Express. Unfortunately the casino market is not showing the same appetite for development but it is anticipated that as the economy continues to grow this will change accordingly.”
France french operator Joa has now opened the gaming extension at its Casino d’uriage in saint-martin d’uriage, the rhone-alps. the design includes the use of opaque lacquered glass coloured in oranges, pinks and reds to create a contemporary casino space. Laurent Lassiaz, the Chairman of the management Board of the Lyon Group Joa, opened the new extension along with Casino director arnaud Loret. at a cost of €5m, the 1,000m² has provided a whole new gaming floor, space for shows and business conferences as well as a new reception area and a new entrance opposite the Grand Hotel, under a huge glass roof. the casino restaurant can now welcome customers through its own entrance without the need for proof of identification. mr. Lassiaz said: “the aim of Joa is to become the number two or even number one operator on the french casino. our aim is primarily to change the look of the casino world by making our facilities genuine leisure destinations. with these developments, we expect a 10 per cent increase in our traffic.” The restaurant will be run by the Italian chain Zizzi.
Partouche’s Bath casino plan is moving a step step closer UK The Partouche-operated casino in Bath, a historical city in Somerset in the south west of England, has moved a step closer with developers behind the £14m SawClose scheme being grated new premises licences for a casino and restaurant. A licence for the hotel will be decided on at a later date. The ‘small’ casino’s opening hours
have been limited to 11am to 11.30pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 11pm on Sunday. It will be allowed to serve alcohol and play recorded music while it is open. Late night refreshments will only be served indoors between 11pm and 11.30pm Monday to Saturday. The casino will be run by French firm Groupe Partouche SA in partnership with Global Gaming Ventures Limited.
Deeley Freed director Andrew Maltby said: “I’m delighted we have been at this for seven years so it’s nice to get to the end.” Avon and Somerset Police have stipulated that a CCTV system must be in operation and that the casino must display signs instructing customers to exit quietly. Staff must adhere to a challenge 21 scheme, whereby proof of age is required from anyone looking to be under 21-years-old. Several buildings will be demolished to make way for the new development, including a section of the Grade II listed Gala Bingo operation.
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Gaming industry veteran Jens Halle’s surprise announcement that he’s to leave the Novomatic Group at the end of 2014 Austria - Corporate
uk – LadBrokes ceo LeaVes With pressure mounting due to poor digital returns, British bookmaker Ladbrokes is looking for a new CEO to replace Richard Glynn. Mr. Glynn is to be replaced after four and a half years in charge. Ladbrokes, under the leadership of Mr. Glynn, had been implementing a fundamental re-engineering of its business and operational and digital capabilities. Richard Glynn was appointed CEO of Ladbrokes in April 2010, with a clear mandate to implement the recovery programme within a five year term. Following extensive and constructive discussions between the Board and Richard, it is intended that he will complete his term and continue in his role as CEO into 2015. The Board will shortly start a process to identify his successor and the search will evaluate both internal and external candidates. Once an appointment has been made, Richard has agreed to remain in post as required to ensure an orderly transition. Peter Erskine, Chairman of Ladbrokes, commented: “On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Richard for his leadership of the Company and his considerable achievements in delivering a new digital future for Ladbrokes. He has devoted enormous energy and dedication to securing the transformation of the Company and the benefits of that work are beginning to be seen. I am pleased that he will both see through the final steps of the implementation plan and be on hand to facilitate an orderly succession process. Ladbrokes has been transformed and is a far stronger company as a result of his work. ” Richard Glynn commented: “Everyone at Ladbrokes has worked incredibly hard over the past, nearly five years, to deliver the transformation programme. We have faced significant operational challenges, as well as economic and regulatory headwinds. However I am pleased that the business is fundamentally stronger than it was and now has the operational and digital capabilities to compete effectively.”
The Novomatic Group has announced that gaming industry veteran Jens Halle is to leave his joint positions as Managing Director, Austrian Gaming Industries GmbH and CEO of Novomatic Americas Sales LLC. When the news was announced in G3Newswire that Jens Halles was to leave the Novomatic Group of Companies, the site recorded the largest spike in news readership in 2014. Over 59 per cent of Newswire’s 6,000 readership opened and read the story online. A further 34 per cent forwarded the story to at least four colleagues. Such is the renown for Mr. Halles that his departure has been one of the news events of the year. This move, which was reached by mutual agreement, will see Jens Halle relinquish his roles within Novomatic by the end of this year. Commenting on the decision Mr Halle said: “Fifteen years ago I was honoured by the invitation of President and majority shareholder Professor Johann F. Graf to join the iconic Novomatic Group as Head of Sales. Later, I was appointed Managing Director of Austrian Gaming Industries and, assisted by a loyal team of true gaming professionals, was able to see Novomatic achieve
notable success not just in Europe but around the world. However, although I now feel the need for new challenges and new directions, I will always be grateful for the experience of working together with colleagues and friends and for the satisfaction that I gained from being within one of the gaming industry’s true leaders.” Commenting on the decision reached jointly by Novomatic and Jens Halle Mr Herbert Lugmayr, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Novomatic AG, said in recognition of Mr Halle’s work: “I extend my appreciation to Mr Jens Halle on behalf of the owner, the management board and the supervisory board, for his long-standing commitment. Mr Halle has made a significant contribution to the international orientation of this company. I wish him all the best for his future.”
Italy the mayor of san pellegrino terme, in Lombardy, Northern Italy, is calling for the parliamentary leaders of Lombard, the regional councillors of Bergamo, the trade unions and the mayors of the municipalities of the valley to unite in an effort to reopen the region’s casino saying it would bring strength to the tourist development of the entire Valley. the Casino of san pellegrino terme was built in just two years and inaugurated in 1907. It opened as a multi-purpose facility with the aim to entertain and entertain his illustrious guests, inside, could listen to music, read and groped their luck with gambling. the casinos were closed in 1926, then re-open for a short time in 1946. great enthusiasm. During the event we were awarded with the approval license, which allowed customers to place their first orders. We hope to see the first installations in following weeks. Interblock team is looking forward to these new exciting times and the recognition from the players in The Netherlands.«
niGeria – BeTradar enTers niGerian markeT Betrader has launched its Live Channel product with Nigerian bookmaker 1960Bet who will roll out the Live Channel Retail across 5,000 stores by using a local satellite distribution provider. It will implement the Live Channel Online into its sports betting website 1960bet.ng. In addition, 1960Bet has also signed up for Betradar’s Managed Trading Services, a new business concept that allows sports betting operators to externalise their labour intensive risk and liability management to Betradar’s proven industry expertise. Combined with the live streaming services Live Channel Retail and Live Channel Online, 1960Bet is strengthening its live betting offering significantly in retail outlets and on their website, to provide their clients with a new level of entertainment and bet-stimulation. 1960Bet CEO, Dotun Ajegbile said: “We look forward to taking advantage of the growing interest in live betting by rolling out the Betradar Live Channel in 5,000 of our 1960Bet shops and agents. Together with this, we have entrusted our day to day risk-management to the Betradar Managed Trading Services, and we are confident this is a great step forward in securing our future growth in the market.”
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Interblock’s G5 Diamond approved for The Netherlands HOLLAND Interblock was at the VAN trade show in Amsterdam on November 26 showing its G5 Diamond generation of product that has just been approved for
sale in the the Dutch market. Patrick Magendans, new Director of Sales for Europe at Interblock, was excited about his first exhibition as a part of Interblock team: “The G5 was received with
Klemen Sitar, Regional Sales Manager at Interblock, added: “After a ‘G3 Megastar decade we have introduced Interblock’s most popular product at the moment, the G5 MiniStar to this extremely important market. We have no doubt G5 MiniStar will conquer the market in the same way Megastar has. I am thrilled about all opportunities this introduction of a new Interblock Roulette generation has enabled us in the Netherlands market.”
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GTech BrinG sphinx 3d To france France-based casino operator, Partouche, has installed the latest GTECH True 3D slot machines, Sphinx 3D in four sites BuLGaria – eGT wins major Business award The manufacturer of casino equipment, Euro Games Technology, won the prize of the audience in the third edition of the business competition “Best Bulgarian Company”. Organized by First Investment Bank it includes several categories and honours the most successful and fast-growing companies in the country that operate with entirely Bulgarian capital and managers. 220 firms took part in the contest for the title “Company of the audience,” awarded to Euro Games Technology for the highest votes achieved. EGT surpassed the second competitor for the prize with more than 16 per cent score difference. “The competition ‘Best Bulgarian Company’ of First Investment Bank has become a good tradition and a much anticpated event among the Bulgarian business community. There were many and worthy competitors for the prize this year and I’m especially proud that I’m holding the audience award plaquette,” said Vladimir Dokov, General Manager of EGT, during the official final ceremony in Sofia. GeorGia – ho has hiGh hopes of GeorGian casino Lawrence Ho, Co-Chairman of Macau-based operator Melco Crown Entertainment, is looking to open a casino in the Republic of Georgia. According to a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Mr. Ho is hoping to secure $50m through the sale of shares in a special purpose vehicle via his Chinese lottery company MelcoLot Limited. He then plans to partner with Taiwanese company Firich Enterprises to develop the casino. The filing states that Firich will subscribe for 5,530 subscription shares whilst another investor, named as Oz, will subscribe for 200 shares. Firich is a shareholder in Beijing Telenet Information Technology whilst Oz is involved in developing food and beverage and other entertainment-related businesses in Georgia. The filing states: “The casino project represents an opportunity for the MelcoLot Group to expand its business interests into the gaming and casino sector in the developing market of Georgia. The MelcoLot directors believe that this would provide synergies with and complement the existing lottery business of the MelcoLot Group. It is intended that SPV will utilise the net proceeds from the subscription of approximately US$49,890,000 to fund the costs and expenses related to securing the lease arrangements in respect of the project site of the casino project and payments under that lease, and the general development, implementation and running of the casino project.” The group hopes the casino will be operational by the first quarter of 2016. Henry Ko Chun Fung is CEO of MelcoLot Limited, a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, whilst its mother company Melco International is chaired by Lawrence Ho.
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France - Installations Players across four casinos with the prestigious Groupe Partouche in France can now experience a new dimension of gaming with GTECH’s TRUE 3D title, SPHINX 3D. Based on the highly successful Sphinx theme, and using patented, award- winning 3D display technology, GTECH has created an unrivalled gaming experience. 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 3DTM 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 AXXISTM 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 have chosen GTECH’s SPHINX 3D machines because they are a true innovation. For our locations, it is the perfect highlight on the slots floor, with
lots of potential to create very strong external communication around it,” said Fabrice Paire, General Director of Groupe Partouche. “The eye-catching exterior of the AXXIS cabinet, combined with the amazing 3D effects, are exactly the kind of product we want to offer our players. We believe that these are the best premium machines.” Groupe Partouche has installed 24 SPHINX 3D machines in their casinos in Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône), Saint-Amand-les-Eaux (Nord), Pornichet (Loire-Atlantique) and Le Pharaon à Lyon (Rhône). “The feedback we are receiving from operators as well as players is 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. The efficiency of the installation, as well as the customer satisfaction, has demonstrated our team’s professionalism and commitment. We are looking forward to introducing more TRUE 3D titles to the industry in the months to come.” The SPHINX 3D game, which is live in numerous casinos across Europe, while the latest True 3D products will be on display at the ICE Totally Gaming show in London in February.
Interblock installs its first G5 Mini-Star Roulette in Bratislava SLOVAKIA Interblock successfully installed two G5 MiniStar 08 Roulettes inside Rebuy Stars in Bratislava, making it the first launch of this product in Slovakia. “The decision to choose Interblock equipment was relatively easy for us to make. We were simply looking for the best product on the market. Our goal is to build and equip our facilities in absolutely unique way that helps us reach the top levels from the technological as well as gaming perspective. The effects of choosing Interblock equipment are very fast to see, assuring us we have made a great decision and used our resources
effectively,“ commented Josef Liska, CEO in Rebuy Stars. ‘’We are always looking for partners, who desire to offer something more to their customers, and Rebuy Stars proved to be a perfect fit. We are very happy with the results and hope this will continue into long lasting relationship,’’ commented Mr. Ales Zvipelj, Regional Sales Manager in Interblock. The company Rebuy Stars is young, but in the field of gaming industry already well recognised company and with its network of slot machines and casinos is associated with other brands in this segment.
France suzo-Happ continued to show its focused support to the local gaming markets by exhibiting at the slot summit in Lille, france. this was an ideal opportunity for french casino operators to see the extensive solutions suzoHapp offers the market. suzo Happ’s Harald wagemaker commented, “the slot summit provides so much fundamental information to casino operators and we have seen its success grow from summit to summit. we are proud to be a silver sponsor of the slot summit and so have the opportunity to take an active role here.”
GraNd paradE INVEstmENts Is aLIVE aNd KICKING IN GamING South Africa’s GPI swaps operations for manufacturing with an expansion of plans to build slot machines with electronics contract manufacturer, Tellumat Having been a long-term subscriber to G3 magazine, Cape Town-based Grand Parade Investments cancelled their subscription midsummer 2014, just as it announced the wholesale sell-off of its casino investments and the majority of its LPM operations in South Africa. It appeared as though GPI was taking a non-gaming tack and concentrating on its profitable Burger King franchise instead. However, it looks as if the claims of GPI’s demise in gaming have been somewhat premature. Despite selling its stakes in the GrandWest Casino in Goodwood and Golden Valley Casino in Worcester as well as selling control of its LPM operations to Sun International, GPI has not entirely given up on gaming. The difference, however, is a new alignment with manufacturing. Besides retaining a significant minority stake in the Sun International controlled LPM business, GPI will now also play a major role in supplying slot machines to the gaming sector. In August GPI reiterated its LPM ‘hardware’ play by entering into
Insight soutH afrICa that government’s localisation initiative will create more local manufacturing opportunities and act as a catalyst for job creation. In essence, Grand Tellumat Manufacturing looks well positioned as a localisation partner for foreign and local vendors bidding for government procurement and infra-structure projects.
a manufacturing joint venture with Retreat-based electronics contract manufacturer Tellumat. The deal entails GPI acquiring 51 per cent of a joint venture company, Grand Tellumat Manufacturing, with Tellumat owning the balance of 49 per cent. The transaction has been described as a merger of the engineering skills and manufacturing capabilities of Tellumat with the investment know-how of GPI. The newly created company wants to position itself as the manufacturer of choice for electronic and related technology products designated as requiring minimum levels of local content to be eligible for procurement by government departments and local infrastructure projects. Both GPI and Tellumat are clearly anticipating
At the end of 2012, GPI entered into a deal with German slot machine manufacturer Merkur Gaming to manufacture gaming machines in South Africa. This saw an arrangement where they could manufacture, assemble and distribute slot machines, sports betting and lottery terminals through a joint venture with Tellumat as the contract manufacturer. Tellumat CEO Andrew Connold has commented that the South African government’s infrastructure build projects and localisation policies are a significant opportunity for Grand Tellumat Manufacturing. “There is no need for South Africa to fully import or outsource the manufacture of high tech electronic products to companies overseas. We have all the necessary skills to do this competitively, which not only provides convenience to our local customers, but will create much needed jobs and keep engineering skills in South Africa.”
Insight uK oNLINE LEGIsLatIoN
uK INtroduCEs NEw oNLINE poINt of CoNsumptIoN tax The UK’s rules for General Betting Duty (GBD), Pool Betting Duty (PBD), and Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) changed from December 1 2014. The new rules affect the remote gambling industry who offer remote betting and gaming to UK consumers from outside the UK and UK land based betting business such as high street betting shop. Land-based gaming sector such as casinos and bingo halls will not be affected by these new rules unless they offer remote betting or gaming. Premises based betting and the treatment of spread betting will be unaffected except for some administrative changes. Previously, gambling activities have been taxed on a ‘place of supply’ basis. This means that if an operator is supplying gambling from the UK, they pay tax on all their gross gambling profits. Operators supplying UK customers from outside the UK pay no UK gambling taxes. From December 1, 2014 HMRC is changing how these duties are taxed from ‘place of supply’ to ‘place of consumption’. This means that online operators have become liable to one or more of the taxes (GBD, PBD or RGD), if you offer remote gambling to a person who usually lives in the UK. This applies no matter where in the world operators are based. If an operator supplies remote gambling to UK customers from outside the UK they will become liable to a UK gambling tax for the first time and GBD, PBD or RGD will become payable. UK based operators who supply remote gambling to customers who do not usually live in the UK will 2 4
no longer be liable to GBD, PBD or RGD on those transactions. GBD is charged on a bookmaker’s profits on general bets or pool bets on horse racing or dog racing where the bets are made with a bookmaker by a customer who is present in a betting shop regardless of where the customer usually lives. It is also charged on spread bets, that is betting on the outcome of financial or nonfinancial fluctuations of an index where these bets are made with a bookmaker who is in the UK.
If an operator supplies remote gambling to UK customers from outside the UK they will become liable to a UK gambling tax for the first time and GBD, PBD or RGD will become payable. GBD is also relevant for general bets or pool bets on horse racing or dog racing made with a bookmaker, not in a UK betting shop, by a UK person regardless of where in the world the bookmaker is located PBD is charged on a bookmaker’s profits from bets that are not at fixed-odds and are not on horse or dog racing, where the customer is present in a UK betting shop regardless of where the customer usually lives or the customer is a UK person regardless of where in the world the customer is located.
RGD is charged on a gaming provider’s profits from remote gaming played by a UK person. HMRC is also moving to an online system for registering for these taxes and for making returns. HMRC can issue paper forms for registration and returns, but only if you don’t hold (and are not required to hold) a Remote Operating Licence (ROL) from the Gambling Commission (GC). Pool bets on horse or dog racing are currently charged with GBD. This won’t change, but the method of calculating pool betting profits for tax purposes, for both GBD and PBD, will be amended to exclude non-UK customers from the calculation where it is appropriate to do so. Peter Greenhill, Head of e-gaming for the Isle of Man Department of Economic Development, said: “The effect of POC on the Isle of Man online gaming sector will be minimal compared to other jurisdictions due to the fact that, despite each Isle of Man licence holder having a different operating strategy and very different player profiles geographically, the vast majority of players using Isle of Man operators reside outside the UK. The legislation does not force UK facing licence holders to set up their companies in the UK nor does it force the processing of bets to take place on UK servers meaning that our licensees on the Isle of Man can retain their current structures with all of the benefits that they bring.” “The legislation also requires offshore licence holders to either appoint a UK based Financial Representative who, at great expense, will take responsibility and personal liability to pay UK HMRC the duty owed, or may negotiate to pay six months duty in advance,” he explained. “The positive news as far as the Isle of Man is concerned is that we have negotiated an arrangement with the UK tax authorities that UK facing operators licensed with us do not need to take on this vast expense. This represents a major saving over other jurisdictions.”
Insight EuropEaN sLot tourNamENt
spaIN wINs tHE EuropEaN sLot CHampIoNsHIp A Spanish player took the overall crown at the grand final of Carlo Pagan’s European Slot Championship, held at the Casino de Campione in Italy A thrilling final to the European Slot Championship 2014 took place in November. The final involved participants from the qualifying rounds held in eight different European countries (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, Serbia and Poland) in 28 real life casinos and on the www.casinocampione.it gaming site. The grand finale took place in a single threeminute round, with Ron Goudsmit, Chairman of the ECA, wishing the best of luck to the finalists. The 12 players competed not only for the title of the European champion, but also for a wonderful trip to Las Vegas. At the end of the three minute competition, Spaniard Josè S. won the title, dominating the final competition with a score of over one million points (the only player to achieve such a score), which was more than 200,000 points ahead of the runner-up, Tatjana G from Poland. Third place went to the Hungarian, Marton. The winner, having qualified at his local Barcelona casino, was especially excited at the time of the awards ceremony, claiming a victory that he definitely won't forget.
european sLoT markeTinG eVenT The European Slot Championship is the first European marketing project relating to the slot machine segment and it is a new promotional method for the benefit of all traditional European casinos, and it perhaps exceeds - in terms of implementation time frames - certain 2 6
“This is a fantastic opportunity for operators throughout the region to drive new demand to their slot floors and showcase a more dynamic and engaging side of slots.” projects promoted by on-line gaming multinationals. As part of the ESC (European Slot Championship), slot machines have been the focal point of a compeition that seeks to promote their positive values, such as fun, competition, communal play and entertainment value. Partners in the operation include the European Casino Association and IGT, who both confirmed their support for ESC 2015. This future event is set to see an even wider participation
base if certain countries (such as France) manage - as it would seem - to get the green light for the organisation of slot tournaments from their respective gaming boards. “The European Slot Championship has finally bought the thrill and excitement of major slot tournaments to Europe.’ Commented Sabby Gill, Senior Vice President International Sales at IGT. ‘This is a fantastic opportunity for operators throughout the region to drive new demand to their slot floors and showcase a more dynamic and engaging side of slots. We’re thrilled to be involved with the championship from the outset and are looking forward to a bigger and more exciting tournament next year.” The European Slot Championship was one of the case studies presented at the most recent Lille Slot Summit, the event managed by Clarion and now considered a European benchmark for the training of slot management executives. The Speaker, Carlo Pagan, is behind the concept of the European Slot Championship.
Insight BCN worLd, spaIN
BCN worLd CompEtItIoN ENtErs sECoNd pHasE The Government of Catalonia has announced the four successful applicants that have passed into the second phase of the licensing process for BCN World On November 27, 2014, the Government of Catalonia, Spain, published the final list of companies that have been choose to enter the second stage of a competition to create the casino mega-resort of BCN World. The Ministry of Finance approved the final list of four companies that have been accepted to participate in the second phase of the tender casinos in the field of CRT Vila Seca and Salou. According to the resolution published in the DOGC, the four business groups selected to be eligible for one of the four licenses for the installation and operation of the casino game are: l Group Perelada
l Property Development Limited Melco
l BCN IR 3, SA (owned by: Veremonte and Hard
Rock) l BCN 2 Integrated Resorts, SA (owned by: Glory Holdings Limited and wholly owned by MelcoVeremonte) According to the text of the resolution, the Technical Committee Casinos have seen, objective criteria, admitted that the four companies meet the requirements of the contest, provided the law 6/2014 of 10 June, amending Law 2/1989 of 16 February on tourist recreational centers, and establishing rules on taxation, trade and play passed by Parliament on 29 May. On July 25, the deadline for submitting applications to participate in the first phase of the competition. The Ministry of Economy and Knowledge of the applications received five companies to participate. After analysing the documentation, August 6, the Technical Committee issued a provisional list of admitted. This list will be admitted provisionally four of the five applications submitted since the fifth -BCN IR 1, SA (wholly owned by Veremonte) - had not submitted within the deadlines necessary documentation to prove the "technical capabilities in field operating gambling casinos and gambling (...) during the last five years "required at the base of the competition 4.2.2. Likewise, the Technical Committee found that the documents submitted by the other companies 2 8
lacked certain documents, which depended on others, but for which they had already proven its request, in accordance with the provisions of rule 13 of the competition . This first phase of the competition was to certify the technical competence and experience in the
The start of the second phase of the competition is linked to the approval of the Urban Master Plan (PDU), and the reorganisation of localised tourist attractions. management of casinos of interested parties over the past five years. It also checked if they had been financially healthy enough to cope with a minimum initial investment of €300m for the operation of casinos and hotels and also for shopping and recreation or any activity that may complement the project. Final checks were made to ensure participants are not in any of the circumstances provided for in Article 3 of Law 6/2014, of 10 June, in criminal matters, or penalties breach of the regulations on the prevention of money laundering, and they are up-to-date in the payment of their tax obligations with the presentation of certificates and declarations of appropriate charge.
an exTension of one monTh On October 24, after analysing the information received in response to the request for extension of time made by some of the applicants, the
Technical Committee agreed to grant a nonextendable period of one month to present pending documentation, according to the submission of the required documentation could lead to more complexity in processing. Finally, the Technical Committee found that the applicants had submitted all the required documentation and on November 24 raised to the body calling the corresponding final list of admitted and excluded participants, according to what is expected in the first phase of the competition.
The second phase of The compeTiTion With the publication of the decision on November 27 and the final list of admitted and excluded, this terminates the first phase of the competition. In the second phase there will be the evaluation of the proposals submitted by applicants, which must be submitted as final projects. Thus, as provided by law, the contest will end with the award of up to four permits allowing for gambling casinos, one for each of the applications accepted. The start of the second phase of the competition is linked to the approval of the Urban Master Plan (PDU) reorganisation of the field of tourism Recreational Center Vila-Seca and Salou. The new PDU should allow the implementation of new activities related to business tourism, conferences, conventions, trade and gaming and betting activities in the field of CRT. On 29 July, the Committee on Regional Policy and Planning of Catalonia decided to initiate the procedure. It is expected that the PDU is completed in the coming months.
Insight dEaLEr sKILLs CompEtItIoN
L-R, Tamlyn Jones, Florian Gros, Senol nedip, Parida Riccobono, Lewis Frater, Chris Gill, David Sneddon, Joe White, Gareth Williams
NatIoNaL dEaLEr sKILLs’ BIGGEst CompEtItIoN Grosvenor Casinos held its Annual Dealer Skills Competition at the end of November at the Grosvenor Coventry All 55 casinos in the Grovenor group participated in the 2014 event with 1,037 dealers entering their club heats between July and September with each year’s participation showing growth since the 407 entries in 2009. Each club ran and under and over 2yrs experience competition with the winners each receiving £200. The clubs were split into groups and the under and over two years club champions took part in regional finals throughout October. The finalists were invited to the grand final at Grosvenor Casino Coventry on November 27, each receiving £300 and a Gold Dolly Trophy, which saw the dealers completing a series of table gaming related challenges with penalties for mistakes and slow times. The gauntlet Challenge was opened to all that attended with a “Beat the Bong” challenge where the audience could pit their skills against Bong Ali’s Score of 74 points in six minutes and 54 seconds, no one on the day beat this score but the nearest entry was Adrian Frost (GM Birmingham Broad St) with a score of 68. The Gauntlet was also thrown down to the General Managers with each of the Operations Directors/Regional Operations Managers asked to represent their area by asking a GM to compete. Paul Benton and Adrian Frost (Birmingham Broad Street), Paul Armitage and Paul Jones (London Golden Horseshoe), Richard Edwards and Matt Rudd (Walsall), Stuart Bowker and Wayne Sheekey (Hull) and Malcolm Beattie and Pete Watson (Blackpool) were brave enough to take on the challenge.
The event was streamed live through a link on the NDSC website www.dealerskills.com and the entire day can be watched by following the link; http://youtu.be/1i4SEDG2xkY The event was once again sponsored by TCSJohnHuxley, without whose support the
Dealers Skills Competition would not have achieved the growth in entries and improvements each year. TCSJH also ran a Big 6 competition throughout the day for all to enter with the chance to win an iPad mini with the highest score winner on the day, Rebecca Oliver – F&B host Grosvenor Casino Coventry.
under Two years
Winner
Club G Reading
Name Angelo Frizzarin
Score 196
Runner Up
Victoria
Florian Gros
192
Prize £600 + Live Casino Experience £300
oVer Two years Winner
Coventry
Gareth Williams
212
Runner Up
Southampton
Tamlyn Jones
189
£1,000 + Live Casino Experience £500
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aGa reLeases amL BesT pracTice The American Gaming Association (AGA) has released a comprehensive set of Anti-Money Laundering Best Practices Nevada - Policy
La chamBre des représenTanTs du mexique a finalement approuvé la nouvelle loi fédérale sur les paris sportifs et les tirages au sort par 297 voix pour, 34 contre et 17 abstentions. La nouvelle loi vise à réguler l’industrie du jeu de façon plus efficace en préservant les droits des joueurs tout en rendant le processus d’octroi des licences plus transparent. Le dépuTé arGenTin à L’assemBLée naTionaLe, Omar Duclós, a déposé un nouveau projet de loi à la chambre basse qui régulerait la publicité et la promotion des jeux de hasard. La nouvelle loi restreindrait sévèrement la publicité pour les jeux de hasard afin de préserver la population des addictions aux jeux et ses conséquences négatives. Les forces de poLices fédéraLes du BrésiL onT lancé une opération à grande échelle à travers différents États baptisée « Operação Trevo » (opération trèfle), avec pour objectif de démanteler une organisation criminelle accusée de blanchiment d’argent et de l’exploitation illégale de maisons de jeux. Le décLin de L’indusTrie des jeux de hasard au Costa Rica a entrainé la fermeture de deux autres casinos. Selon la presse locale, les coûts d’exploitation élevés ont obligé deux casinos, le Casino Europa situé au sein de l’hôtel Europa ainsi que le Casino Europa de l’hôtel Radisson à mettre la clé sous la porte. Ces fermetures, intervenues fin novembre, ont provoqué le licenciement de 200 salariés. renforçanT son réseau en amérique LaTine, Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) a été homologué comme laboratoire d’essai proposant des services de certification au Paraguay. Le Groupe auTrichien noVomaTic Group, à travers sa filiale espagnole NOVOMATIC Gaming Spain, a pris le contrôle de GiGames. en Vue du déVeLoppemenT fuLGuranT des jeux en ligne et de l’ouverture d’une nouvelle période d’octroi de licences par la Direction générale des Jeux de Hasard (Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ)), le groupe R. Franco a décidé de faire son entrée dans l’industrie en ligne.
The American Gaming Association (AGA) has released a comprehensive set of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Best Practices to guide the efforts of casinos to protect the US financial system and national security from money laundering and other forms of illicit finance. The AGA’s Best Practices for Anti-Money Laundering Compliance are the result of more than a year of work to identify and enhance industry guidelines, which were developed in coordination with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). “Today marks a milestone for the gaming industry, which has come together to develop the first-ofits-kind, forward-looking set of Best Practices that reflect our industry’s commitment to a strong culture of compliance,” said Geoff Freeman, president and chief executive officer of the AGA. “We look forward to further bolstering our partnership with FinCEN to prevent money laundering and protect the integrity of the U.S. financial system.” Casino companies have developed risk-based programs that promote compliance with the legal requirements of the federal Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and associated AML regulations to discourage illicit behavior and safeguard the integrity of
the casino industry. Risk-based compliance efforts are essential to the casino industry’s effective implementation of AML controls. The Best Practices illustrate the industry’s commitment to a strong culture of compliance. They distill the procedures that a wide range of casinos have adopted across critical issues including customer due diligence, transaction monitoring and employee training. Notably, the document also sets forth a series of “red flags” that are specifically tailored to the gaming sector. Individual casinos have implemented a range of measures and guidelines that aim to prevent, detect and report efforts to present illicit funds at casinos. The AGA added: “While the vast majority of patrons visit casinos for entertainment, those engaged in illegal activity may attempt to use the casino’s financial services to conceal or transfer illicit wealth. The release of the Best Practices is an important step toward achieving the goals the industry shares with regulators and law enforcement: protecting the integrity of gaming and keeping illicit funds out of our nation’s casinos.” The basic framework of a BSA/AML compliance program involves the appointment of a compliance officer for the casino, the assignment of substantial employee time to compliance measures, and oversight of the compliance effort by a compliance committee, which includes representatives of the property’s operations and financial staff. In order to promote a culture of compliance, casinos also may want to consider periodic updates regarding their AML programs to the Board of Directors.
Antigua the antiguan Government has signed a deal with australian casino developer James packer and Hollywood actor robert de Niro for a major project at the former K Club resort on Barbuda. It is not known at this stage whether K Club’s owner, Italian designer mariuccia mandelli has decided to sell the property, which has been closed for the last 10 years. the Government’s Chief of staff, Lionel Hurst, said: “In Barbuda, we have a great scheme worked out with the son of Kerry packer, who is himself a billionaire and actor robert de Niro. they are going to take the K Club and breathe new life into it.” It is not known yet whether a casino would be part of the plan although given mr. packer’s involvement, it is highly likely.
Co-owner Jonathan Gray added: “We’re excited by the potential of this hotel. We plan to bring to bear all the experience we have with other assets. For us, this is an exciting opportunity to do something special. We’re bullish on Las Vegas.”
L’inTérêT susciTé par Le premier compLexe de loisirs intégrant un casino en Chypre du Sud a été immense selon la presse locale ayant fait le lien entre ce processus et Caesars Entertainment, Genting et Las Vegas Sands. L’opéraTeur français joa a inauGuré ses nouveaux équipements de jeu au sein de son Casino D’Uriage à Saint-Martin d’Uriage, en région Rhône-Alpes. Le design fait largement appel au verre laqué opaque coloré dans les couleurs orange, rose saumon et rouge afin de créer un espace casino contemporain. Le Groupe noVomaTic a annoncé que Le VéTéran de l’industrie du jeu de hasard, Jens Halle, est en passe d’abandonner ses fonctions réunies de Directeur général d’Austrian Gaming Industries GmbH et de CEO de Novomatic Americas Sales LLC. Le GouVernemenT népaLais esT disposé à approuver l’exploitation par la société Silver Heritage Limited basée à Hong Kong d’un casino au Shangri-La Hotel & Resort dans la capitale de Katmandu.
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Blackstone Group approved for Cosmopolitan takeover NEVADA Nevada Gaming Control Board has approved Blackstone Group, a private equity investment fund, license to buy Cosmopolitan Casino in Las Vegas. Blackstone said in May it wanted to purchase
the Cosmopolitan from Germany-based Deutsche Bank for US$ 1.73bn. The company’s joint owner Tyler Henritze said: “We think there is a lot of opportunity to bring the property to its full potential.”
In its four years of operation, Cosmopolitan has never made an annual profit. With 2,995-room, the $3.9bn Cosmopolitan opened in December 2010. Deutsche Bank took over ownership of the property after the initial developer defaulted. Blackstone Group commented that it would make changes including, changing the casino’s façade, adding another restaurant and refurbishing parts of the gaming floor to boost revenue.
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www.G3newswire.com Lawrence ho, co-présidenT de L’opéraTeur Melco Crown Entertainment basé à Macao, cherche à ouvrir un casino en République de Géorgie. Selon un classement de la bourse de Hong Kong, Monsieur Ho espère réaliser 50 millions de dollars US à travers la vente des parts via une entité ad hoc à travers sa société chinoise de loterie MelcoLot Limited. sTaTion casinos, premier opéraTeur à proposer légalement des jeux de casino en ligne aux ÉtatsUnis, arrête ses activités de poker en ligne, Ultimate Gaming, au Nevada, déclarant à ce sujet que ces activités avaient manqués leurs objectifs financiers.
new BiLL To saVe ac’s LasT eiGhT Last minute taxation strategies proposed to save Atlantic City’s remaining eight casinos as unemployment rockets
tain the thousands of jobs and investment dollars in the market and enable further diversification to stimulate growth.”
New Jersey - Operations
Unemployment has increased to 11 per cent, twice the national average.
GameaccounT neTwork a siGné un accord aVec Spin Games, basé à Reno, afin d’intégrer le serveur de jeu distant Spin Games (RGS) et de lancer son portfolio de jeux HTML5 de simulation au niveau national aux États-Unis ainsi qu’une série de jeux d’argent réel sur Internet sur certains marchés régulés.
New Jersey State Senate President Steve Sweeney and former mayor Senator James Whelan have presented a series of bills trying to revive Atlantic City’s eight remaining casinos. The plan is to cut property taxes by 28 to 43 per cent for the casino sector, which has seen four of its 12 gaming floors shut this year.
The Taj Mahal was to become Atlantic City’s fifth casino to shut down in December, though last minute plans were afoot as G3 went to press for owner Carl Icahn to strike a deal with the union representing about a third of its 3,000 workers. If the Taj does close it would follow The Atlantic Club, the Showboat, Revel and Trump Plaza.
La commission de surVeiLLance des jeux de hasard du Nevada a accordé au groupe Blackstone, une entité privée d’investissements directs, une licence pour le rachat du Cosmopolitan Casino de Las Vegas. Le groupe Blackstone a déclaré en mai qu’il souhaitait procéder à l’acquisition du Cosmopolitan de la Deutsche Bank basée en Allemagne pour un montant de 1,73 milliards de dollars US.
The bills would allow operators to pay a collective $150m in lieu of property taxes for the next two years. The contribution from each casino would be determined based on the size of real estate each casino owns, the number of hotel rooms and annual gambling revenue.
Whilst October’s figures were down slightly compared to last year’s figures, the third quarter as a whole saw GGR increase by 7.2 per cent. The absence of large losses generated by Revel and The Atlantic Club certainly helped.
La fiLiaLe déTenue à 75% par cenTury casinos a été sélectionnée par Horse Racing Alberta (HRA) pour exploiter le réseau de paris mutuels hippiques à distance dans le Sud de l’Alberta à partir de début de 2015. au coLorado, GaminG LaBoraTories International (GLI) a emménagé dans de nouveaux locaux de 40 000 pieds carrés à Wheat Ridge, au Colorado. Les nouveaux locaux sont pleinement opérationnels depuis le 1er décembre. aquis casino acquisiTions, La sociéTé derrière le pari de construire un projet spectaculaire de casino intégré à un complexe de loisirs à Cairns, en Australie, est en passe d’achever sa prise de contrôle de Canberra Casino qui devrait intervenir autour de Noël après avoir obtenu une baisse du prix de vente de 3 millions de dollars US. marie sTephens properTies a présenTé Les plans d’un hôtel-casino d’un coût de 250 millions de dollars australiens qui devrait avoir la forme d’une perle géante et être conçu pour flotter devant la « Gold Coast » en Australie. GenTinG honG konG esT sur Le poinT d’inVesTir 117,2 millions de dollars US dans un joint-venture détenu à parts égales par le promoteur immobilier chinois Landing International Development afin d’exploiter une espace de jeux à l’hôtel Regency sur l’île sud-coréenne de Jeju. ezuGi a Lancé son sTudio de casino en direcT avec l’un des plus importants groupes du Cambodge, la société Dai Long Company, propriétaire et opérateur du casino et complexe de loisir « Grand Dragon ». Le Groupe crown de james packer faiT face à une nouvelle série d’obstacles dans sa quête d’ouvrir un casino de 400 millions de dollars US au Sri Lanka suite aux déclarations du Président du pays menaçant d’imposer de nouvelles taxes sur les jeux en cas de victoire aux prochaines élections de janvier.
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It would also redirect an alternative casino investment tax, currently used for redevelopment projects, to pay $25m to $30m of Atlantic City’s debt in each of the next 15 years. It would also eradicate the Atlantic City Alliance, the marketing agency that spends $30m a year to promote the resort to other regions of the US. Kevin Ortzman, President of the Casino Association of New Jersey: “Atlantic City needs this type of stabilisation, which is critical to mainUS the International association of Gaming regulators (IaGr) has announced its officers/ trustees at the 2014 annual Business meeting held in philadelphia, us in conjunction with its annual conference. ms. Birgitte sand of denmark was inducted as president during the association’s conference in philadelphia. ms. sand is the director of the danish Gambling authority. mr. Bheki mlambo of south africa was inducted as Vice president of IaGr, treasurer a.G. Burnett and secretary trude feldeIn addition, four new trustees were elected to the Board.
Matt Levinson, Chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, commented that the remaining casinos are starting to stabilise. “Seven of the eight casinos reported increases in October, a sign that gaming revenues are starting to stabilise while non-gaming revenues are growing,” he said. “Five of the properties reported double digit increases including two; Golden Nugget and Tropicana,that were up by more than 50 per cent. We have come through difficult days, but the city clearly is transforming into a new full-scale resort.”
GameAccount Network signs deal with Spin Games for NJ NEW JERSEY GameAccount Network has signed an agreement with Reno-based Spin Games to integrate the Spin Games remote gaming server (RGS) and launch their HTML5 games portfolio for Simulated Gaming nationwide in the US and real money Internet gaming in selected regulated markets. Spin Games has a wide portfolio of HTML5 mobile-optimised games within its RGS including video slots, video poker and keno variants widely recognisable to casino patrons in the US. Dermot Smurfit, CEO of GameAccount Network commented: “Spin Games has developed a
strong mobile-first portfolio of HTML5 games content including a wide range of video poker, slots and keno likely to appeal to casino patrons online. As our first RGS integration for Simulated Gaming in the US, we’re delighted to distribute Spin Games’ gaming content across our growing network of major US casino operators engaged in offering Simulated Gaming to their casino patrons.” Kent Young, CEO of Spin Games commented: “GameAccount has deployed its Internet system for various major casinos in the US, into diverse regulated real money Internet markets including New Jersey, and represents a compelling distribution opportunity.”
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wms The fLinTsTones aT BorGaTa The Borgata Casino Hotel & Spa in Atlantic City installs the latest Gamefield xD game from WMS, The Flintstones New Jersey - Installations
us – GTech wins missouri LoTTery conTracT GTECH has been awarded a seven-year integrated services contract to provide a new central gaming system, a variety of lottery/self-service machines, multimedia displays, an upgraded telecommunications network, and related ongoing services to the Missouri Lottery.
WMS Gaming has announced the global launch of it’s The Flintstones slot game at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Flintstones game combines the sights, sounds and characters of the classic animated series with the Gamefield xD cabinet from WMS.
GTECH has been the major lottery technology and services provider to the Missouri Lottery since 1991. The new contract, which is scheduled to run for seven years beginning in the second half of 2015, is the result of a competitive procurement, and includes one three-year extension option, exercisable at the Lottery’s discretion. GTECH expects to receive revenues of approximately $112 million over the seven-year term.
Ted Herzchel, Vice President Slot Operations for Borgata, said: “Keeping our slot floor fresh and exciting for our players is extremely important to Borgata, and we are thrilled to be the first casino to offer The Flintstones game from WMS.”
“Over the past 23 years, GTECH’s flexible technology solutions and marketing insights have supported the Missouri Lottery’s innovative approaches and multi-faceted portfolio,” said GTECH Americas President and CEO Jaymin Patel. “Through this agreement, our robust, forward-thinking solutions will help to ensure that the Lottery continues to grow and raise funds for good causes.” “The Missouri Lottery is continuously seeking new ways to increase profits for public education through strategic innovation,” said Missouri Lottery Executive Director May Scheve Reardon. “This agreement with GTECH will continue to drive the Lottery’s performance to greater levels as technology and player demographics evolve.” us – scienTific Games names Leadership Team Having completed its merger with Bally Technologies for approximately $5.1bn, including the refinancing of approximately $1.8bn of existing Bally net debt, the company has announced its executive leadership team. The executive team will oversee an organization comprised of three operating units: Gaming, Lottery and Interactive. In addition to President and Chief Executive Officer, Gavin Isaacs, and Executive VP and CFO, Scott Schweinfurth, the executive leadership team of Scientific Games will include: Derik Mooberry as the new Group Chief Executive, Gaming; and James Kennedy will be Group Chief Executive, Lottery. CEO Gavin Isaacs commented: “Our new senior management team comprises some of the most accomplished executives in the gaming, lottery and interactive industries. I am very excited to have this team of great leaders from Scientific Games, WMS, Bally and SHFL entertainment helping to lead the Company forward. Our new organizational structure will focus on driving consistent and measurable progress on our goals of increasing profitable global growth and increasing free cash flow to pay down debt. The experience, leadership skill and commitment that each of our senior leaders brings to the Company will be a significant influence in our integration efforts and development of solutions to bring value to our customers and shareholders. “Completing the Bally transaction brings together two exceptional organisations with a common culture of innovation and customer focus,” said Mr. Isaacs. “We are excited by the opportunities that will be created by combining each organization’s core strengths in developing engaging gaming entertainment products, advanced technologies and systems, and providing value-added services to help our customers grow their revenues.”
The town of Bedrock is brought to life thanks to a 42-inch horizontal screen over a vertical 32-inch screen with a mechanical wheel on the Gamefield xD cabinet. The 5×4 base game features both a Flintstones and a Rubbles array, and reels stretch up to 10 symbols high as WILD reels and multipliers are potentially added in The Flintstones mystery feature. Unique bonus rounds, drawn straight from the iconic series, include the Bedrock bowling feature and the DINO Bonus.
Dean Ehrlich, WMS Senior Vice President of Global Gaming Operations, said: “Borgata has always been a great partner to WMS, and we are very excited to work with them on the first installation of our exciting new brand, The Flintstones.”
US Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) has relocated its Colorado laboratory to a new 40,000sq.ft. facility in wheat ridge, Colorado. the new location became fully functional on december 1. dave daniels, sr. director of Engineering for GLI, is also General manager of the Colorado laboratory. He said, “GLI has been very fortunate to have an ever-increasing demand for our services, both in our testing and certification services and in our many services beyond testing, such as forensics, network security assessments, field inspections and GLI university training. this new facility will allow us to serve our customers even better, while also allowing for future expansion.” the lab’s phone number remains the same, (303) 277-1172.
Red Deer, Calgary, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and the rural OTBs in this area. HRA awarded a second license to Northlands Park out of Edmonton, who will run the OTB network in Northern Alberta.
Century Casinos land off-track betting network for Alberta CANADA Century Casinos’ 75 per centowned subsidiary has been selected by Horse Racing Alberta (HRA) to operate the pari-mutuel off-track horse betting network in Southern Alberta starting in 2015. HRA invited applicants to submit
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Borgata worked seamlessly with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and is grateful for all its efforts to make the installation of this game possible.
their proposals to operate the offtrack betting network in Alberta. After a thorough selection process, Century Casinos, together with its 25 per cent-partner with long-standing off-track betting network experience, was awarded the license to operate the off-track betting network in Southern Alberta, which includes
“This license will enable us to professionally develop and operate off-track betting offerings throughout Southern Alberta,” Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger (pictured), Century’s CEOs said. “It is an exciting time in the pari-mutuel industry with various new technologies that will assist in growing and servicing the Alberta off-track betting network,” they continued. HRA is a not-for-profit corporation, which reports to the Ministry of Finance and Agriculture & Rural Development and is responsible for regulating the horse racing industry in Alberta by authority of the Horse Racing Alberta Act.
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BorGaTa pLan $13m renoVaTion Borgata has announced details of the $13m property-wide renovation taking place over the next several months New Jersey - Casino Operations
us – muLLer heads To niGa Courtney Muller, the former senior vice president and head of the Global Gaming Expo trade show for Reed Exhibitions, has joined Atlanta-based Urban Expositions, producer of the annual NIGA Indian gaming trade show, as executive vice president. As EVP of Urban Expositions, Courtney will report directly to UE’s Doug Miller and Tim von Gal. She will assume responsibility for overseeing much of the day-to-day management of the company. Additionally, she will seek out new acquisitions, launches and partnerships for Urban Expositions. “We are so happy to announce that Courtney has joined our team,” said Partner and President Doug Miller. “She is a widely recognised talent in the trade show industry, and with her background on G2E and her strong industry relationships, she is the perfect person to work with NIGA to help shape the future of their event.” new jersey – BeTfair us up By 17 per cenT Betfair US, which comprises pari-mutuel horserace betting operator TVG, and online casino site Betfair New Jersey, has announced its first-half results via its parent Betfair Group. Total first-half (May to October) revenue across Betfair US increased by 17 per cent to $47.3m, driven mainly by a strong performance at TVG alongside an encouraging contribution from Betfair New Jersey, which currently holds an 11 per cent share of the fledgling New Jersey online casino market. TVG’s strong recent growth continued with handle (the total volume of bets placed) between May and October up 15 per cent in a wider market where handle was down two per cent. A key growth driver was an 85 per cent increase in Mobile wagering in the first half of the year, with customers making increasing use of the smartphone channel following the launch of native TVG iPhone and iPad Apps in the Apple app store. Mobile represented 14 per cent of TVG’s total staking, a significant increase from 2013. us – moheGan siGnaLs resorTs expansion Resorts Casino Hotel, the first casino to open in Atlantic City and a property managed by Mohegan Gaming Advisors, has announced a $9.4m multi-faceted expansion of its convention space that will bring an additional 12,000 sq. ft. of event space, including 11 new conference rooms. This expansion is part of the hotel’s long-term property reinvestment plan, following the recent $35m Jimmy Buffetthemed Margaritaville and nearly $70m expansion and renovation of Resorts under Morris Bailey’s ownership. “This conference center expansion is the latest example of the company’s reinvestment in the property and Atlantic City as a whole as we continue to strategize ways to revive and turnaround this market,” said Morris Bailey, Owner of Resorts. “From the growing demand for additional conference space from a new niche audience to the increasing popularity of Margaritaville, Resorts is showing a positive return on investment as a successful destination location on the East Coast.” 3 8
Continuing to invest in its market leading product, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa has announced details of the $13m property-wide renovation taking place over the next several months. Improvements include a complete redesign of the Borgata Buffet, renovations to Spa Toccare, the casino floor, front desk, Borgata suites, and back-of-the-house Talent areas. “Borgata’s market leading casino and resort product has been its strength since it opened 2003,” said Tom Ballance, President and COO of Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. “Our commitment to continued development and exceeding our customers’ expectations when it comes to keeping our property fresh and inviting is of central importance in strengthening Borgata’s position as the East Coast’s premier resort destination. We are dedicated to providing a world-class, full-service guest experience, unlike anything else in the region by investing $13 million towards our dining, spa, casino, room product and employees.” From December 1 to 24 Borgata will completely renovate and redesign its award-winning buffet by devoting $2m to porcelain stone flooring, as well as strikingly resurfaced sky-like ceilings, all by Avenue Interior Design. Featuring a color scheme of warm whites, light taupe, and grey tones, the space will be highlighted by its
exquisite architectural details. The carpeting will offer a new take on a traditional Italian fresco, while the vertical surfaces will receive a textured, patterned-wall covering paired with a conventional sconce to give the iconic buffet a comfortable, residential feel. The evolution of Borgata’s guestrooms began in 2012 with a complete $50 million redesign to all 1,566 Classic guestrooms and hotel corridors, and continues in 2015 with an additional $6m dedicated to restyle 39 Opus suites in addition to two 5,000 square-foot Residence suites. Borgata’s decade-long relationship with the accomplished interior design firm Laurence Lee Associates created a seamless vision for the redesign of the finely-appointed suites, blending authentic, welcoming shades with proficient opulence. Excellence radiates from every inch of the space with contemporary carpeting, wall coverings and furniture, creating an atmosphere of ultimate hospitality the moment you step into the room. Additional refashions to give the casino floor a more modern Italian feel will be comprised of new carpeting, wall treatments, ceiling drapery, and light fixtures, in addition to the refinishing of columns, accounting for over $4m in spend.
Williams Interactive library is live on BCLC’s Playnow.com CANADA Williams Interactive has gone live with its library of casino game content on Playnow.com, the online casino operated by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC). As a result of the integration with the Williams Interactive Remote Game Server, players within the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Manitoba have access to slot themes popular in terrestrial casinos across North America, including hit games Zeus, Reel ‘em In, Bass Bucks and The Wizard of Oz. With the launch of Williams Interactive casino content on PlayNow.com, Scientific Games has furthered its relationship with BCLC to include lottery, landbased gaming and interactive products. Williams
Interactive is helping support BCLC’s goal to build player loyalty across all channels and extends the BCLC customer entertainment experience beyond traditional lottery and land-based casinos. Jordan Levin, President for Williams Interactive, commented: “This launch is another exciting milestone in our mission to provide the world’s most compelling iGaming entertainment. The key to building player loyalty, on the casino floor or online, is to consistently offer great gaming experiences; our proven content library is an ideal solution for BCLC and Manitoba to further enhance the gaming entertainment available beyond the walls of their casinos. BCLC is one of the premier casino operators in the world, and we’re thrilled to contribute content that will strengthen their player relationships online.”
Nevada station Casinos, the first operator to offer legal online casino gambling in the us, is shutting down its online poker business, ultimate Gaming, in Nevada saying it has failed to meet its financial targets. the company has already closed its online operations in New Jersey. station branded its online poker site ultimate poker and launched it in Nevada in april 2013, marketing it alongside its ultimate fighting Championship. tom Breitling Chairman of ultimate Gaming said: “online poker revenues in Nevada have fallen far short of original projections. moreover, the state-bystate approach to online gaming has created an extremely cost-prohibitive and challenging operating environment.”
Insight mardI Gras CasINo & rEsort
KEEpING aN EyE oN fat tuEsday The Mardi Gras Casino & Resort is one of the foremost casino and gaming destinations in West Virginia. The video surveillance system in use there, which was supplied by Dallmeier, represents cutting-edge technology. The Mardi Gras Casino & Resort is located only minutes from picturesque Cross Lanes in Charleston, West Virginia. As the name says, the entire casino runs under the “carnival and Mardi Gras” theme. On 90,000 square feet (over 8,000 m2) of floor space, passionate gamblers will find everything their hearts desire: over 1,200 slot machines, 24 poker tables and 31 gaming tables with Blackjack, Roulette, craps and more. Those wishing to explore the culinary delights of Charleston can do so without even leaving the casino. From quick snacks between games to luxurious gourmet dinners, the various restaurants and bars have something to offer to suit every taste. Anyone looking for relaxation after a long, exciting night in the casino can get some rest in the elegant Mardi Gras West Virginia Hotel. 150 deluxe rooms and suites are available to guests.
Fixed dome cameras and movable PTZ cameras from the Domera series are installed in the casino. Domera is a modular, high-speed PTZ camera system. The high-resolution network cameras with 10x optical zoom and autofocus supply full high-definition video with 30 fps up to 1080p. The images taken by the surveillance cameras are recorded on several servers of the DMX 2400 Smatrix model, a video IP appliance with as many as 24 video channels and an integrated storage system with up to eight hard disks. The low power input of max. 125W makes substantial savings in energy costs possible for the casino.
And that’s not all. The Casino-Resort has a very special highlight: a dog racetrack on which several live races with first-class greyhounds take place every week.
analogue fixed and PTZ cameras were smoothly integrated. The cameras cover not only the different casino and hotel areas, but also the dog track.
In short, it’s a huge facility that has to be reliably monitored to guarantee the guests’ safety at all times.
“The unusually high image quality and attention to detail provided by the cameras even in the difficult lighting conditions of the casino area constituted one of our main reasons for selecting Dallmeier products,” explained Chris Batog, Surveillance Director of Mardi Gras Casino & Resort. Fixed dome cameras and movable PTZ cameras from the Domera series are installed in the casino. Domera is a modular, high-speed PTZ camera system. The high-resolution network cameras with 10x optical zoom and autofocus
from pLanninG To fuLL operaTions The video specialists Dallmeier together with the national systems integrator: North American Video (NAV) were responsible for the planning and installation of the CCTV system. The video system is a modern IP system with highresolution HD cameras into which the existing 4 0
supply full high-definition video with 30 fps up to 1080p. The images taken by the surveillance cameras are recorded on several servers of the DMX 2400 Smatrix model, a video IP appliance with as many as 24 video channels and an integrated storage system with up to eight hard disks. The low power input of max. 125W makes substantial savings in energy costs possible for the casino. What’s more, the DMX 2400 allows for multicast audio and video streaming through the SeMSy III video management system. SeMSy permits easy handling and management of different video and audio streams and their live presentation and recording at any point in a linked system. With graphic user interfaces into which the site maps of the Mardi Gras Casino & Resort have been integrated, employees can easily and intuitively operate the complete video system. An additional advantage of the SeMSy system resides in its scalability. SeMSy can be expanded as needed and is always flexible. For example, additional cameras or monitors can be easily integrated into the network at a later date.
smooTh operaTion Since installing the system in September of 2011, the Dallmeier surveillance system has been operating to the utmost satisfaction of the customer. Chris Batog confirms, “Not only was the support during the planning and installation phases exemplary; the after-sales care is fantastic, too. Our contact person is available to answer questions and provide updates at all times.”
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aquis compLeTe canBerra deaL Aquis Casino Acquisitions, the company bidding to build a A$4.2bn casino project in Cairns , is to complete in Canberra Australia - Casino Operations phiLippines – no new Licences TiLL mid-2016 New casino players seeking to enter the country will have to wait longer as regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) said it was unlikely to award new gaming licenses until President Aquino steps down in mid-2016. Pagcor chair Cristino Naguiat Jr. said the direction was due to the fact that there were barely two years left in the Aquino administration, apart from the need for existing players to develop their business in a still-untested market. The move is bad news for new players seeking to set up shop, like Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment Corp., and a boon to existing license holders like the four major operators in the Entertainment City casino complex along Manila Bay. The four licenses, three of which went to Filipino tycoons and one to Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, were awarded under the previous administration. No new licenses have been granted under President Aquino. Mr. Naguiat noted that Pagcor was taking a long-term view in developing Entertainment City, which is being styled as a Philippine gaming hub that could compete with regional rivals like Macau and Singapore. “We have to look at the big picture and definitely this is a long-term strategy,” he said. The 120-hectare Entertainment City currently has only one casino operating, the $1.2-billion Solaire Resort & Casino, owned by ports magnate Enrique Razon Jr., which opened in 2013. This will be followed by the City of Dreams Manila, a venture between Filipino retail and banking taipan Henry Sy Sr. and Macau’s Melco Crown Entertainment, led by Lawrence Ho and James Packer. Okada’s group said its $2bn Manila Bay Resorts would open by the end of 2015 while Bayshore City Resorts World, a venture between Filipino billionaire Andrew Tan and Malaysia’s Genting Group, plans to open its doors in the fourth quarter of 2018. Recently, Caesars Entertainment approached President Aquino to possibly build a casino in a property near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, the country’s main gateway and its busiest airport. ausTraLia - crown wins major Tax concession According to an announcement by Racing and Gaming Minister Terry Waldron, the state government is giving a tax break to Crown Perth so casino mogul Packer can lure international high rollers away from Singapore’s new gambling resorts and back to West Australia. The new arrangement, according to Waldron, cuts the tax paid on the profits the casino makes from so-called whales flown in from abroad from the current 11 percent to 8 percent. In return, Crown Perth Casino will guarantee it will pay at least $45.25 million to the state government over the next five years – well above the $37.4 million it paid over the past five years.
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owned by the same organisation, Casinos Austria. Aquis and Casinos Austria have now agreed to separate the sale of the properties, so the sale of the Canberra property can go ahead.”
Aquis Casino Acquisitions, the company behind the bid to build a spectacular A$4.2bn casino and resort project in Cairns, is likely to complete its takeover of the Canberra Casino by Christmas having secured a $3m discount on the sale price.
Aquis said:“Aquis has tremendous confidence in the future of Casino Canberra and has agreed with Casinos Austria that the acquisition of the facility is no longer conditional on the RCT takeover offer. Through the due diligence process for the broader transaction we have gained a strong understanding of the Canberra facility and its potential.
Led by Chinese tycoon Tony Fung’s, the company has agreed to buy the Casino Canberra, located on the eastern side of the Australian capital’s Central Business District in Glebe Park, from Casinos Austria for $6m.
“As a committed, active owner for the long term we will be looking at various options for improvements and upgrades and look forward to working with local stakeholders to build a facility everyone in the ACT can be proud of,” said Aquis.
initially the deal was dependent on the Aquis Group receiving gaming regulatory approvals from the ACT government and agree the purchase of Reef Casino Trust. Aquis has though only secured 82.8 per cent of shares of the Cairns casino instead of the 90 per cent needed.
The bigger resort proposal would be located 13km north of Cairns and would be called Aquis Resort. It would market itself to Chinese tourists and has pitched itself as being bigger than James Packer’s Crown casino in Melbourne. It wants to operate 750 tables and 1,500 slots at a resort that, if approved, would include nine hotels with 3,750 rooms, one of the world’s largest aquariums, a 25,000-seat sports stadium, 1,200 apartments and 135 villas, high-end retail shopping, theatres, a 13hectare reef lagoon, 18-hole golf course, a convention and exhibition.
ACT Gambling and Racing Commission Chief Executive Greg Jones said: “The previous deal would see Aquis takeover the Reef Casino and hotel complex, and as part of that they would effectively own Casino Canberra, as they are
Plans presented for Sea Pearl Hotel off the Gold Coast AUSTRALIA Marie Stephens Properties has presented plans for a A$250m casino hotel to be shaped like a giant pearl and designed to float off the Gold Coast in Australia. Known as the Sea Pearl Hotel, it is the creation of Professor Jianping Zheng, a man who has designed over 200 theme parks and hotels in China. Sea Pearl will feature 300 hotel rooms, a casino and an underwater restaurant. Mr Zheng wants the development to become one of Australia’s iconic landmarks. A spokesperson said the aim was for the futuristic designs to ‘make a statement as big as the Opera House did for Sydney.’
He hopes that new gaming laws and a raft of new licences in Queensland will allow the development to be built at Gold Coast Integrated Resort and Cruise Ship Terminal in southeastern Queensland. The professor of Zhejiang University presented his plans at the Australia China Chamber of CEO’s G20 lead up event. It will also feature shopping malls, a sky viewing deck, night light entertainment, a swimming pool, restaurants and an exhibition centre. A spokesperson for Marie Stephens Properties said talks concerning the project’s potential with Queensland Premier Campbell Newman were greeted with a positive response.
Australia former prime minister paul Keating has turned down a role on a new design advisory panel which will provide advice about the latest changes to Barangaroo, including James packer's proposed casino, hotel and residential tower. mr Keating confirmed he had had discussions with the planning minister about the new panel, but said he had achieved the design objectives he wanted to see at Barangaroo. mr Keating said it was a mistake for the former premier Barry o'farrell to scrap the hotel which was to have been built on a pier in darling Harbour, which had necessitated the granting of new site for the hotel/casino.
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imperiaL pacific To fLoaT shares Imperial is to launch 510m new shares on the HKSE to raise funds for a HKD774m casino project on the island of Saipan Saipan - New projects Imperial Pacific, an investor in a Macau junket operator, is to launch 510m new shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange to raise funds for a HKD774m (US$99.8m) casino project on the Pacific island of Saipan.
macau – apex muLTi-TakinG aT mGs exhiBiTion APEX exhibited at the Macao Gaming Show (MGS) took place between in November at the Venetian Macao. Together with local partner Laxino Systems Limited, the APEX team enjoyed a positive show. The APEX Player Station (APS) was warmly greeted by visitors to the stand. This electronic multiplayer offers roulette and three additional table games: Bacarrat, Sic-Bo and the APEX game Quikke,r which is a unique card-based game. “We have done our homework and will continue to do it. We have studied player requirements. We have not just taken our European offer and exhibited it, which explains why the APS is already certified for the Macau market. Together with Laxino, we will be investing in ensuring that our product range is ideal to meet local needs and requirements”, explained Mr. Max Pessnegger, CEO of APEX gaming. The strategy of introducing APEX gaming to the South East Asian market is following clear steps. The first step has been successfully completed – the certification of the APS with four table games. The next step will to be to include slots games especially targeted to player needs here. The third step is then to offer the updated slots solutions – namely the Pinnacle 24” upright and Pinnacle SL 27” slant top. “We have set our strategy and are looking for long-term success in SE Asia. There are opportunities for companies who offer the best gaming entertainment solutions. Having such a strong partner in Laxino ensures that we attain continual market feedback to safeguard we are creating the right solutions. We do not expect immediate success. We know and understand that it will take time to establish ourselves. We believe we have the right solutions and look forward to supporting our customers there,” concluded Mr. Pessnegger. camBodia - eGa reporTs Losses from sLoTs Entertainment Gaming Asia (EGA)—which leases slot machines and once operated the Dreamworld casino in Pailin province—is continuing to incur hefty losses, with its thirdquarter gaming revenue down 9 percent year-on-year as a result of lower player numbers at Phnom Penh’s NagaWorld casino, according to the company. In a filing to the U.S. stock exchange Nasdaq on Thursday, EGA reported revenue of $4 million between the start of July and end of September, down from $4.3 million during the same period last year. EGA, a subsidiary of Macau gaming giant Melco International Development, attributed the decline primarily to renovations of NagaWorld’s casino floor, which disrupted the use of slot machines. “The decrease in gaming operations revenue for the third quarter of 2014 was largely due to a decline in revenue from NagaWorld,” EGA CEO Clarence Chung said in the filing.
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The company stated: “The maximum gross proceeds and the maximum net proceeds from the placing will be approximately HKD791m and HKD774m respectively. The board considers that the placing represents a good opportunity to broaden the shareholder base and capital base of the company and to raise certain required capital of the group.” Imperial Pacific, a financial contributor to the Hengsheng Group, confirmed it had been issued with a 25-year casino licence by the government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands back in August. The development would be the first large scale integrated resort on Saipan. The move follows a growing trend for junket operators to move into full operations due to a lessening of margins paid from VIP play to the junket operators. Imperial Pacific added that the 25-year Saipan licence had an option for renewal for a further 15 years and would include the construction of 2,004 hotel rooms and 17,000sq. m. of gaming floor. The licence fee for the first year is US$15m although this will changed every five years to account for changes in inflation. The company confirmed that the Saipan authorities would allow it to bring in outside investors to a maximum of 49 per cent of the issued share capital of the company.
Singapore the fight for VIp customers is heating up in singapore where the dwindling stream of Chinese high-rollers has seen resorts world sentosa and marina Bay sands intensify their VIp efforts. Genting singapore third quarter profit was down by 43 per cent whilst Las Vegas sands’ most recent quarterly results saw its revenue down by 8.7 per cent. analysts believe the same austerity crackdown in China that is affecting macau’s casino sector is also now the norm in singapore with the Chinese government investigating large cash outflows amid a crackdown on corruption. as a result VIp spend has been dramatically affected. marina Bay sands said its VIp betting volume had dropped by 34 per cent.
Silver Heritage to reopen Shangri-La as Millionaire’s Club
economy through our planned phased investment of more than US$100m in developing a chain of 5-star resort facilities across Nepal.”
NEPAL The Nepalese government is poised to approve Hong Kongbased Silver Heritage Limited to operate a casino at the ShangriLa Hotel & Resort in the capital of Kathmandu.
Tulasi Gautam, Director General of the Department of Tourism, said: “The company has met all the requirements. After a jointventure company is registered, we will forward the company’s proposal to the Tourism Ministry for its final approval.”
Silver Heritage, who will operate the property alongside a Nepal-based company, will invest over NPR1bn (US$10m) in rebranding the Shangri-La casino as the Millionaire’s Club and Casino. It also runs casinos across the Asia Pacific, in India, Vietnam and the Philippines. It is preparing to ‘ open its doors during the first quarter of 2015.’ Millionaire’s Club and Casino will house 22 tables and 40 electronic gaming machines. The casino will be primarily aimed at providing expanded gaming opportunities for customers from the growing Indian
and Chinese markets, and will also service the growing expatriate community living in Nepal. Silver Heritage‘s Chief Executive Mike Bolsover said: “We are confident the Kathmandu opportunity and our development of other resorts in Nepal represent a huge opportunity given Nepal’s proximity to both India and China’s massive and growing middle class consumer, and Nepal’s cultural affinity with its southern neighbour.” Tim Shepherd, Silver Heritage’s Chief Operating Officer, added: “We believe the work we are undertaking in Nepal will help the Nepali government achieve their goals by encouraging inbound tourism, particularly from India and China, and stimulating the local and national
Star Management, a Malaysian company, had operated the Casino Shangri-La for the last four years but was forced to shut due to labour unrest. Silver Heritage also revealed plans to develop a hotel and conference resort called Tiger Palace in the city of Bhairahawa, 265km west of Kathmandu. The 5-star hotel resort will house 300 rooms. It is expected to open in 2016. Silver Heritage plans to open two more resorts in Nepal before the end of 2018.
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GenTinG To proVe worTh in korea Genting Hong Kong is to invest US$117.2m in a joint venture with Landing International Development South Korea - New projects Genting Hong Kong is to invest US$117.2m in a 50/50 joint venture with Chinese property developer Landing International Development to operate a gaming floor in the Hyatt Regency Hotel on South Korea’s Jeju Island. The move to rebrand an existing casino will see the Genting brand enter Jeju earlier than expected following delays to its $2.2bn Resorts World Jeju, a project where it is also teaming up with Landing.
macau – second mGs success wiTh caVeaTs The organisers of the 2nd edition of the Macao Gaming Show, (MGS) which attracted an international audience of CLevel gaming professionals to the Venetian Macao on November 18 to 20, have declared the event a major success with all Key Performance Indicators (KPI) utilised by the organisers showing a positive year-on-year trend. The attendance figure jumped from 8,634 in 2013 to 11,987, an increase of 39 per cent, the number of exhibiting companies rose 30 per cent to 146, and the number of exhibiting countries represented at MGS jumped from 11 to 20. MGS opened with an address by Jay Chun, Chairman of Macau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association (MGEMA), the organiser of the show. Mr. Chun believes that the success of MGS has sent out a clear message to the international gaming community. He stated: “Gaming professionals from throughout the world as well as from the domestic industry here in Macao took the opportunity to visit our exhibitors, to network with industry colleagues, and to listen to the key note speakers we assembled as part of the colocated Macao Gaming Summit which debated key topics impacting gaming in Asia. The show floor went beyond just gaming. We have a broader exhibitor base showcasing top gaming and non-gaming products and services, even luxury cars, including one worth HKD30m.” “Our international guests who came to Macao have witnessed the tremendously exciting projects that are taking place here. They saw at first hand the economic development of the city which has been made possible through the support of the government. I am delighted that MGS has been able to play a part in assisting international gaming delegates to understand the dynamics of the city and the uniquely progressive vision of our government.” He continued: “Our survey showed that over 96 per cent of attendees are likely to return to MGS in 2015 and that 94 per cent would recommend MGS to work colleagues or industry peers. Based on these findings and other show statistics, it is clear that MGS has built on the momentum generated following its launch in 2013 when many similar events struggle in their second year. We are now busy preparing for year three and putting an ambitious but deliverable strategy in place to take Asia’s No.1 gaming exhibition to the next level.” While the organisers were jubilant, some of the exhibitors have expressed their concerns about the event, which occupied a very small hall at the Venetian and anecdotally didn’t provide the volume of visitors or geographic reach of the G2E Asia event held in May last year. Despite this, local government support is likely to win the day in Macau, with the MGS event sure to grow in strength in the coming years.
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The casino in the Hyatt Regency is one of eight gaming licenses in Jeju under the Tourism Promotion Act. It is currently being refurbished with an opening date of January 2015 earmarked for its 30 gaming tables and 16 slot machines. The joint venture will operate the Jeju Casino under the Genting brand. Genting is keen to cement a move into Jeju following doubts over the future of its much bigger Resorts World Jeju project. In February, Genting Singapore said it was partnering with Landing International Development, marking it first move into South Korea with Resorts World Jeju. The resort is to feature roller coasters, hotels with castle-like facades and replicas of monuments like the Taj Mahal and the Pyramids. However the Governor of Jeju, Won Hee-ryong, has heaped doubt on the timing of the project saying the island must be ‘vigilant about protecting our citizens from unscrupulous operators.’ He wants to set up a supervisory body for casinos which could take up to a year.
Genting is keen to prove its worth in Jeju by investing into a much smaller, existing property. Landing Chairman Yang Zhihui is confident about the prospects for Jeju, as it has a visa free policy for more than 180 countries including China and Japan. “The transaction will lead to the introduction of the first world-class casino brand to Jeju, marking a key milestone in the tourism industry,” he said. “Leveraging Genting group’s international expertise in world-class resort operation, the joint venture will be able to tap on a reliable and reputable platform for the development of Jeju’s tourism industry. We are always excited about the enormous potential of Korea gaming market. We are particularly bullish on the development of Jeju, the largest island of Korea. Our cooperation with Genting HK will introduce to Jeju an international world-class experience and expertise in operating and managing a world-class mega gaming and integrated resort. It will be able to greatly enhance the operational efficiency and performance of the Jeju Casino and lay solid foundations for the future development of our businesses in Korea, including our jointly-developed Myth-History Park project, and turn Jeju into a paradise of North Pacific,” he added.
Grand Dragon Resorts launch with Ezugi’s live casino studio CAMBODIA Ezugi has launched its live casino studio with one of Cambodia’s largest groups, the Dai Long Company, owners and operators of the Grand Dragon Resorts and Casino. Grand Dragon Resorts is one of the leading gaming and entertainment companies in Cambodia with their casino located in Chreythom, Kandal Province. The agreement sees Ezugi utilising its casino streaming technology to broadcast live and direct from the gaming floor, which shall include baccarat tables and VIP tables along with proxy/telebetting. Kfir Kugler, CEO of Ezugi said: “Live casino streaming is increasingly popular with players as
those off-site players can see, hear, and interact with actual tables and dealers in a live and interactive environment. We are the only provider with live dealer studios across three continents in Europe, South America and now a live gaming floor broadcast experience from Asia. We look forward to our partnership with Grand Dragon Resorts in delivering the highest standards for the live gaming experience as possible.” Darren Heng, CEO of Dai Long Company, owners and operators of Grand Dragon Resorts commented: “This fits extremely well with Grand Dragon Resort’s brand strategy, to offer a superb live casino gaming experience and I look forward to growing this exciting new partnership.”
Sri Lanka James packer's Crown group faces a new set of hurdles in the quest to open a $us400m casino in sri Lanka after threats by the country’s president that new gaming levies will be imposed should he win the upcoming January elections. sri Lankan president, mahinda rajapaksa, who is set to seek an unprecedented third six-year term, announced new funding measures in his latest budget. this includes a $100 entrance fee and a 10 per cent gaming levy on three proposed casino resorts, including one venture that includes mr packer's Crown Ltd. Crown confirmed that it is still in discussions with the sri Lankan government.
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NEpaL CasINos sEt to rEopEN, But furtHEr CHaNGE NEEdEd Nepal’s beleaguered casino industry is likely to be back in business soon, however operators are still concerned about new regulations and are urging the government to do more to attract much needed foreign investment. The government closed the country’s seven remaining casinos for the first time in their history in April after they failed to comply with new rules that came into effect last July. However, the move had a major impact on an already struggling tourism industry, one of the mainstays of the economy. According to the new rules, casinos were required to have a paid up capital of at least 250 million rupees ($2.6 million), with the minimum set at 150 million rupees for slot parlours, known as mini casinos. A new annual license fee, to be paid to the tourism ministry, was set at 20 million rupees for casinos and 10 million rupees for minicasinos. Similarly, the annual royalty fee, paid to the inland revenue department, was doubled to 40 million rupees for casinos and set at 20 million rupees for mini casinos and was made payable in advance rather than in arrears. Despite several extensions of a deadline for the casinos to come under the new regulatory regime, the operators failed to meet the requirements. After the dramatic shutdown, operators, unions and employees began to put pressure on the tourism ministry to revise the rules. As a result, in July, the new government slashed the annual royalties by 10 million rupees for both casinos and mini casinos and is said to be considering further amendments. The Tourism Ministry is also mulling over whether to review the paid up capital requirements, according to Amba Datta Bhatta, the executive director of Casino Association of 4 8
Umakanta Parajuli, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Explaining the second closure of Casino Royale - "The Supreme Court did not advise casinos to resume operation without renewing license. This is why requested the home ministry to shut down its operations." Article first appeared in Asia Gambling Brief.
Nepal (CAN). “The government has realised that the closures have incurred a loss to tourism. Hotels are reporting a decrease in occupancy. The government officials are positive about making amendments (to the regulations),” he said. While the decision to slash some royalties was welcomed by the operators, they viewed other provisions such as a 25 per cent tax on casino winnings as detrimental to the business. “The new rules stipulate that casinos can pay their clients only after levying a windfall tax of 25 per cent. This would complicate the matter as the rules don’t specify on how it would be taxed. Neither do we have any systematic tax collection mechanism in Nepal,” Bhatta told AGB. Kumar Shrestha, the operations manager at
Casino Anna said: “I have visited casinos all over the world, but never found the windfall tax imposed upon the players. Nothing is clear about the tax. Will it be collected in an annual basis or every time a player wins a jackpot?” Casinos attract both regular players and occasional players. It’s not clear how will these two categories of people come under a tax system.” Shrestha added casino employees had borne the brunt of the shutdown. “Our casino (Casino Anna) owes about 45 million rupees to the employees in gratuity, salary tax, provident funds etc. Some casinos also have yet to pay the rent to the hotels,” he said. An ad hoc committee representing about 700 employees of Casino Anna met Deepak Chandra Amatya, the new tourism minister on October 17 to voice their concerns, Shrestha said.
Insight NEpaL
LiVe and LeT die Casino Royale, which resumed operation in September 2014, was forcefully closed on November 22 on the orders of the Nepalese Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA). Police closed the casino located in Hotel Yak & Yeti premises at around 1:30 pm. MoHA instructed Nepal Police to shut the casino after the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) claimed that the casino was being operated illegally. There was a brief scuffle between police and workers of the casino before police ultimately closed the casino. "Police came all of a sudden and closed the casino. We had resumed operation based on the stay order issued by the Supreme Court," explained Bhabishwor Aryal, General Manager of Casino Royale. "We had been clearing dues on installment basis." The government had shut down all 10 casinos earlier in April after they failed to clear outstanding dues and renew licenses as per new guidelines. However, only Casino Royale had resume operation after clearing dues and getting a go-ahead from the Supreme Court.
MoCTCA officials, however, say the casino was being operated illegally as it had not renewed its license based on new Casino Regulation which was introduced earlier in 2014. However, Laxman Tiwari, President of the Nepal Independent Hotel Workers Union, said the government shut the casino even though it was clearing dues. "The casino was preparing to renew its license as per the new guidelines. But police shut closed it down without giving prior notice," he added. Casino Royale had resumed its operation from September 23 after it "received a go-ahead from the Supreme Court on September 21". "We got a letter, which said the casino was operated illegally, from the tourism ministry in the morning. In the afternoon, police came and shut the casino forcefully," Mr. Aryal said. Casino Royale has been providing employment to around 750 people. “The government action has rendered us jobless. More than 10,000 workers have become jobless due to the government decision to close the 10 casinos," Mr. Tiwari said, adding: "It should have thought about the works before amending the guidelines."
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“The minister told us that he was studying about the closure. But he assured us that he would keep in mind the workers’ concerns,” he said: “Nepal’s casinos ran for more than four decades without any rules and regulations. But once the government introduced the laws, instead of promoting the industry, it stifled the business.” When the casinos may reopen is unclear, especially in light of recent developments with Casino Royale. On September 26, the Supreme Court issued an interim order to allow the reopening of Casino Royale. The Casino Royale’s earlier attempt at the comeback had hit a snag after it failed to deposit the paid up capital. However, mid-November police raided the premises and closed the casino again, creating further confusion over the situation in the Himalayan Kingdom. Umakant Parajuli, joint secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation told local media the Casino Royale had not renewed its license in line with the new Casino Regulation introduced earlier in 2014. "The Supreme Court did not advise casinos to resume operation without renewing license," Parajuli was quoted as saying. He said this was the reason that led to the request by the home ministry to close the operations. This year, Nepal’s tourism sector has been dealt one blow after another, with natural disasters striking the Himalayan nation. In April this year, an avalanche struck Mount Everest, killing 16 Nepali high altitude workers. While in early October, blizzards and snowstorms on Annapurna Circuit, a popular trekking trail in central Nepal, killed more than 40 trekkers and local guides. While the tourism industry was marred by crises, both natural and manmade, Bhim Acharya, the tourism minister was dismissed from his job. On September 14, the coalition government appointed Deepak Chandra Amatya as the minister for tourism and civil aviation. One of his first actions was to inaugurate a new Department of Tourism, replacing the mountaineering industry division, which also oversaw casinos. Tulasi Prasad Gautam, the director general of the Department of Tourism, commented that the government was keen on reviving the casino business. 5 0
“We have received green signals from the finance ministry on the amendment of the regulations. We want to ensure that Nepal’s casino operators run the business in a comfortable environment. I am optimistic the business will resume soon,” Gautam said adding that the officials were holding discussions on how to address the operators’ concerns. “Casino is a part of the whole tourism industry. So, our ministry has taken this issue seriously. We would amend the regulations so that the vital foreign currency and tourists it generates is not lost,” he added. However, the government could do more to spur investment in the industry, they say. Bhatta of the CAN cited the example of Sri Lanka where the
government has given a 10 year tax holiday to lure foreign investors. There has so far only been a trickle of foreign investment into Nepal, with Sikkim-based Casino Mahjong, which owes 266.80 million rupees in dues to the government, applying to reopen its casino in Kathmandu. Similarly, Happy World Private Limited, a Kathmandu-based firm, whose foreign investor is Hong Kong-based Silver Heritage Group, has applied to operate Casino ShangriLa. “Many more foreign investors, particularly Indians (because they consist of the major bulk of clients), would like to invest [in casinos] in Nepal. But the government must to be supportive to the business,” Mr. Bhatta said.
Insight maCau
maCau VIp CoLLapsE prompts quEstIoNs oVEr JuNKEt systEm The collapse in Macau’s VIP revenue has been deeper and more prolonged than most analysts had foreseen, prompting questions as to what’s really behind the downturn and whether the junket system that fuelled explosive growth is still viable Analysts are warning the days of rapid growth in the high rolling sector may be a thing of the past and see a flat outlook going into 2015. Gross gambling revenue has fallen in each of the past five months, with the 23.2 per cent October decline the worst on record. That was hit by a drop of about 37 per cent in VIP revenue, according to Wells Fargo Securities. Aaron Fischer, a Hong Kong-based analyst with CLSA, says the VIP market in Macau may have reached a plateau after a decade of rapid growth, rising to become worth an estimated US$30 billion a year. "No one ever expected the market to be this big. So the fact that the base has become so high it just makes it harder to grow at the same way it's been growing in the past," said Fischer. A crackdown on corruption on Mainland China, coupled with a slowing Chinese economy, reports of a lack of liquidity among junkets, as well as high profile reports of money going missing have all taken their toll on the high roller segment. But the extent of the downturn has left some questioning as to whether the problem is systemic. “Funding and liquidity remains very tight, junkets are facing difficulty obtaining capital, and turning that capital, leading to weaker rolling volumes and margin pressure,” Standard Chartered analyst Philip Tulk said in a recent note, suggesting the system may be “near broken.” “We see these issues persisting well into a China easing scenario.” Tulk told a recent panel session at the Macao Gaming Show that many of the junkets rely on high net worth individuals as a source of funds and several high profile cases of money disappearing from junket operators earlier this year has shaken faith in the business model, he said. “Until we see that confidence returning, we will not see a snap back.” Fischer agreed the scandals earlier this year had undermined confidence. "That's resulted in some 5 2
Aaron Fischer Hong-Kongbased Analyst, CLSA. This article first appeared in Asia Gambling Brief.
“The VIP market in Macau may have reached a plateau. No one ever expected the market to be this big. So the fact that the base has become so high it just makes it harder to grow at the same way it's been growing in the past. The junket scandals earlier this year have undermined confidence. That's resulted in some investors in other junkets pulling their funds out. There's been a drop in liquidity within the junket system as well.”
investors in other junkets pulling their funds out," he said. "There's been a drop in liquidity within the junket system as well," he said. However, JPMorgan analyst DS Kim disagrees with the theory that a lack of liquidity is behind the problem. He argues that while in past downturns, liquidity issues with the junkets had been largely to blame, this time around there appears to be enough cash in the system. He says some smaller junkets are experiencing issues, but nothing outside the realm of the normal and not enough to explain the magnitude of the collapse in VIP revenue. “We believe this is more a demandside problem (players), rather than supplyside (junket’s credit provision),” he said in a report. Most analysts do agree that the biggest hit on the demand side has been China’s anticorruption drive, which has made anyone wary of any kind of “extravagant” behaviour that may put them on Beijing’s radar.
Hong Kong-based Nomura Asia analyst, Louise Cheung, in an interview with AGB said the VIP segment was set to "remain pressured for 2015," as the crackdown, now in its second year continues and becomes more entrenched. But she said there is hope of a recovery in the second half of next year. "We do think that when you look at the anticorruption policy that China is pushing out basically they are institutionalising it, so for us that means there’s going to be pressure," she said. "Basically that people stay away because of concerns over that [anti-corruption policy] they will probably never come back." While Kim agrees the crackdown has caused “a lot of fear” in the market, he attempts to answer why revenue has fallen off so sharply only over the past few months, given the crackdown isn’t new. He points out that recently, the anti-corruption drive has focused more directly on Guangdong province, with the announcement in June of an official investigation on Wan Qingliang, the then
Insight maCau
Communist Party Secretary of Guangzhou. The province is thought to be the main source market for most of Macau’s high rollers. He also puts forward the view that the crackdown has moved to corruption in lower level tiers of government and thus may be slowing the approval process for businesses needing government permits. This may be affecting some players’ businesses directly, he said. Another factor hurting sentiment is a planned visit by China's President Xi Jinping to Macau in December. "We think gamblers and junkets may want to lie low until they get more details (or lack thereof) from those events and regain confidence," Kim said. Cheung, who says Nomura is perhaps more conservative than others when it comes to the VIP sector, also said some junkets are looking to diversify into markets outside of Macau which may hurt revenue. That trend is likely to accelerate as other casinos
While the crackdown has caused “a lot of fear” in the market, revenue has fallen off so sharply only over the past few months, when the crackdown isn’t new. The anti-corruption drive has focused more directly on Guangdong province, with the announcement in June of an official investigation on Wan Qingliang, the then Communist Party Secretary of Guangzhou. The province is thought to be the main source market for most of Macau’s high rollers. In fact the crackdown has moved to corruption in lower level tiers of government and thus may be slowing the approval process for businesses needing government permits. This may be affecting some players’ businesses directly.
Other challenges to the market include table caps in Macau prompting casino operators to switch tables from VIP to the mass market due to higher returns from premium mass tables. CLSA’s Fischer says the mass market is still holding up despite slowing, but sees considerable potential for recovery once more hotel rooms come onto the market. "We have a very, very bullish view on the impact of new properties. We think that new supply will accelerate the growth in the market because there's a shortage of hotel rooms in Macau for the moment," he said.
Article first appeared in Asia Gambling Brief
While the opening of new properties has generally been seen as mainly beneficial to expanding the mass market, JPMorgan’s Kim also sees potential for a boost to VIPs.
open around Asia, with operators seeking to lure junket business to their new properties. UBS estimates VIP competition from other countries could take 34 percent of junket volume in 2015.
"For VIP, the new opening (of new casinos) would give junkets a good excuse to approach and convince their clients, while players themselves would certainly want to try out new products too," he said. 5 3
AGEM mEmBErs NEws
mEmBErsHIp NEws
AGEM KEY BOARD OF DIRECTORS ACTIONS:
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mEmBEr profILE Company – Ainsworth Game Technology Web address – www.ainsworth.com.au AGEM Membership level – Gold Member Company Description - Ainsworth Game Technology is a designer of innovative gaming machines and game software. Ainsworth offers a wide range of gaming products including, stand-alone, progressives and linked games through its sales offices and distributors in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. What new products, technologies/services will you introduce this year? In 2015, Ainsworth will expand its licensed portfolio with the release of The Sound of Music and Showgirls. The Magnificent 7 Reloaded, a sequel based on the legendary classic film and top-performing licensed slot The Magnificent 7, will debut on the A560 Wide Boy cabinet. Also to be released on the A560 Wide Boy is Reels of Wheels Horsepower which incorporates the Mustang Money red hot free game comprising the unique multi-wheel “Reels of Wheels” concept. The A560 SL cabinet game range will continue to grow with the release of Firestorm, 5 Star Jackpots, Order of the Dragons, Fire Wizard, Ice Wizard and many more. Ainsworth will also release additional games for their core GamePlus library including Quad Shot, Double Shot, Triple Shot, Play 100Lines/50Lines, Wheel Winner and High Denom. Do you have any newsworthy events to share? Ainsworth Game Technology held a ground breaking ceremony on Friday Oct 3, 2014 for our new 290,000+ sq.ft. Headquarters for the Americas in Las Vegas. The new facility will be located on Sunset Road near the Jones exit on 215 West. Construction will commence in early 2015 with estimated completion in the first half of 2016. Forthcoming events you will be attending? Ainsworth Game Technology will be exhibiting at the National Indian Gaming Association tradeshow on March 30 to April 2, 2015 in San Diego, CA.
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AGEM sponsors a $10,000 scholarship for Drexel University’s Center for Hospitality and Sport Management. The scholarship is for students interested in pursuing a career in the gaming and casino industry. Vincent Santosusso, a junior hospitality. management major, is the recipient for 2014. Approves American Indian College Fund AGEM Scholarship for $10,000. Reaches cooperative agreement with Chilean regulatory body Approves US$15,000 sponsorship for European Casino. Association / International Casino Conference at ICE. Helps shape responsible gaming discussions in Massachusetts AGEM Mexico Committee set up to give suppliers a stronger voice as the other trade organisations in the market have a more operator focus.
EVENts aNd aCtIVItIEs RECENT EVENTS:
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aGEm Cup Golf tournament and Holiday reception - held 20th Nov 2014 at DragonRidge Country Club, suburban Las Vegas. This popular yearly event is open to all AGEM members both golfers and non golfers. l slot summit, Lille 25th - 27th November 2015 - AGEM has supported this event in previous years and decided to continue support now that Clarion have taken over the running of the event. The sponsored welcome reception was well attended by all the event delegates. FORTHCOMING EVENTS:
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European Casino association (ECa) / International Casino Conference - AGEM once again supporting / sponsoring this popular event which is held during ICE 2015 - 2nd Feb 2015 l may 5, 2015 - southern Gaming summit – AGEM sponsored reception
aGEm INdEx The AGEM Index reported a composite value of 185.58 in November 2014, which represents a decline of 1.41 points (-0.8 percent) when compared to October 2014. Compared to a year ago, the index fell 7.89 points (-4.1 per cent). The AGEM Index reported month-to-month declines for three consecutive months and year-overyear declines for two consecutive months. During the latest period, 10 of the 16 global gaming suppliers reported a monthly decline in stock price, with six falling by more than five percent. Of the six companies reporting gains in stock price, only one was up by more than five percent. Broader equities markets continued to trend in a positive direction in November 2014. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the month at 17,828.24, up 2.5 per cent from the prior month. The S&P 500 also reported a 2.5percent increase during the period, rising to 2,067.56. NASDAQ reported the greatest monthly increase of the three major indices, rising 3.5 percent to 4,791.63. AGEM is an international trade association representing manufacturers of electronic gaming devices, systems, and components for the gaming industry. The Association works to further the interests of gaming equipment manufacturers throughout the world. Through political action, tradeshow partnerships, information dissemination and good corporate citizenship, the members of AGEM work together to create benefits for every company within the organization. Together, AGEM and its member organisations have assisted regulatory commissions and participated in the legislative process to solve problems and create a positive business environment.
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Exhibitions ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
How ICE is mapping the future of gaming Jim Cremin, Betting Industry Editor, Racing Post
ICE has become a 'must attend' event for exhibitors throughout the world. None more so than The Bright Group and Racing Post, both of which are using ICE to further big expansion plans. But that's where the similarities end, with The Bright Group's Raif Oymen preparing for a 22.5 hour flight across 11 time zones to get to ICE whilst Racing Post's Jim Cremin simply has to navigate the 11 minute underground and Docklands Light Railway trip from Racing Post's Canary Wharf headquarters, which involves just one change at Canning Town. So what do ICE's furthest and closest exhibitors expect to gain from their three days at ICE 2015?
Raif Oymen, Director, Global Engineering - The Bright Group
Location: Silverwater, New South Wales, Australia Grid Reference: -33.832861, 151.037028 Distance from ExCeL Centre: 17,012km (10,571m) Route: Sydney to Dubai (6h 55m). Layover in Dubai (1h 45m). Dubai to London (13h 55m) Travel time: 22h 35m ICE Stand Number: N1-140 Web: www.brightgroup.net “The Bright Group has visited the ICE gaming show previously, but this is the first time for us to exhibit. We are currently looking to expand outside the Australasian and North American regions, where we are already well established, and the London ICE show is a big part of that strategy. ICE is a really good opportunity to find out where the market is moving and it will provide us the oppor5 6
tunity to display our latest products and technologies while sending the right signal that TBG is ready for and serious about the European market. We will be celebrating 20 years in the gaming industry next year and have a lot of contacts that we are looking forward to catching up with, which requires our physical presence. Like most exhibitors, we spend quite some time on show preparations. Luckily The Bright Group has a great team of people willing to assist with any small last minute requests, from marketing to making sure our display is working and looks as planned. I’d like to also mention, the preparation time is not just for our own stand – the pressure is also on us to get our customer’s latest products ready for them to display, and this can be very hectic. To send displays over to London by sea would require us to dispatch by the end of November, and we simply do not have this time luxury. So our displays are sent by airfreight, at a much higher cost! Three staff will probably be travelling from Australia, as well as other associates attending from outside Australia. They'll do the booth set-up, man the stands for the duration of the show and then pack everything up again as soon as it finishes. Then they'll continue on to North America for further visits and follow-ups. Our week at ICE will be pretty full-on, but we are looking forward to finding some time to see what London has to offer before we leave.”
Location: Canary Wharf, London, UK Grid Reference: 51.505000, -0.019611 Distance from ExCeL Centre: 4.5km (2.8mi) Route: From Canary Wharf take the Jubilee Line underground train to Canning Town. At Canning Town get the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to Custom House (for ExCeL). Travel time: 11m ICE Stand Number: S2-130 Web: www.racingpost.com “Despite the fact that ICE is our 'local' show, we find it to be the most critical in terms of generating international business. Quite simply, it's easier to meet the most relevant people at ICE over three days than it is to cover the globe chasing them. Its a perfect mixture of hard-nosed business taking place alongside seeing and appreciating innovation as well as just having fun, meeting old friends and making new ones. From a commercial perspective, we see ICE as the key show. Our café stand is a familiar feature to regular attendees and acts as a hub and meeting point for the betting industry. We don't have the time to hold any 'formal' discussions or events, but we will have lined up a series of meetings with clients as this is the one show of the year that all of the key decision makers attend. There will be some product launches too, and from a new business perspective we will have staff on hand at all times to discuss what we provide to our customers and what we could provide to new customers, whether that concerns new products, new content, or any of the various sports we cover. We are there to talk print, web, mobile, tablet and retail solutions, and we provide quality offerings for each medium. Quite simply ICE is the Grand National, Cheltenham and Royal Ascot rolled into one. It's inspirational in so many ways, but it is very busy, with everyone working hard in a very competitive environment. So my advice to attendees is take time to step back, reflect where you are and where you’re going, and check what others are doing. ICE gives you that chance so do take it.”
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Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
mErKur dELIVErs GrEatEst CHoICE EVEr at ICE Gauselmann subsidiary Merkur Gaming will yet again be exhibiting at ICE. The German powerhouse offers so much more and promises a memorable event The ICE is a truly international gaming show and naturally a key exhibition in the calendar of Merkur Gaming. The large 650 square metre stand offers the space for Merkur Gaming for visitors to enjoy an unforgettable time on this stand, seeing just why ‘made in Germany’ technology is the future for global gaming. Never before Merkur Gaming has shown such a wide array of gaming machines. A total of eleven different cabinets will be on display. These are the Evolution, Privilege Plus, WB 4, Vision Plus, Uno, Motion, Motion 2, Highflyer, Evolution SL, Avantgarde SLT and Ozone. Merkur Gaming offers so much more than just ‘upright’ or ‘slant top’ gaming machines. For example, take a look at the Highflyer – a slant top with a real difference. The upper monitor here seems to be floating in the air. Extensive marketing research, followed by focused R&D work led to this solution where players can choose between two fundamental seating positions – either focusing on the lower gaming screen or choosing the gaming screen to be on the upper monitor with the desire to lean back and relax to this unique gaming experience. Talking about unique, the Ozone is just that. This gaming orb allows the player to completely indulge him or herself in this wonderful gaming experience. It has the feeling of an amusement machine as the player sits inside the orb and is shielded from the outside world. The sound effects can naturally be made most use of with such a design. 5 8
Merkur Gaming’s philosophy is all about offering choice. Merkur Gaming recognises that players have different needs and aspirations when playing and the extremely wide cabinet choice reflects this. Visitors to the Merkur Gaming stand will see focused solutions for particular gaming markets, such as for Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Italy and South Africa. It goes without saying that Merkur Gaming has several R&D offices spread around the world to be able to best cater to regional requirements. Merkur Gaming has the strategy, structure and financial strength to be able to
The Gauselmann Group is a pioneer in bringing banknote recycling to gaming machines – so much so that it developed its own solution – the Merkur Dispenser 100 invest in the future. This investment will be directly demonstrated at the ICE – as Merkur Gaming will be showing around 20 brand new games, all in HD definition. The continual international growth of the Gauselmann Group will furthermore be reflected in the number of companies joining Merkur Gaming on stand number # N4-260. adp Gauselmann is the manufacturing company within the group that provides the gaming solutions for both the international and German markets. Blueprint Gaming is a leading UK supplier of gaming machines and digital content
to land-based venues, server-based gaming networks and online & mobile casinos. Cashpoint is the company responsible for sports betting within the Gauselmann Group with its focus both on online sports betting and land-based sports betting with an array of exciting sports betting terminals. This sheer choice on the Merkur Gaming is complemented with the company’s fundamental knowledge on cash management. The Gauselmann Group is a pioneer in bringing banknote recycling to gaming machines – so much so that it developed its own solution – the Merkur Dispenser 100 – to ensure its success. The further-improved version called Merkur Dispenser Gold will be on display on the Merkur Gaming stand. This banknote recycler can store and pay out three separate denominations with a capacity of 34 notes of each type. Mr. Ralf Markmann, Managing Director at Merkur Gaming, is looking forward to his first ICE, stating, “Never before has Merkur Gaming offered so many gaming possibilities. We understand that each market has its own special requirements and can draw upon great internal knowledge from our long-standing multi-lingual team and naturally from a cabinet and games choice that incredibly keeps continuing to grow. ‘Made in Germany’ with all the local market requirements in- built. Merkur Gaming has so much to offer to global gaming”. Being in the entertainment industry, naturally Merkur Gaming will be entertaining its guests. Come to Merkur Gaming at ICE – it promises to be an unforgettable visit.
Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
suzo-Happ’s VEry spECIaL ICE integrate pushbuttons individually in their machines. This level of vertical integration has been extended to include contract manufacturing services. Manufacturers have the choice of how much manufacturing integration Suzo-Happ offers, from part-machine manufacturing to complete outsourcing of machine hardware requirements. This enables manufacturers to focus more on their value-add, in other words their software and their games
Suzo-Happ is preparing for a very special celebration at the ICE Totally Gaming show in London, with plans to welcome visitors to toast its 60th anniversary The forthcoming ICE in February is set to be a memorable occasion for Suzo-Happ. The European part of Suzo-Happ (Suzo) was founded back in 1955 and the ICE will be a great opportunity for the company as a whole to celebrate this milestone. The Suzo-Happ team invites visitors to come to the stand in the same position as last year to celebrate this 60th anniversary at stand number #N4-110. There will be plenty to see here: This will be the first ICE that Comesterogroup will be exhibiting as part of the Suzo-Happ family. The Italian expert for change machines and cash handling was brought into the SuzoHapp Group in 2014. Both international and solutions specific to the Italian AWP market will be on display. Comesterogroup is also a household name for change machines and cashin machines, with more then 10 different models with machines such as Rock and Swing offering unique benefits. These are joined by the PRO range, such as Jolly PRO and Dual Coin PRO. The electronic coin selection from Comesterogroup – the RM5 Evolution and RM5 HD – have an installed base of well over a million. These can be found in all applications, including the tailored version for the Italian market for the newslots, including the Suzo-Happ Flow hopper. The ICE will also mark the first international exhibition for Suzo-Happ as exclusive global distributor for TransAct with the agreement having being extended to Europe as from 1st January 2015. The Epic 950® printer from TransAct is the perfect solution for ticket-in, ticket-out (TITO) applications. Currently installed in over half a million slots in casinos throughout the world, its success stands out significantly in Europe. For example, the Italian VLT (video lottery terminal) market and the British FOBT (fixed-off betting terminal) market use TransAct printers exclusively. Operators are invited to see just how many benefits the Epicentral, the promotional software system can offer. The extended Suzo-Happ product range will be on proud display. This includes the Bill-to-Bill bank note recycler that is the preferred choice in a whole range of applications around the world. Suzo-Happ is known as the ‘hopper and topper company’ and customers and all interested persons are invited to get to know just which of these products are best fit for their needs – such
as the Cube, Flow and Evolution hoppers and the Xenon LED, Towerlight and Video Topper alongside a number of RBG lightstrips to brighten up any slot machine. Suzo-Happ offers more choice with its PRO brand which includes the VISION PRO, PRINTER PRO AND BILLIARD PRO. The wide range of pushbuttons, including the LCD pushbuttons, will be on display. Special mention deserves the role Suzo-Happ is playing in increasing its vertical integration service. Suzo-Happ should not just be seen as a supplier of spare parts and components. SuzoHapp offers more vertical integration possibilities – an example is the pushbutton panel that saves manufacturers having to
Suzo-Happ will be exhibiting the solutions of further key distribution partners, such as ELO, Innovative Technology, MEI and Assa. Mr. Harald Wagemaker, Executive Vice President Sales & Marketing of Gaming and Casino EMA, sends out a warm welcome to ICE visitors, stating, “We are in celebratory mood. Please come and toast the 60 years in business with us at ICE. And then take the opportunity to see just how much we can do for you. We look forward to seeing you at ICE”.
zItro taKEs rEVoLutIoN to LoNdoN Zitro promises to perform a series of ‘star turns’ at the ICE show with a host of new bingo-related innovations Zitro is getting ready to revolutionise ICE Totally Gaming 2015. In London, Zitro will exhibit a phenomenon currently engaging players around the world - the Zitro Revolution, packed with major advances never seen before in the sector, such as more community games, more exciting functionality and, of course, exhilarating new titles. Zitro’s Interactive Division will also display its new products designed for the online market as well as the social sensation www.worldofbingo.com, the leading video bingo site on Facebook, which is currently played in more than 160 countries. Another of Zitro’s “star turns” at ICE will be their electronic bingo system, BET, a unique product offering an innovative alternative to conventional bingo. BET gives players a fresh,
enjoyable gaming experience combined with the thrill of participating in a large network of prizes. All those attending the ICE will be able to see for themselves why ZITRO has the most entertaining, most dynamic, most exciting and most profitable products on the market, offering players a unique and unforgettable gaming experience and a state-of-the-art stand (N6-245) with a design which will leave noone indifferent.
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Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015 APEX gaming sends out a warm welcome to ICE where once again APEX will be showing a host of gaming solutions on its stand S3-350. enLarGed inTernaTionaL saLes Team Innovative APEX gaming solutions are in demand and the team has been strengthened to offer even stronger support. Mr. Max Pessnegger is looking forward to his first ICE with APEX as CEO (with Mr. Johannes Weissengruber now being the company Chairman). Furthermore, Mr. Kubilay Özer will be leading the sales team in his position of Global Sales Director, having joined APEX in December. His international experience will be put to optimal use with the ever-expanding solutions of APEX gaming.
new updaTed pinnacLe GaminG caBineT series The Pinnacle gaming machines have received a facelift. This not only retains the youth of the Pinnacle yet also offers even more space to present the HD graphics of the APEX games. The upright Pinnacle 22” has now been updated to the Pinnacle 24” and the slant top Pinnacle SL is now equipped with 27” screens. These new gaming machines retain all the benefits customers are accustomed to, such as optimal component choice, security and patented cooling system to enable 24/7 gaming entertainment.
apEx GamING adds a touCH of ICE maGIC TaBLe GaminG and sLoTs and moBiLe GaminG The iDROP is making waves in the global gaming industry and rightly so. The iDROP is available in two versions: The iDROP is the perfect table game solution that has filled an important gap in the market place – namely as the link between table, slots gaming, accounting and the casino management system. It combines security, speed and flexibility and accepts and can also dispense tickets. It contains a banknote reader with bulk note feeder so that croupiers can enter the notes in a bundle. The ticket printer can then print out a ticket if required (for cashing out or should the player wish to only exchange part of the ticket win for chips, then the remaining value is returned in ticket form). The iDROP can be integrated into all systems and its real-time accounting information enables management to have complete and immediate information of the iDROP contents. The second key factor of the iDROP is that it unites land-based slots gaming with mobilebased tablet gaming. Gaming operators have the possibility to offer tablet gaming to their customers. The question is how to link the slots and tablets. The solution is the iDROP. The money on the ticket is converted to credit on the tablet. On cashing on the tablet, the credit is transferred to a ticket thanks to the iDROP.
The eVo pLaTform
apex moBiLe sLoTs
The EVO platform within the Pinnacle gaming machines allows the APEX games to be brought to life. This is the platform of the future which enables both 3D and 2D games to be played upon. Operators can offer their customers more games choice here. The standard choice is with five 3D games, twenty classic games and two brand new games – namely Red Hot 20 and Red Hot Burning. The games are clearly structured on the screen and can be simply chosen with the same technology that users are used to from smartphones and tablets.
APEX provides complete solutions. This naturally also relates to mobile gaming. The name is APEX MOBILE SLOTS. The APEX games are simple to integrate on any standard (Android-based) tablet. Operators can therefore offer their customers the solution to unite slots and mobile gaming on their premises. The classic games such as Leonardo’s Code, Arriva, Ocean Tale and Red Hot Fruits are already available for mobile play.
The idrop – uniTinG BoTh sLoTs wiTh
apex pLayer sTaTion APEX gaming formally introduced the APEX PLAYER STATION (APS) at the last ICE. Much has happened since then. It is already certified for the
New products from E-gaming for the ICE show includes a new Upright cabinet with two 23 inches screens with LED technology and hype design. In addition, a mass of new games will be shown to the public for the first time, including 6 0
The APS can be connected to a total of four roulette wheels – giving players more choice and operators even more reasons to choose APEX. These include both electronic and live wheels. Furthermore, APEX gaming offers its customers the chance to integrate the APEX slot games into the APS. The APS is terminal-based. The customer decides how many player positions there should be. Any future expansion is simple to integrate. Players have the complete choice on four table games and the APEX slot games here.
and much, much more…! This year’s ICE promises so much for APEX customers, as Mr. Johannes Weissengruber, founder and Chairman, points out: “We are dedicated to taking gaming to the next level. Our new management structure represents this and our product range has never been so large and innovative. This will be an ICE never to forget”.
new games developed during 2014, games which already have been proven in the field. E-gaming’s latest version of its online platform will also be revealed during the exhibition, this new platform is available in several languages.
With this new flexible platform it is also possible to offer third party game content so that online casino operators have the choice to add games from most developers. This platform is currently online as E-gaming is offering game content to several Belgian online casinos, whereby all video slot games can be played on laptops, PCs, tablets and smartphones.
E-gaming is offering this very flexible platform for all online casinos for all jurisdictions. It has a variety of casino table games, poker and a complete library of video slots from E-gaming.
Contact Eastern Europe Pavel Michalcio +420 773784646
[email protected]. Contact Middle Europe, South America Urbain Thewissen +34 671920766
[email protected]
fLExIBLE E-GamING soLutIoNs At ICE 2015, E-gaming, the Czech manufacturer of SBG systems, will present a mass of new developments
market in Macau. This fully electronic multiplayer offers four table games Roulette, Baccarat, Sic-Bo and Quikker. Quikker is unique to APEX and is a card-based table game that is just great to play. Come to the APEX stand to find out just why.
Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
EVoLutIoN Is rEady to party Evolution showcases the new Blackjack Party with Bet Behind, full Mobile Live Casino offering, land-based casino studios and more at ICE 2015 Evolution Gaming, the world leader in videostreamed Live Dealer gaming, will showcase a host of new additions to its extensive range of Live Casino solutions on stand N5-250 at ICE. Amongst the solutions on display and demos will be the all-new and massively scalable Blackjack Party, along with Live Blackjack for Mobile and a bespoke variant of Immersive Roulette, Evolution’s Game of The Year award winner. According to Helen Hedgeland, Evolution’s UK Managing Director, the new Blackjack Party is “an exciting, low-stakes, mass-market Live Blackjack game offering fun and chat with a TV-style duo of dealer and presenter, and virtually unlimited ‘bet behind’ and revenue potential for licensees.” Hedgeland continues: “With Blackjack Party there’s unlimited opportunity to bet behind, so it’s a case of ‘the more the merrier’ in terms of
the number of players involved at any table. Because Blackjack Party includes scalable Bet Behind, there’s potential for hundreds of players to join the main game and choose to ‘bet behind’ the players on the most successful winning streaks.” She adds: “As the name of the game implies, there’s a party-style atmosphere with music and a bubbly, chatty dealer and co-presenter, both of whom are trained in TV presentation. With low stakes and lively encouragement from the staff at the table, the aim is to give as many players as possible the chance to share the fun and bet behind the hottest players.” This powerful ‘bet behind’ capability, which also allows all players to easily track the hottest players in the main 7 seats at the table via gold medal score indicators in the game’s UI, was added to Evolution’s Green Live Blackjack tables on desktop in early December. This further extends the massive scalability of Evolution’s range of Live Casino table games. Alongside these new Bet Behind solutions, another key focus area at ICE will be
Evolution’s leading Mobile Live Casino offering, highlighting the company’s full range and ‘access all tables’ Mobile strategy. On the stand Evolution will major on the recent release of Live Blackjack on smartphone and the imminent launch of Live Baccarat on smartphone. Following these latest introductions, the Evolution Mobile offering will span multiple Live Roulette variants, Slingshot Auto Roulette, Immersive Roulette, Live Blackjack and Live Baccarat. Hedgeland points out that Evolution’s ‘access all tables’ Mobile policy means that all live tables for these games are available to play on iPad, iPhone and leading Android tablets and smartphones, not just on one or two tables. Other Live Casino developments planned for Evolution’s ICE stand include Immersive Roulette ‘Lite’, an exciting new option for licensees with dedicated tables, and solutions specifically for land-based casinos. The latter includes the option to stream games from a Live Casino studio in the land-based casino itself, as well as from Evolution’s studios. To avoid the queues, visitors to the Evolution stand N5-250 can request an appointment, simply email
[email protected].
aINswortH BrINGs “a wINNING pLay” to ICE 2015 Ainsworth Game Technology brings “A Winning Play” to the 2015 ICE show with the all new A560 SL slot cabinet Ainsworth Game Technology brings “A Winning Play” to the 2015 ICE show with the all new A560 SL. The newest cabinet from Ainsworth, the A560 SL is a one screen wonder specially designed and custom built for a unique, highly entertaining game range. Featuring a striking 32” High Definition display, 19” LCD Topper option for Jackpot promotion, unique attract lighting package stylised to the game, premium surround sound technology, sky high stacks and breathtaking animations, the new A560 SL is sure to be a main attraction on your gaming floor. The new A560 SL provides a robust entertainment packed range of game brands. Titles that will be on display include: Rumble Rumble, Big Bang Buck, Flying Horse, King Cat, Fire Wizard, Ice Wizard, Power Fruit 7’s and Mega Fruit 7’s with many additional titles due for release
in 2015. Ainsworth’s Managing Director, Robert Dijkstra, commented “This is a very exciting year for Ainsworth. We have pushed the boundaries of technology with our latest cabinet to ensure that players receive an enhanced gaming experience through improved sound, graphics and a wide range of new branded games. We are very proud to share these new products that will be on display in our booth this year with our casino operator partners. The super-sized A560 Wide Boy brings features alive with the 32” landscape mode LCD top box and exciting game driven LED lighting! Titles being highlighted at ICE include Hummin King Spin, Reel of Wheels Horsepower and Cash Challenge. Ainsworth will display a new line up of themes for their core Game Plus library: Quad Shot, Double Hit, Play 40/50/100 Lines, Wheel Winner, Multi Win and High Denom, and don’t miss out viewing
Ainsworth’s new games developed exclusively for the UK B1 category (Casino) Fortune Ox and Royal Diamonds. Ainsworth’s Group General Manager Strategy and Development, Scott Clarebrough, notes “This year’s ICE lineup is a combination of, innovative game mechanics and hardware and exceptionally entertaining math models that will definitely provide the best player experiences and create tremendous excitement on any gaming floor.” He continued, “We will be showcasing a diverse product portfolio to date so show attendees will walk away with a vision of the future! The new products on display will again demonstrate the creative and innovative edge Ainsworth brings to its product design and development. Ainsworth has been building for the future and now we’re ready to further raise the performance bar with more leading edge brands and exceptional game titles. We are committed to delivering players with quality and unique entertainment experiences.” Be sure to see the “A Winning Play” for yourself at booth N3-120! 6 1
Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
BuoyaNt GamEaCCouNt NEtworK taKEs sImuLatEd GamING soLutIoN to ICE sHow 'Faster, Higher, Stronger' is the Olympian themed adopted by GameAccount Network (GAN) to promote its presence at ICE 2015 (Stand N2-310). The leading developer and supplier of enterpriselevel B2B gaming software and online gaming content, will be using ICE to showcase the huge strategic and commercial benefits of its unique Simulated Gaming offering to an international audience of key opinion-formers. Explaining how Simulated Gaming can be deployed by land-based casinos, GAN Commercial Director Daniel Lindsay said: "We developed Simulated Gaming as an off-Facebook social gaming product to enable land-based casino operators to offer a fully immersive gaming proposition for their customers when not on site. "The trust and integrity of the land-based brands are brought online and the same games - tables and slots - are available. In essence, it’s a mirror image of the land-based environment where virtual credits purchased allow continuous play and, where regulations allow, cash back incentives, using land-based loyalty cards and Casino Management Systems." Highlighting the commercial benefits he said: "Casinos benefit in a number of ways. Not only does Simulated Gaming™ serve to generate significant incremental revenue courtesy of a 6 2
new channel of entertainment, but it also reactivates lapsed players and drives renewed casino visitation where spend is up on gaming as well as on other verticals within the property." He added: "In general, social gaming monetises players - registration to deposit - at around two per cent. The very best social casinos manage somewhere around five per cent, whilst our Simulated Gaming product is currently monetising above 15 per cent of registered players through to deposit and play. The feedback we are receiving from land-based casino operators is that it presents the perfect opportunity to engage with their current, lapsed and future patrons as well as allowing them to prepare for real money online gaming in a preregulated environment. For players, it’s a positive experience which allows them to earn rewards – where regulations allow - whilst playing their favourite slot games and using brand names they trust." Following its successful showing at October's G2E in Las Vegas, GameAccount Network has confirmed that five US operators will be live with its Simulated Gaming™ offering by the first half of 2015 along with a group of operators in the Australian gaming market. Enabling bricks and mortar casinos in the United States to move online is a core element of the company's mission statement and to this end GAN has partnered with Betfair plc to provide its Internet Gaming System following the
introduction of regulated real-money online gaming in New Jersey in November 2013. In Connecticut, it has licensed its Internet Gaming System to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation - owners and operators of the Foxwoods Casino Resort - and currently offers Simulated Gaming via the Online Casino published on Foxwoods.com website. In Oklahoma, GameAccount Network has been chosen to launch a promotional play Simulated Gaming website via OsageCasinos.com and in New York, the company has been chosen by Empire City Casino to launch a Simulated Gaming website via www.EmpireCityCasino.com. In Pennsylvania, GameAccount Network has been chosen by Parx Casino to launch a Simulated Gaming website via www.ParxCasino.com. The company has also built an established business in Europe, licensing gaming content across the regulated .com market. In the regulated Italian market, GameAccount Network provides content delivery to over 65 per cent of the existing operators with a further 3 new operators joining the network in 2015. In the regulated Spanish market, GameAccount provides platform services and content and will be providing a range of proven performing games ahead of new regulations coming into force in 2015 allowing slot games. GameAccount Network is listed on the ESM Market of the Irish Stock Exchange and the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker: GAME. (GAN)
Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
dLV Is CELEBratING 20 yEars
DLV, international manufacturer and operator, with the head-offices in Riga, Latvia and an office in Peru, is celebrating its 20th anniversary at ICE 2015 The beauty of 20th anniversary is that it is a long experience for a company which also serves as a good indicator of its stability and
reliability; on the other hand, it’s the ”age” when there is still so much ahead and there are things to aim at, and DLV does have a lot of ambitious plans. The designs set for 2015 include DLV’s participation in international and regional exhibitions creation of subsequent versions of the already successful series of games, and work on online offers for our clients. At the exhibition in London, DLV will showcase its modern STD, DWS and HD cabintes and jackpot series –the three-level Dragon Jackpot and Jewel Jackpot III, and the four-level Gauya Quest and Vollinstars, as well as its series of
multigames for standalone machines with the most recent versions - Diamond Games Premium VII, VIII and IX. Of course, our 25games multigame Diamond Ultra will not be left out; moreover, it will come with a novelty for ICE show – its sequel, Diamond Ultra II. One more surprise for ICE guests will be the presentantion of DLV’s new online totalizator dlvbet, which will provide our clients with the possibility to make bets 24/7 on the outcome of a great number of sports, political and other kind of events. But let’s leave the detailed information about DLV and its products for the show. The entire DLV team will be delighted to share the company’s 20th anniversary with all of its ICE guests and welcome everyone to its booth N4-160!
GLoBaL staGE Is sEt for CasINo tECHNoLoGy After a year of tremendous success, Casino Technology returns to London with a host of brand new developments for both land-based and online sectors Casino Technology is ready to wow audiences at ICE 2015 with its latest innovations and updates, combining technology and creativity into a unique and inspirational mix. Casino Technology's stand N5-140 will be dominated by its groundbreaking concept THE BIG 5, marking the next stage of gaming evolution through a complete synergy of online/offline channels, contents, functionalities, etc. The system suite for seamless multi-channel gaming is coming back to London after its world premiere at ICE 2014 and a very positive feedback from its numerous installations across different locations. Featuring improved functionalities and new options, THE BIG 5 provides a powerful tool for successfully bridging land-based and online sectors through the means of latest convergence technologies and best practices. Among the sure winners to be presented at company's booth is the “tip” of Casino Technology's game ICEberg – GAMOPOLIS HIGHWAY multi-game series. Its latest additions feature brand new titles, attractive themes and improved game selection interface, while retaining successful maths model and popular bonus schemes. They will be presented with the new modern AURORA upright cabinet designed to attract and comfort customers by its glowing look, ergonomic features and superior visual technology. Building on the success of the GAMOPOLIS multi-game series on many markets worldwide,
in 2014 Casino Technology developed a special multiplayer product line, combining Company's most preferred video slots with new offerings such as live roulette, virtual and other popular games in a single package. The planned integration with other classic table and community games will further enhance player experience and expand operators options for flexible and profitable casino floor management. China's mythological creatures and historical figures will welcome visitors at Casino Technology's booth with the new series of Asian themed progressive link games PEACOCK&DRAGON with innovative 8 PEACKOCKS 4-leveled progressive jackpot. The series was recently expanded with a new game title – THE GREAT WARLORD, with another fresh addition coming soon. Bingo fans will surely re-discover their favorite
game with the new BINGOGATOR multi-game. The thrilling mix of classic bingo rules and new interactive game and jackpot options incorporated in the collection of 4 exciting ebingo games with different maths and gaming concepts, will tempt even people who have never played bingo, to try their luck. Building on its experience in creating inspirational roulette concepts that have won the hearts of players around the world with innovative features and unique designs, Casino Technology made the next step of roulette evolution by offering a hybrid solution with options of remote bet placing. With the newly designed CASINO PRINCE roulette terminals coupled with the CASINO PRINCESS mobile tablet terminals, clients can play simultaneously on up to 4 roulette wheels, providing clear benefits for operators along increased interactivity and convenience for players. 6 3
Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015 At ICE 2015, JCM Global is helping operators create better connections with better, smarter, faster bill validation technology, printer technology and systems solutions. JCM will show its advanced and diverse product portfolio on stand N3-220 in London The connection begins with JCM’s bill validation technology featuring iVIZION, iPRO and iPRORC. First, iVIZION has the most advanced validation security features and anti-stringing technology available, all with an acceptance rate of 99+ percent. Learn more at www.iVIZION.jcmglobal.com. Secure, flexible and innovative, iPRO has a high first time acceptance rate, a faster note-to-note acceptance rate, and JCM’s innovative sensing and anti-stringing package. An optional recycling package on the iPRO-RC means less fills less often. Connections are enhanced with JCM’s printer technology and the PayCheck 4, GEN2 Universal, TableXchange and Ticket2Go products. PayCheck 4 prints and presents a complete ticket twice as fast as competitive printers, has the most
JCm CoNNECts aN INtELLIGENt famILy of produCts at ICE 2015 standard memory of any printer in its class and has a print head with an average life span of 640,000 slot-type tickets. The GEN2 Universal family of printers is compatible with existing gaming platforms (RS232 and NetPlex) as well as the next generation of downloadable, server-based and USB games. GEN2 Universal printers offer compatibility with existing games on the floor. TableXchange allows players to use cashout vouchers at table games by connecting table games to a casino’s existing TITO network by scanning and printing TITO vouchers, streamlining operations by virtually eliminating the need to replenish chips at table games. Perfect for AWP and low payout markets, Ticket2Go delivers a networked TITO solution and the proven network-less Ticket Payout feature. Multi-lingual and multi-currency, Ticket2Go offers a retrofit ticketing solution for gaming machines that do not support open
standard ticketing protocols. The connection is completed with JCM’s system solutions, including Dynamic Network Applications (DNA) and PromoNet. DNA empowers operators and regulators with realtime health and event monitoring of all peripheral components used inside EGMs, on table games or inside redemption kiosks, utilizing either a wired or wireless connection to a local server. Peripherals that DNA can monitor are practically limitless and include bill validators, ticket printers, card readers, digital displays and coin acceptors. PromoNet intelligent couponing identifies valuable players, targets both carded and noncarded players, links promotions to game-play and delivers promotions exactly where and when they are needed. Start making better connections by joining JCM at ICE on stand N3-220 on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
GLI Is tHE Go-to LaBoratory for VIsItors Land-based, lottery and iGaming stands across the ICE will be populated by devices and systems that have been tested and certified by GLI At an average of 120,000 per month, GLI issues more certifications than any other lab for more than 455 global gaming jurisdictions worldwide. Only those products that meet the highest testing standards bear the GLI Certified mark, and that gives confidence to regulators that the devices and systems on the floor in their jurisdictions are operating as expected, keeping the game fair for everyone – for players, for operators and government agencies. From its stand N3-210 at ICE, GLI will discuss its testing services as well as its many services beyond testing that make GLI the go-to laboratory for regulators, operators and suppliers who want to get more than just testing from their lab. In particular, GLI will be shining a spotlight on its auditing services, which contain a critical package of auditing services ranging from WLA compliance to IT security. The auditing services help regulators, operators and suppliers to 6 4
improve governance, risk and compliance processes across the entire operation. GLI’s portfolio of auditing services includes: l l l l l l l l l
WLA security controls certification WLA responsible gaming certification Enterprise risk management Field audits Internal audit IT processes Network risk assessment PCI:DSS compliance Security audits
GLI is an associate member of WLA, NASPL, CIBELAE and the European Lotteries. In addition to auditing, GLI offers its clients an extensive portfolio of services, including lottery testing, gaming device and systems testing, online gaming systems and security testing, rule writing, consultation and professional services. GLI’s professional services division has four main areas, each specifically designed to make doing business in the lottery industry faster and more effective. Those categories are: Project Management; Governance, Risk and Compliance; Technical Services; and GLI
University Training. GLI University conducts training for many groups all over the world. Most recently, for example, between its September Latin American Roundtable and its recently completed Argentinean Regulators Seminar, this year GLI University brought together more than 90 representatives from regulatory entities and state lotteries from 25 jurisdictions across the region for critical training and discussion across Latin America. GLI University also recently completed its first Master’s Level Commissioner Certification Training for the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA). Next, GLI University will stage the North American Regulators Roundtable on March 4 and 5 in Las Vegas, and then it will produce the European Regulators Roundtable on May 28 and 29 in Rome. The company also boasts an array of exclusive tools that streamline processes and speed time to market. These tools include the awardwinning GLI Link, Point. Click. Transfer. SM, Point. Click. Submit.SM, GLI Mobile and the recently released GLI CloudSM. Join GLI on stand N3-210 at ICE or visit gaminglabs.com.
Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
EuroCoIN GEt tHE rECoGNItIoN you dEsErVE Eurocoin is looking forward to welcoming colleagues from across the gaming industry to ICE 2015 and will be displaying a host of world-class products and innovative networked hardware systems on its stand in the North Hall Eurocoin is one of Europe’s leading suppliers of secure cash-processing and currency validation hardware, plus the preferred supply partner of many manufacturers for their TFT display and touch screen solutions. At ICE this year Eurocoin will be showing the very latest andaffordable multi-touch solutions on a wide variety of bright, full-HD TFT panels. Eurocoin’s entire range of major brand technical
analytics and other major advantages for casino operators. Eurocoin’s Herta Facial Recognition system provides gaming venue operators with a cost-effective and versatile BioSurveillance system that can track and instantly identify players who have self-excluded or have been blacklisted, or are in your VIP database. components, consumables and security items will be on show at ICE. For gaming, casino & VLT operators everywhere, Eurocoin’s exciting range of networked systems offer major security, marketing and operational benefits to the industry. The VisuaLimits gaming table signage system is now installed and proven in both the US and Europe, providing unique game & bet
Other significant new systems will be launched on our ICE stand, including our CountR & Thomas payment systems and terminals. Additionally, see the latest JCM bill acceptors, Motorola barcode scanners and Azkoyen coin validation technology, all on stand #N2-322, where you are cordially invited to join Eurocoin for some traditional hospitality throughout the show!
IGt: aNy tImE, aNy pLaCE, aNywHErE At ICE 2015, gaming entertainment leader IGT will showcase an exciting portfolio of industry-leading hardware and best-in-class content that players can enjoy anytime, anywhere
floors worldwide. Refreshed versions of Mystical Mermaid, Wolf Run Party, Prairie Party and Trailer Park Party feature improved sound, graphics and presentation and are complimented by the iconic bonus events from Tipsy the pink, dancing elephant.
At ICE 2015, gaming entertainment leader IGT will showcase an exciting portfolio of industryleading hardware and best-in-class content that players can enjoy anytime, anywhere.
IGT’s show-stopping S3000 cabinet will make its international debut at ICE 2015. After a remarkably successful G2E, this new take on the classic spinning reel experience is ready to thrill on the tradeshow floor again. Backed by a pipeline of more than fifty of themes, including industry favorites such as Double Diamond, Double Gold, Wild Cherry, Super X Pay and never-before-seen titles including the sizzling Red Hot Tamales and Stacked Red White and Blue. Available in both classic three-reel and five-reel multiline games, S3000 provides attractive play options for all player types. The S3000 is impossible to miss - not only does the cabinet boast a dynamic design, its adjustable sound and lighting package and capabilities demand attention. Banked machines can be synched up to deliver an attention-grabbing light and music show that will demand attention in any environment.
IGT’s all-new hardware innovation, the Crystal Dual cabinet will make its world-premiere in IGT’s Stand N2-240. A sister-product to IGT’s widely-praised Crystal Core cabinet, the Crystal Dual is a for-sale cabinet that will attract players with its dynamic player experience and modern design, while operators will value the hardware’s improved serviceability features and the refreshed look that it will bring to casino floors. The Crystal Dual boasts a pristine touch screen display and a user-friendly digital player panel with a static Bash Button. This must-see hardware is backed by an exciting library of game content, including both legacy titles and new themes including Golden Eagle, The Fates and the recently introduced title, King Reels. A highly anticipated release on the Crystal Dual is a re-vamped and re-energized version of one of IGT most loved multi-level progressive themes, Party Time. Boasting the same time-tested base games and identical math that propelled the original version of this title to the top of players’ minds, this game is sure to be a hit on casino
Discover IGT Interactive’s commitment to quality at ICE 2015. The Company will demonstrate its innovative yield-driving features and a number of meta-game, revenue-enhancing developments, deployed on IGT’s remote game server (rgs). IGT will showcase new MegaJackpots Games in the Company’s everexpanding licensed portfolio including Wheel of
Fortune, Sherlock Holmes and Family Guy. Prowling Panther, a global land-based success, will take center stage ahead of its imminent triple-channel simultaneous release in the UK across land, mobile and online. To learn more about IGT and the Company’s ICE product portfolio visit igt.com or join at the conversation via @IGTNews and #igtblue. 6 5
Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
INtErBLoCK to raIsE tHE Bar at ICE Interblock is to present its upgraded G5 generation of internationally renowned multi-player products at the ICE show Interblock invites customers, business partners and friends in the gaming industry to meet with the team and see the presentation of company’s 18th visit to the ICE show. All the products that will be displayed at ICE London 2015 show will be the latest, newest and most innovative designs from Interblock: l G5 MiniStar Roulette with 05 Play Stations with Single Sided PID and LED Sign Straight Single Sided (Single Zero Game and TouchDown Side Bet) l G5 MiniStar Roulette with 08 Play Stations
with Double Sided PID and LED Sign Round (Single Zero Game and GoalRoulette! Side Bet) l G5 MiniStar Roulette with 10 Play Stations with Double Sided PID and LED Sign Round (Single Zero Game and Jackpot Progressive Golden Chip) l NEW Terminal for Power Tournament Support l G5 Roulette Generator with 10 G5 Play Stations with PID and Roulette Sign (Single Zero Game) l G5 Dice Generator (Stand-Alone) with Craps Game l G5 Card Generator (Stand-Alone) with Multihand Blackjack Game l G5 Live Roulette Generator (Stand-Alone) with Single Zero Game l G5 Live Card Generator (Stand-Alone) with Baccarat Game
l G5 Live Dice Generator (StandAlone) with Craps Game l G5 IBHG 55’’ with 05 Play Stations (Blackjack, Multihand BJ or Baccarat Game) l G5 Star Bar with Power Meter, Physical Buttons and Button Deck LCD l IB Multidata Terminal l Special Project for Belgium market: Wheel of Dice with 06 Play Stations The latest product released by Interblock was for the newest Interblock game, Video Poker (G5 Poker), which features a variety of titles and can be displayed in two distinct formats. Available as a single game or part of a multiplay setup and the most important, the game is available also on a Star Bar; new technology that redefines the gaming experience on a bar surface and any G5 Interblock play station. Under a new company Slogan, Interblock will present the latest and most innovative G5 products accompanied with one of the most popular games on Casino Floors, the brand new presentation of Interblock’s G5 Poker Game on one of the Star Bar products on stand S3 - 310.
INspIrEd prImEs tHE sHow for optImus rEVEaL Inspired will be setting the standard in next-generation gaming content and technology on stand S2-310 at ICE. As a leading provider of Virtual Sports, VLT and Mobile entertainment, Inspired is excited to be showcasing its latest product innovations on its home turf. On its stand Inspired will be exhibiting the breadth of its industry-leading product portfolio, from its omni-channel games, Virtual Sports content, to its latest range of VLT cabinets for the UK and international markets. IGaming is the hottest theme in the industry and Inspired is proud to be leading the charge towards omni-channel gaming. As one of the first suppliers to launch new games simultaneously on VLT, online and mobile, Inspired is already delivering convergence to global operators, repeatedly and actually. At ICE Inspired will be advising delegates on best practice for this iGaming movement, as well as showcasing a variety of its outstanding HTML5 content for mobile and online – some of which are the most engaging and popular games in this fast growing gaming channel. Titles playing on the stand will include White Knight, Goddess of the Amazon, Merlin, Drop it, Spirit of the Samurai 6 6
and Centurion, where the design of the latter has been driven by the mobile space, following extensive consumer research and customer input. As the market leader in Virtual Sports, Inspired has been supplying its premium Virtual Sports content across all platforms for some years. It has undergone huge international expansion in the last year, with deals signed across AsiaPac and the development of a €1billion p.a. market in Italy, in just over 12 months. Inspired will be advising delegates on how its Virtual Sports proposition is world-renowned for driving incremental, compliant revenue in new and existing gaming markets. As part of Inspired’s strategic international expansion plans, it will also be launching two new VLT cabinets at ICE – Optimus and Inceptor - which join Blaze, a dual screen, HD hybrid slant top cabinet, in order to form Inspired’s new cabinet family, specifically targeted to emerging and established international distributed and venue based VLT markets. Optimus is a sleek, modern and customisable VLT cabinet, optimised for multiple market tiers. It is an ergonomically designed and flexible machine. Inceptor is designed for in-country manufacturing; a cost-effective and versatile
The Optimus Line. machine, with both, single and dual screen options, upright and wall mounted - its functionality is perfectly aligned for distributed VLT’s and lottery points of sale. Delegates at ICE will also have opportunity to get hands on with Inspired’s new baccarat content on its industry-leading Sabre Synchro, the world’s first synchronised multi-game table product – as well as its enhanced Virtual Sports Bet Management System (BMS), BetBOX, the winning solution for betting operators worldwide.
Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
early signs of popularity amongst players. Quickfire Jackpots will welcome two new games at ICE, Panda Paradise and Pharaoh’s Ransom, alongside the introduction of a new four-level jackpot concept, Gold Pays, sporting two variants in Golden Festival and Golden Princess, and the four-level jackpot game Pure Gold featuring Twin Spins. Having gained tremendous traction throughout EMEA over the last 12 months with its core Player’s Choice multi- games, Deluxe and Diamond Edition, Aristocrat is now preparing to release three more multi-game packages with Sapphire, Gold and the high denomination Ultra packs all making their entrance at ICE.
arIstoCrat uNVEIL GamING’s NExt dImENsIoN Aristocrat Technologies is counting down to its ICE launch, where it will propel more than 60 new games into the EMEA gaming space. Touching down between 3rd- 5th February on Stand S2-250 in the South Hall of London’s ExCeL Centre will be a brand new generation of games and themes, the majority hosted on Aristocrat’s innovative range of premium, hi-tech Helix cabinets. Offering a whole new dimension of gaming encapsulated in a sleek, sensuous and futuristic cabinet with enhanced audio-visual capabilities, advanced processing power and refined aesthetics and ergonomics, the Helix cabinet range will provide an ideal vehicle to parade Aristocrat’s player centric gaming segments, according to Donal Maguire, Sales & Marketing Director - Europe. “Coinciding with the introduction of this supreme machine, Aristocrat is making a step change in the game content it provides. Leveraging the key learnings from the hugely successful E*Series family of games, the very best elements of their maths, video animations and audio effects have been integrated into two new families – the J-Series Jackpot games and C-Series Core games. All three families will feature an extraordinary array of innovative concepts whose massive player appeal will become very quickly evident to visitors to our stand at ICE,” explained Mr Maguire. “Max Stacks was a power-house game mechanic behind much of the E*Series success in 2014, starting with the Sky Rider and Temple of the Tiger game families and compounded by later models, Moon Maidens and Pearl Warriors, incorporating Double-Up and Triple-Up features,” he continued. “The next chapter in the story, Flowers of Babylon takes this theme to the next level with addition of a three-level
standalone jackpot over base games Heart of Iris and Lily of the Nile.” Following on from the most recent E*Series family release, Magic Flower, Aristocrat is bringing more Exploding Reels action to EMEA gaming floors with two new titles under the Diamond Dynasty theme, Heart of Eternity and Star of the East, whilst the brand new 3 Emperors games continue this theme with a triple standalone progressive jackpot overhead. The E*Series Mega Symbol range also gets a boost with the introduction of two new families, the first to be released being The Goddess Sisters incorporating Queen Coral and Viper Princess. Extending this concept further, the Sacred Guardians family pushes the limits one more step with the addition of a four-level standalone progressive jackpot. Fully demonstrating the continued innovation in this very successful range is a groundbreaking new E*Series family, with Dual Reels technology and a five-level standalone progressive, Romance of Fire & Rain games will include Heart of Fire and Strength of Rain. Aristocrat’s J-Series has just started hitting gaming floors in Europe, with Jackpot Streak games Garden of Amazon and Sparkling Royal and Quickfire Jackpots titles Electric Boogaloo and Golden Peach showing very promising
Another huge C-Series success story, Wonder 4 makes a welcome return with a new feature game format, introducing a spinning wheel and the added benefit of overhead jackpots, one for each of its multi-play games, Buffalo Deluxe, Miss Kitty, Wicked Winnings II and Wild Panda, as well as an overarching grand jackpot. Having got off to a swinging start with players, The Fabulous Fifties and The Swinging Sixties are now joined by a third Mega Reel Power game, Celtic Queen, whilst ICE sees the launch of its new sister category, Mega Line Power, brandishing launch titles Silver Wolf and Downtown Diamonds. Underlining the substantial transformation of Aristocrat’s core games segment, a further four C-Series families will be unveiled on the ExCeL show floor, including Super Feature games Fortunes of Atlantis and Sunset King, Super Wheel Blast games Lion of Venice and Miss Liberty, Extra Bonus Wilds games Birds of Pay and Wild Lepre’Coins and the configurable standalone progressive games Wild Inferno and Wild Wings. “The combined effect of Aristocrat’s 2015 portfolio of E*Series, J-Series and C-Series games is simply awesome and a ‘must have’ for any operator looking to grow their gaming revenue over the next 12 months,” concluded Donal Maguire. “Add to this the ‘Helix factor’ and a slew of new, jaw-dropping gaming operations centre-pieces – of which more will be revealed in the final weeks before the show – and what we have here really does go beyond the next level; it will take players and operators into a completely new dimension.”
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Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
sG INtEraCtIVE BrINGs tHE fuN to LoNdoN The Interactive division of Scientific Games Corporation provides robust iGaming and Social Casino solutions to the global gaming industry, anchored by the world’s strongest portfolio of casino games, including slots and table game content from its Bally Technologies, Barcrest, Shuffle Master and Williams Interactive game studios SG Interactive premium products include the white-label Play4Fun Network B2B social casino platform and its Game Server that provides real-money gaming sites access to an expansive portfolio of world-famous casino games like Zeus, Quick Hits, Let it Ride, and Rainbow Riches, in addition to numerous licensed entertainment games already popular with many online players.
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SG Interactive’s Remote Game Server, launched in the beginning of 2013, providing wagered online casino games to the world’s top online casino operators, with recent launches including Zeus III, Raging Rhino, Cool Jewels, and Rainbow Riches ranking amongst the top slot games throughout Europe. Over the past 15 months, SG’s development team has rapidly accelerated game deployments to a cutting-edge HTML5 mobile platform, through which gaming sites can deploy games simultaneously for players on web and mobile devices. For a look at SG Interactive’s full game catalog of online, proven slots and table games from Williams, Bally, Barcrest, and Shuffle Master studios, visit: www.williamsinteractive.com/games.
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Visit the Scientific Games stand at ICE 2015 to experience the robust products from its Interactive division, including:
The Play4Fun Network social casino platform, designed with tools and capabilities that empower terrestrial casinos to build an engaged online player community ahead of real-money wagering, provides casinos a seamless multi-channel experience
for players that, in current deployments, is driving exceptional engagement and monetisation. Daily players are spending 85+ minutes engaged with the Play4Fun Network online or via native iOS and Android mobile apps. Learn how your casino can benefit from a fully customised Play4Fun Network today at: www.williamsinteractive.com/play4fun. l
An inVenue Mobile Wagering product that empowers land-based casinos to offer local area network-constrained, real-money wagering on player’s mobile devices of choice. Powered by our iGaming Platform, casinos running our solution can pop realmoney gaming content direct from native iOS or Android apps, once players enter their designated areas on property or propertywide. The product includes slots and table games from our various game development studios, and can integrate 3rd party content to give casinos the opportunity to provide their players an online solution that nicely complements their EGM and table game play.
CpI sHowCasEs NEw sCr NotE rECyCLEr at ICE CPI will showcase the new SCR Note Recycler at ICE 2015. The largest portfolio of payment systems in the Gaming industry is expanding even more CPI will exhibit at ICE 2015 (booth N3-320) with the largest portfolio of payment systems in the Gaming industry – including the new MEI SCR note recycler, which has been yielding impressive results across multiple field trials. SCR will be released to the European AWP market, beginning with Germany, in the first quarter of 2015. CPI is now entering commercial agreements with the OEMs. SCR is the latest extension of the reliable SC product line, which has achieved an installed base of more than 1.5 million units worldwide. It follows the same winning formula as the CASHFLOW SC and SC Advance note acceptors, raising performance expectations to deliver a more efficient, secure and cost-effective way to handle cash payments. By combining proven components with new technology, SCR opens new possibilities for what note recycling can offer as part of a total cash management solution.
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Its value proposition begins with the reliability associated with the same acceptor head and 600-note cashbox as SC Advance. Two 60-note recycling drums also provide SCR with the capacity to meet the needs of diverse applications within a small footprint. They utilize the same mechanics hardened with other CPI products – the 4-denomination BNR (bank note recycler) and 1-denomination VNR (vending note recycler). And from top to bottom, SCR’s architecture has been fortified with several innovative features that offer a new level of security to the market: l
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A removable anti-stringing module protects against mechanical manipulation. A combination of lockable transport doors and entrance/exit sensors offer traceability to help prevent theft. “Door open” detection ensures an accurate count of cash stored on the recyclers, even when SCR is in a powered down state.
In games that traditionally pay jackpots in coins, SCR virtually eliminates hopper starvation by
paying out higher value notes instead – using the same notes it accepts and stores on its recyclers from previous transactions. As a result, SCR requires less maintenance and can run for longer periods of time, lowering the overall cost of operation. SCR has been yielding impressive results across multiple field trials. It will be released to the European AWP market, beginning with Germany, in the first quarter of 2015. CPI is now entering commercial agreements with OEMs. In addition to SCR, the CPI booth will feature a variety of solutions for casino slot machines, AWP applications, VLTs and more. The CashCode one and Money Controls Ardac Elite note acceptors will be on display at the ICE show, along with SC Advance and its portfolio of modular extensions – including the EASITRAX Web cash management system and a variety of cashbox sizes. The MEI CASHFLOW 9500 and NRI G-13, v2 eagle, v2 pelicano and v2 colibri coin acceptors will also be shown, along with an assortment of coin hoppers and more.
Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
mICroGamING Is roarING INto tHE ICE sHow Microgaming’s Head of Product Channels, Neill Whyte, reveals the forthcoming attractions set to thrill visitors to the booth at ICE 2015
Microgaming PlayItForward, which represents our comprehensive CSR programme on the Isle of Man and further afield. This was celebrated at the Isle of Man Newspapers’ Awards for Excellence in November, where we proudly took home the award for CSR.
At Microgaming, we’re busy gearing up for the largest gaming show of the year. 2014 was a pretty roarsome event, but we’re confident that 2015 will be just as spectacular, if not even a little bit better!
With all this in mind, ICE in February is the perfect place to celebrate and showcase our 2014 achievements. Our latest content will be playable on the plethora of devices on our stand, across online, mobile and land-based platforms. There will even be a giant iTab or two!
2014 was a year full of activity and we had plenty to talk about – we launched 167 new Casino games, including blockbusters Avalon II, Jurassic Park, Terminator 2 and Game of Thrones. Plus, our Terminator 2 online slot won Digital Product of the Year at the Global Gaming Awards!
But what would ICE be without some exciting, new announcements – and we always like to have a few surprises up our sleeves. Without giving too much away, this includes a new brand licensing agreement, an extensive roadmap of content, and a flurry of exciting deals! We’ll also be demoing our most recent product developments in Casino, Poker, Bingo and Live Dealer, as well as an exciting upgrade to our Quickfire platform. Our operators have plenty to look forward to in 2015!
We added 62 games on mobile and launched seven new multi-player games. Our multi-player platform grew hugely, and through our network and operator tournaments, a total of €6 million was paid out! Furthermore, our progressive jackpot network, the largest in the industry, paid out a whopping €39 million. Our Quickfire platform also continued to grow at an exceptional rate - we signed up over 45 new operators, including Betfair, Thrills.com and Vera&John, taking the total number of operators live nearer to 200! And the MPN welcomed several new customers including PokerHeaven and iGames.am.
Finally, evolving on from last year, where we amazed attendees with our vision of the future, we’ll once again be showing a glimpse of what could lie ahead for our industry. We’ll delve into the fascinating world of wearable technology – smartwatches, oculus rift and google cardboard and show how virtual reality could become reality in the near future. Want to know more? Step into our world at the Microgaming Stand and Bar. Microgaming Stand N5–220.
Not forgetting, we also launched a brand-new Corporate Social Responsibility identity,
GamCrowd pItCHEs INto tHE ICE taLENt pooL GamCrowd is the first and only gambling-specific crowdfunding platform, showcasing a range of companies in the space that are offering investment opportunities in return for equity in their business Based in London, UK, GamCrowd is the brainchild of a group of serial entrepreneurs with vast start-up, and betting and gaming experience. The management team consists of chief executive officer Chris North, chairman Ian Hogg and finance director Andrew Bowen. Pre-screened start-ups that have completed a rigorous process in order to be certified as ‘GamCrowd fit’ are connected to sophisticated investors and high-net individuals through the
platform. GamCrowd will also be launching a crowdsourcing network that will create a global marketplace where buyers can obtain services, ideas and content for a pre-determined price from a group of skilled, professional suppliers on a per-task basis. The company has teamed up with Clarion and is offering a free and easy-to-enter opportunity for start-ups to pitch their businesses at the world’s largest betting and gaming event, ICE Totally Gaming 2015. Pitch ICE will provide the platform for entrepreneurs to present live and direct to attendees – these entrepreneurs will have 15 minutes to sell their concepts on the show floor.
Following a public vote over the two weeks following ICE Totally Gaming 2015 the best preand post-funding propositions will be determined. The winner from each of the two categories will gain free access to GamCrowd’s incubator skills and expertise and an invaluable promotion to the gambling industry. Applicants should simply upload a two-minute pitch video via the GamCrowd website that sets out their idea, includes a short product demo, and outlines what they want to achieve from the show. All approved videos will be published at GamCrowd.com so ICE delegates can schedule in the pitches they want to see. Visit www.GamCrowd.com/pitchice for further information and terms and conditions.
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Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
pLaytECH: BusINEss INtELLIGENCE tECHNoLoGy At the ICE show in London Playtech is set to reveal its latest gaming innovation, Business Intelligence Technology (BIT) for the next generation of licensed play Playtech is the world’s largest multi-channel gaming software and services supplier with more than 3,600 employees across 12 global offices. Traded on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market, the company offers cutting-edge, valueadded solutions to the industry’s leading operators across more than 20 jurisdictions. These include bet365, Betfair, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, Sisal, Sky, SNAI and William Hill. Our approach is, and continues to be, centred on the continual development of best-of-breed gambling products, content and services, built upon strong partnerships with more than 120 licensees. We have the most comprehensive content library
of more than 500 of the world’s most popular titles including leading in-house and branded games and the broadest selection of products across all distribution channels – online, mobile and retail – all supported by a best-in-class back-end platform, enhanced by sophisticated marketing solutions. We also pride ourselves on being a ‘mobile first’ business with more than 350 mobile developers across the world. We have the widest-ranging product suite in the market, fully integrated into a broad crossplatform offering; our state-of-the-art information management solution (IMS) enables players to play online, on mobile and on retail server-based gambling terminals through a single account and wallet.
Business inTeLLiGence TechnoLoGy In preparation for one of the most challenging, competitive and compelling periods in our industry Playtech has invested heavily in innovation and developed the latest, cutting-edge
business intelligence technology in order to power next generation licensees. We are pleased to present Business Intelligence Technology (BIT) at ICE 2015 and confident it will provide new and existing licensees with superior innovation for their next stage of growth. This unique data-driven, business intelligence marketing technology, exclusive to Playtech, is designed to significantly enhance licensee revenues by increasing player experience and lifetime value. We firmly believe that our BIT software will revolutionise the way operators run their businesses and consumers experience gameplay. The products, services and distribution channels we offer has established Playtech as the ultimate one-stop-shop and supplier of choice for operators with our pioneering approach to regulated and newly regulating markets playing a key role in our continued success.
opEN INNoVatIoN drIVEs ComtradE’s ExHIBIt Comtrade Gaming is to showcase its Core product solutions at ICE 2015, all drawn together by open technology The theme of Comtrade Gaming’s ICE 2015 is the presentation of ‘open innovation’ - platforms designed and deployed to provide significant upgrades to current system technologies. It is the starting point of a collaboration with clients to develop new products and features that can help land-based and online operators build unprecedented loyalty with their players.
Our integration of GSA protocols has brought about significant advances in the way we can connect products from various vendors, to track gameplay, report player info and comply with regulations. such as product and channel cross-sell.
At the heart of Comtrade’s open solutions is its Core platforms; iCore, gCore and sCore. Comtrade’s iCore platform, connects multiple products and enables centralised management of all player activities. At ICE, Comtrade will be showcasing a number of extended iCore features. The upgraded platform enables operators to more efficiently manage their business from a single location and engage players consistently across all channels (land based, online, mobile) and products. Comtrade’s marketing engine, which features real-time segmentation, has been extended with behaviour-driven player evaluation that further improves player acquisition features,
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There are also new innovations, including Universal Free Spins and Leaderboards, which unify and enhance the player experience across all gaming products. Comtrade’s mobile development team will present new HTML5 games, including the latest Live Roulette client with real-time HD video streaming. On the land based systems side, Comtrade will present the latest solutions for managing machines in distributed and casino environments combined with central solutions for player management, responsible gaming and regulatory control. All of its solutions are based on the Gaming Standard Association’s G2S
protocol. This year, Comtrade will also present a new sCore Connect product that enables existing SAS-based systems to communicate with machines trough G2S. sCore integrates online and land-based platforms, enabling customers to play from a central wallet whatever and wherever they choose. Comtrade will also unveil its new responsible gaming solution, with demonstrations on the stand (N4-332) detailing the way in which play on a machine, online and via mobile can be uniformally tracked, with player spend limits and session times all controllable by the system. “Our integration of GSA protocols has brought about hugely significant advances in the way we can connect products from various vendors, which allow operators and regulators to track gameplay, accurately report important player information and comply with regulations,” explained Aleš Gornjec, General Manager of ComTrade Gaming. “We look forward to demonstrating at ICE how Comtrade’s open technology can connect machines from various vendors and track online and mobile play to deliver one complete picture of the player,” said Mr. Gornjec.
Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015 As mentioned in the beginning, everybody involved is very excited about the upcoming unveiling on the ICE show, from 3rd to 5th of February 2015, where the visitors will witness the premiere of the products yet unassociated with Alfastreet. The first units will arrive on international casino floors immediately after the show, in order to measure them against the competition and players reactions.
aLfastrEEt NEwLy ExpaNdING produCt array dEButs at ICE Alfastreet is to launch a brand new category of products at the forthcoming ICE, complementing its ETG pedigree Alfastreet will take advantage of the upcoming edition of the London ICE show in February 2015 to display surprising new products that will define the extension of the current ETG line and increase competitiveness. This is the first time in over 20 years that the company will branch out of the area in which it achieved success and recognition, and established itself as a world leader, and an absolute reference in the business. The idea has been on company's drawing board for a while and it is a logical evolutionary step in design strategies, acquired knowledge and feedback from customers worldwide. Alfastreet is proud to have established very good connections and partnerships with its clients and
business professionals, who have contributed to the future product line to great extent. It is vital to learn about and thoroughly know the operators, their needs and expectations, to define the new designs. The company boasts extensive insight into the secrets of the gaming industry, knowing everything that goes into such venture, from mathematical and physical models, to technical excellence and innovation. The customers have supported these efforts, knowing the reputation and the dedication of everyone involved. They know, that the new products will incorporate all the characteristics, that adorn Alfastreet ETG's from the very beginning, such as flawless ergonomics, intuitive and reliable software, that is true to the genuine spirit of the game, and above all; superior quality and attention to detail. The management is confident that the time is right for the launch, and is encouraged by the reactions from partners that are eager to place these products in respective markets.
The start of 2015 is an extremely busy one for Alfastreet. Many of the company’s existing products will receive significant improvements that are a result of constant evolution, and the desire to even further adapt to, and satisfy as many demands as possible. There will be definitive versions of several prototype machines from last year and much more. The London show will be a landmark for Alfastreet, which has set the focus firmly on the market segment, that is a departure from the traditional field in which they are market-leaders. Considering the reputation and the impressive track record to date, you can expect to find a new Alfastreet instrument near you in a very short while. Albert Radman, Sales Director for Alfastreet, commented further: ‘’In the past year we were very successful in our existing markets, and we even strengthen our position in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. We also entered the US market and we expect some great results in the year to come. With all the new developments, and the existing prospects, we are more than assured that Alfastreet is on the right path, and will continue growing and ensuring its leading position in the world of ETG product line.’’
CurVaCEous NEw ELo dIspLay draws tHE EyE Elo’s IntelliTouch Curve is making its European debut at the ICE show in London after dropping jaws at G2E
sound waves on clear, curved glass to deliver bright and sharp HD graphics.”
Elo Touch Solutions (Elo), original inventors of the touchscreen, is introducing IntelliTouch Curve technology for the global gaming industry’s next-generation of game designs. Full HD resolution and clear glass optical clarity combine to deliver a professional-grade touch screen built for continuous use in public environments, backed by a 3 year warranty. Tested to handle 50 million touches in one location without failure, IntelliTouch Curve delivers superior image resolution, light transmission, and reliability because it utilises clear glass. There are no coatings, plastic films or moving parts to scratch, wear out, or damage.
Elo research, design, manufacturing, customisation and support capabilities help gaming manufacturers avoid integration issues, enable touch on borders, create unique shapes and curves, and incorporate company or brand logos into the final gaming device. IntelliTouch Curve and true flat IntelliTouch Zero Bezel surface acoustic wave (SAW) touch technology is complemented by IntelliTouch Pro projected capacitive technology (PCAP) for horizontal counter, furniture and tabletop integration for electronic roulette. Elo surface capacitive (SCAP) touchscreens lower maintenance costs of gaming machines already deployed by plugging directly into third party touch controllers.
“The new Elo Curve looks great, performs beautifully, and is tough enough for gaming environments,” said Craig Witsoe, CEO Elo Touch Solutions. “Our patented acoustic wave touchscreen technology uses only invisible
Elo touch screen innovations extend beyond the gaming floor to loyalty program kiosk, interactive directory map, digital signage, sports book, hotel, connected meeting room, restaurant menu and retail applications.
Ranging in size from 7 to 70 inches, Elo ruggedised tablets, professional touch monitors, all-in-one touch computers, and interactive digital signs help improve employee efficiency while delivering engaging brand experiences to gamers, diners, guests and shoppers.
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Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
The GTECH line-up for the ICE show includes new games, system solutions, and services across land-based gaming, interactive, sports betting, and lottery GTECH, with its Interactive, Betting, Lottery, and SPIELO Gaming pillars, will be presenting its comprehensive portfolio at ICE Totally Gaming Exhibition. Featuring the “All Together GTECH” theme, visitors to Booth N3-160 will experience a full array of games, cabinets, systems and interactive solutions, including an expanded library of TRUE 3D titles. Using patented, award-winning 3D display technology, GTECH´s innovative TRUE 3D product line provides an unrivalled gaming experience. The SPHINX 3D game has won three industry awards and is live in numerous casinos across Europe, the United States and Latin America, enjoying success and generating excitement among players. At ICE 2015, GTECH will be introducing several additions to its TRUE 3D game library that are specifically designed to appeal to different player segments. Titles include BEJEWELED 3D, DRAGON´S TEMPLE 3D, DREAMS OF ASIA 3D and ALADDIN’s FORTUNE 3D. Emphasizing its expertise in linked gaming products, GTECH will be featuring several new linked products in its booth. PERUVIAN RICHES and SECRETS OF THE SEA are two powerful multi-level mystery jackpots. These concepts allow operators to select nearly any title from GTECH’s core game library and insert them into a progressive bank. THE MONEY DROP will be making its global debut at ICE. The multi-level progressive is a title licensed by Endemol and features an innovative risk-based progressive play-off. TERRIFIC TEAL and LUXURY LILAC are brandnew editions to the well-known and highly successful diversity multigame suites for the European market. GTECH will also present a new suite specifically adapted to U.K. requirements. Furthermore, plenty of core games will be presented to visitors with a variety of new and unique game play features. GTECH’s line-up also includes yet another internationally-recognized licensed title from the exciting DEAL OR NO DEAL franchise, with the newest version in the series, DEAL OR NO DEAL LAS VEGAS! presented on the MaXVusion cabinet. 7 2
GtECH: ENd-to-ENd GamING soLutIoNs dELIVErEd at ICE On the interactive gaming side, visitors will be able to experience GTECH’s total iGaming solution, including entertaining interactive casino games, bingo, poker, sports betting, and iLottery products, as well as exciting new mobile additions for players on the go. GTECH’s open architecture platforms allow fast integration of third-party products to easily create a successful online solution tailored to customer needs. New casino games include favourites from the popular SPIELO casino games library, with many new titles launched for desktop and mobile devices, such as Moving Moments, Goldify, Egyptian Dreams and Treasure Blast. With a strong selection of content, GTECH will illustrate the player journey and convergence from landbased to desktop gaming, tablets and smartphones. GTECH’s networked bingo and poker solutions will also be on show. Attendees will be able to test the newly launched, cutting-edge Poker Mac client and app, as well as HTML tablet bingo with user-friendly features that are the result of extensive research and development. Play for Fun and Social Casino are great tools for operators to build their brand in the interactive arena, helping them to acquire new players, increase player lifetime value, and drive players back to operators’ land-based or real-money offerings. GTECH´s Play for Fun and Social Casino
offerings contain a complete mix of games from a large, ever-growing library, and are available across platforms including mobile. Additionally, they offer the ability to monetise social gaming by selling virtual currency for real money. GTECH will also show its market-leading suite of interactive solutions for Lottery markets, including a comprehensive game portfolio of more than 100 eInstant games. GTECH’s mobile first approach will be demonstrated with the latest releases of baseline wagering and a convenience app, featuring a rich suite of player features and functionalities. Key player engagement features such as group play, second chance draws and loyalty will also be presented. In addition, WagerWise is GTECH’s new singleintegrated, end-to-end sports betting platform, backed by the comprehensive GTECH Betting Services to provide support across all channels and markets. It allows operators to connect with players anytime, anywhere, on any device, ensuring that they never miss a moment’s excitement. As the provider of the top-performing and topselling single and multi-games in the Italian AWP market, GTECH will showcase several outstanding performers on the delite cabinet. As part of GTECH Content Sales program, visitors can choose which of these titles they would like to adapt to player preferences in their market.
Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
mastErfuL GamING soLutIoNs, INfINItE IdEas AMATIC INDUSTRIES will be presenting a host of new solutions at the forthcoming ICE. Visitors will find AMATIC in the same position as last year – at stand S3-150 iT’s aLL aBouT The Games… AMATIC INDUSTRIES continues to focus on its highly regarded games range. The international player understanding has allowed the AMATIC team to regularly create new games in varying themes. This year’s ICE continues the tradition and AMATIC will be presenting its variety of brand-new games that receive their international premiere at the ICE. For example, you can feel the heat with ‘Hot 81’ and ‘Red Chili’ or adjust your diet to enjoy ‘Square Fruits’. One can discover many more exciting games that are unveiled at the show. Anyhow, there is something for everyone with AMATIC’s games, especially if integrated in an individual Multi Game configuration, the successful gaming concept from AMATIC INDUSTRIES.
…in The riGhT caBineTs… AMATIC proved at the ICE 2014 its flair for design. The Performer Grand Arc Slant Top was greeted often as the “show’s most attractive Casino cabinet” with its curved design, particularly the version with three monitors. The Performer Grand Arc is to be joined with new highlights for 2015: The C24 Casino Cabinet is the new upright model of the successful Performer series. This comes with 3 widescreen 24” monitors, showing brilliant colours for enhanced player attraction and more gaming fun. The V24 Cabinet is the latest AWP-model from AMATIC INDUSTRIES. Equipped with large and brilliant 24” monitors, the AMATIC V24 is the perfect solution for gaming arcades or stand-alone operation in bars.
…ThaT can aLso Be pLayed on muLTipLayers The beauty of being a designer and manufacturer of electronic gaming machines and electronic roulette is the possibility to marry together solutions to bring true added value for both players and operators. The range of Grand Jeu electronic roulette machines all have one thing in common – operators can offer players Multi Game slot games as well on the AMATIC multiplayer. Roulette Grand Jeu 22WS is the well-regarded electronic roulette from AMATIC. Beautiful as ever, made of the finest materials and
incorporating only the best electronic components, like 22” wide-screen monitors, the Grand Jeu 22WS is built for 24/7 play. It`s available in 5-, 6- or 8-player configurations and can be connected with multiple terminals to allow more players to join the live roulette. The Roulette Grand Jeu Double is a true eyecatcher. The integrated dual wheels offer double the value in excitement and fun. Players can choose between either one or both wheels to bet upon at the same time (depending on local legislation). The standard configuration comes with four in-built large screen monitors that operators can use to portray all key roulette information and entertainment info as well. Additionally, players can enjoy their favorite AMATIC slot games here as well, as the Multi Game solution can be easily integrated too. Furthermore, a numerous number of players can join the live roulette on the Grand Jeu Double via connected satellite terminals. AMATIC INDUSTRIES will be presenting its Solitaire electronic roulette wheel. It’s the perfect solution for customers who look for a space-saving roulette solution that can be easily connected with a desired number of gaming terminals, e.g. Slant Tops. The attractive design of the Solitaire embodies AMATIC’s passion for style. All electronic roulettes from AMATIC will be on display at the ICE with faster number
recognition than ever, which means: more hands per hour, more turnover = more profit. Number recognition now takes less than a second, making the Grand Jeu electronic roulettes one of the quickest in the industry.
ThaT can Be manaGed and added To The jackpoT… …with the ‘COS’ Casino Online System that completes the AMATIC gaming range. This entire, state-of-the-art Casino Management System includes clever features like Player Tracking and Cash Card and enables operators to link together all AMATIC’S solutions into their complete machine park. And finally, the COS can be combined with the right jackpot system. Thus, it is only natural that AMATIC INDUSTRIES provides a wide range of complete jackpot solutions for individual needs.
and aLso aVaiLaBLe as onLine and moBiLe soLuTions… This market segment continues to grow rapidly as does the opportunities AMATIC INDUSTRIES offers here – providing customised solutions for both online and mobile gaming. Players and operators both appreciate creativity as well as performance of AMATIC’s huge and continuously growing game library. Another advantage for the customer is that each can develop an Online Gaming website configured to their individual needs first, whereas the integration of AMATIC games makes the solution complete.
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Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
VIsIt taB austrIa at ICE aNd you’rE ‘GoLdEN’ TAB Austria is set to launch the widest, most diverse and innovative range of new gaming, betting and amusement products at this year’s ICE. Visit booth No. S2-330 to discover more TAB Austria is a manufacturer of coin-operated gaming, betting and entertainment machines. Today, they carry one of the largest and most prolific product ranges in the whole industry. The demands of changing to new technology combined with the demands of increasingly competitive approved hardware are just some of the issues that operators are facing globally. To overcome these challenges TAB designs and develops individual and high-specification solutions to complete todays gaming and betting.
GoLden isLand GaminG pLaTform TAB Austria´s game portfolio for the Golden Island Gaming Platform again expands. They unveil a host of new games including more features and high performing content. Operators will also see the latest version of the platform that is designed to meet all the demands of street and casino gaming. Today they provide five different and reliably engineered cabinets and an ever growing selection of high definition games with state-of-the-art animations. Each terminal from TAB Austria is a piece of genuine Austrian quality. The Golden Island platform is available as VLT, AWP and as a progressive Jackpot version and includes several technologies that meet the requirement of the current market. Hardware and software are perfectly intertwined and thus work seamlessly and intelligently together. The innovative and intuitive design of the user interface provides the very best overview to have everything in view.
preferences. We pay particular attention to our customer’s needs and requirements to make the player experience more exciting and let the terminal work faster when players get busy. Our aim is to create unique machines that maximize clients´ profits and identity. TAB Austria offers a wide range of turnkey terminal solutions that provide an unique player experience and refer to almost all the top players
GEwEtE: EVEr GrowING GLoBaL dEmaNd for CHaNGE Germany’s GeWeTe will display its latest cash and coin change solutions at the ICE show on booth S6-240
BeTTinG caBineT Go4pLaTinum The new Go4Platinum betting cabinet is extremely well designed and equipped with the latest and best components. The terminals will be finished in the customers corporate colours and will enhance customer’s betting experience. The new Go4Platinum cabinet is characterized by its ultra-slim body and the clear and futuristic lines. It has been designed to deliver convenience and player comfort in betting shops. It includes carefully considered screen positioning, an easyto-reach button panel and plenty space for leg clearance. It is supplemented by eye-catching LED-light strips, which run alongside the cabinet and are adjustable according to customers´ individual 7 4
in the industry. With our terminals solutions you can easily bring your ideas to the market. Colour, equipment, screen size – we customize the terminals and equip them with hardware devices like card reader, hoppers, recycler or NFC as you need it for your own requirements. Our solutions are implemented currently within Sports Betting, Fixed Odds Betting, Gaming and Video Lottery terminals, with many more appliances yet to come.
The team at GeWeTe has always prided itself in on its market focus. The market leader for change machine solutions in Germany (its home country) is committed to the global market. This subsidiary of the Gauselmann Group has again invested strongly in supporting its international customers. Particular focus has been placed on the British market, the home of the EAG and ICE. GeWeTe has installed more PC-based machines than in previous years and as the expansion of ticketin, ticket-out continues, GeWeTe is well placed to offer a very flexible, secure cash handling system to support it. Change machine solutions such as the Cash Recycler, Coin Recycler, Cash
Centre Compact, and WGS200 all have had great impact on the British market. Looking to the largest VLT market in Europe, Italy, the VLT change machine solutions, the Cash Recycler and Cash Centre have been joined by the completely new Cash Centre Compact that was premiered at the ENADA Roma. Aristidis Tsikouras, Managing Director of GeWeTe, sends out a warm invite to visit GeWeTe at ICE, stating, “Our European team is growing continually as we have offices in Italy, Spain and the UK alongside our core market in Germany. We have sold tens of thousands of change machines throughout the world and can look back on more than twenty-two years of experience. Our customers know and trust our ‘made in Germany’ technology. We have so much to offer and have a great team to support the global market. We are really looking forward to ICE.”
Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
pLatINum LINE-up of INNoVatIoNs from EGt EGT promises to showcase a stunning line-up of new products, its biggest ever, across a vast newly designed booth ICE 2015 will be a show of new precedents for Euro Games Technology. The booth S3-130 will spread across the vast 762 sq.m, displaying stunning designs, a second floor hospitality area, and the largest number of EGT premier launches ever. The entire exhibit will convey the strongest values of its creator: to develop 360degree solutions for different aspects of the casino industry, meeting the most exacting standards. A “platinum” line-up of products will be shown to prove this deem: slot-cabinets of Premier series, three of them making their debut at the exhibition; a completely new jackpot system;
shown for first time fun-filled multigame mixes; technologically advanced multiplayer solutions revealed by diverse configurations of STORK terminals with bingo, live, and automated roulette wheels together with many more surprises from this division of EGT, and a multitude of online games with excessive range of new titles for playing on the go. “I’m thrilled to share that for EGT the ICE 2015 is expected to be a show like no other. We will welcome the visitors with an overwhelming variety of new developments from all of our product divisions – slot machines, multiplayer solutions and interactive games,” said Stanislav Stanev, Sales and Marketing Director of EGT. “There will be not only renewals, but
completely new series and types of products, backed up with state-of-the-art improvements in hardware, software, and design. We will not be modest. We can’t be. EGT is growing faster than ever as market coverage, know-how, portfolio, business potential, and manufacturing capacity. We aim for the best and I’m confident that our display during ICE 2015 will be considered as a mustsee presentation from the visitors.”
KIroN INtEraCtIVE: maKING tHE VIrtuaL rEaL Kiron Interactive is one of the world’s leading suppliers of virtual sports games to the land-based betting and online gaming industries. Using the latest gaming and animation technologies Kiron aims to recreate the excitement of real sports in a virtual world. Employing a talented team of in-house staff, including experienced game designers, software developers, graphic artists and animators, Kiron ensures it is always at the forefront of the latest gaming technologies and market trends. Their flexible and advanced gaming platforms are helping to power the rapid growth of virtual sports around the globe, as players bet online, on the move and in gaming venues. Their RaceKings product, powered by multi-station betting terminals, has brought the excitement of horse racing to the casino floor and is helping operators attract a new generation of customers. At ICE 2015 Kiron will be showcasing their expanding content portfolio, up-graded bet management system, BetMan, and their new Vision Platform, which provides a cost-effective screen solution for casinos and betting shops. Chief among these, is their expanding content portfolio that is now one of the most comprehensive available. As well, as an upgraded suite of horse racing, dog and football products,
this will include harness racing and an Indy Carstyle motor-racing game. Kiron will also be showcasing new digitised horse and dog tracks, following the success of a number of implementations with existing clients. These allow players to watch the action unfold amid settings they are familiar with in order to make the games richer and more immersive. This supports Kiron’s philosophy of always tailoring content for local audiences, wherever they are in the world. The company will also be demonstrating its new keno numbers product, which will be joined in 2015 by virtual roulette. Kiron’s proprietary bet management system, BetMan, was one of the success stories of 2014. An upgraded version will be on show on their stand at ExCeL, S1-132, for land-based operators, alongside a brand new one suitable for those concerned with online. Land-based companies, such as betting shops and casinos, can also
benefit from demonstrations of new hardware, including new NUC devices designed to replace bulkier PCs, and Kiron’s new Vision screen solution, which enhances the in-venue experience for players. A second version of Kiron’s Race Kings game will be available in 2015, this time with a newly designed and improved, more user-friendly, betting interface. They’ll also be unveiling their new mobile betting applications that can be used both online and for in-shop application. In December 2013, Kiron became the first virtual products supplier to be granted a licence and then go live in Italy, first with Intralot and then Sisal. Following the success of this venture they are now pursuing other opportunities further afield in other regulated markets, and have ambitious plans for further expansion on all four continents in the next 12 months. 7 5
Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
Cammegh, makers of the world’s finest roulette wheels, will proudly debut a dynamic new roulette side bet, recently approved by the UK Gambling Commission, at ICE 2015. The unveiling of Cammegh Spreadbet Roulette gives operators the opportunity to offer a wider range of roulette bets with exciting new payout levels. Operators with existing Cammegh 360 wheels and Billboard displays can immediately offer players a thrilling new roulette-based side bet, which starts with low payouts and rises to odds of 1,200 to 1. Cammegh is also looking to retrofit the system to work with Mercury 2 wheels with Billboard displays to offer the greatest level of flexibility for customers. “We are delighted with the approval of Cammegh Spreadbet Roulette by the UK Gambling Commission,” comments Andrew Cammegh. “It’s an achievement that would not have been possible without the help and cooperation of Grosvenor Casinos, who jointly worked with us to submit Cammegh Spreadbet Roulette to the Gambling Commission. We are deeply grateful to the Grosvenor Casinos team for sharing their knowledge and expertise to ensure the successful approval of this exciting new side bet. We now look forward to bringing this fantastic opportunity to market and the timing couldn’t be more perfect for ICE.” Cammegh Spreadbet Roulette uses the speed of the ball at ‘no more bets’ to create a completely random bonus number. This second value is combined with the red/black result to create a spread bet sum that has a finite number of possible spreadbet combinations. The results
CammEGH sEt to dELIVEr a faBuLous ICE sHow sprEad are presented on the Billboard display, which delivers the spreadbet outcome via a beautifully realised digital results table that shows each result and alongside the spreadbet combination. Cammegh Spreadbet Roulette cranks up the excitement at the table as players have the chance to win big from this stunning new side bet. In addition to Cammegh Spreadbet Roulette, Cammegh will also exhibit a brand new range of Billboard display panels at ICE Totally Gaming 2015. The new Billboard panels are a stunning additional to the current range, offering additional sizes and new features to complement the hugely successful Billboard range. Cammegh will also be showing its EyeCard Plus card recognition system, Slingshot 2 automated wheel and a fantastic new table gaming bundle which combines Cammegh’s renowned Mercury 360 wheel, with Bally Technologies’ state-of-the-art chipping machine, roulette table and colour wheel checks as part of a single source solution for all things roulette focused.
a BEt a BEats LatENCy IssuEs Since their establishment in 1990, A Bet A has provided robust, reliable, and costeffective transactional and operational software to sportsbook operators A Bet A is a leading supplier of betting systems to retail bookmakers, call centres, and online sportsbooks. Their secure EPOS system is the most fully functional product on the market and is now used in numerous traditional betting shops, modern betting lounges and kiosks around the world. It can be used as a stand-alone device or linked back to a head office site for liability control and event management. Operators can configure it to control their credit business within a shop environment as a small call centre would. Working in tandem with A Bet A’s EPOS system is 7 6
All this will be on show alongside the Billboard MediaPro, MultiBoard and complete array of analysis options from Cammegh. “We have been extremely busy in recent months with installations of our integrated displays and security cameras at the new Park Lane Casino in Mayfair, London, our wheels and displays have just been installed at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City; and a complete systems installation of the Cammegh MultiBoard and MediaPro at the Merkur Casino in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany has also just been completed,” outlines Mr. Cammegh. “We have had a tremendous 2014, with new production and marketing staff joining us to help fulfil an expanding order book as customers continue to place their confidence in both our ability and the reliability of our products,” concludes Mr. Cammegh. The ICE 2015 show in London will also mark the 25th anniversary of Cammegh and the whole team looks forward to welcoming everyone to stand S6-120 to celebrate this very special occasion.
their BetMaker device, a pre-authorised betting slip creator which is a unique and valuable addition to the betting shop environment. In addition, the company offer self-service betting terminals that provide customers with a full range of sports betting opportunities, including virtual sports, in-running betting, and traditional fixed odds.
discrepancy between the odds shown on shop tills and its customer-facing screens, a persistent source of dissatisfaction among punters. Other system benefits include cutting out the need for in-venue graphics control hardware and the need for an expensive installation process by on-site technicians. Controlled by the in-shop EPOS terminal, the Smart Screens prevent any risk of data relay and can be delivered where appropriate over a wide-area network to licensed end users.
Ease of transaction will to feature prominently for A Bet A at ICE 2015, with a number of new products and services set to be revealed that are designed to make life easier for those wanting a wager. The first such innovation to be showcased is the new Smart Screen display product that prevents latency issues that have plagued retail bookmaking for years. This finally removes the
As well as in-shop EPOS developments, A Bet A will be unveiling new technology that will aid both customers and bookmakers in remote locations. The new platform will provide an ultra-portable, all-encompassing mobile EPOS solution for emerging markets at an unbeatable cost. A Bet A will demonstrate their full range on stand S1-310.
Preview ICE totaLLy GamING 2015
BEtCoNstruCt BuILds a BEttEr poKEr GamE BetConstruct will launch Open Face Chinese Poker - the massively fastgrowing and popular skill game - at ICE Open Face Chinese Poker, also known as Open Face Chines or OFC, which is the newest poker variant that is currently spreading across the globe, is now available to all BetConstruct clients. The game consists of two to four players, each receiving five cards, face down, which they place on a board consisting of three levels - back (5), middle (5) and front (3). Cards are subsequently dealt, one at a time, until each player has 13 cards, which they have arranged on their individual board. To be considered legal and viable, each player’s three hands must be of sequential strength, in decreasing order from back to front. Failure to achieve this causes fouls and receives penalties. Rather than betting prior to each round, the game is played out in full, following which points and bonuses (which have an agreed preassigned financial value) are scored for winning hands and particular card combinations.
Suren Khachatryan, BetConstruct’s CEO comments: “Poker games are continuously evolving - and that’s the reason the genre has stood the test of time. Open Faced Chinese side events are already being held at the European Poker Tour, the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker. The game combines simple rules with big drama, which is why it’s compelling and popular with both professionals and amateurs alike.” Levon Gyulzadyan, the product manager for OFC at BetConstruct, added: :The game is only a few years old, yet it has already attracted millions of players as it offers a type of tactical play that is not present in other versions of poker. Since opponents can see each other’s cards, there is no bluffing, but the depth of the strategic nuances make OFC captivating and unique. BetConstruct is a leading developer and provider of online and land-based betting and gaming solution service.
BetConstruct’s robust, cutting edge offerings include online and land-based sportsbook, poker, RNG and Live Dealer Casino, Skill and Virtual games, financial betting and fantasy sports. BetConstruct currently powers more than 80 clients in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa, enabling them to immediately stand out from the crowd and reap the rewards of superior technology, service and expertise. Visit BetConstruct at the ICE 2015 show, stand S1-350, to find out more.
sKILLoNNEt wHItE LaBEL soLutIoNs at ICE At ICE 2015 SkillOnNet will be showcasing their B2B business in particular, as they seek white label opportunities in new and existing markets around the world. SkillOnNet is one of the leading software providers in the online gaming industry. They use cutting edge graphics and design, coupled with proprietary back-end systems and a firstclass development and distribution service, to power some of the world’s biggest online casino operators. These include a number of their own highly-successful, consumer-facing websites such as EUcasino, PlayMillion, SlotsMagic, CasinoRedKings and MegaCasino.
The acquisition of their new UK licence, alongside those they hold in Malta, Denmark and Schleswig Holstein has been a significant boost for the company. It has helped them streamline their offering and focus on regulated markets around the world. It is also set to kickstart their off-line advertising, including TV campaigns, for their B2C brands such as Slots Magic.
SkillOnNet’s Michael Golembo. daily interaction with players about the popularity of games and what they need to do to improve them.
Founded in 2005, the company broke into gaming by developing software for well-known Backgammon site BGroom.com. Since then, SkillOnNet has grown to become a very popular P2P platform and network offering both B2C and B2B white label solutions.
Their current games offering includes a host of table games , video poker, scratch cards and over 50 different Slots offering up to 50 line bets, bonus games, as well as two progressive slot titles: Millionaire Genie and Good & Evil.
A landmark acquisition of Jackpot Party, which is now the popular site SlotsMagic, gave them a firm footing in Europe’s longest established market. These online casinos remain a key driver for SKillOnNet and provide invaluable lessons for their B2B services thanks to the
In recent times they have significantly upgraded the performance of their proprietary slot and table content and removed some of the older versions in order to provide compelling, immersive player experiences on the latest mobile technology.
As well as their own games, SkillOnNet aggregate the best content from leading independent manufacturers such as Amaya, WMS, and NextGen Gaming. In addition, they recently completed a deal to distribute the full suite of Net Entertainment’s popular slots, a must-have on any online casino these days. Net Ent’s live casino offering also now sits alongside those from Evolution, XProGaming, and Amaya to give SkillOnNet the most comprehensive live casino suite anywhere in the online industry. At ICE 2015 they will be showcasing their B2B business in particular, as they seek white label opportunities in new and existing markets around the world.
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Reconstructing the market Whatever the cost of the EU crisis, Greece remains a powerhouse in the gaming sector in Europe and recent changes to allow VLT machines will have massive ramifications for the entire market going forward.
Traditionally gaming in Greece was restricted to the casino market with amusements permitted in arcades and in street sites. Of course illegal slots were rife and even video games would pay out money. In 2002 the whole thing erupted in a political scandal and the government’s knee jerk reaction to the public outcry was to introduce the 3037/2002 bill in July 2002 which saw all electronic games banned even those running on home computers. Although the industry understood the need to wipe out illegal gambling, the problem was that the law was drafted in such a hurry that is wasn’t able to differentiate between a gaming machine and games played on a computer at home. It was also put into place without the desired three months notice that the European Commission requires for draft laws. The upshot of this chaos was that the Greek industry crashed and died overnight, companies closed down and thousands were made unemployed. The European Commission was dragged into the battle and for years 7 8
the saga has been a campaign to have the bill amended. In 2006 Greece was convicted for its failure to fulfil its obligation under EC rulings but it still refused to take action and thereafter the European Commission ordered the Greek Republic to pay a penalty of €31,798 for each day of delay in “implementing the measures necessary to ensure full compliance with the judgement.” Then things began to change. The ban combined with a complete lack of regulation led to the emergence of a vast illegal market. In addition the government needed urgent revenues to save it from falling deeper into economic crisis. So in September 2010 the government began its legislative initiative ‘Regulating the Gaming Market’ and in January 2011 the Greek Minister of Finance Giorgos Papakonstantinou unveiled the new Greek gambling bill which suggested several changes from: fully privatising the remaining casinos; introducing a VLT market and opening the market to providers of sports betting, internet poker and online casinos. The bill is part of a privati-
sation programme which aims to raise €7bn through the sales of its state owned companies. Greece has an estimated 120,000 to 140,000 illegal VLTs and casino games plus more than 250 illegal gambling websites. The overall illegal gambling market is estimated to see a turnover of between €5bn and €6bn each year. Despite a slump during five years worth of recession Greece is still one of the leading gaming sectors in the EU and in 2013 the gross gaming revenue was estimated to be €1.7bn making it the EU’s ninth largest gaming sector. OPAP holds a 69 percent share due to the success in the main of Kino and Stihima. Initially the VLT law caused some controversy at the time from Greek casino operators who say the move would damage their business and cause unfair competition. Several of the nine land based casinos have asked to relocate due to dwindling incomes which have dropped
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by over 50 percent in the last five years. Casino Hotel Loutraki was put up for sale and this is the number two casino in the country. It is the only casino in Loutraki and with plans to redevelop the old Athens International Airport it has been suggested this is the perfect opportunity and timing for an integrated casino resort. Meanwhile the roll out of VLTs has been delayed with numerous legal challenges which were partially resolved in October last year when Brussels forced the OPAP to pay an extra five percent tax on VLT GGR. Now the VLT roll out will begin in 2015. At the moment Greece’s gaming market consists of: l l l l
01 Greece's OPAP, Europe's second-biggest gambling company by stock market value, is pushing back the launch of its video lotto machines (VLTs) by about three months to the second quarter of 2015. The new business is seen as a major growth catalyst for the company, which offers lotteries and sports betting through about 4,700 outlets in Greece. OPAP had previously said it wanted the first machines to be rolled out in the last quarter of the year, but regulatory snags and negotiations with the operators of its retail outlets over their role in the project delayed the launch.
Lottery: OPAP and the State Lottery Division Casinos: Nine casinos privately operated and dominated by Regency. Betting: Dominated by OPAP Horse racing: Run by domestic horserace betting (ODIE) which has 417 agents of which 380 are jointly operated with OPAP.
Greece is still one of the leading gaming sectors in the EU and in 2013 the gross gaming revenue was estimated to be €1.7bn making it the EU’s ninth largest gaming sector. OPAP holds a 69 per cent share due to the success in the main of Kino and Stihima. GaminG markeT diVision esTimaTions in €m. Horse racing Casinos
State Lotteries OPAP
VLTs Scratch cards
Online
1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200
2012
2014
2016
2018
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OPAP has a 71 percent share of the gaming market followed by the casino sector with 22 percent, state lottery with five percent and ODIE with two percent.
Law 4002/2011 This law has given OPAP the exclusive monopoly for VLT operation for a 20 year period from December 2000 until 2020. This agreement was extended to 2030 except for Stihima, Monitor Games and Go Lucky’s and online operations (until 2020). OPAP can fix the maximum amount of the bet and winnings and may use up to 10 percent of the advertising space in the stadiums for free. The 4002/2011 states that Greece will now host 35,000 VLTs which is defined in articles 25-54. The main points state that: l l
OPAP will control pricing policy and there will be identical pricing for all VLTs Licence also includes online Random Number Generator games
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01 At the end of November 2014, OPAP Chief Executive Kamil Ziegler explained to analysts on a conference call that OPAP had set a target of before the early second quarter 2015 for installation of the VLT machines to start their roll-out in the Greek gaming market. He said the company expected by that time to have been able to allocate the resources needed to proceed with the implementation in the most effective way. The company said it aimed to operate between 3,500 and 5,000 VLTs initially and to roll out all 16,000 by the end of 2015. The company has picked Italy's GTECH, U.S. company Scientific Games, Britain's Inspired Gaming and Czech-based Synot as its VLT vendors
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The operator and concessionaires will supervise the activities of each subcontractor. Each VLT will require an individual player card which is issued upon request to players over the age of 21. They are entered into a central computer. Minimum payout is 80 percent. Concessionaires are prohibited to sub, with or without consideration, the right to operate VLTs. Concessionaires will pay for the VLTs including Game Certification fees, Gaming Machine Certification fees and Premises Certification fees. The concessionaire may install VLTs in Certified Shops in type B and E and have the right to choose their gaming machines. Information on VLTs will include the name of the game, amount each time a player participates in the game, the result of last participation, amount of profit from participation, balance available etc.
G3-247 Report GrEECE marKEt updatE
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16,500 VLTs are to operate in OPAP and ODIE’s network of agents. Four to 10 concessionaires to be selected through public international tender conducted by OPAP for the highest bidders to operate the remaining 18,500.
games to be selected from a list drafted by OPAP and approved by commission.
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Online real time monitoring of concessionaries to be done by Greek Ministry of Finance, Commission and OPAP. Minimum bet is 10c and maximum bet is €2 per game. This can be changed after a decision of the Hellenic Gaming Commission. The daily limit of €500 on a players card which players must hold or they cannot play. Each VLT shall require a minimum space of three sq.m per machine and gaming halls will be on average between 120 and 150sq.m.
fiGures for GamBLinG TurnoVer 2009-2011 To show decLine
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All machines (VLT terminals and hardware) and
The OPAP (Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics) is a public company based in Athens. It has the exclusive right to operate and manage numerical lottery and sport betting games in Greece.
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5km in a straight line from any of the nine licensed casinos.
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VLTs can be installed and operated on cruise ships subject to licences issued by the commission. Maximum number of 25 VLTs on premises exclusively dedicated to VLT gambling. However there is a draft legislation to increase this to 50 VLTs. Pending European Commission approval. Operators must obtain an administrative licence issued by Greek authorities.
Under the changes the OPAP will create new gaming halls and it is thought they this will also expand the market in terms of age profile. At the moment an average OPAP customer is 40+ years and VLT market is -40 years. It will also expand the market in terms of operating hours.
The opap The OPAP (Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics) is a public company based in Athens. It has the exclusive right to operate and manage numerical lottery and sport betting games in Greece. OPAP was founded in 1958 as a private entity to organise and operate PROPO (Greek Football Pools game) and in 1999 was transformed into Societe Anonyme with the Hellenic Republic as the sole stakeholder. In 2000 OPAP acquired a 20 year licence from the state to be the exclusive operator of lottery and sports betting games which has since been extended to 2030. In 2001 the shares were listed on the Athens Stock Exchange. In 2008 the Greek state owned 34.4 percent and in 2013 the company was privatised with Emma Delta Ltd acquiring a 33 percent stake in the company. Initially eight potential investors expressed an interest: BC Partners; Emma Delta Ltd; Consortium of Gauselmann, Playtech and Helvason; Consortium of Intralot, Primrose Treasure Limited, Third Point LLC, TPG Capital and Triple Five World Group Properties.
Gaming company
2009 (bn €)
2011 (bn €)
Emma Delta is a Cyprus registered bidding vehicle who paid €650m in August 2013 for the stake and the company submitted the only valid binding offer.
OPAP Lotteries ODIE Casinos TOTAL
€5.4 €0.418 €0.260 €2.8 €8.9
€4.3 €0.300 €0.123 €2.2 €7.0
The company is now apparently being investigated. Weeks after the take over it replaced the chief executive and other board members with its own appointees. The probe focuses on transparency, governance and possible conflict of interest in the deal.
Tax is 30 percent on the VLT GGR per gambling operator payable to the state every three months. If revenues increase over a certain thresholds this will increase to 35 percent. Players are subject to a 10 percent tax on winnings. OPAP as the exclusive operator of VLTs and its subcontractors are subject to corporate tax of 25 percent. Exclusive licence given to OPAP which is renewable upon fulfilment of certain conditions. Licence granted in 2011 on payment of €16,000 per VLT.
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Hours for the gaming halls are 9am until 2am (weekdays) and until 4am on weekends and holidays. Food, drink and low alcoholic beverages will be permitted. Smoking is permitted in 50 percent of the space with an annual cost of €200 per sq.m. There is no minimum or maximum number of VLTs per concessionaire. No ATMs are permitted on premises where VLT are located. No VLTs are permitted on premises located less than
The leading investors include Jiri Smecj, a Czech billionaire and Dimitris Melissanidis, a Greek oil tycoon. Mr Smecj controls Emma Capital, an investment company which set up Emma Delta as a vehicle to bid for OPAP. Melissanidis controls a stake in Emma Delta through a Cyprus based company. The shares of OPAP are now divided between Investors 60.99 percent, Silchester International Investors 5.01 percent, Emma Delta 33 percent and Hellenic Republic retains one percent. The privatisation deal delayed the 2011 law, however now the Greeks are now eager to get the VLT ball rolling. 8 1
G3-247 Report GrEECE marKEt updatE
The company is now headed by Chairman Kamil Ziegler. Revenues for 2013 amounted to €3.71bn with gross profits of €346m. Kino saw the highest sales with 55 percent of turnover followed by STIHIMA and JOKER. Revenues in 2012 from the games amounted to €3.9bn whilst gross profit was €773m. OPAP has 4,869 points of sale in total (4,681 in Greece and 188 in Cyprus) and has a 50 percent share of the gaming market in Greece and Cyprus and currently runs three sports betting games – Stihima, Propo and Propo-Goal which between them account for almost half of the group’s total revenues. OPAP also managed to shut down Stanleybet back in 2008 after the UK company opened two betting shops in Greece and was to be a major competitor to OPAP. There are 1,902 agencies in Attica, 758 in Western Macedonia, Thessaly and Epirus, 880 in Central and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, 408 in the Faroe Islands and 791 in Central Greece, Evias, Peloponnisou and Ionian Islands.
OPAP has 4,869 points of sale in total and has a 50 per cent share of the gaming market in Greece and Cyprus currently running three sports betting games – Stihima, Propo and Propo-Goal which between them account for almost half of the group’s total revenues. Today OPAP runs number games Lotto, Joker, Keno, Proto, Extra 5 and Super 3 plus football pools, sports betting and Go Lucky games. In March 2013 OPAP appointed GTECH as the company’s provider for the expansion of its activities in the online sports betting market focusing primarily on the online sports betting sector. OPAP’s subsidiary OPAP Investment Ltd takes part in a joint venture to operate the lottery with Intralot (16.5 percent), Scientific Games (16.5 percent) and Lottomatica (0.00001 percent). OPAP has the remaining 66.9999 percent. The three main growth changes for OPAP will be the VLT market plus capitalising on online gaming via betting games and OPAP is currently developing its online activity to offer better services whilst OPAP, in a joint venture with Intralot and Scientific Games, is launching scratch cards with an instant win.
opap and VLTs In 2012 the European Commission authorised Greece the exclusive rights until 2030 to operate 13 games of chance and to operate 35,000 VLTs until 2022. OPAP was given the right to operate VLTs by the Gambling Control Commission (EEEP) and paid a 8 2
G3-247 Report opap reVenue for Various seGmenTs for 2012 and 2013. Game
TurnoVer 2012
TurnoVer 2013
Propo Lotto Proto Betting Stihima Monitor Games Go Lucky Propo Goal Joker Extra 5 Super 3 Kino ToTaL
€16.0m €56.4m €27.6m
€12.6m €58.7m €31.0m
€1.3bn €92.6m €4.7m €1.1m €208,000 €9.6m €28m €2.1bn €3.9bn
€1.2bn €68.0m €1.6m €996,000 €207,000 €7.9m €21m €2bn €3.7bn
opap predicTs ToTaL company incomes for The nexT 10 years €m
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
GGR 1,204 EBITDA 243 Net Profit 116
1,611 319 127
2,103 423 213
2,263 472 258
2,362 498 291
2,484 526 314
2,547 544 331
2,660 631 409
2,711 825 533
2,808 867 568
opap projecTed VLT Gross win
2013 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
opap VLTs
sub contract VLT
ToTaL
€247m €523m €575m €632m €645m €658m
€173m €586m €645m €708m €722m €738m
€421 €1.01bn €1.22bn €1.43bn €1.36bn €1.39bn
euroBank esTimaTions for opap VLT markeT
No. of machines No. of OPAP own machines Wagers - market Payout Gross win – marketwide Gross win per day per machine Game duty Agent commission Technology Suppliers Other expenses EBITDA OPAP EBITDA estimate
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
14,593 8,580 €2,804m 85% €421m €80 -€86m -€62m -€21m -€14m €64m €62m
35,000 16,500 €7,392m 85% €1.109m €88 -€181m -€131m -€45m -€15m €150m €137m
35,000 16,500 €8,131m 85% €1.220m €97 -€199m -€141m -€50m -€15m €170m €145m.
35,000 16,500 €8,946m 85% €1.341m €106 -€219m -€155m -€55m -€15m €188m €153m
35,000 16,500 €9,125m 85% €1,367m €109 -€226m -€152m -€56m -€15m €197m €152m
35,000 16,500 €9,306m 85% €1,396m €111 -€230m -€155m -€57m -€15m €201m €160m
euroBank esTimaTions for opap suB conTracTed machines
Number of machines Gross win Gross win per machine per day Game duty Sub contractor commission EBITDA OPAP EBITDA estimate
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
6,013 €173m €80 -€60m -€98m €15m €27
18,500 €586m €88 -€203m -€331m €52m €67m
18,500 €645m €97 -€223m -€364m €58m €70m
18,500 €708m €106 -€245m -€401m €62m €73m
18,500 €722m €108 -€253m -€384m €85m €77m
18,500 €738m €111 -€258m -€392m €88m €80m 8 3
G3-247 Report GrEECE marKEt updatE
€560m fee in 2011 for the 35,000 VLTs (€16,000 per VLT). This included the tender to supply 16,500 VLTS for OPAP’s own network plus a public international bidding tender to grant the right of installation of a further 18,500 VLTs to between four and 10 concessionaires which is expected to roll out next year. It is predicted that there will be four big concessionaires with 4,600 VLTs each and then a couple of smaller operators with 1,500-2,000 VLTS. It is estimated some 800 gaming halls will be opened by these concessionaires bringing the total number of gaming halls to 1,400 by the beginning of 2016. The initial roll out of VLTs was due to begin in March / April this year and after some delays is now expected by the beginning of 2015. It will include a portfolio of 8,580 directly operated machines which are anticipated to reach €225m that year on daily yields of €73 per machine. Sub-contracted VLTs are estimated to earn the same amount per day but only generate half the EBIT €50m annually compared to €100m for the company operated terminals. 8 4
By mid next year the machines are expected to earn a daily yield of €80 per day with €500m revenue that year. Under the law the first 16,500 must be installed within 18 months after the Operation and Control regulations are in place (Aug 2014). Concessionaires then have 24 months from the granting of the concession to install the remaining VLTs. The Greek state will tax gross profits on the machines on a sliding scale of 30 to 35 percent. The sub concessionaires are to be treated like agents and will pass on their revenues minus a commission fee to OPAP. This will amount to around 55-56 percent of the subcontracted machines gross win. It is thought OPAP will ask for a €4,000-€8,000 upfront free per VLT with €5,500 as a suggested likely rate. This should then cover OPAP’s €86m licence fee.
VLT suppLiers In July GTECH was selected by OPAP to provide the central information system for OPAP’s VLT network.
01 Synot is currently finalising its contract with OPAP but is expected to supply around 2,000 of the VLTs next year and is ready to send machines at the beginning of 2015. Phase two of the project will see OPAP able to sell the remaining VLT licences to chosen concessionaires who can then open their own venues. 02 Synot’s David Mixa said: “Greece was always a very good market and also the indicated number of the illegal machines clearly shows that Greeks are big players. It is extremely difficult to predict future revenue in a market where the legal gaming industry had pretty much been completely eliminated. But we see massive potential and Greece is a project that is a top priority for us.”
G3-247 Report GrEECE marKEt updatE
level jackpots, remote game downloading, integrated Responsible Gaming solution, Advanced Business Analytics, Player Services Management and Proactive Diagnostics. GTECH will have achieved 24 INTELLIGEN deployments between 2009 and the end of 2015 inclusive of Greece and the Greek system is currently in the process of being deployed. Walter Bugno, President and CEO of GTECH International said: “GTECH’s extensive experience deploying large scale, open standards based VLT Central Systems for World Lottery Association customers around the world will help OPAP maximise the benefits of its new VLT program. INTELLIGEN’s open standards architecture and foundational features including its integrated Responsible Gaming solution will ensure the program’s success and long term sustainability, which ultimately benefits the people of Greece.” Meanwhile recently, in November 2014 GTECH was one of four companies selected to supply VLT products to the Greek market. These four were chosen from a short list of eight initial companies when the tender began in December 2013. The other three companies are Inspired Technology, WMS and Synot.
OPAP became a GTECH customer in March 2014 when it selected the company as a partner for OPAP’s online sports betting operations in Greece. OPAP became a GTECH customer in March 2014 when it selected the company as a partner for OPAP’s online sports betting operations in Greece. The solution was launched in three months and enabled OPAP to benefit from the new technology in time for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The selection was the result of an open tender procedure in which four companies participated including Intralot and Scientific Games. Evaluation of all bidder offers was based on defined technical and financial criteria that were communicated in the tender invitation as well as prior experience.
Meanwhile recently, in November 2014 GTECH was one of four companies selected to supply VLT products to the Greek market. These four were chosen from a short list of eight initial companies when the tender began in December 2013. The other three companies are Inspired Technology, WMS and Synot.
An OPAP spokesman said: “The VLT project follows the company’s initial design and planning. This selection is one of the key milestones in the VLT roll out project and the first machines are expected to be running by end 2014.
Synot is currently finalising its contract with OPAP but is expected to supply around 2,000 of the VLTs next year and is ready to send machines at the beginning of 2015. Phase two of the project will see OPAP able to sell the remaining VLT licences to chosen concessionaires who can then open their own venues.
“The legal operation will offer a legitimate, responsible and certified gaming experience to the public, it will contribute to the creation of thousands of new jobs and it will also bring additional income to the state through the GGR taxation, which is not the case of current illegal VLT market.” GTECH’s INTELLIGEN VLT Central Information System will provide OPAP with the ability to connect up to 35,000 products supplied by VLT manufacturers through the Game to System (G2S) protocol which will permit advanced network functionality such as multi
Synot’s David Mixa said: “Greece was always a very good market as indicated by the number of illegal machines, which shows that Greeks are big players. It is extremely difficult to predict future revenue in a market where the legal gaming industry was pretty much completely eliminated. However, we see massive potential and Greece is a project which has a top priority for us. “We imagine players will not like the players card requiring full identification of the players, tax deduction from achieved wins, limits on stake and wins. But on the
other hand the possibility to play legally without all the attributed negative aspects of illegal gaming and at the same time enjoying the most advanced gaming systems in the world, should outweigh some of the rather complex rules set up by the gaming industry regulators.” The number of VLTs to be provided by each company has not yet been disclosed publicly by the companies, but a source in the market says GTECH and Inspired will supply around 5,000 machines each, WMS 4,000 and Synot 2,000. OPAP plans to operate 650 stores with VLTs by the second half of 2015. OPAP is committed to put 16,500 VLTs into operation by the end of 2015 or the licences will be revoked. Each will accommodate up to 25 VLTs. This is a little behind schedule as the initial plan was to have these store up and running by the fourth quarter of 2014. The new target is considered a little ambitious. But if all goes to the plan the 650 OPAP stores will house some 16,500 VLTs with at least 4,500 of these hopefully in operation by the first quarter of 2015 and this will be increased to 7,000 by April then 12,500 by May and by July the 16,500. OPAP is looking to operate a large portion of the VLTs immediately as the 10 year authorisation begins from the day the first store opens. It is thought the majority of VLT operations will be on the mainland with smaller amounts on the islands. Within the first few months of 2015 the international tender for the allocation of licences for the remaining 18,500 VLTs are also expected to begin. These 18,500 VLTs will be hosted in 800 stores. OPAP has now put together a series of proposals to agents although there is some disagreement in the camp. The gaming halls are aimed primarily at existing OPAP agents who can operate alone or in a joint venture (with up to five agents). Costs to set up each gaming hall is estimated to be around €69,000 to €86,000 on construction, equipment, furniture, two months rent and is covered by the promoter’s agents. The cost of the VLTs and technological equipment is down to OPAP. The agents must cover the cost of the insurance and have sufficient capital to cover winnings and a €10,000 letter of guarantee. With a yield of €60-70 per VLT and 20-25 percent depreciation in three to six years the annual operating costs are estimated to range from €108,000 to €140,000. OPAP wants the agents to create associations to take over the running of an agency. But the Panhellenic Federation of Professional Agents of Lottery Games (POEPPP) believes if the running of the VLT stores are left to third party operations it will result in a competitive network of non agents, which was not the initial idea. Meanwhile tenders for various supplier licences have also been issued including the bid for the supply and printing of the cards needed for players to take part in the various OPAP lottery games plus the supply of thermal paper rolls and shipping services. 8 5
Interactive CHINa oNLINE & moBILE
what happens in China, won’t stay in China... Perverting the old saying, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, the sheer scale of the Chinese domestic gaming market means that its impact is being felt around the world and it’s influence and ramifications must be noted by all stakeholders Rapidly expanding, and at the cutting-edge of innovation in online gaming, China’s gambling market is abuzz with opportunity. But with a complex 4,000 year history, and a very different modus operandi to what we’re used to in the West, it’s hardly surprising that foreign companies have found it hard to understand and to navigate. This means some companies are not only cutting themselves off from the largest gambling market in the world – they’re also damaging their position in the West. Many Western companies have a tendency to assume they can achieve success in Asia by replicating products which have worked in the West. But Macau, the Vegas of China, has proven them wrong. Although from a commercial and legal perspective Macau and Las Vegas have some commonalities, the products upon which each business is built differ vastly. The rapid growth of Macau as the epicentre of gambling in the East followed a similar path to Las Vegas in the United States (U.S.) – growing itself as the only place where punters could legally place a bet. In the U.S. and other Western countries there is a disparity in rules and regulations across federal and provincial systems; similarly in China, each province has its own requirements, legal challenges and consumer habits. Gaming has a particularly complex status in the country: it is enormously popular as a social activity, but other than playing the lottery, gambling for money remains illegal outside of Macau. Let’s look at an example of the differences in gaming cultures: casinos in Macau that imported all their products from the U.S. found that people weren’t using the slot machines. In fact, slot machines account for just four percent of takings in Macau. Instead, punters headed for the tables in droves. They also played different games to 8 6
Westerners at the tables. Roulette had far less appeal; all the focus was on baccarat with 85 percent of players choosing it. But it wasn’t that Chinese people didn’t like slot machines, it was that the machines didn’t compliment Chinese gaming and pop culture, as explained by Desmond Lam Chee Shiong, a gambling expert at the University of Macau. Citing popular movies such as The Shell Game [1980] and God of Gamblers [1989], where suave characters use their wit and supernatural powers to amass great wins on tables, Desmond noted in his 2005 journal: "Everyone wants to look cool like the actors, learn the skills (be it earthly or supernatural) and beat the house". Social gaming, meanwhile, is very common in China: mahjong, for example, is often played at social gatherings, whether at a friend’s party, a wedding, or a funeral. This might sound like more of an anthropological observation than business advice, but these differences really matter: Chinese gamers come to the market with a totally different set of expectations to Western players. Certainly, Chinese pop culture reflects these attitudes: a huge number of gambling-themed films are produced, and almost as many TV series, which, as mentioned, have influenced gaming habits and elevated the status of playing table games in casinos. At Geonomics, we understand that these cultural attitudes make a difference – you need to know exactly what kind of experience your gamers want to get out of your products. If you don’t take their expectations and gaming psychology into account, you won’t be able to design products your customers like. This is especially important in the case of China: the psychology behind gaming is deeply embedded. A casino executive in Macau once said: "The difference between
Carly Mae Penworthy, Global Marketing Executive Geonomics, a gaming company that creates location-based lotto games.
In the case of China: the psychology behind gaming is deeply embedded. A casino executive in Macau once said: "The difference between Westerners and the Chinese is that for Westerners, gambling is about entertainment and calculating probabilities. For the Chinese it's a battle with destiny."
Interactive CHINa oNLINE & moBILE
Westerners and the Chinese is that for Westerners, gambling is about entertainment and calculating probabilities. For the Chinese it's a battle with destiny."
et in Macau goes on betting – far higher than Vegas. Even in the mass market the average bet is over $100, with an average gaming spend of over $650 per holiday.
Many studies have shown that Chinese gamers have a higher illusion of control than Western gamers, believing that they can control the outcome of events in baccarat, blackjack, sic bo or lottery, for example. These psychological differences help explain why the Chinese gamble: “In Las Vegas, people gamble as a diversion,” says Manuel Neves, director of the Macau government's gaming department, adding “in Macau, they gamble to fight; it's Chinese.”
The focus on tables might make China sound traditional in comparison to the West, but when it comes to online gaming it is leading the way. China is well-established as the world’s largest smartphone market — but what exactly do Chinese consumers use their mobile devices for? According to the China Internet Network Information Center, more than 500 million people in China access the internet via their smartphones, while 44.9 percent of all smartphone users play mobile games on their devices.
Even if you have no plans to move into the Chinese market right now, Chinese gaming has already transformed the domestic market. London casinos are changing their habits to reach out to Chinese gamers, and the UK Gambling Commission says baccarat spending has trebled over the last four years. “A few years ago casinos were very much made up of super-rich Middle East customers playing roulette,” says Erica Young, the Commission’s casino expert. “The big growth now is the Far East, mainland Chinese and baccarat.”
The mobile-gaming market has exploded in China, with revenue expected to grow 93 percent to US$2.9 billion in 2014, and that expansion is likely to continue at a compound annual growth rate of 37.6 percent from 2013 to 2018. Indeed, Newzoo estimates that the global mobile gaming market will reach US$23.9 billion by 2016, representing a 25 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over 2013-16. Of that total market,
Companies cannot afford to ignore the differences between Western and Chinese gaming habits, and they really cannot afford to underestimate the influence it will have on our gambling culture and behavior on a global level - we can already see that what happens in China won’t stay in China. So, although it may seem like a long and complicated path to mastering the market, it’s a far more risky decision to ignore it.
In Macau, this attitude pays: it has more revenue per table than anywhere else in the world, and 91 percent of their gross gaming revenue comes from baccarat alone. Macau’s well-heeled clientele largely consists of hard-core players on junkets and day-trippers from Hong Kong. The resortstyle casinos of Vegas are unlikely to interest them, and the notion that they should bring their families is often met with incredulity. They want to play: half of the average person’s holiday budg-
the Asia Pacific region is expected to have a 48.4 percent market share, ahead of North America on 25 percent.
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03 FAVOURIT Online Sports-betting platform EveryMatrix
EveryMatrix has launched a social sports betting platform, Favourit. This integration will provide customers with over 10,000 pre-match and 5,000 live betting opportunities per month. Favourit has been redesigned from the ground up as the “social sports book”, offering customers a brand new way to bet on sports and racing around the globe. Favourit has invested heavily in surveying the market and assessing its competitive position to create a completely unique proposition for the sports betting market. Favourit offers the customer a more engaging, insightful and useful betting experience. Separating itself from the traditional “price and transactional” driven approach, Favourit gives users a global community of betting experts, real time betting data and analytics, competitive real money betting odds as well as a free virtual balance to test out their strategies. The Favourit platform is available in multiple languages and is available on web, mobile
(HTML5 & iOS) and tablet. Toby Simmons, CEO Favourit, said: “Over the past two years Favourit has developed a unique approach to the sports betting industry, now we are capitalizing on this by value adding to the experience with a sports book partnership with EveryMatrix. “From our research, customers have told us that Favourit gives them a better online betting experience,” continued Mr. Simmons. “We are out to prove we’re changing the game for the better. Following the trends of verticals such as social share trading and market innovators including eToro & StockTwits, Favourit will continue to become the number one brand in regards to a better user experience for punters around the world.” “We are delighted to be able to launch such a fantastic new operator integrating our innovative platform. I am thoroughly impressed with Favourit’s ambition, drive and genuine enthusiasm to change the user experience and I am delighted to announce this launch,” Ebbe Groes, Chief Executive EveryMatrix said.
Products LaNd-BasEd & INtEraCtIVE 01
HELIX CABINET Casino Slot Machines Aristocrat Technologies
Aristocrat Technologies Europe has advanced the launch of its new, premium range of Helix cabinets, with the first installations taking place on European gaming floors across December. Following on from highly acclaimed launches at recent trade shows in Sydney, Las Vegas, Buenos Aires and Macau, the global games developer is now giving European operators in non-approval markets the opportunity to present players with a raft of new games on Helix cabinets, ahead of its major showcasing at February’s ICE Show in London.
GAME OF THRONES Online slots Microgaming
“European customers attending G2E were blown away by Helix and the portfolio of new games it hosts,” explained Donal Maguire, Sales & Marketing Director – Europe. “So we have spent the last two months accelerating the commercialisation process to meet the high demand for a quicker delivery to this region.” “‘Bringing the game forward’ and making it the hero of every cabinet is the fundamental premise behind the whole development concept of Helix,” continued Mr Maguire. “Its raison d’être is to deliver the ultimate gaming experience and, in providing a base of new inherent technological enhancements, Helix allows our developers to cross new frontiers of game design in audio-visual experience and multidimensional engagement.” A key feature of the new hardware is the use of larger, infinity-edged, frameless, HD displays that appear to float in front of the machine, projecting content towards the player and occupying a greater proportion of the field of view. This is just one of many ergonomic aspects considered in the construction of Helix, where the end goal of optimal player comfort and interaction has resulted in more leg room and a height-adjusted, extended button deck and padded wrist bolster. Aesthetics play a huge part in the appeal of these cabinets, whose champagne nickel finish is designed not only for anti-stain resilience and durability, but also to capture the immersive, rear surface, ambient LED lighting. This, together with the screen-edge LED pinstripe lighting, is programmed to react to in-game play in both colour and intensity, creating further mood effect according to the type of game, bonus, feature and tempo. The cabinet finish is designed to complement the hosted game content, portrayed on larger, full HD, 23-inch screens in true 16:9 widescreen aspect, brought together to create one large playing field, the player tracking module enclosure being moved down to the mid trim, where it sits more comfortably alongside cash, ticket and card entry slots and the button deck. The visuals are accompanied by operator-adjustable, reverberating audio, driven through a quad sound speaker system with ported, enclosed subwoofer. An integrated LCD button panel now comes as standard on all Helix models, further increasing the level of player interactivity, whilst an optional 19.5inch LED/LCD topper is capable of carrying mainboard-driven attract animation sequences.
Components inside the machine have also been uprated with vastly increased processing power, bigger storage and faster memory, graphics and communication devices all combining to provide the infrastructure for current and future games involving richer and more complex sequences, sound and video entertainment. Helix has been created not only with the player in mind, but also with more operator-friendly features including a greater range of sound and light programmable features and easier access to all internal serviceable components. Fresh with the new Helix hardware comes Aristocrat’s next generation software platform, Gen8, capable of delivering more intense gaming experiences, whilst at the same time being backwards compatible with key, proven titles from the Gen7 games library. “Cabinet options for European gaming floors are very straight-forward,” continued Mr Maguire. “In addition to the standard Helix Upright (casino top) model, we are offering a compelling Slant variant, the captivating Super Screen Slant, which features a 32-inch HD top screen for truly stunning play appeal and stand-out attract effects. There is also a Low Boy format for dedicated centrepieces within our licensed gaming operations portfolio such as the upcoming Wonder Wheels games Batman™ Classic TV Series and Tarzan of the Apes™ linked jackpot game.” The arrival of Helix coincides with the introduction of two new game categories designed, according to Mr Maguire, to ‘entertain players to their very core’. “Our games designers have been working tirelessly, pushing the boundaries to enhance our game genres for both current and new generations of players,” he stated.
Based on the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, which has captivated the hearts of fans across the globe, Microgaming’s hotly-anticipated Game of Thrones online slot has launched simultaneously online and on mobile. Game of Thrones online slot is a 5x3 reel game available in both 243 ways-to-win and 15 lines. Set in the world of Westeros and beyond, the game centres on the four great Houses: Baratheon, Lannister, Stark and Targaryen. Players are given the opportunity to serve one of the Houses during the free spins selection feature, triggered by three scatter (Iron Throne) symbols. In addition, the online slot boasts stacked wilds across all reels and if two scatter symbols land anywhere on the reels, a fiery dragon’s egg will appear, offering players a random prize. Roger Raatgever, CEO of Microgaming, comments: “We revealed our licensing agreement for the Game of Thrones series in February, and anticipation for the game’s launch has been building ever since. Such is the power of the Game of Thrones brand! “With the game going live today to both Microgaming and Quickfire operators, online and on mobile, players can now enter the fantastical world of Game of Thrones with our new online slot! It’s an exciting day for us all!”
CAZINO ZEPPELIN Online slots Yggdrasil Gaming
Yggdrasil Gaming has launched its high variance game Cazino Zeppelin to the online casino market. The game features Free Spins with Sticky Wilds and Wild TransfersT The game is unique to the extent that players can modify game speed to be able to almost ‘fast forward’ to Free Spins mode where players can win up to 40,000 times an individual line bet for each Free Spin. A team of talented sound artists have created an unrivalled in-play ambiance with backing music to offer the best player experience available. This is the eighth slot game that Yggdrasil has launched since December 2013. The slot will be available to the Yggdrasil customer network and can be played in beta at VeraJohn.com.
“Having introduced the hugely successful entertainment-style E*Series phenomenon, Aristocrat has taken the best elements of its mindblowing maths, amazing animations and stunning sound effects and built them into brand new breeds of J-Series jackpot games and C-Series core games.” 8 9
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DISCOVER
THE NEXT
DIMENSION OF GAMING We’re transforming the world of gaming. Built around a new, futuristic range of Helix™ cabinets and advanced Gen8™ software platform; new technologies that allow our games to eclipse all that’s gone before. Players will be ever more enthralled by the expanding range of E*Series™ entertainment games, the jaw-dropping jackpot excitement of J-Series™, the captivating entertainment of C-Series™ core games and by a dazzling array of centrepiece attractions in our new Gaming Operations portfolio. Step into our world and embrace the Next Dimension of Gaming on Stand S2-250 at ICE 2015.
© 2015 Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited. Aristocrat, Helix, E*Series, J-Series, C-Series and the Aristocrat logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited.