Three exhibitions, three options and three ways of understanding the market, where in the old days there was only one. Without a doubt, this has had an influence on the Spanish executives when deciding whether their company should be present at one or other of the shows. What is known is that a good position on the "carpet" at the fair guarantees a significant flow of visitors and it is evident that the choice has not been easy for anybody.

The proximity of the three exhibitions with their differentiated offers has created doubts, which will certainly have consequences in the immediate future. That is to say, in this respect, that the organizers and exhibitors have had to define their alliances as a function of objectives that are more political than commercial.

It is perhaps for this reason that companies such as R. Franco, Unidesa, Azkoyen, Industrias Lorenzo and IPS have decided to stay within the confines of ICEi while Gaelco, Laiv Expemocar and Recreativos Presos are maintaining their presence in ATEI. All the above will be found in the Earls Court building although on different levels. In the case of Zitro, a company specializing in products for bingo halls and multiplayer machines, it will be returning for a second year but it is leaving its site in ATEI to join the exhibitors at ICEi on the ground floor of the same building.

We shall also find that some companies like Billares Sam and OM Vending will be participating through their distrubutors in the United Kingdom. Industrias Falgás, on the other hand, will be exhibiting at the InterGame Expo IGX which will be taking place a few yards away from the others in the Ibis Hotel.

Faced with such a panorama it is no wonder that some of the companies that normally go to London for these dates, as is the case with B. Sanchez Sierra, Famai and Digital Center, have decided to wait in order to see how the shows develop. In addition, as if the above is not worrying enough, we must not forget that the IMA fair in Düsseldorf will have a negative influence on the London shows, although luckily this year Compumatic, which chose the German city last year, will be returning to London to exhibit its new products at the ICEi exhibition.

However, this has not been the only reason for the decrease in the Spanish presence in London. The internal market situation has had its consequences too. In a recent survey the majority of Spanish businessmen said they were worried about the way the financial crisis was affecting their businesses, especially those based on machines that operate in the catering sector. The difficulty in obtaining finance which is impeding the renewal of the models, the legislative changes and the enormous burden that the higher taxes are imposing on the industry are indeed threatening the very existence of some companies.

As a possible solution to the crisis a decrease in the taxes is demanded, together with legislative harmonization that will unify the criteria and facilitate the appearance of new products, and the regulation of online gaming which presents unfair competition in many cases today. I am not talking about those which, like betting, have been regulated in some autonomous Spanish regions and seem to have a splendid future. But in an attempt to contribute a positive point of view we can say that the installation of multiplayer machines, such as roulettes or poker tables in the arcades, the inclusion in the regulations of the new models for electronic bingo and the interconnection of the machines that pay out bigger prizes in the arcades and bingo halls is, for the moment, helping to compensate for the present difficult situation that has resulted from the widespread crisis that has spread throughout the sector.

That said, the products designed or qualified specifically for Spain will as usual be presented at the London fairs, not just the new products but the numerous and varied models intended for the Spanish market. There are too many international companies that need the globalization of the markets to survive at a time which, without doubt, it will be difficult to get over.

Spain continues to be one of the most important markets on the European scene and companies like Astra, Electrocoin, Photo Play, Screen Games, Tecnoplay, and Zest Gaming, to name but a few, will try to consolidate their position in Spain, introducing new products that will compete with the models developed by the companies that lead the local market at the present time. It is predicted that the Spanish visitors will be as numerous as at the previous fairs.

All of them will have to make an extra effort if they do not want to miss any of the new products that will be on show in London. Special attention should be paid to companies like Aristocrat, which, after alighting last September at the Madrid fair with the model Mr. Cashman, will give up part of its space to the Dosniha company, the pioneer in Spain with the introduction of electronic roulettes, not forgetting the Amatic company that supplies its models to the Spanish company Comatel which in turn distributes the machines from Bell-Fruit.

Poker tables were the most outstanding new products to be found at the last Spanish fair, for which reason, a priori, they will be the most sought-after models at the exhibitions. Thus the Spanish visitors will cover more miles than ever, with the objective of looking for ideas, the model or the supplier that can supply the product they need to survive the crisis, although to do this will mean going to and fro from one exhibition to another. For example, the new products from Bally Wulff which the Costa Cálida company distributes in Spain, are not be found in Earls Court but in the Ibis Hotel. The best of luck to everyone !

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