Present at the opening ceremony were the Directors General responsible for Gaming in several autonomous regions including Madrid, Andalusia, Valencia and the Basque Country, to name but a few. This year, machines for amusement, for Casinos, Bingo Halls and Arcades shared this great professional event with the new Internet-based betting and leisure systems which created quite a stir among those present. “It has been the first fair in Madrid to have shown the professionals in the sector and the general public the extent of the increasing online betting business and the possibilities of this type of gaming” said Manuel Ortega, organizer of Fer Interazar. “The many changes to the regulations that are due to be introduced at the present time in most of the autonomous regions are reason for debate, but this has not deterred all those companies that have opted to use the Spanish market to present their machines and platforms that are capable of working with the forthcoming new regulations. For that reason, we should consider the fair a success when we consider the large number of new products exhibited and the satisfaction of the exhibitors with the results obtained”. At this fair the visitors were impressed by the display of new models that relate directly to authentic social phenomena in our country, as was the case with the Texan Hold´dem poker machine designed for 10 players that could be tested on the stand of the Sleic S.L. company. A computer program generates totally random poker games on this machine. The increasing installation of video “B” models in bars and arcades, the rising demand for multiplayer machines and the enormous capacity for generating business with “B4” type machines (especially in arcades) and the different versions of Electronic Bingo, meant that FER Interazar 2007 was the opportune place in which to promote their products and to continue their expansion even in the face of ever more intense and creative competition. There are several manufacturers of kiddy machines who participate in the fair every year. Among those we should mention are Industrias Falgas, the Portuguese firm Electrodiver, and Famai S.L. “Each year we try to introduce new models” says Eva Lozano, Famai’s Commercial Director, “We have approaching twenty models in our catalogue and we are designing more. We shall be presenting them in London”. Again this year the multiplayer electromechanical roulettes that were to be seen on the stands of most of the exhibitors proved to be the centre of attraction for the visitors on account of their spectacular designs. This type of machine, designed and adapted for use in the Spanish gaming arcades, is to be found more and more in the rooms annexed to casinos. However, the Spanish market consists mainly of machines of type “B” (AWP´s). At this year’s fair, Recreativos Franco S.A. decided to present “Lotto y Gnomos”, a new model that combines the best of its most competitive models and that, at the moment, is the market leader. On the ever attractive stand shared by the companies belonging to the Cirsa Group, Unidesa S.A. and Europea S.A. presented several models targeted at the Spanish market. From Unidesa there were “Vulcano”, “Moto GP”, “Pearl of the Caribbean” and “Blue Swampland”, whilst from Europea there were “Chicago” and “Inferno”. More than twenty companies presented new models of machines. Practically all the companies that exhibited at FER Interazar. Among them Sleic with “Felines”, Extreme Games with “Submerged Treasures”, the Worte company with “Pyramid” and Turvisión with “Passion” and “Rodeo” are only a small sample of what we can find on the Spanish market at moment. With regard to online betting, it was possible to observe the potential of companies like Sportium, a company formed from the alliance between Cirsa and Ladbrokes that shared space with the companies from the Cirsa Group, and similarly on the Orenes Group stand there was Winners, the company formed from the collaboration between Orenes and BetBull. Likewise Basquetsport formed by the union of the English company Stand James with Picmatic, Segurma and Pictelium demonstrated its possibilities while it awaits the decision of the Basque Government for the online gaming concession in that region. The Victoria company was another of the online betting companies that took part in the fair. As regards terminals and games intended for Bingo Halls, once again the company F.B Técnicos Asociados S.A. belonging to the Metronia Group surprised everyone with the spectacular design of its stand on which it presented fifteen new games for its terminals in addition to eye-catching scoreboards. Along the same lines and equally amazing was the stand of Global Zitro, a company which like F.B Técnicos Asociados S.A., specializes in machines for Bingo Halls and has a vast amount of experience acquired in international markets. Gigames also displayed its new products in this respect. Those who visited its stand were able to enjoy its advanced platform for Win&Go games. This year it has on offer up to six new games that will assure operators of bingo halls and arcades using this innovative system, a profitable and flexible way of harnessing their business. Comercial Cocamatic S.A. is always a point of reference when it comes to looking for new features. Once again this company’s stand welcomed the latest models from Stern Pinball, Odrex, Nazco Bandai and Raw Thrills to mention but a few. John Stergides of Electrocoin did not miss the opportunity of exhibiting his popular model “OXO”. Another of the companies specializing in the distribution of imported products is Commercial del Video S.A. (Covielsa). On its stand were models from ICE Games, Bay-Tek and Unis. In addition to its own products, Covielsa distributes throughout Spain the simulators and video games designed by Gaelco S.A., the Spanish company that created “Radikal Darts”, an electronic dartboard of advanced design that allows players to compete at a distance. Recreativos Presas S.L. took advantage of the fair to launch a new “punch” machine in addition to exhibiting all its usual products such as soccer-tables, ping-pong tables and “air-tables”, some with more than ten years of success in the market place. For its part MGA, as well as showing roulettes from Doshina, also displayed products from several international suppliers including SEGA and Konami. Nor were companies specializing in the manufacture of coin selectors, such as Azkoyen S.A., Jofemar S.A. and Money Control, absent from this year’s Fer Interazar. The above is but a sample of what could be seen at the fair this year. Many companies attended this event and all of them should be taken into account. Informática, Programes Serveis S.L. (IPS) presented its new “Hyperlink” system for arcades. Billiares Sánchez Sierra, Billastigi, Top Codex, Diana Marketing, and Industrias Lorenzo S.A. are representative of the hundred or so small but no less well known companies in the sector, which are also regular and essential protagonists each year of Fer Interazar. All of them contribute to the success of this fair which without any doubt, and despite the present competition, continues to be one of the best in the world.

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