A happy new year to all our readers and welcome to a new decade! I can look back on ten years writing about the industry and wonder at how things have changed. I vividly remember the launch of a revolutionary new pinball machine, called Pinball 2000, which unfortunately failed to set the industry alight and marked the end of Bally’s involvement in the sector.

Following successful Court decisions last year at the Tribunal and earlier this year in the High Court in its on-going litigation concerning the tax treatment of betting and gaming, The Rank Group Plc (Rank) has won a second case against HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). 

Astro Corp has announced a new strategic alliance with Inspired Gaming Group plc. Game designer, manufacturer and distributor Astro will produce terminals to Inspired, the leading player worldwide in Open Server-Based Gaming (Open SBG™). Inspired will reciprocate supplying its Open SBG Software to Astro.

Transact Technologies has appointed Lee Weyers as Vice President Sales – Global Casino & Gaming, reporting to Tracey Chernay, Sr. Vice President Sales and Marketing.

Shades Screenprint is proud to announce that it now offers photo-quality lambda printing services and thus has a unique stance in the print market place, being able to cover all printing requirements, be it screenprint, mirror printing, digital printing or lambda.

The IOA Group, which with close to 30,000 installed machines is the UK’s second largest operator of gaming and electronic amusement equipment, has bolstered its management team with the appointment of former Leisure Link Commercial Director Peter Weir. Peter, who is respected as one of the most knowledgeable executives in the industry and has worked in the machine sector for over four decades, will be responsible for the development and testing of product as well as serving as the IOA’s interface with suppliers and manufacturers.

Betson Enterprises has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Universal Space (UNIS). This agreement will allow UNIS to market and sell the highly successful Raw Thrills arcade watercraft racer H2Overdrive exclusively in China.

Bay Tek announces the addition of five new staff. Continuing to focus on Product Development, Gaetan Philippon joins as Bay Tek’s new Director of Product Development. Gaetan will manage both development teams, while working closely with CEO, Larry Treankler.

Slovenia based multi-player specialist manufacturer Alfastreet gaming instruments (Pockaj d.o.o.)  will use the popular DPX® -E105 platform in their new range of multiplayers.


A new Polish Gaming Law has been proposed that would decimate the AWP sector, if allowed to go through as planned this month.

Do you fancy enjoying a unique and interactive experience? Do you think you have the X-Factor? Photo-Me International plc, the world leading photo-booth manufacturer, and FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME), the licensor for hit entertainment programme The X Factor, have joined forces to develop an exciting new concept: the first X Factor karaoke vending machine.

From the 1st of January, UK manufacturers and operators can access European compliance testing services through NMi UK, a joint venture between NMi and UK test house GDS Laboratories. Following their successful entry into the Italian market with their subsidiary NMi Italia, NMi is continuing its successful expansion model by teaming up with local industry experts. This development confirms NMi’s leading position in Europe as a testing laboratory for AWP machines, FOBTs, Casino equipment, online gaming sites and lotteries.

The Swedish Presidency last month presented its Progress Report on the Legal Framework for Gambling and Betting in the Member States of the European Union to the Competitiveness Council, a report which, according to EUROMAT, “falls very short of a factual, neutral representation of the reality of the modern European gambling industry and which completely overlooks several forms of gambling which currently take place EU-wide”.

Brent Sales has responded to customer demand by making the critically acclaimed Clena-Flex merchandising device available in a myriad range of new set-ups, most notably ticket redemption. Clena-Flex has established a hard earned reputation for being the most consistent and powerful arcade income generator over the last three years.

Over the last few months, Heber Limited – leading designers and manufacturers of real time electroniccontrol systems - have been working on a number of peripheral enhancements to the existing Heber product range. This includes SAS 6.02 compliance and Money Manager, both of which were launched at G2E 2009, Las Vegas.

Administrators from Baker Tilly Restructuring and Recovery have been appointed to a group of companies which, between them, operate over 100 Adult Gaming Centres, most of which trade under the ‘Agora’ or ‘Caesar’s World’ brand.

At the China (Zhongshan) International Gaming & Amusement Fair, vice chief of the Culture Market Department Zhang Xinjian, announced a new industrial policy, “Until April 30th 2010, the game machines that did not get through the review standard of the entertainment products, will be fully out of the market,” he said.

Weike Gaming Technology, having recently been awarded “Best Asian Manufacturer 2009” in Inside Asian Gaming Magazine Supplier Awards, has established a solid reputation for its advanced technology and innovative product offerings, with its range of Infinity gaming machines, Multi-player Electronic Table Games, and state-of the art gaming management and jackpot systems.

JENSIgame SE will exhibit for the first time at this month’s International Gaming Expo (IGE) on stand number 4460 in Hall 1. JENSIgame SE will be presenting the next generation of video lottery terminals (VLT’s) called the Internet Lottery Terminal (ILT).

Online poker in November has come close to the record set in October. In the past month Italians have played on the virtual green tables a total of €233.8ml against €234.3ml in October, a drop of 0.2%. Between January and November – according to Agicos – revenues have broken through the €2bn barrier to a record €2,063ml.

Audiweb, the company responsible for gathering and distributing data on online audiences, has published data relating to the month of October 2009.

According to data published in the State Gazette, total revenues related to gaming in the January-September 2009 period (including various levies classified as direct and indirect taxes) amounted to €9,779ml (an increase of €639ml, equal to +7.4%). Among these, revenues from lotto were €4,686ml (a decrease of €230m, equal to –4.7%), those from instant lotteries €1,377ml (a decrease of €56m, equal to –3.9%) and those from gaming machines €2,311ml (an increase of €286m, equal to +14.1%).

As reported by the body representing the four Italian gaming houses, these had revenues of €420.81ml in the eleven month period. As always, the Venice Casino is the market leader with a share of the total of €155.06ml. Second is the Campione Casino with revenues of €106.01ml for the eleven months. Third is the Saint Vincent Casino whose share of the total revenue amounted to €87.57ml. Last was the Sanremo Casino: the gaming house of the city of flowers which netted about €72.17ml in the first 11 months of 2009.

Juan Ceva, Honorary President of the FEMARA Association (Spanish Federation of Amusement Machines) and Javier Franch President of CEJ (Spanish Confederation of Organizations of Gaming Industries) have been protagonists for different reasons. On 10th December FEMARA paid a warm tribute to its founder and President for more than 25 years, Juan Ceva Alonso. Present for the occasion were representatives of all the business organizations that comprise the Federation; thanking them for their attendance was the Technical Secretary General of FEMARA, Miguel García Campos.

Two of the most important companies in the Spanish gaming sector, CIRSA and CODERE hope to finish the 2009 financial year with positive results. As at 30th September Cirsa had achieved an income of €1,220 million, with an operating profit (EBITDA) of €157 million, a 5% increase on the same period of 2008, which means that in the third quarter it invoiced 405 million euros, with an operating profit of 55 million, a 3% increase in comparison with the same quarter of the previous year.

For several years, casinos, bingo halls and amusement arcades have been competing with great difficulty against the online betting companies that are proliferating due to the lack of control in most countries and independent communities. In the Basque Country they are not regulated, resulting in a legal vacuum that the Basque Government wants to fill, and it has decreed that it will intervene in the matter “with immediate effect”.

Good news for AMOA member operators. For the first time in several years, the Jukebox License Office (JLO) has announced that jukebox license fees will remain unchanged. Each fall, the JLO releases it fees for the coming year. JLO Manager Katie Wilkinson has reported that the 2010 rates will be the same as the 2009 fees.

Despite the ruling from the Alabama State Supreme Court on November 13 that state officials claims bans electronic bingo games as previously operated, new resorts are running the games. The court said that games seized in a law enforcement raid operate “almost exactly like slot machines.”

Despite the number of local jurisdictions “opting out” of Illinois’ planned video lottery market reaching 40, analysts with the Illinois state accounting officials claim they are not concerned. Their statistics show that this only reflects 10% of the state‘s population.

For almost a year, small businesses in the U.S. have complained that banks both large and small have not been lending money to them. The Small Business Administration claims more than half of the private sector employers create 60% to 80% of all new jobs. The majority of American amusement operators are small business owners, and many have suffered economic setbacks because of the unavailability of loans and ongoing credit.

Subsino showed its newly developed air hockey table Kung Fun Ball at the recent IAAPA show.

The air hockey table features an innovative design and vivid sound effects and provides three modes: Practice, Single Player and Dual Player competition/ challenge modes. The game attracted many players and received enthusiastic feedback. 

On October 28, 2009, the “Chinese-Korean Game Talent Training Base” officially went into operation in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China.  Both Chinese and Korean parties announced and signed the “Agreement for Jointly Operating the Chinese-Korean Game Talent Training Base”. They will jointly operate the base and cultivate game talents through running online or offline courses.

The three events in London this month, namely IGE/ATEI at Earls Court and EAG Expo at Excel Exhibition Center, will mark the beginning of the new year 2010. 

The Annual Conference of Chinese e-Game Industry convened in Beijing early December. Submission for Golden Finger Awards applications commenced in September. To encourage and support more creative enterprises and start-up groups, the Golden Finger Awards has started paying more attention to the small and medium-sized enterprises and groups in the game industry since 2008. 

BELGIUM

Emboldened by the recent ‘Bwin Liga’ decision at the European Court of Justice, Belgium has defied the European Commission by passing an online gambling law that restricts available licences to incumbent operators in the country’s land-based betting and gaming sectors.

Source: GamblingCompliance.com

The new UK Gambling Act 2005 came into force on 1 September 2007. The introduction of the Gambling Act 2005 has resulted in serious unintended economic and social consequences with the traditional business industry now in terminal decline with weekly increases in closures and redundancies.

London’s new exhibition dedicated to the coin op and amusement sectors, EAG Expo 26-28 January 2010, Excel Exhibition Centre London, is set to be a must attend event.

83 companies have booked their stand space and will exhibit their own products and services. In addition, they will also demonstrate the products of furthercompanies for whom they are distributors or partners. With companies and products from as far a field as Australia, Belgium, France, Poland, Spain, Taiwan, The Netherlands, and USA, EAG is an international show and an important event for anyone in the European amusement industry.

The 2010 edition of ATEI and IGE, taking place at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London across 26-28 January, is on track to deliver international operators with yet another feast of amusements and gaming innovation as show organisers revealed robust levels of exhibitor participation two months ahead of the doors opening. Clarion Gaming announced that by the beginning of December, the number of amusements/low stake gaming suppliers scheduled to appear had surpassed the 150 mark.

Sound Leisure and its music supply partner Soundnet will show a wide range of digital jukebox solutions at the EAG show on stand number 350.

There is a Sound Leisure jukebox to suit every budget and a Soundnet music package to accompany it. Expect to see some exciting new developments at the EAG that have never been shown before, as Sound Leisure continues to push forward the boundaries of digital jukebox solutions.

The Worldwide gaming industry held its annual gathering November 17-20, 2009, as more than 25,000 professionals descended on the Las Vegas Convention Center for the 2009 edition of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E). Once again, GeneralTouch presented the visitors its full range of touchscreen, LCD touchmonitor products and innovative multi-touch technology. During the three day show, based on the amount of visitors to its attractive booth, GeneralTouch’s products proved to be of the highest interest and extremely  popular.

APEX gaming will take prime position in Hall 2 of Earl’s Court at stand 3070 and the APEX team are particularly looking forward to the world premiere at the IGE of their latest electronic table game innovation – the Quikker®.

Amatic Industries presents the Complete Multi Game Solution at the Forthcoming IGE on stand number 3060.

The Multi Game EVOLUTION PRO allows casino and arcade operators a complete roulette and slots game solution.

GeneralTouch presented the visitors its full range of touchscreen, LCD touchmonitor products and innovative multi-touch technology at the recent G2E. During the three-day show, based on the amount of visitors to its booth, GeneralTouch’s products proved to be of the highest interest and extremely  popular.

TAB-Austria will once again have a strong presence at the ATEI show and is set to present numerous new products.

“The ATEI in London has been a fixed date on our calendar for many years because it offers the unique opportunity of presenting our products to a wide audience. In addition, the fair is an excellent platform for making new contacts and developing existing ones. We are delighted that we are able to once again present lots of exciting and innovative new releases this year,” says Siegfried Dattl jun., managing partner of TAB-Austria.

Joe McElderry winner of this year’s UK X Factor contest is featuring on all NSM on-line  jukeboxes around the world as Euroslot goes to press.

The Miley Cyrus penned track “ The Climb” is tipped to be this year’s Christmas number one and what better way to appreciate it than on the spectacular 42 inch  screen of NSM’s super jukebox, the Apollo?

UK interactive family attractions specialist Innovative Leisure and the company’s US based partners enjoyed a spectacularly successful IAAPA Attractions Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, in mid-November.

Suzo Happ will be distributing the new Gaming catalogue at this year’s IGE in London on stand number 4240 in Hall 1. The catalogue reflects the strength-in-depth of the Suzo Happ product range. The new Suzo Happ Gaming Catalogue has grown by over sixty pages, covering over 220 pages in total. The catalogue will be available in English and German.

Avalue introduces Digital Signage applied Mini-ITX motherboards. The purposes of setting a Digital Signage are varied, from tourist guiding, information providing, promotional advertising, to interactive multimedia services.

Allstar has launched two 2” bulk vending items and two more flat product lines.

Due to the popularity of Allstar’s 2” Yoyo Mix, the company is now releasing a special 2” Flashing Puffer Ball Mix.  Each Flashing Puffer Ball has a smiley face and comes in six day-glow colors including: yellow, orange, green, pink, purple and blue.

Bay Tek showed a number of new games at the recent IAAPA show. One of the new products debuted, NASCAR Showdown, a 4-player interactive racing game was a crowd favorite. Players are able to pick their station, coin up, and race against three others or against the game.  First car to get a set amount of laps around the track, wins.