The team from the highly specialised technical service company E-Service, which provides UK gaming, amusement and vending operators with efficient and cost-effective spare parts, electronic repairs and support, will take to their stand at EAG to highlight their new completely user-friendly Website and other new areas of their successful business. The company once again increased in size throughout 2011 and now employs more than 40 staff.

Britain’s pubcos continue to invest in entertainment and self-service technology as the licensed trade strives to counter the effects of the economic downturn, which has seen thousands of pubs close.

Gamestec has signed a new two-year agreement with Punch Taverns, which has more than 5000 sites across the country, to supply its TabBoxx social lottery vending product and its iPub digital gaming platform.

“We have tried to remain true to the style and form of more normal sportsbooks while at the same time adding these great social hooks. While we may not achieve the level of monetisation as the large bookmakers, we are well positioned to achieve far greater levels of player participation.”

Players bet, either against one another or against the house, on worldwide sporting fixtures using virtual currency.

Interactive family attractions specialist Innovative Leisure, based in Leicester, will be displaying a fully operational DigiWall attraction at EAG while also promoting its complete range of interactive family attractions.

Included among these are climbing walls and towers; DigiWall, a computer-controlled climbing wall attraction;The Rock, a motorised climbing simulator; the Water Wars water balloon game, available with the optional Depth Charge feature; a recently introduced range of major High Ropes courses; and a brand new Mobile Zip Wire.

Electrodiver was founded in November of 1984 by Fernando Santos and his wife Maria do Céu Santos. The firm is a leader in the manufacture of kiddie rides in the Portuguese and international market.

Besides the manufacturing of kiddie rides, it also makes large statues in fibreglass.

In 2009 it was given an award in Spain as the best foreign company in the sector.

3DMe UK has made 3D printing easy, practical, and affordable simply using a standard printer, inkjet or dye-sublimation. There is no need for special glasses, viewers or display units to view the captured 3D image.

All that is required is the latest pioneering dual-lens 3D camera offering in the market today. Once the photo is taken, it is processed, printed, and framed in a couple of minutes on the spot using 3DMe’s proprietary software which allows for changes in 3D geometry of given stereoscopic data.

Innovative Technology, exhibiting at both EAG and the concurrent ICE event, will unveil an exciting new programme – Smart Data.

Real Puncher is back! EAG 2012 sees the official launch of Real Puncher 2. The famous interactive punching game returns with many added features as well as stage play, starting with Bank Robber, and continuing through Trailer, Dinosaur, Kraken and ultimately Meteor.

The game has a single-play option, as well as two-, three- or four-player Battle Mode. Operators have a ticket payout option and can adjust difficulty settings.

JNC will be showing Kiddie Sub, an enclosed ride with fully interactive video screen, and full motion up/down and forward/backward. Control the sub with the control panel; use the attack button on the panel to shoot targets above and below the sea, increasing your score each time you hit a target.

Suzo-Happ will have on show a range of amusement and gaming products with many new items, including two brand-new products that will not be unveiled until EAG.

On the stand you will find high-quality change machines, ticketing, and cash handling and recycling products from SHG, Gewete and Futurelogic, as well as coin and note handling product from Innovative Technology and Crane Payment Solutions.

Sound Leisure and Soundnet are anticipating a fantastic EAG show this month, with a range of products and services designed to suit every budget and location.

ToyVend is the UK’s longest-established supplier of quality sweet and novelty vending machines. It is the UK distributor for Beaver vending machines, known throughout the world for their build quality.

As the official UK distributor for Bandai and Cool Things, ToyVend can offer licensed vending novelties which include items such as Ben 10, Carebears, Clone Wars, Hello Kitty, Hot Wheels Power Rangers, Smurfs, The Flintstones and many more.

Quanmax’s Funworld division will use EAG to highlight Photo Play Q1, a compilation of 16 challenging games including eight multiplayer choices and an innovative menu design.

Photo Play Q1 offers an attractive mix of three fun games, four card games and nine skill games which motivate players to top performance: Boogie Find, Find It (with 350 new images), Elements Square, Kniffler MP, Mau-Mau, Newton 2, Paper Trash, Penguin Attack, Persian Diamonds, Pile-Up, Rommé for 2, Rush Hour, Slotcar Race, Strategy, Stronghold and Terra Cotta.

PW Sales was formed in January 2011 by former QPS/Mazooma Games man Paul Wilson. The plan was originally for the company to concentrate on the supply of rebuilds, conversion kits, club machines and used equipment to single-site operators, something it has done successfully during 2011 and will continue in 2012.

The ultimate in crane technology, TheWon, has a proven track record as a fully automatic, self-adjusting crane processor. TheWon fits easily to any existing crane and is as easy to set up as it is in operation. Guaranteed to make your cranes more profitable, TheWon drastically reduces the man hours required to maintain cranes.

Since debuting its first Dr. Face unit in 1997, Digital Centre has gone on to create such international photo booth hits as Dr. Fashion, Crazy Doctor, Pix-Mix Factory, Photo-ID, Ping-Pong Kombat, Baby Boom, Instant Photo Souvenir, New Generation Blue and Black.

This year, making the most of its 15th anniversary, the company is introducing five new and versatile products.

The Strip features four impressive screens simulating a giant strip. It employs touch technology and a high-definition camera for video and voice recordings, as well as having Internet capabilities to send the images to email accounts or social networks. “The size and design are great for any location,” said Tarres. “It can fit into any fashionable store, even a small jewellery shop or similar specialty store.”

The U.S. Department of Justice recently decided that the 1961 federal Wire Act only applies to sports-related gambling. This is huge news for the potentially lucrative state-sanctioned online gaming industry. It could pave the path for agreements between legal gaming states or internationally, claims renowned gambling legal expert I. Nelson Rose.

According to the Chicago Tribune newspaper, Illinois state officials recently awarded a six-year contract to Scientific Games (SG) to administer the state’s video gaming central system once the programme is up and running. The paper projected that games will be installed in locations by the end of 2012 at the latest.

The agreement could be worth more than $69m for the New York-based company. At the end of the term, the contract could be renewed for an additional four years.

The preliminary schedule for the 2012 Amusement Expo has been released. The dates for this year’s convention, o-sponsored by the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) and the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA), are 14-16 March. It will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and once again run alongside the National Bulk Vendors Association (NBVA) Expo. 


The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Leadership Conference will take place in Los Angeles on 22-24 February. The conference will focus on networking and offer practical learning at several Los Angeles amusement parks and attractions.

Registration is open and a discounted early-bird rate is available until 27 January. For more information and to register, visit www.iaapa.org.

The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) recently hit its highest ranking in five months. The monthly RPI is a composite index of the U.S. restaurant industry, analysing its condition and outlook. Its 100.6 level in November – the second above-100 ranking in three months – was up 0.6 percent from October.

The American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) is paying close attention to the Dollar Coin Alliance. The National Bulk Vendors Association and other important industries using coin payments have joined forces to stop Congress from discontinuing production of the high-denomination coins, and to promote an increase in their circulation.

One problem that has been facing operators for years is the lack of quality, verifiable information about advertised business opportunities. Long referred to as “biz ops”, unregulated promises have financially ruined millions of aspiring businesspeople.

In Washington, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has revised its Business Opportunity Rule, with the new version going into effect on 1 March 2012. The changes aim to ensure that consumers have the necessary information to evaluate work-at-home programmes or other business opportunities.

Asian companies dominate the latest list of the top 50 gambling firms by market capitalisation, produced by Global Betting and Gaming Consultants (GBGC).

The list, updated at the beginning of January, sees seven Asian companies in the top ten. Although Las Vegas Sands of the U.S. is the world’s biggest gaming firm by market cap, the second, third and fourth places are all taken by Asian companies – Sands China, Wynn Macau, and Genting Singapore respectively.

Quixant, the maker of computing platforms for slot machines, has moved its Taiwan operations to a new location more than three times the size of its previous facility.

Early March sees the Chinese city of Guangzhou host two gaming and amusement trade fairs.

At the Panyu Startoon E-Game Expo (SEM), running 5-7 March, organisers promise a range of “China-manufactured innovations and products including amusement machines, amusement games, theme park facilities, and fitness equipment”.

Every month Euroslot updates you onthe latest news affecting gaming policy and regulation around the world.

DENMARK

The Danish government has issued a gambling licence to Gauselmann Group’s Cashpoint subsidiary, permitting it to offer sports wagering in betting shops, via betting terminals, and online, as well as Internet poker and other games.

Population: 81.5m

Under 15: 10.9m

Aged 15-64: 53.8m

Urban population: 74 percent

Major cities: Berlin (3.4m), Hamburg (1.8m), Munich (1.3m), Cologne (1m)

GDP per capita: $35,700

As well as generating revenue, music can make or break a venue’s atmosphere.

So should you opt for a jukebox, or a streamed music service?

Jon Bruford investigates.

Music can be stirring, inspirational, create an emotional response from nothing – or it can drive a customer to the exit door without them necessarily realising on a conscious level why.

Now that the jukebox is firmly rooted in the digital age and a single machine can have a library far in excess of 30,000 songs, it’s interesting to see the pattern of play over the course of a year – do the most-played songs on jukeboxes equal the singles and albums that top the charts, or do library tracks of much-loved classics with broader demographic appeal, for example The Beatles, win out?

Considering we are all aware of our own emotional response to music in our environment, it’s surprising how little attention is paid to it in a retail or leisure venue. It’s not unusual for music choices to be left to on-shift staff, so a relatively sedate venue could be plagued by bangin’ dance tunes, the latest techno or garage, or worse. And consumers are aware of it, as an Immedia-funded study discovered.

Entering the bank darts competition was a life-changing decision; starting work for a company about to go bust wasn’t so smart. Paul Clay of Cummins-Allison recounts his highs and lows

How did you first get involved with the amusements industry?

Having been made redundant, I noticed a job vacancy in The Sunday Times for a retail and banking specialist sales role with a manufacturer and supplier of cash handling equipment, Cummins-Allison.