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.

Sceptre Leisure is teaming up with German firm Gauselmann Group and its UK subsidiary Blueprint Gaming to develop a digital gaming system for the British pub market.

AIM-listed Sceptre, which already operates about 22,000 machines nationally, will be exclusive supplier of Gauselmann gaming hardware to UK pubs. Blueprint, meanwhile, will provide the underlying software and game content.

Rank Group is to be official gaming partner of The X Factor in Britain under a three-year deal with FremantleMedia, which manages the rights to the show’s brand.

Its Mecca Bingo, Grosvenor Casinos and Bluesquare.com operations will exploit the X Factor connection through a branded online bingo game, slots and mini-games.

JPM is following up its first Al Murray the Pub Landlord AWP with a second game for the UK Category B4 market.

It says that All Hail to the Ale will offer the same “instant player appeal and cheeky humour” as the debut title in the series, Al Murray’s Big Nite Out.

The U.S. will finally lose its position as the world’s biggest casino market in 2013 when it is overtaken by Asia Pacific, according to a new forecast from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

In its annual report on gaming, the firm predicts that global casino revenue will rise by a compound annual rate of 9.2 percent over the next five years, from a current $117.6bn to $182.8bn in 2015.

A huge family entertainment centre under construction in the Caucasus nation of Azerbaijan will feature a 16-lane bowling alley.

Megafun, a project of developer Yeni Hayat, is located in the capital Baku (pictured) and scheduled to open in March. The 10,539-square-metre facility will also include 169 slot machines, 13 simulators, 17 rides, seven cinemas, and an ice rink.

The presidium of the European Tenpin Bowling Federation (ETBF) has announced the venues for the European Bowling Tour Masters 2014 and 2015.

The EBT Masters 2014, the men’s and women’s finals of the 2013 European Bowling Tour, will be held at Dolfijn Bowling in Tilburg, Netherlands. The one-day event will be on Monday 3 March 2014, the day after the finals of the EBT Hammer Bronzen Schietspoel Tournament 2014.

Australia’s Jason “Belmo” Belmonte defeated Tommy Jones of the U.S. in the men’s title match at the 2011 Bowling World Cup in South Africa.

Belmonte lost the first game, 259-279, but proceeded to win the next two, 247-216 and 259-236, to secure the title.

Overall, Belmonte had 765 (a 255 average) in the title match and 751 (a 250.33 average) in the semi-final, for a total of 1516. Over the six games of the stepladder final, that gave him an average of 262.66.

Brunswick European staff player Alessandro Silletti has bowled his way to the Polish Cup.

The 20-year-old Polish/Italian dual national, known to his peers as Alek, recorded a tournament average of more than 230 and remained undefeated through all the matches, some of them coming down to the last frame.

The allure of mobile gaming appears irresistible, to real-world and online operators alike: it’s as up close and personal with the consumer as you can get.

On the online front, one of the biggest recent affirmations for mobile comes from Microgaming, probably the leading provider of Web gaming software. It sees an increasing amount of business coming from mobile, and has recently added an Android-based tablet and smartphone app to its line-up.

The system makes its debut with eight games, and another 20 or more should be added by the end of the year.

NSM Music plans to show its new Icon Lite jukebox at January’s EAG International Expo, alongside established models such as the Fusion, Apollo, and Icon2.

American Gaming Systems is to license GameTech International’s library of games for VLTs.

Slovenian regulators have approved a range of Viridian widescreen games from Aristocrat Technologies.

International Brand Gaming is now supplying the Nitro-XL cabinet from Elite Casino Products.

Genting Casinos has acquired Fox Poker Club,London’s only dedicated poker facility. Situated onShaftesbury Avenuein theWest End, and opened with a full casino licence just over a year ago, it has more than 20,000 members.

January’s EAG International Expo inLondonhas named the speaker line-up for its seminar programme.

Said Martin Burlin, chairman of the event: “We’ve been extremely fortunate in re-securing the services of leading industry consultants Frank Seninsky and Michael Getlan, whose inspirational seminars were very popular last year. Frank and Michael will be joined by BACTA chief executive Leslie Macleod-Miller.”

Getlan is director of enthusiasm and opportunity forU.S.firms Amusement Consultants, New Roc Entertainment and Smiles Amusement, and a former board member of IAAPA and operator of family amusement centres.

Exhibitors from more than 50 countries have now signed up for January’s ICE Totally Gaming event inLondon.

TheUKis the biggest contributor of exhibitors, followed byMalta, theU.S.,Austria,GermanyandItaly. Also figuring near the top of the list are theNetherlands,Slovenia,Taiwan,Sweden,CanadaandGibraltar.

Social responsibility is never far from managers’ minds in the gaming and amusements sector, thanks to their efforts to prevent and help with problem gambling.

But many are going beyond that, with projects that aid local communities, charities and the environment in a plethora of other ways. Such generosity has even been elevated to a philosophy, in MBA-land: corporate social responsibility, or CSR.

And though CSR may be a rather grand tag to apply to smaller businesses’ philanthropic activities such as sponsorships, in larger gaming and amusements organisations it can become a matter of policy as much as spontaneous wallet-opening.

Areas with a high concentration of gambling machines tend to be poorer than average, according to a new study conducted forBritain’s Responsible Gambling Fund (RGF).

Researchers NatCen and Geofutures “found that areas with a higher density of gambling machines were more likely to be poorer, with lower-than-average economic activity and more people in lower-status jobs. The populations of higher-density zones also tend to have higher-than-average proportions of residents aged 16-34 and over 75.”

Kitty Cash is the latest multi-level progressive from Spielo International, the new firm uniting the former Spielo and Atronic.

Running on its Oxygen cabinet, the game “has been designed for regular players who have a good sense for paybacks and can feel the chance of hitting a jackpot on a more frequent basis”, the firm said.

“Through a well-balanced mix of supporting game titles, this link covers a wide range of player preferences which are suitable for different market segments, all based on proven math systems,” it added.

There could soon be more bookmakers than banks on British high streets, according to the Gambling Commission.

It says there are 8927 betting shops in operation, with 11 more opening each month – bucking the trend of closures in many segments of the retail sector.

By contrast, although there are are 9600 banks, 14 are closing each month. At these rates, bookmakers and banks will achieve parity in a little over two years.

Bally Technologies has brought together all its mobile, Internet, and social projects into a new division, Bally Interactive. Among its goals is to offer mobile and online games – both play-for-free and pay-to-play – to land-based gaming operators. And over the coming year, it will integrate its online and mobile technology with its existing tools for managing slot machines, customer relationships and business intelligence, to give operators "a single view of the player".

Changing patterns in customer visits, the Spanish smoking ban, and the increasing popularity of mobile gaming have all helped to shape the fortunes of The Rank Group this year. In the 42 weeks to 16 October, Grosvenor Casinos revenue rose three percent although it has lately been suffering from a lower win margin, which has hit revenue even while customer visits have risen.

Today’s Britons may chatter of double-dip downturns and quantitative easing as casually as they dissect the Premier League or The X Factor, but in the casino sector there is little sign of a serious slowdown. Indeed, Aspers Group is about to open the country’s largest venue, a 65,000-square-foot development in the new Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, near the site of the 2012 Olympics.

World of Rides is offering amusement operators a new model of soft-impact bumper car to address safety fears over hard-impact dodgems. The twin-seat car, suitable for children aged six and up, is fitted with a programmable timer that allows the operator to adjust speed, ride duration, and price. Batteries can run for eight hours between charges, and sockets are fitted to minimise the need for setup when cars are charged overnight.

Approximately 25,000 industry professionals from 100 countries are expected to attend the upcoming International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida on 15-18 November. More than 1100 companies – including 200 first-time show exhibitors – from almost 30 countries will feature new products, services and ideas.

Venues may soon be able to show films and play recorded music without a licence, under a red-tape-cutting plan being prepared by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The DCMS is conducting a public consultation into regulated entertainment, which also includes theatrical and dance performances, live music, and indoor sports.

Allstar Vending is bringing the latest interactive technology to the humble sticker. Its latest line of dinosaur stickers has an augmented-reality (AR) feature – users place them in front of the camera on a computer or iPhone, then visit the Website Allstardino.com to manipulate the depicted dinosaur in 3D.

Have you ordered your .xxx domain name yet? Easyspace, a British Web-hosting company which admittedly has an interest in talking up the need for domains, says that it’s not just businesses from the adult industry that are grabbing the new .xxx names – indeed, 80 percent are from other sectors.

What’s the hot game Las Vegas casinos are hoping will attract a young male clientele? Got to be the latest twist on poker, right? Wrong: try bingo. Always popular among venues catering to the local market, but absent from the Vegas Strip since the closure of the New Frontier four years ago, bingo is now returning to the gaming offer at both the Riviera and the Plaza.

LAI Games is connecting its Snapshot photo booths to social media and email. Using a touchscreen keyboard, customers can send their photos to their own Facebook account or to a Snapshot page where others can view and comment on them, and where theyare entered into a competition to find the best. Users can also email their pictures to any address. The venue needs a Wi-Fi connection.

Innovative Leisure is describing its DigiWall as “a computer game that is played through a climbing wall interface”. Each grip for hands and feet on the climbing wall incorporates a light and a sensor so the control system can tell when it’s in use, enabling games to be devised that require more than simply reaching the top of the wall.

The wonderful thing about standards,” a computing pioneer once quipped, “is that there are so many of them to choose from.” But not quite such a quantity, now, for many in the gaming industry. The Gaming Standards Association (GSA) has decided to restrict access to its standards, protocol updates and the like to members and regulators, giving those who belong to the association what it describes as “a clear R&D and operations advantage over competitors, by having access to the most versatile and powerful protocols that drive the devices and systems of tomorrow”.

Bell-Fruit Games this summer achieved “near dominance” of pub gaming machines, according to operator IOA Group. In its income chart, versions of Bell-Fruit’s Deal or No Deal AWP took all but one of the top ten places. Deal or No Deal – Red Mist was in first place, followed by Cops and Robbers. The only non-Bell-Fruit game charting was Barcrest’s Take It or Leave It, in seventh position.

The management advantages of linking gaming machines to a central server were vividly illustrated by Inspired Gaming Group this summer when the government gave the go-ahead for increased stakes on Category B3 games.

Products like the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Kinect brought to home gaming a whole-body experience that was previously the preserve of amusement businesses. That they involve relatively expensive hardware purchases is, from the amusement sector’s point of view, a blessing. But now Endemol Games UK is offering consumers the same thing via Facebook, using technology that requires them to have only a PC and Webcam.

Inspired Gaming Group has added tennis to its Virtual Sports line-up of games which operators can offer their customers online, on interactive TV, and on terminals or PCs in locations such as bookmakers. The firm filmed two British tennis pros in action with 60 separate cameras before employing motion-capture technology to create realistic animated players.

The Gambling Commission is to allow shorter Category C games after a consultation with the gaming and amusements sector earlier this year. Currently, Category C games must last at least 1.5 seconds, with the required average duration for some being as long as three seconds.

The British Beer and Pub Association has called on the government to reconsider its proposed Machine Games Duty, arguing that it will cost the hard-pressed sector around £12m a year. A lower tax rate for Category C machines would help smaller pubs, it said in response to the Treasury’s call for comments this summer.

Replacing amusement machines with traditional games could help bring more young adults into British pubs, the Campaign for Real Ale is arguing, despite the common conception that this market prefers electronic entertainments. CAMRA says that an independently-conducted survey of 1000 consumers showed that 49 percent of adults aged between 18 and 25 said games such as darts, skittles, bar billiards and shove ha’penny would encourage them to use more pubs.

Vendors will use a new coin-op area at the IAAPA European Attractions Show to preview product before formal launches at EAG in January. AMG Leisure, Bandai Namco Europe, Crown Direct, Electrocoin, Embed Playsafe, Harry Levy Amusements and Sega Amusements are among those lined up for the IAAPA event at Olympia in London toward the end of this month, hoping to get customer feedback that will enable them to make last-minute tweaks in time for EAG if necessary.

Hamburg startup Iconicfuture says it can help producers of online games source licensed characters and brands for use in their content. “Our platform allows for game companies to easily integrate premium virtual items into their games,” said Iconicfuture CEO Ze’ev Rozov.

Sega Amusements Europe is now UK and Ireland distributor for ICE Games, the U.S. coin-op maker, replacing Namco Europe. Sega has been distributing ICE product elsewhere in Europe and in Russia for the last two years.

Trade body Business in Sport and Leisure has urged the government and the Gambling Commission to return to the old practice of reviewing the gaming sector every three years. In its submission to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s inquiry into gambling and the Gambling Act 2005, BISL said the Triennial Review allowed evidence-based policy-making, and that it was unclear why it had been abandoned.

The value of Britain’s mobile gambling sector more than doubled last year, according to researcher IHS Screen Digest. Net revenue reached £41m, up from £19m in 2009.

JPM has sold out two production runs of its new Category B4 game Al Murray’s Big Nite Out, a character licence based on the popular comedian, the supplier says. “Al Murray’s Big Night Out is the first of a number of UK category B and C games to be developed under our exclusive agreement with Al Murray.

London’s ICE Totally Gaming is to move to the Docklands area in the east of the city from 2013, finding a new home at the ExCeL exhibition centre. The event was previously at the much older Earls Court facility in west London.

Magic Dreams' latest release, Articadventure, is a 25-line video reel game on a polar theme with two bonus features. The Exploration scatter feature awards free games with a x2 multiplier, while the Ice Blocks Bonus gives the player "golden credits" that can be amassed for cash prizes.

JCM Global, already a leader in cash-handling technology, is moving further into printing through a deal with Nanoptix. Although JCM first began supplying a basic TITO gaming printer a decade ago, it will now be able to provide a more sophisticated option, as Nanoptix's PayCheck 4 thermal printer is relaunched under the JCM marque.

Digital Centre, the U.S. supplier of photo booths, showed the power of networking with an automated upgrade to all its units celebrating Independence Day.

Here’s some news that may not surprise you: an Italian firm and a foreign one have signed a deal for the supply of video lottery terminals (VLTs). But despite the reams of coverage given in the last couple of years to the still-ongoing rollout of VLTs in Italy, this story is not what you think.

Eight women and a man are celebrating after being named as winners of the international Women in Gaming Awards, presented in London last month. Amanda Briggs of Sportingbet won as hidden talent of the year. Anna Conley of William Hill was star of the future, and Lyndsey Barrett of The Ritz Club was leader of the year.

FutureLogic’s promotional couponing system PromoNet should get its first installations soon, following approval by Gaming Laboratories International (GLI). “With the PromoNet Couponing System, operators can now securely reward their most valuable carded and non-carded players at the game, through automated real-time play metrics and host-assisted triggers,” said FutureLogic CEO Eric Meyerhofer.

Pan Amusements is now selling its electronic shooting galleries into new kinds of venues such as retail outlets, moving beyond its established markets of theme parks and family entertainment centres. “Our galleries are now regularly found operating in general leisure venues, restaurant halls and large retail outlets, demonstrating their universal appeal,” said managing director Paul Whittaker.

New alley bowlers from Bay Tek Games include an original soccer-themed game, Goal Rush, as well as updates to Fireball Fury and Alley Ooop. All are ten feet long with slide-on rail covers, flip-down playfield, and a new ramp material said to be less noisy and more durable.

Can current events boost takings? The answer seems to be “yes”, judging by the experience of one online operator after jockey Frankie Dettori won a Royal Ascot race in June. On the day of his win, the Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven online slot on Genting’s e-gaming Website attracted more than double the usual number of players.

The U.S. Supreme Court has over-ruled a California law that restricted the sale of violent video games to children, easing the fears of some in the amusements industry who had worried that if the law were upheld the same restrictions could also be applied to other forms of entertainment such as arcade games.

Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) and its TST unit have issued a technical standard for e-gaming, GLI-19. Drawn up after consultation with regulators, suppliers and operators in Europe and Canada (the territories where GLI believes e-gaming rules are most sophisticated), it means that authorities in other jurisdictions won’t have to reinvent the wheel when they come to drawing up their own regulations on the technical aspects of online gambling.

Betson is encouraging operators to build customer interest in its H2Overdrive sit-down driving game via competitive play and repeat visits. Available in 32-inch and 42-inch models, with subwoofer sound and LED lights, the game offers nine different boats and seven courses.

Brunswick Bowling Products has launched version 5 of its Vector Plus system for management of bowling centres. “We have paid close attention to our customers’ wish lists and entertainment trends,” said president Brent Perrier. “The centres that have tested Vector Plus 5 are very pleased – both for its improved dollars-and-cents functionality and its increased pizzazz factor."

Shaun the Sheep licensed toys are proving a hit with operators of crane games, according to Namco Prize Europe. Exclusive supplier in Europe, the Middle East and Africa of the range based on the Aardman Animations character, Namco is offering Shaun in a choice of different sizes and outfits.

Sound Leisure’s new VenueHub jukebox offers consumers every UK Top 40 single since 1952, stored on the local hard disk, as well as access to an online repository of more than 5.5m songs. Supporting contactless payment for sums up to £15, the smooth-fronted unit is controlled via gesture, using Zytronic touch sensors.

Scientific Games subsidiary The Global Draw has become exclusive supplier of gaming machines to Ladbrokes betting shops in the UK. Since last year it has been supplying to nearly all Ladbrokes outlets, but it has only just won the contract for the last five percent.

Joint ventures can be uneasy partnerships. But in Italy’s still-rapidly-developing market for video lottery terminals (VLTs), bedfellows really do seem to be doing better business together than they might separately.

R-Pattz has one, Barack Obama has one, you probably have one; in fact, 500m people and a growing number of businesses have them. They’re Facebook pages, and now FutureLogic, the maker of gaming printers, is a slightly surprising addition to the list of companies using social media to interact with their customers and find new ones.

Ads that promise free bets to consumers could breach the Advertising Standards Authority’s rules if they fail to include terms and conditions, the British advertising watchdog has warned. Out of 800 sports-betting ads that ran during last year’s World Cup in South Africa, 31 were likely to break the rules, the body said.

JPM International’s new Dial Or No Dial game for the UK Category C market is being marketed as a novel twist on multi-stake play. “Dial Or No Dial represents a completely new multi-stake concept,” said sales and marketing director Simon McCarthy. “In addition to the standard multi-stake format the operator can invoke an enhanced function which increases payout percentage, based on the player’s choice of stake. The large safe dial delivers great walk-up appeal and a challenge to the player.

Argentine slot developer Leander Games has secured worldwide rights to create Megadeth-branded content. Covering both online and land-based gaming, the deal will allow Leander to create games appealing to the metal band’s fan base.

Sheltered-housing charity Abbeyfield is this month promoting what it calls a “generational skills-swap initiative” aimed at closing the gap between young people and the elderly.

Among the projects in the AGEnda Skills Swaps programme, running 10-19 June, will be gaming lessons for older people, held at Abbeyfield residences.

Delivering gaming online doesn’t mean you can ignore the lessons learned from land-based operations, according to UK developer Betlow. It has just signed an agreement with the Australian slots developer Lightning Box Games that will see Betlow create virtual versions of Lightning Box’s titles for European e-gaming operators.

Euromat, the European federation of amusement and gaming manufacturers, distributors and operators, says its objectives for 2011-12 include working closely with EU institutions as well as its members to ensure “a level playing field across the entire gambling arena”.

Euromat, the European federation of amusement and gaming manufacturers, distributors and operators, says its objectives for 2011-12 include working closely with EU institutions as well as its members to ensure “a level playing field across the entire gambling arena”.

A London conference in mid-July will mark the debut of the Digital Out-of-Home Entertainment Network Association (DNA), a new body promising to “represent and promote the interests and prosperity” of both suppliers and operators in sectors such as amusements and attractions.

Gamestec is to supply AWPs and SWPs to Luminar Leisure as the nightclub operator lays plans to give amusements and gaming a bigger role in its business.

Luminar, whose brands include Oceana, Liquid, and Lava & Ignite, will take both digital and analogue AWPs as well as digital SWPs from Gamestec.

Garland Leisure has bought Birmingham ten-pin venue Lakeside Superbowl from Newbury Leisure as it continues an acquisition spree.

The Lakeside location, which Garland plans to refurbish before reopening, has 18 lanes, bar, cafe and amusement zone.

Two new products from LAI Games combine amusement genres to provide consumers with novel experiences.

Mega Stacker, a giant unit roughly eight feet long and ten feet tall, is both a redemption game and a prize vendor. Players “stack” LED blocks to reach a certain level, at which the game vends an operator-selectable number of tickets. Those who manage to reach the top level can choose from five prizes displayed in lighted window compartments, the largest of which measure 19x33x16in to hold substantial prizes.

Bally Technologies says its new Code Red game mixes the best of reel and video technologies, using a curved LCD display that makes video reels “virtually indistinguishable” from mechanical ones.

“Code Red is a game-changer,” said Dan Savage, Bally’s marketing VP. “It looks, feels, and plays like a traditional reel-spinning game, but is actually a video machine. All of the features, such as the touchscreen capabilities and gesture control, take the player interface to the next technological level.”

Gaming centre operator Praesepe has received a takeover bid from venture-capital firm Marwyn Management Partners.

Nick Harding, CEO of Praesepe, said: “This development is very positive news for the business and represents a powerful endorsement of our acquisition strategy.”

Comparatively quiet it may have been, but this spring’s FER-Interazar event in Madrid still saw vendors continuing to woo the huge Spanish market with new games and accessories.

Aristocrat Technologies, for example, used the expo to launch two new Type B games for the Spanish arcade-salon sector.

The new titles, Mystic Mermaid and Wicked Winnings, are being offered alongside current games such as Big Red, Queen of the Nile and Dolphin Treasure and promoted to operators with the slogan “performance, performance, performance”.

Two women competed in the finals of the Brunswick Euro Challenge for the first time this year. Clara Guerrero of Colombia defeated Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of the U.S. by 229 to 204, gaining the top prize of €15,000.

Held for the eighth time in 2011, the Brunswick Euro Challenge is part of both the European Bowling Tour and the new World Bowling Tour. It brought nearly 400 bowlers from 37 countries to the Plaza Bowling Center in St. Maximin, Paris, vying for a total tournament prize fund of €106,000.

Flintshire in north Wales is set to get a new eight-lane bowling alley thanks to a partnership between the local council and Alliance Leisure.

A £1.8m investment will see the Flint Pavilion Leisure Centre gain an eight-lane ten-pin bowling alley and a four-rink indoor bowls facility as well as other enhancements including a soft play area for children.

Californian bowlers are enjoying the game Japanese-style after the opening of Round One Corporation’s first site in the U.S.

The venue at the Puente Hills mall in City of Industry, near Los Angeles, was opened by subsidiary Round One Entertainment last autumn and branded as Round 1 Bowling and Amusement.

As we went to press, the FER-Interazar gaming and amusements expo was opening in Madrid. Early observations from the show floor suggested a quieter-than-usual event, although attendance appeared to be picking up as it progressed.

The hall was dominated by a handful of large stands including those of Grupo Comatel, Novomatic, Ortiz Gaming, R. Franco and Sente.

Photo-Me International has enlisted designer Philippe Starck to create its latest automated photo booth.

The company is enthusing over features including “pure and elegant lines, classic and plain colours” and a backlit translucent seat.

The Global Draw is shipping a roulette game for betting shops. Roulette Plus, developed in-house, includes new betting options such as placing bets directly onto the wheel, or on either side of a chosen number. Other features include betting on red/even or black/odd, and high, low or medium staking options.

Nearly a quarter of British consumers’ spending will go toward leisure by 2030, according to a forecast by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

It attributes the increase partly to an ageing population spending more on services such as hospitality and recreation and less on daily essentials.

Rank Group has received £74.8m from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in a refund of overpaid VAT, and expects a further £79.5m in interest soon.

The repayment, which covers VAT paid on bingo operations between 1973 and 1996, follows tribunal and High Court rulings in Rank’s favour. However, HMRC is to appeal the case to the European Court of Justice, with a hearing likely to take place this year. If it is successful, Rank would have to make payments back to HMRC.

Machine operator Gamestec is raising money for Weston Hospicecare, a charity based near its regional distribution centre in the Welsh town of Chepstow, by giving cash every time a specific truck is driven.

Following a lump-sum donation of £250 to the charity, which provides care for people with life-threatening illnesses, Danoptra-owned Gamestec will give it 1p for every mile that the truck travels.

Roxy Bar and Screen in south London has been named Entertainment Pub of the Year at the Great British Pub Awards.

The venue offers film screenings in its back bar several times a week, with food and drink available throughout the show.

Namco Operations says Dead Heat, its game that combines street driving with social networking, has been the highest new entry in income charts at the locations that have deployed it.

“The school holidays in the early part of 2011 provides operators with an insight to what games are likely to be the best performers for the remainder of the year. Dead Heat offers something quite different and was certainly popular with our customers.

Attendance at March’s Enada trade fair in Rimini was down slightly on 2010, to 28,455.

The figure for the spring event in the Italian seaside resort, which is followed by an autumn expo in Rome, was 1.4 percent less than last year. Of those who attended, about 12 percent – or 3520 people – were from outside Italy.

Beer sales in British pubs are down nearly 40 percent from their heyday a decade ago, according to the GMB union.

It argues that the 38.9 decrease from 2002’s peak reflects pub closures caused by property companies setting rents too high.

Crystal is showing a new version of its Max Power for the Spanish market at the FER-Interazar trade fair in Madrid this month.

Hosted by distributor Comatel, it is exhibiting a release that combines two popular Spanish games, Ladrón de Cajas Fuertes and Casino Loco, with a Mega Premios jackpot display.

The Metropolitan Police found 20 unlicensed gaming machines in raids on sports and social clubs in the north London area of Hackney.

Working with other agencies including HM Revenue & Customs and the Gambling Commission, the Met launched the operation after a series of incidents involving firearms near Turkish sports and social clubs in the borough, also citing “heightened concern from Hackney’s Turkish community”.

Britons are likely to carry on taking their holidays within the UK even when the economic climate improves, according to new research from BDRC Continental.

In its annual survey of holidaying plans, BDRC found that 48 percent of British consumers are considering remaining in the UK for a “staycation” this year, compared with 39 percent in 2010 and 29 percent in 2009.

TAB Austria has redesigned its Max Fire Jukebox with a new look and a new control panel.

The upper half of the 32-inch HD touchscreen shows either the cover art or video of whatever song is currently playing, while the lower half lets users navigate through available songs, including up-to-date U.S., UK and German charts as well as an extensive archive.

The British government plans to go ahead with its plans to overhaul the taxation of amusement machines, replacing the existing Amusement Machine Licence Duty (AMLD) fee paid for each device with a new levy on profits called Machine Games Duty (MGD).

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said in his late-March budget that consultation on the new tax structure would take place in May, and reforms would then pass into law as part of the Finance Bill 2012 before being implemented in early 2013.

Gambling-related product placement will not be allowed on British TV, the regulator Ofcom has decreed.

Product placement was permitted for the first time at the end of February, provided that broadcasters display a logo to inform viewers that they have received a fee to depict particular products, services or trademarks in a programme.

Classic slot machines from Bally Wulff have formed the basis of a new work by Berlin artist Christian Graupner.

He used machines that the manufacturer had kept in storage to create an interactive video installation, described as “a modified one-armed bandit, a viewer-driven dance, video and music triptych”.

Music supplier JayBox will soon be providing its customers with access to online diagnostics, enabling them to monitor their digital jukeboxes remotely.

“We are very close to completing our online back-office interface for operators, which will allow our customers to see their JayBox machines from their own office,” said Richard Elsy, marketing director.

As online gaming grows in popularity, so too does the challenge of player protection for regulators and operators. It’s a question that has recently been exercising authorities on both sides of the Atlantic – and looks like it will now be getting some answers, thanks to new European guidelines and the pioneering legalisation of Internet gambling in New Jersey.

If 2010 was the year of the Italian video lottery terminal (VLT) revolution, perhaps 2011 will be the year of....the Italian VLT revolution, continued.

True, many operators and their suppliers are now looking to Greece as the next big market for VLTs. But the pace of activity in Italy continues to be frenetic.

JNC Sales is offering UK venues a new NASCAR game, Team Racing from Global VR.

“Players will enjoy a full NASCAR experience when they select from one of the many licensed and fantasy tracks,” said sales director Mike Smith.

Forget the Oscars: hail, instead, the prize-takers and nominees at this year’s International Gaming Awards. Winners in each category are highlighted in bold. Awards were also made in a number of other categories, mostly for casino and online gaming.

Praesepe has won the contract to manage Agora Gaming Group’s 75 adult gaming centres for new owner Baleday – and plans to exercise an option to buy them all.

The year-long contract brings the Praesepe-managed estate from 96 to 171 adult gaming centres across the UK, including the Crystal Rooms in Leicester Square, London. It also runs four family entertainment centres, six bingo clubs and an online bingo operation. Altogether, it offers players more than 7000 gaming machines.

More than 120 amusements professionals attended seminars on designing and laying out a gaming venue at the European Amusement and Gaming Expo (EAG) in London.

Presenter Frank Seninsky said: “Attendees came to the seminar programme with a strong interest and were ready to learn the ins and outs of redemption. Show organiser Karen Cooke and her team found a unique and practical way to bring a successful educational programme to the United Kingdom.

Football pools operator Sportech is among those bidding for Britain’s government-owned bookmaker the Tote.

The broad-based gaming company also does business under brands including Vernons, Littlewoods Bingo, Littlewoods Casino, Littlewoods Poker, and Game On. As well as operating land-based and online gaming, it offers pools technology and services to other firms.

All good things come to those who wait, we’re told. But that’s perhaps been little consolation to European customers of Aristocrat Technologies, left twiddling their thumbs while new games are released to U.S. and Asian markets first – at least up until now.

JPM International will have three new games for the UK market at this month’s European Amusement & Gaming Expo (EAG) event in London.

Classic Red Alert is a Category C model, while Fun in the Sun is Category B4. Also new for the British market is a Category C version of Casino Crazy Deluxe.

Maggi UK is to highlight Money Controls’ cash-handling products as well as its own portfolio at the European Amusement & Gaming Expo (EAG) in London.

The UK arm of server-based gaming specialist Inspired Gaming Group is linking up with Merkur, part of the German Gauselmann Group, to form a joint venture serving the big new market for video lottery terminals (VLTs) in Italy.

Police are trying to identify two men who robbed an amusement arcade in Worthing at knifepoint. The incident took place at the Ann Street Casino in the resort town south of London during the early evening of 11 January.

It came just weeks after two armed men stole thousands of pounds in cash from another arcade in Altrincham, near Manchester, although police are not linking the robberies.

Atronic’s Sphinx, Mystic Pearls and Princess of the Amazon are proving to be the top-performing games among Italian AWPs, according to the vendor.

Rank Group is continuing its charity fund-raising for Marie Curie Cancer Care in 2011, after reaching its 2010 target of £200,000 two months early.

The efforts of the gaming group, whose brands include Mecca Bingo, G and Grosvenor Casinos, and Rank Interactive, will fund 12,500 hours of in-home care for terminally ill patients, according to the charity.

Operators, suppliers and others in the gaming value chain will be thick on the ground at the ICE Totally Gaming event in London this month.

But what may surprise visitors to the trade show is the number of bureaucrats there too – ICE organisers expect more than 100 gaming regulators and government officials to attend.

The ICE Totally Gaming expo in London will be showcasing not only the latest technology, but some of the oldest too.

On stand 3401, German gaming journalist Reinhold Schmitt will be presenting his online museum of jetons, with more than 3000 examples from 15 different countries.

As we went to press, server-based gaming specialist Inspired Gaming Group was poised to launch an electronic roulette terminal which it claims provides the best yet simulation of the table-gaming experience.

Multi-Win Roulette 4.0, housed in the Sabre slant-top cabinet and customisable with leather and wood options, “is the first electronic table game to recreate the full sensory experience of playing at a live table, while providing the comfort of sitting at a private terminal”, according to Inspired.

The chief executive of trade body BACTA has written to the government to express concern about its plans for an overhaul of gaming machine taxation in the UK.

JCM Global is introducing new versions of two of its popular note validators. The UBA RC, based on the UBA model, recycles two denominations of notes in the range €5-200, holding up to 100 notes in each recycling chamber. JCM’s Roller Friction Recycling Technology allows manual refilling of the recyclers, easy maintenance and jam clearance, and a compact design, according to the vendor. The cash box holds between 400 and 1000 notes.

Quixant is bringing to market a gaming controller based on AMD’s Fusion technology just weeks after the chipmaker launched it at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this month.

The QXi-200 controller uses an AMD Fusion chip – termed by its maker an accelerated processing unit, or APU – which combines a 64-bit processor and a Radeon graphics controller. It is available in single-core 1.5GHz and dual-core 1.6GHz designs.

Trade-fair veterans know that it’s not the logos above the stands that really determine how useful a visit is – more important are what personnel are there, and what’s on display. Some companies use their presence to do little more than showcase already-familiar products, while others have brand-new lines not only from their own catalogues but from partners too.

Cost-conscious consumers seek their fun at home; smoking bans kill the pleasure of traditional gaming venues for tobacco addicts; high broadband penetration makes playing online an easy alternative.

Sounds familiar, perhaps. But this isn’t (only) a description of (parts of) the amusements industry: as a new report from research firm Research and Markets indicates, it’s the state of bingo too.

Consumers in Northern Ireland are heavier gamblers than those in Great Britain, but significantly less likely to spend their money on amusement machines such as slots, according to a new survey conducted for the province’s Department for Social Development. They are also much more likely to be problem gamblers.

Cash-handling specialist Money Controls will use this month’s ICE Totally Gaming expo in London to demonstrate two new security technologies – high-resolution imaging of bank notes, and data encryption to thwart fraudsters targeting amusement machines at sites like arcades, motorway services and pubs.

Britain’s amusement arcades are cutting part-time and casual staff, converting to bingo halls and all too often even closing their doors permanently. Yet they remain a big part of the country’s amusements industry, earning gross gambling profit (stakes less payouts) of nearly £0.5bn during 2009-10, according to the latest figures from the Gambling Commission.

The spirit of diplomatic compromise is flourishing in Brussels, where the European Union’s competitiveness council recently issued conclusions on the framework for EU gambling legislation that essentially read: “Member states can make their own rules. Well, except when they can’t.”

Two men stole thousands of pounds in cash from an amusement arcade in Altrincham, near Manchester, after threatening staff with a knife and crowbar.

They struck at Reel Time Amusements on the evening of 6 December, concealing their identities with hooded coats which staff assumed they were wearing because of the cold snap.

Trevor Hemmings, owner of pier and amusement arcade operator Crown Leisure, is expected to lose around £4m following the collapse of the Pontin’s chain of holiday camps.

Icy temperatures in Britain appear to have made Fun in the Sun, a four-reel Category B4 game, a hot property for JPM’s Crystal unit.

JPM sales and marketing director Simon McCarthy said: “Fun in the Sun has been a consistent performer in the members’ club sector and we’re continuing to receive orders, to the point where to meet demand, we will now transfer a limited amount of Fun in the Sun production to the popular Linear cabinet with a note-recycler option.”

Eurocoin Group has acquired the assets of Thomas Automation, the 40-year-old manufacturer of change machines and automated ticket and stamp dispensers. The firm, based in Loughborough, had been in liquidation.

Now trading as Thomas Automatics, it will continue to support all existing Thomas machines installed worldwide, and has enlisted the assistance of E-Service to provide technical aid and spares.

Andy Capp is the latest cartoon character to feature in an amusement machine – in this case, a slot game for betting shops created by Scientific Games’ subsidiary The Global Draw.

Rick Mountney, content development director for The Global Draw, said: “People know of Andy Capp from the comic strip but this is a way of introducing him to a wider audience in a fun, interactive way. We believe the game will appeal to both regular and casual gamers.”

U.S. slot makers are reportedly cutting their prices and focusing on fewer, better-performing titles in an effort to persuade operators to shake off the downturn blues and update their equipment again.

Despite stabilising revenues for many U.S. casinos, historically huge customers for slots, they are still postponing upgrade plans, according to Robin Farley, an industry analyst with UBS.

More than three quarters of British employees have stolen from their workplace, according to a new survey.

Men are especially likely to be guilty, with 82 percent admitting theft from their employers, compared with 71 percent of women. For the population overall, the figure was 76 percent.

Japan may be home of many of the biggest manufacturer names in arcade gaming, but the majority of its consumers are uninterested in the pursuit and have a low opinion of the venues, according to new research.

A survey of 12,000 Japanese residents by MyVoice found that 61 percent never go into amusement arcades, and 20 percent visit less than once a year.

Suppliers of gaming systems are revelling in one of their biggest bonanzas in recent years thanks to large orders from Italian operators of video lottery terminals (VLTs), the networked devices which began appearing in the country earlier this year after swift legalisation by a government keen to open up a new revenue stream.

Most recently, Cogetech – which has licences to operate about 5200 VLTs, also known as Comma 6b devices – has contracted with WMS Gaming to take an undisclosed number of its terminals, marking their Italian debut.

In its second sweeping change to British gaming regulation in a period of weeks, the government announced as we went to press that it would abolish Amusement Machine Licence Duty (AMLD), the flat-rate fee paid by operators of gaming machines, and replace it with a tax based on profits.

As a result, Whitehall says, struggling operators may end up paying less tax than currently, while the more efficient could face a bigger bill.

The combined Advantech-Innocore, which claims to now be the biggest PC supplier to the gaming industry, will next month launch two single-board computers at the ICE Totally Gaming expo in London.

Based on AMD and Intel technology, they are being offered to the developers of gaming machines, who can take advantage of features optimised for gaming to drive their systems.

Computers set up in public venues specifically to access online gambling sites could legally be treated as unlicensed gaming machines, according to the UK’s Gambling Commission.

“A computer is not a gaming machine merely because there is a possibility of accessing a gambling Website via the Internet,” the Commission has ruled.

Administrator Baker Tilly has sold the 99 properties of UK adult gaming centre operator Agora Gaming Group. The new owners are two Minmar (929) Ltd and recently-formed Baleday Ltd, believed to be investment vehicles set up to make the acquisition.

In its second sweeping change to British gaming regulation in a period of weeks, the government announced as we went to press that it would abolish Amusement Machine Licence Duty (AMLD), the flat-rate fee paid by operators of gaming machines, and replace it with a tax based on profits.

As a result, Whitehall says, struggling operators may end up paying less tax than currently, while the more efficient could face a bigger bill.

As Euroslot went to press, the British government at last put in motion mechanisms to double the maximum stake on Category B3 gaming machines and allow operators to offer more units at each location.

Brent Sales, the UK amusement-machine division of Namco Europe, says low running costs for a new photo booth will translate directly into a boost for the operator’s bottom line.

It has signed an exclusive distribution deal with Apple Industries in the U.S. to offer the booth, which can produce two colour-fast photo strips in as little as 20 seconds using a dye-sublimation printer.

Online slots have, up to now, been scattered across a plethora of casino Websites, some bearing the brands of bricks-and-mortar parents while others exist on the Internet only. There has been no clear market leader. But that could change with the arrival of Slots.com, following the sale of the domain name to Bodog, a venture-capital firm based in Antigua and specialising in leisure industries.

Photo booths in American hotels are earning revenue from advertising displayed on their touchscreens as well as the usage charges paid by consumers.

The booths – supplied by hospitality specialist Send A Message but installed and maintained by Fujifilm – allow guests to transfer photos from digital cameras or memory sticks, create postcards, and then print them out, send them by email or upload them to a Fujifilm Website.

Just in case there’s the odd British pub-goer who’s not sick of The X Factor yet, Soundnet is offering its customers a free weekly playlist featuring songs performed on the TV talent show.

All users of its Milestones in Music package, which normally comprises top 40 songs from present and past charts, are entitled to the X Factor playlist. It includes both performances by the contestants, and the original songs they are covering.

Arcade shooting game Terminator Salvation has sold into 25 countries since its European launch in January, according to maker Namco Bandai. But it is gameplay – rather than the movie association – that is driving its popularity, the firm’s UK arm says.

“Licences on their own are window dressing, but when a licence such as the Terminator sci-fi franchise is linked to a compelling game which has powerful play credentials it has a massive impact on the cash box, generating high earnings over a long-term period,” said John Brennan, commercial director at Namco Europe’s UK operation Brent Sales.

Independent TV production company Endemol UK, a subsidiary of the Dutch firm of the same name best known for the Big Brother reality TV format, has formed a new division, Endemol Games, to license both its own and other entertainment companies’ brands.

“Endemol’s entertainment properties attract a huge fan base and seamlessly cross over into branded gaming,” said Jurian Van der Meer, managing director of the new unit.

Game developer Project says choosing the right price and prize points will help amusements operators keep consumers playing their poker machines.

It has released an upgrade kit, dubbed Big Deal, for its Joker Poker and Double Joker Poker products.

Austria’s Funworld has upgraded its Photo Play touchscreen unit with 13 new games.

Photo Play 2011 includes card, skill and fun games, with a facility to compete against other players internationally. Altogether, there are now 19 multiplayer games on the system, and the Photo Play Masters tournament series runs more than 3000 contests annually.

The owner of a Hull taxi firm has been fined nearly £1800 for operating unlicensed gaming machines at his offices.

David Smith, proprietor of taxi firm Six O Cars, received fines totalling £1797 after a prosecution by Hull City Council under the Gambling Act 2005, which prohibited gaming machines in non-gaming premises such as fish-and-chip shops and minicab businesses.

Seven men have been jailed for stealing more than £43,000 from gaming machines at motorway service stations across England, in a case which police and operators alike say highlights the need to tackle gangs with large enquiries rather than small-scale prosecutions for individual offences.

The Portsmouth-based group operated from Yorkshire to the southwest, sometimes hitting several locations a day. They used electronic devices to manipulate the machines, creating credits and forcing them to pay out jackpots of up to £500.

International Game Technology (IGT) could be about to put Barcrest up for sale. Its advisers Global Leisure Partners are talking to potential buyers of the famous gaming name, according to reports, with the price tag expected to be around £70-100m.

Gaming-centre operator Praesepe is developing what it calls a “new high-street concept” offering progressive bingo games across multiple locations.

CEO Nick Harding said: “We are excited by the opportunity within the 2005 Gambling Act to operate video bingo terminals in our venues, and have now converted 30 from licensed AGC [adult gaming centre] venues to what we are describing as ‘micro-bingo clubs’, operating under cash bingo premises licences. This will allow us to offer progressive, parimutuel bingo games across multiple venues.

Lower-cost entertainment and amusement technology is proving popular with operators, according to manufacturer Sound Leisure. The firm says it now has fewer than 100 remaining of its 1000 limited-edition Starburst budget jukeboxes. Recent buyers of the £1350 units include Gamestec, whose product manager Stefan Podolanski said: “The Starburst is a fantastic-looking machine and at this price is unbelievable value. We had to take a serious look at this machine and it didn't disappoint.”

Russian operator Russkoye Loto has won the contract to run a dozen lotteries raising money for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Its Sportloto division will operate two draw lotteries and ten instant lotteries across the country, with anticipated sales of more than 30bn roubles (€700m).

Parent Russkoye Loto, owned by Finstar Financial Group, already has a market share of 33 percent through its existing portfolio of one draw lottery and 50 instant lotteries. In addition to the Sportloto Olympic lotteries, it also plans to launch further draw and instant products.

Clarion Events, organiser of January's giant ICE show in London, appears confident that it can secure the big-name exhibitors despite another gaming trade fair taking place in the same city on the same dates.

The Clarion event at Earls Court – reverting to its old name after a period as IGE – avoided a blow when Novomatic confirmed it would be exhibiting despite rumours to the contrary. Other recent signings include Abbiati, Gamesman, R. Franco and TCSJohnHuxley.

Games Media, which supplies entertainment technology to British pubs, says more than 50 percent of its estate now pays out prizes in the form of tickets rather than coins.

The Scientific Games subsidiary has found that since deployment of the ticketing systems on video AWP and SWP games began a year ago, some sites have seen their machine income boosted by as much as 35 percent.

Tickets also eliminate the need to refill machines with change, and reduce security risks.

While spending cuts dominate Britain's political conversation and the agenda of many private companies, games creator Project has urged manufacturers to continue investing in research and development.

The firm – whose products include video poker and blackjack, slots, and lottery systems – says it is ring-fencing its R&D spending in the expectation that the coalition government will create a more friendly regulatory environment for gaming businesses, and thus encourage demand for its machines.

Many see online gaming as a natural predator of venue-based businesses. So could the best means of defence be a terminal that resides on your premises but allows players to participate in Internet games?

According to Jens Göransson, founder of Jensigame, “our company philosophy is to allow players to enjoy Internet gaming in traditional gaming locations”.

Funworld, the Austrian maker of gaming hardware and software, has been acquired by technology group Quanmax after declaring insolvency.

The new owner, a fellow Austrian firm which operates under a range of brands outside the gaming sector, said it would make no dramatic changes to the Funworld business.

But it predicted that Funworld would benefit from synergies in support and logistics, as well as from Quanmax's research-and-development capability.

Gamestec is partnering with Astra Games, part of Novomatic Group, to develop a new digital gaming system for UK pubs. A package including technology, content, distribution, and maintenance is expected to be available to landlords within three months.

Taito has launched a digital distribution system for arcade games, allowing venue operators to download new titles rather than replacing hardware.

Developers Arc System Works, Cave and SNK Playmore are reported to have committed to putting their games on the download system. The first title available will be Arc's fighting game BlazBlue Continuum Shift II.

The amusements industry in the U.S. is watching with concern the fate of a ban on violent video games, which the nation’s Supreme Court is scheduled to consider this winter.

The Californian prohibition, restricting the sale or rental of violent video games to over-18s and requiring their labelling, was signed into law by Governor Arnold

Schwarzenegger in 2005 – but never enforced, because it was instantly challenged in a state court, which ruled against it.

The first video lottery terminals (VLTs) have gone live in Italy, little more than a year after the decision of the regulator AAMS to permit the networked devices – in part to raise funds for reconstruction in the region affected by 2009’s Abruzzo earthquake.

“Internationally, the Italian VLT market is the most exciting opportunity the gaming industry has seen in years,” said Luke Alvarez, CEO of Inspired Gaming Group.

Coin-op suppliers exhibiting in a new dedicated section at the Leisure Industry Week (LIW) show are hoping to reach customers beyond their usual base.

SAM Leisure, RLMS Sales, Harry Levy Amusements and Electrocoin were among the first firms to book stands within LIW's Coin-Op Showcase, located in the play and attractions area of the exhibition.

“We like an autumn showcase as it provides an opportunity to meet our customers after the summer,” said Harry Levy of Harry Levy Amusements. “We hope to meet not only our usual buyers but also new contacts from other leisure sectors.”

Gamestec's TabBoxx pull-tab lottery game is said to be attracting pub customers who wouldn't normally use gaming machines.

Offering prizes up to £1000, the system is now installed in more than 200 sites, some taking £80 a day. Part of the proceeds are being given to charity.

At Yates's in Barrow-in-Furness. manager Brian Clarke said: “The TabBoxx machine has been really popular with our customers. They like the fact that by playing they are supporting a good cause. We have a mixed customer base at our pub – although people of all ages have been playing, it seems particularly popular with the over-40s.

British bookmakers are increasingly looking to gaming machines to provide income growth in the face of widespread closures and growing costs.

Five hundred betting shops have closed across the UK in just two years, according to Global Betting and Gaming Consultants, a decline that the

Association of British Bookmakers has characterised as the beginning of an “unprecedented downward spiral as the extortionate media rights fall on the remaining shops”.

A man has been banned from every amusement arcade in Britain after a series of thefts from gaming machines.

Peter Storr, 22, was given the five-year anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) as well as a suspended six-month prison sentence and 150 hours of work in the community after pleading guilty to stealing money from the devices.

 Praesepe is to continue offering Project's gaming machines at the sites it runs under the Cashino, Beacon Bingo and Showboat brands.

British pubco Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has sold its 24 Hollywood Bowl tenpin bowling venues to AMF Bowling, which already operates 33 alleys across the country.

AMF is paying £27m for the business and brand, and M&B hopes to raise a further £12m by selling the freeholds of those bowling alleys where it owns the premises.

The sale, which follows M&B's recent disposal of 52 budget hotels, is part of its strategy to concentrate on its food-led pubs. AMF, originally American-owned, has since 2004 been a subsidiary of Bourne Leisure, which also owns Butlins.

Gaming legislation is killing off the traditional British seaside town and the amusement-machine manufacturing sector, the British Amusement Catering Trade Association (BACTA) has charged.

The trade body is calling for the government to restore the £2 maximum stake on Category B3 machines and allow more machines at each venue. The maximum stake was reduced from £2 to £1 by the Gambling Act of 2005, which also limited the number of units per site.

But before he was elected in May of this year, Prime Minister David Cameron assured one of BACTA's members in writing that he would make these changes if he came to power, according to the association.

UK pubs continue to invest in gaming and entertainment systems, with pubcos TCG and Enterprise Inns both awarding large contracts.

Gamestec has won a two-year deal to supply systems to TCG, whose chief operating officer Nigel Wright said: “We were impressed by Gamestec and have given them a percentage of our business going forward. They have undergone major changes over the past two years and we believe they can provide a new approach to our leisure-machines offering.”

Alaw swiftly enacted in January sees the demise of the use of privately operated gaming machines in Poland. The Polish Government’s new law has resulted in fury and indignation among businesses involved who will bring their plight to Brussels this month in a series of meetings with EU officials.

Amatic Industries has entered the Mexican gaming market and exhibited at the ELA in Mexico City last month.

The Spanish Presidency’s progress report focuses on the definition of illegal gambling, enforcement measures, transitional periods in the context of new licensing regimes in national markets and public campaigns against so-called illegal gambling. 

Innovative Technology has appointed Paul Curley as (UK) Business Development Manager.  Paul joined Innovative Technology on the 4th May and brings with him an extensive  knowledge of the industry having worked in automated payment for over 10 years.

Heber assisted Microsoft with the launch of its brand new embedded operating system (WES7) at the embedded systems conference in Silicon Valley in April; Heber featured in the Launch video and has been integrating WES7 into its range of gaming and industrial controllers for the past 6 months.

Bandai Namco has announced the formation of a new international Prize Merchandise division which will be based in London. Alan Smith, who has extensive experience working across the toy, licensing and leisure sectors, most recently with Sega Prize Europe where he launched the Sega Kids Division with Dinosaur King and the Hello Kitty prize range, is heading up the Division and will report into Namco Europe Managing Director John McKenzie.

Schmidtgruppe from Coesfeld and Berlin-based Bally Wulff  Entertainment have joined forces with the German Football Association to ensure that the German World Cup team is supplied with the latest games at their training camps for the World Cup in South Africa. The first phase of the deal means the team will have the choice of finest equipment, including pool and football tables, during their free time at the team’s pre-tournament Italian training camps in Sicily and South Tyrol.

E-Service has been chosen as the new approved service contractor to Shuffle Master Europe for their Utility Products range in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. This agreement takes place with immediate effect.

Clarion Gaming has announced the appointment of Jason Miller to the post of Sales Manager with responsibility for London’s world leading International Gaming Expo (IGE). Miller, who reports to Show Director Kate Chambers, has 16 years’ sales experience, working at senior levels across the exhibition, print, digital, recruitment and retail sectors.

Industry stalwarts Harry Levy Amusements, distributor AMG and service centre E-Services are the latest companies to announce their decision to support EAG 2011.

The second GTI Asia China Expo will take place from August 26 to 28 at Hall 1&2, First Floor, Poly World Trade Expo Center in Pazhou of Guangzhou City, China. The tradeshow has become the most representative of its kind for the Chinese electronic game industry.

Independent visitor research shows that buyers ‘overwhelmingly’ back London as IGE venue of choice. The importance of keeping the annual International Gaming Expo in London has been underlined following the publication of independent research conducted through a sample of visitors attending the 2010 IGE in January. The executive summary released by Geoffrey Dixon, principal of research agency Vivid Interface – members of the Market Research Society of Great Britain – states:

Heber has released a dedicated customer support forum for the benefit of all of its clients. This forum can be accessed via the Heber website and will give all Heber product users access to a vast knowledge base of data and additional resources. The forum will also support and allow the creation of new discussions on topics and subjects of interest to all participants.

Rimini Fiera’s sales campaign is in full swing for the 38th edition of ENADA International Amusement & Gaming Machine Show, being held from Wednesday 6th to Friday 8th October 2010 at Fiera di Roma.

International Game Technology has installed the sbX at Grand Casino Helsinki in Finland. After thorough training and a smooth installation, Grand Casino Helsinki experienced a flawless go-live on almost 20 percent of its gaming floor with IGT’s sbX Experience Management System.

In the late evening of the 16th of June a new amendment to the Austrian gambling Law was adopted by the parliament.

Gaming Laboratories International is expanding its Supplier Development Team, increasing its focus on suppliers in the Eastern United States in the process. Leading the effort is David Elmore, GLI’s newest Supplier Development Representative. Elmore will be based in the company’s headquarters in Lakewood, New Jersey, and will service clients up and down the eastern seaboard.

The popularity of the low stake high volume gaming experience with female ‘grey panthers’, the demographic group defined as active women of pensionable age, has been put into sharp focus by a programme of customer research commissioned by UK gaming operator Praesepe plc on behalf of its Cashino brand of Adult Gaming Centres (AGCs).

It seems that even the football loving and dance crazy Brazilians cannot resist the superb and proven family fun of Pan’s world leading electronic shooting galleries. Following a contact made at a previous IAAPA exhibition, Pan has recently completed and installed its fourth gallery in two years, an 8-gun Hillbilly, for Mar-a-Mar in Sao Paulo. Mar-a-Mar operates a number of family entertainment centres throughout Brazil, many of which are located in shopping centres.

Two years of evidence gathering by music industry bodies the BPI and PPL have culminated in a dramatic series of raids across seven addresses in the north of Scotland this week.

Following last year’s successful launch, organisers BACTA have been busy improving the show and hall layout and rebooking the companies that took part at the first event. With this first phase successfully completed the show is now open to all companies wishing to participate and book space at the show.

IOA Group member, SE Leisure is reducing its carbon footprint at the same time as improving logistical efficiency following the addition of two new lorries to its fleet of delivery vehicles. As well as being compliant with the latest EEV (Enhanced Environmental Vehicle) Standards, currently among the most strict in Europe, the 10-tonne Iveco EuroCargo trucks run on five per cent biodiesel, with emissions from each and every journey neutralised by carbon offsetting.

APEX has secured a contract to supply B Plus - Italy’s leading VLT concessionaire.

“Apex has a proven track record in the rapid deployment and ongoing support of large-scale gaming projects, in particular we are excited about the introduction to the Italian market of the state-of-the-art Pinnacle cabinet together with a portfolio of top performing games that will be very appealing to the Italian player base,“ said Mr. Alessandro La Monica, CEO of B Plus.

Visitor numbers at this year’s IMA were up more than 7 percent against last year’s. The focus of interest at the show was on screen-based devices with prizes, the so-called Multigamers. At the same time, demand continues for the classic drum and reel devices, primarily for bars and cafes.

APEX Gaming has made its first inroads into the Irish market. APEX Gaming machines can now be found is ‘Dr. Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium’ in O’ Connell Street in Dublin.

Innovative Technology will be bringing the SMART Way to AmEx this month.  From Stand 39 Innovative Technology will demonstrate its established bank note validator range and introduce the SMART Way to the Irish market. Comprising a true multi coin hopper (SMART Hopper) and a mixed note recycler (SMART Payout) the SMART Way allows any combination of mixed coins and notes to be paid out as change or prizes.

The Global Draw has successfully renewed an agreement to continue as the sole provider of server based gaming machines for major UK bookmaker Gala Coral.

On January 12th, 2010 the foundation stone was laid for the Guangzhou Huachuang Animation industrial park. When completed, the park will total around 1118 acres. At present, there are more than 50 enterprises that have stated their intention to enter.

Inspired Gaming Group (Inspired) has announced an extension to its longstanding agreement with Silver Heritage Limited (SHL) as the exclusive partner for the sale and operation of Open Server-Based Gaming (Open SBGTM) Casino products across Asia-Pacific. The contract is for three years with the ability to automatically extend the agreement.

Avalue, the professional e-service platform provider, is introducing a new invention for Digital Signage application, featuring exceptional energy-saving technology and slimmest appearance green product, the MPC-21W3.

Two new Merkur Casinos have opened in the Czech cities of Prague and Ostrava.  Customers can look forward to more than 50 playing positions and the highest quality service in the new Merkur Casino that opened its doors on 26th January in the Czech city of Prague. The new Merkur Casino offers customers gaming over an area of 500 m². This is focussed particularly on casino-like AWPs, roulette and Video Lottery Terminals from Merkur Gaming (MLT).

On January 20th 2010, ‘3D Technology（Hangzhou）Ltd’ a cooperation with ‘Disney Interactive Media Group(China)’, introduced the first 3D amusement game machine in China. The event was held in Hangzhou.

MEI claims it has introduced the product enhancements that will define the next generation of the CASHFLOW SC bill acceptor. The resulting benefits will further raise the bar of performance expectations in the metrics that matter most – driving improvements in both the player experience and operator profitability.

TransAct Technologies Incorporated (Nasdaq: TACT), a global leader in market-specific printers for transaction-based industries, has announced the promotion of Andrew Hanley to Vice President International Sales effective immediately.

Embed, a leading provider of Debit Card and Point of Sale Systems for the amusement and family entertainment industry has partnered with several top UK industry suppliers to penetrate the UK market with Embed’s Redemption Pro™ redemption management solution.

Highway 66, a scaled-down version of traditional tenpin bowling from QubicaAMF, has now been installed on two of MSC Cruises’ ships.  Highway 66 is space adaptable, and can be set up to accept coins, bills and debit cards, and to award tickets.   The first Highway 66 mini bowling game was installed on MSC Cruises’ new flagship, MSC Spendida. 

The return of sports impresario Barry Hearn to lead snooker into the 21st century has been widely welcomed by Bristol-based World Snooker Services.

Formed in 1990 by Pete Godwin and Eugene James, World Snooker Services (WSS) is aiming to expand and increase turnover this year, spurred on by the financial impact Hearn has had on various other sports.

This month Allstar is releasing a range of cool superballs, delicious candy and a great new flat item.As spring approaches, it’s the perfect time to stock up on new 27mm balls.  For the sports enthusiast, the 27mm Sports Mix is a colourful array of sports balls and includes soccer, tennis, baseball, pool, basketball and volleyball.  Or for those who like to express themselves, Allstar’s 27mm Fancy Faces Superballs are the perfect choice.  Cute and vibrant, these bouncy balls convey a myriad of emotions: such as happy, sad or flirty.

Barcrest Group has launched Kiron Interactive’s ‘Dashing Derby’ for the UK LBO market. The game was recently added to Barcrest Group’s extensive portfolio of games on the Lara terminal and will be deployed to LBO’s throughout the UK.

Comestero was present at the IGE with a number of new machines. The new coin validator (RM5 HD) and a full line of cash changing machines (Nexus PRO and COSMOS).

Comesterogroup has evolved its famous RM5. The RM5 HD can consider a good 10 different criteria of identification of the coin, related to the frequency, wideness and  phase measures, besides the one of the diameter of the coin.

From the beginning of this year, 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.

APEX Gaming unveiled major innovations at the IGE – the ‘Pinnacle’ cabinet, the electronic ‘Quikker’ electronic gaming table and the ‘Multi Magic Classic’ games package.

The ‘Pinnacle’ cabinet incorporates two 22” monitors in a dual-slim cabinet with integrated Dolby Surround Sound™. Furthermore, the ‘Pinnacle’ has been constructed to allow utmost flexibility, thus allowing customers to choose between several options such as player tracking and TITO, which are all available together.

The fifth TAB Austria awards ceremony took place during the International Gaming Expo (IGE) in January. Prizes totalling 20,000 Euros were awarded in three categories, each of which had three nominations.

As the administrator of the industry’s educational and charitable foundation, the AMOA’s Coin-Op Cares Foundation, will donate $5,000 to Haitian earthquake recovery programs. Additionally, Coin-Op Cares will direct an industry fundraising effort before and during the March 10-12 Amusement Expo in Las Vegas, matching donations from industry sources up to $5,000.

Jolly Backer has resigned as Stern Pinball, Inc.’s Director of Domestic Sales to pursue interests outside of the coin operated amusement game industry.

Jolly and his family are moving to San Diego, California, where he is taking a senior management position in Yo Naturals, Inc.  Yo Naturals combines “Yo Zone” vending machines together with a comprehensive natural and organic food distribution program.  The firm specializes in placement of its vending machines in schools, colleges, health clubs and businesses.  Jolly begins his new position at the beginning of January. 

Innocore Gaming Ltd, one of the leading manufacturers of PC based gaming platforms, has announced a new design-win with the leading Italian manufacturer Palese Group s.r.l.

Palese will apply the Innocore DPX® -E110-6a platform in their range of gaming machines for the Italian Comma 6a market.

Avalue has had three of its products honoured Taiwan Excellence Awards, including
the Fanless Super Anti-Vibration Low-Power Smart Industrial Computer, EPS-AT270; the 3.5-inch Micro Smart I/O Module Embedded SBC, ECM-945GSE+ AUX-Series; 
and the Industrial-Grade Modularized Low-Power Interactive Panel PC, LPC-1203.

The management team at Suzo Happ has announced the promotion of Mr. Erik Wijma to Sales Director. Mr. Wijma takes on with immediate effect the responsibility of sales generated from the Suzo Happ Headquarters in Oud Beijerland, The Netherlands.

2010 has begun and Funworld is continuing its successful multiple product strategy on a thorough footing presenting a wealth of brand-new innovations at IMA (hall 8a, stand C25) and at IGE (stand 4122).

ATEI in London is one of the industry’s most important annual meeting places. This year, TAB-Austria will once again have a strong presence as one of the market leaders in the entertainment sector and is set to present numerous new products.

The MAX FIRE Jukebox offers you and your customers national and international charts – automatically and bang up-to-date. In addition to the USA’s Hot 100, the UK’s TOP 75, Germany’s Top 100 and Austria’s Top 40, patrons also have access to the MAX FIRE Jukebox’s own chart list. This way, it is quick and easy to find the songs that have been most requested by patrons.

Two of the largest machine suppliers in Poland have been embroiled in a copyright battle since 2003. Britain’s JPM International has been involved in legal action against Nowopol of Poland and its Ukrainian Distributor Nowoslot in order to support its partners in Eastern Europe, Synot and its authorised subsidiary companies.

APEX Gaming Europe has appointed Darek Borowiec and Franz Plasser. These appointments reflect the growth in demand for APEX Gaming products and services in Italy, Spain and South America.

Astro Corp has confirmed the supply of an initial tranche of 450 complete Video Lottery Terminal systems to CODERE Italy under an exclusive agreement between the two companies. The systems will be sited in multiple locations and will feature games specially designed by Astro Corp for this market.  Astro Corp has also made a financial commitment in respect of 9 year fully renewable licences for the terminals.

Gamestec, the UK’s leading gaming machine and pool table operator, has donated a pool table to Devonport House, a Salvation Army facility in Plymouth, UK.

The table is proving popular with residents at the 60 bed hostel and flat complex.

Brent Sales claims it is bringing the world’s most advanced photo booth to Europe this year. Fantasy Entertainment’s BlaBaBooth, which is being distributed on an exclusive basis by Brent Sales, has according to Brent’s Commercial Director John Brennan ‘redefined the photo booth genre and brought it into the 21st century with a bang.’

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).

UK Jukebox operators can rest assured that once again Soundnet has its finger on the nation’s pulse with an eye to getting it to spend the cash in its pocket. The music supply specialist has created a special X Factor fever dedicated category on its jukeboxes, which is not only free but updated weekly to reflect the different categories tackled by the X Factor contestants.

Gaming machines provider The Global Draw has unveiled three new reel-based games for customers in Mexico.

Thai Flower, Amazon Eyes and Rosetta’s Stones have been tailored for the local market and released onto terminals in gaming venues operated by Corporacion Intermericana de Entertenimiento (“CIE”).

IGT-UK Group has announced that Alex Stephens, Director of Business Development for IGT-UK Group, will take responsibility for the Million-2-1 business with immediate effect.  Alex’s appointment fills the position held by Chris Sheffield who recently left the business to pursue other interests.

Funworld hosted ist first International Funwin poker workshop in Munich last month. The two-day event focused on the latest products, trends and developments in the online skill game and poker sector.

Over 100 customers and partners from around the globe participated in the workshop and used the opportunity to update themselves on the innovations and exchange their experiences.

The IOA Group, one of  Britain’s leading operators of gaming and leisure equipment has secured what is widely regarded as representing the best health and safety cover available to organisations in the sector following its partnership with Peninsula Business Services.

More than 100 UK pubs are now fully utilising ‘ticket out’ machine technology instigated by digital gaming supplier Games Media.

 Pubs running the new payout system reportedly saw not only additional cashbox improvement comparable to the uplift seen from the recent increase in stake and prize levels but also clear operational and marketing advantages.

MEI was awarded the “Most Effective Customer Support” award on October 6th during the gala held by the Balkan Entertainment and Gaming Expo in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Joaquín Franco Muñoz, co-founder of one of the largest gaming companies in the world, died in Madrid last month, aged 70.

Born in the region of Toledo in 1938, he was one of the most enterprising businessmen of his generation, founding Recreativos Franco in 1975 in Madrid, together with his brother Jesús.

Novatic from Wroclaw in Silesia has been appointed NSM Music distributor for Poland following the successful launch of the Icon2 jukebox at this year’s Surexpo Exhibition in Warsaw. An impressive number of knowledgeable visitors to the Novatic stand were given full details of the product’s many features by the ever enthusiastic Novatic staff led by Magdalena Szumska.

Sound Leisure welcomed almost 60 delegates to its premises last month for its two Technical Training days. They were given a tour of the factory and spent time in front of the latest products with trained Sound Leisure personnel in order to fully understand the features and capabilities of Sound’s wide range of jukeboxes.

Eurocoin and Motorola are celebrating the recent birthday of the barcode by announcing two promotional offers.

Anybody who registers their interest in the Motorola Mini Scan range at www.eurocoin.co.uk will go into a free prize draw with the opportunity to win one of many  fantastic Motorola prizes including Walkie Talkie’s, House Phones, Mobile Phones, Bluetooth handset and memory sticks.

Three TAB Austria Holding employees were honoured for their many years of service and dedication at a grand Company Party. Ing. Siegfried Dattl jun., managing director, thought up a very special surprise for the celebratory presentation.

Praesepe plc, the gaming group led by former BACTA National President Nick Harding, is set to complete its third acquisition in four months with the £6.3m (€6.7m/$9.9m) purchase of nine Adult Gaming Centres (AGCs) and four Family Entertainment Centres (FECs) from Case Concepts. All of the AGC sites will be re-branded under the Cashino marque. The FEC sites, which include Weston-Super-Mare, Burnham-on-Sea and Ilfracombe, will continue to trade under their current brand names whilst they are assimilated into the Group.

Merkur Gaming , subsidiary of the Gauselmann Group, has launched its newly-styled, innovative website under www.merkur-gaming.com. The reason for the new internet presence is the new positioning of M Merkur Gaming as a specialist for the development and international sales of AWPs as well as casino slots with a focus on multi-games.

Last month Euromat released its publication entitled “Responsible Gambling: a Statement of Principles and a Showcase of Best Practice from the European Gaming and Amusement Industry”.

The launch took place in the European Parliament at an event co-hosted by two very known figures in the European debate about gambling policy, MEP Christel Schaldemose of Denmark and MEP Toine Manders of the Netherlands, respectively Rapporteur and Shadow Rapporteur of the first European Parliament’s own-initiative report on gambling.

During the IMA show, MEI will be exhibiting its portfolio of products including the CASHFLOW SC—the product that has raised the standard for bill validators across the globe.  MEI CASHFLOW SC now features mechanical and software security enhancements, further protecting operators from manipulation and frauds. Also presented on the booth will be the new GEO Gravity, a multiwidth stackerless bill validator intended for smaller scale casinos and amusement operators.

Mazooma is re-launching its brand as a digital content provider to bookmakers and online casinos.

Tony Oliver, Managing Director of Mazooma, said: “Eighteen months ago, we embarked on a strategy to focus on delivering gaming content utilizing both the Bell-Fruit and Mazooma brands.

A year after the Pennsylvania’s Gaming Control Board made $5 million available to local law enforcement for targeting gray-area pokers, many police and prosecutors across the state are returning the money and saying “thanks, but no thanks.”

Nero Trade s.r.o. industrial and entertainment technology was established in 1998. The registered office of the company is located in northern Moravia (eastern Czech Republic) in the municipality of Dolní Becva. From the start, Nero Trade has manufactured, operated and leased jukeboxes, and other amusement machines as table football tables,air hockeys, touchscreens and gaming machines, both new and second-hand.

Sound Leisure and Soundnet launched their most affordable digital jukebox solution at the recent Preview show in London. The deal incorporates the futuristic SoundPod jukebox, fuelled by the budget-boosting Value music package.

Following on from it's successful world debut at the DEAL show in Dubai earlier this year, Elton Games presented the Dark Light Derby Game to the European market at the recent EAS show in Amsterdam. Generating high interest with attendees and fellow exhibitors alike, the Dark Light Derby was again a great success.

Eurocoin has increased its commitment to the Spanish Gaming market with the establishment of a new, Spanish-speaking business development team.

Eurocoin, one of Europe's leading suppliers of technical components and service to the gaming, amusement and vending industries, is reporting an excellent response from clients to their expansion into Spain.

Since its establishment in 2000, Shunhong Entertainment Equipment Co., Ltd has insisted on creating the best value for customers. Shunhong is an integrated company focused on R&D, production, sales and marketing management of entertainment equipment.

Magic Dreams has carried out another successful installation this time in the Egyptian resort of Taba. The recently opened Tabasands Casinò recipients of a number of EGO machines with a mix of Videoreel games and poker content.

The EGO cabinet was lauched at IGE London in January 2009 has proved to be a popular choice for operators worldwide.

Swiss distributor C+P Automatenhandel stands by its decision to choose the MAX FIRE Jukebox from TAB Austria. "Our customers are very enthusiastic about the unique features of the MAX FIRE Jukebox - and the good takings speak for themselves," says managing director, Bertrand Cavuscens.

KICTeam is expanding in both Europe and Asia. KIC Products UK, which operated as an independent exclusive European distributor, is now KICTeam Europe Limited and is a wholly owned subsidiary of KICTeam, Inc. located in Auburn, ME. KICTeam Asian/Pacific has also plans to establish offices in key locations in 2009 to facilitate the growth in this area of the world.

Magna Amusements, part of Megatouch Middle East based in Dubai, and Game Plus Ltd of Guangzhou, China, have formed a Joint Venture company called Game+Magna. The development is structured on Magna expanding its consultancy services world-wide as Game Plus strengthens its manufacturing production capabilities in amusement machines, rides and attractions.

EAG, London's latest exhibition dedicated to the amusement and coin-op industry will host a spectacular party aboard a vintage paddle steamer, the Dixie Queen. Making the most of the Excel Exhibition Centre's dock side location the Dixie Queen will navigate the River Thames and moor in the Queen Victoria Docks right alongside the exhibition hall.

The Remote Gambling Association has expressed its belief that the French Gambling Bill in its current form will fail to achieve any of its stated objectives. "The proposed regulatory and taxation regime will be wholly unattractive and in most cases completely unviable for private sector online gambling companies," says a spokesman for the trade body.

GTI Asia Taipei Expo 2010 will take place on May 2-4, 2010 at B&C Zones, Hall 1 of the Taipei World Trade Center in Taipei City, Taiwan. Currently, there are 600 booths available, and around 100 exhibitors from all over the world are estimated to attend, including companies from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China.

The Remote Gambling Association has expressed disappointment at the European Court of Justice's failure to find that Portugal had violated the freedoms of the internal market by creating an exclusive internet gambling monopoly. The Portuguese monopoly eliminates competition and limits consumer choice. Although the ECJ recognized that the monopoly was a restriction on the freedom of services, it ruled that the restriction may be justified in certain situations.

Funworld ag and Playsafe Holding AS' daughter company, Ecom Enterprise NV, has entered into an extended strategic alliance to launch Internet based poker terminals in the international market. The two companies will officially launch the new product range on their invitational kick-off event 21st and 22nd of October in Munich.

Cashino, the UK's fastest growing chain of Adult Gaming Centres (AGCs), celebrated its first birthday with a special cake cutting ceremony attended by the company's senior management team including CEO Nick Harding, AGC Managing Director Jonathon Hughes, Commercial Director Byron Evans and Finance Director Matthew Proctor. The photo shoot was held at the brand's flagship venue in Nuneaton, which was part of the first £25m acquisition completed by parent company Praesepe plc from HJM Caterers and E & J Hall Investments in summer 2008.

Wireless 2009, which included headline acts ,such as Dizzee Rascal, Paul Oakenfold and Alesha Dixon, saw the launch of NSM Music's first contactless payment jukebox. Working closely with event sponsors, Barclaycard, NSM successfully premiered the customised Icon jukebox in three high profile areas at the Hyde Park venue. Over forty acts had the chance to trial the impressive new Icon in the very busy Green Room at Wireless 2009,whilst the Press corps and the many VIPs were able to sample the jukebox in their own special areas.

John Clyde has joined Jolly Roger as UK and International Sales Manager. He has taken over responsibility for sales from Marshall Ashdown who left Jolly Roger for LAI Games in September.

Inspired Gaming Group has signed a deal with the Gala Bingo to supply an additional 3,600 bingo handheld devices. The ‘Bingo Wizard' terminals will be deployed in a significant number of Gala Bingo's 148 clubs from September 2009. This will take the total amount of electronic bingo terminals supplied by Inspired on the Gala Gaming Platform to over 6,800.

Nanoptix inc., manufacturer of the Paycheck^TM line of TITO printers and CashCode, a division of Crane Payment Systems, manufacturer of the One^TM line of bill validators and currency handling devices have introduced the OneCheck^TM solution.

Merkur Casino - the pan-European arcade operator of  the German Gauselmann Group - has opened an entertainment centre in the southern Spanish city of Malaga close to the airport.

Sound Leisure is throwing open its doors in October for two days of technical training and awareness (TTA). The Sound Leisure factory, based in Leeds, will host the open days on October 21/22 and customers are invited to take a tour of the premises and spend time in front of the latest products with trained Sound Leisure personnel.

BetStone (www.betstone.com), the server-based gaming pioneer, predicts that server-based gaming technology will continue to unlock Mexico's gaming potential and enable it to become one of the largest centres of gaming excellence globally.

Ten years after the foundation of JAPAN CASH MACHINE GERMANY GMBH, the European headquarters of JCM Global located in Düsseldorf (Germany) announced that with effect of September 1st 2009 the company name has been changed into "JCM EUROPE GmbH". The new name will be more clearly to convey that JCM in Germany is looking after the needs and belongings of the customers, manufacturers and end users throughout Europe. The new name underlines the scope of business of the company that goes far beyond the borders of Germany.

Billiard cloth manufacturer Milliken has responded to growing interest in pool and snooker in the Middle East by agreeing to distribute its products exclusively through Knight Shot, the region's leading wholesaler.

Praesepe plc, the UK's fastest growing Low Stake High Volume gaming operator, has completed its third acquisition with the purchase of Britain's most famous gaming landmark, The Crystal Rooms in London's Leicester Square. The purchase of the high profile site from United Leisure was completed for a nominal £1 ($1.65/€1.14) plus net liabilities totalling £3.3m ($5.45m/€3.75m). It brings the total number of Adult Gaming Centres (AGCs) in the Praesepe estate to 41 and provides the group with a flagship venue in central London.

As leading cash-handling supplier to the UK for over 20 years, Cummins Allison is aware of the ever-increasing need for cash counting equipment in an industry where there is a need to process large volumes of coin.

Embed, a leading provider of Debit Card and Point of Sale Systems for the amusement and family entertainment industry, has now opened a European office in the UK. The office has been established to better service Embed's growing list of clients in the European region and will be the fourth international office for Embed adding to existing facilities in Perth, Australia, Dallas, USA and Dubai, UAE.

Funworld introduces funwin, offering completely new commercial opportunities and perspectives to the traditional business model.

Funwin is the first games platform in the games machine industry to provide an easy opportunity to get into the powerfully growing and lucrative online games business for those who set it up. They are thus entering a new commercial activity line with a very high turnover and player potential.

Sega Amusement Europe and Sega Amusement USA will be the first territories to exhibit Sega's new Sonic Allstars range. The designs with their white livery and blue stars along with the iconic Sonic character will first be available on an Air Hockey table and Basketball machine.

London's new exhibition dedicated to the coin-op and amusement sectors the EAG Expo is 85% full.

Sixty-eight companies have already booked their stand space and will exhibit their own products and services.  In addition, they will also demonstrate the products of a further 45 companies 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.

Pan Amusements, world leader in the manufacture of electronic shooting galleries, continues to expand its sales to many corners of the globe.  Its latest development is the sale of two of its best selling Hillbilly galleries to Tunzafun, an expanding Australian operation of family entertainment centres.

Funworld has released PHOTO PLAY 2010, a first class special anniversary edition/ PHOTO PLAY is 15 years old and to mark this great occasion PHOTO PLAY 2010 with its 17 brand new is proving to be the biggest and best game update ever. It includes four of the popular Yetisport games, a fresh design, a host of technical innovations and an optimised game player interface.

Spectators at the P1 Powerboat World Championship held in Istanbul had a unique opportunity to get closer to the high-speed action of offshore racing than they might have expected. 

Shortly before World Snooker announced its decision to use Beijing Xingwei Star tables for its ranking tournaments world wide, Milliken was presented with a special certificate to mark its long association as a Strachan distributor in China.

Happy players mean satisfied customers. Those, who update their terminals on a regular basis, can earn up to 115 % percent more per month. For this reason, new games, new features and new software are constantly being worked on at the research and development offices of TAB-Austria. This year sees the release of what is already the fourteenth big update for the popular SILVERBALL terminals.

Joe Coppola, Vice President of Sales for ‘Innovative Concepts in Entertainment' (ICE) and Paul Williams, Managing Director of Sega Amusements Europe Ltd have announced that effective immediately they have entered into an exclusive distribution agreement for Sega to represent ICE's extensive product range of product in various countries throughout the world including Russia, France, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Germany, and many countries within Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.

Jointly organized by GTI Magazine, China Game and the Guangzhou Convention and Exhibition Center, GTI Asia China Expo will make its debut on September 3 to 6 at the Guangzhou City Exhibition Center. The event is supported by the Panyu Branch of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the China e-Game Industry Association and the Guangzhou Panyu Animation & Game Association (GAGA). 

Less than a month after the change in stakes and prizes legislation, Gamestec has seen a significant increase in income on their machines.

 Gamestec, the UK's largest operator of gaming machines in pubs, has seen income levels rises of around 13% since the introduction of the new machines.

Tony Eyre, formerly Sales and Marketing director at Games Warehouse, has joined Nova Productions as Sales Director - directly responsible for the poker sensation Big Tony's PokerKard.

Eyre spent seven years at Games Warehouse and spearheaded a highly successful sales and marketing campaign for their Paragon SWP compendium, which resulted in it becoming the UK's market leader.

Sound Leisure will officially launch its new division this month with a new on line store dedicated to children's play equipment. SL KIDS products are quickly becoming sought after by many recognised high street names and the NHS who want to create areas for toddlers to play in safety. 

LAI Games has appointed Marshall Ashdown as its new European & ME Sales Manager. Starting in mid September Marshall will service distributors, develop new markets and build on LAI Games' excellent sales record throughout Europe and the Middle East.

MEI is pleased to announce the addition of Bepi Mottes as vice president -new business development in the EMEA region. In this role, Mr. Mottes will be responsible for developing relationships and opportunities in key Gaming and Financial markets. He will also leverage his significant knowledge of the region to help MEI enhance its route-to-market strategies and product portfolio.

Project has bolstered its R&D team with the appointment of two additional software engineers working out of its London head office. The appointments have been made to help ease pressure on the games development function due to enhanced demand and to ensure that Project continues to invest high levels of creative collateral across all sectors of its business.

Merkur Casino - part of the Gauselmann Group - has opened another two new gaming locations - one in the Czech town of Ostrava and the other in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic and is situated in the far east of the country - very close to the border with Poland and Slovakia. This ist he 24th Merkur Casino in the Czech Republic.

Market leading SWP developer and manufacturer Games Warehouse has announced the appointment of Rob Standen to the newly created position of Director of Sales.

IGT-UK Group has restructured its mobile and internet gaming operations following the recent news concerning its acquisition of Million-2-1 and the subsequent announcement covering the integration of the UK division of WagerWorks.

Legislation which governs the use of UK Category C amusement with prizes (AWP) machines, including those in pubs, changed last month.

Grand Casino Bern recently announced its decision to award Eurocoin top marks at its annual vendor assessment.

The development of the Cashino brand of Adult Gaming Centres has taken a further step forward with the announcement that parent company Praesepe plc had added six sites through the acquisition of the entire share capital of Issue Depth Limited and its wholly owned subsidiary, Classic Leisure (Northern) Limited for a total consideration of circa £1.5 million, excluding fees.

Brent Sales is anticipating a successful UK summer season as a number of factors coincide to bring the best out of its current range of ‘star performers'.

Merkur Casino - the pan-European arcade operator owned by the Gauselmann Group - has opened its seventh entertainment centre in Slovakia in the town of Trencin in mid May under the brand name "Merkur Herna".

MEI has announced that Sun International management has informed its casino operations that they are now specifying the MEI CASHFLOW SC banknote reader.

Inspired Gaming Group, a leading player in Open Server-Based Gaming has announced a strategic alliance with the Gauselmann Group, Germany's largest machines operator, to manufacture Inspired's new high definition gaming cabinet ‘Storm'.

3M Touch Systems, a division of diversified technology company 3M, has announced that Dave Williams, European Operations Manager, is now responsible for UK gaming accounts and sales development activity in the UK, Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.

The European Gaming and Amusement Federation celebrated its 30th anniversary last month by welcoming four new members into the Federation.  Established in 1979, the organisation is probably one of the longest standing trade organisations active at EU level, representing a combined industry turnover of 17.3 billion Euro, directly employing about 350,000 people, and accounting for 20% of the overall gambling sector.  "The way in which gambling services are provided has evolved enormously over the past 30 years which has required a great deal of innovation and flexibility from industry" said EUROMAT President Annette Kok (pictured), who is also the Chair of the Dutch association, VAN.  "In the same way, we have had to keep up with the ever-changing way in which decisions are made at EU level and the impact this has on our national markets".

Lo-Q plc, the leading supplier of virtual queuing systems to theme parks, has signed an agreement with Parque Isla Mágica for the installation of its Text-Q ride reservation system.  The Spanish Parque Isla Mágica is the first theme park outside of the UK to sign up to Text-Q and takes advantage of the new multi-language capability.

In a significant judgment last month, the UK High Court has upheld the earlier decision of the VAT Tribunal and ruled that the Rank Group Plc (Rank) is entitled to a refund from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for VAT overpaid on games of interval bingo and certain gaming machines.  In a strong decision in favour of Rank, the High Court stated that there was no objective justification for the differential in tax treatment by HMRC which breached the European Community principle of fiscal neutrality.

Avalue Technology, a world leading manufacturer of embedded systems and industrial computers has recently extended its distribution agreements with MDS Technology, a large embedded solution company in Korea, in June. The new agreement covers broad of countries in Asia-Pacific and South Asia regions.

The 1st GTI Asia China Expo, organized by Game Time International (GTI), will take place on the 1st floor of Hall 1, 2, 3 and 5 of Liuhua Exhibition Center, China Import and Export Fair, in Guangzhou, China on September 3 to 6. 

WagerWorks, the leading remote gaming software supplier, has announced the release of online ports of Barcrest Group's leading UK branded game titles.  

On May 1st, 2009 TAB's international tournament "Las Vegas 2009" entered its second round. The tournament will be running a total of three months on every online SILVERBALL terminal.

Due to the rapid development of the Chinese economy and its increasing influence on the global economy, the China market attracts a lot of operators' attention. As one of the four "BRIC Nations," (the fast growing developing economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China) China has great business opportunities.

In North Dakota, an independent panel on smoking appointed by the governor may recommend an expansion of North Dakota's smoking ban to include bars and taverns. To raise revenues, the panel may also to propose a $1.56 per-pack cigarette tax increase, raising the state's tax from .44 to $2.00.

Industry stalwarts Terry Farr and Gary Newman of Cosmic Video Amusements are both seen here road testing the cars of the future at the recent GTI show in Taiwan. "It's essential for a distributor to travel and ensure that we are offering the best range of products that are available in the World," advised Farr.

The 37th International Amusement & Gaming Machine Show will be held at the Fiera di Roma from October 7th to 9th Bearing in mind the excellent reception with which it met, the mid-week slot, concentrated in three days, is being proposed again, with an increasingly business to business slant.

Sound Leisure and Soundnet have introduced a world first for pay-to-play music - a jukebox dedicated completely to Rock music.

Despite being threatened with paying millions of Euros in compensation for contravening European law - the Greek Government has drafted a new gaming law, which will also breach EC regulations.

Jean-Luc Dieudonne has rejoined Sega Amusements Europe Ltd as Special Projects and Sales Manager after a one-year absence from the industry. Jean-Luc will use his wealth of knowledge in the industry to provide a key sales role to Sega's large number of emerging new markets and specific existing markets.

On April 18 Betson Syracuse held its 10th annual Turning Stone Expo. Betson chose this opportunity to inform and educate their operators in attendance on how to remain profitable during these tough economic times.

GLOBAL VR today has entered into a strategic partnership with one of the kiosk industries preeminent turn-key design/manufacturing companies', Streak Technology, Inc..

Amusement Expo Europe is the new trade event created by the partnership between Fiera di Genova and Messe Stuttgart, designed to meet the needs of travelling showmen and amusement park managers.

As part of its ongoing commitment to the coin-op industry, ATEI organiser, Clarion Gaming has established an important link with Greenwich Community College in London, one of just a handful of educational establishments in the UK which offers amusement and gaming qualifications. As part of the association Greenwich College has been given free stand space at ATEI to help take its message to the industry.

There's no business like show business, apparently. It has certainly been keeping folks busy in the UK coin-op industry of late. Clarion will continue to organise the ATEI next January at Earls Court with Emma Green as the new show director, we learned this month. But, in 2011, the show might just move to Olympia, down the road if that's what the amusement and gaming industry wants.

Britain experienced a ‘bingo revival' last month with queues forming outside clubs up and down the country.

 Thanks to Gala Bingo providing a unique opportunity for the nation to play for free, more Britons than ever are grabbing their dabbers to take part in the Great British game.

Clarion Gaming has announced the promotion of Emma Green to the division's post of Show Director, responsible for world-leading b2b exhibitions, events and conferences.

TAB-Austria has again set new standards in the gambling industry with its "GOLDEN ISLAND" gaming platform. Both the complex technology and the design has been given a total make-over, with its high-resolution displays, intuitive design and modern software.

MEI has agreed to license use of EASITRAX Soft Count to Money Controls. The arrangement provides Money Controls global access to the integrated software/hardware solution that makes cash verification more efficient and places information collected in a bill validator into a database that can be accessed to analyse slot floor performance.

Electrocoin is pleased to announce that Shane Breaks will be working with the company as an International Business Development Executive, to assist with overseas sales in Europe/Middle East and Africa where Electrocoin is not represented.

At the beginning of March, MERKUR Casino, the Gauselmann Group arcade chain that operates throughout Europe, opened two arcades in Hungay.

TouchTunes Corporation, one of the largest out-of-home interactive entertainment networks in America, and Victory Acquisition Corp. a specified purpose acquisition company, have signed a definitive merger agreement.

Sound Leisure's Chris Black is planning to cycle 140 miles with colleagues and friends - along the length of the Leeds to Liverpool canal in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Reinhard Schloh has joined the Bally Wulff Entertainment team. His chief task is the integration of the Versus product line - above all the Versus Speed mini-airhockey - into the Berlin AWP manufacturers' product portfolio.

David Bellis MBE, Chairman of Innovative Technology received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the first-ever One Oldham Business Awards last month.

Magic Dreams exhibited for the first time at the Fadja show in Bogotà.

Included in the range of new games are Aztec Moon, a five-reel video slot, available in a nine or 25-line configuration, that recalls the ancient myth of Aztec Empire; and Return of the Phoenix, a game that perfectly mixes traditional Egyptian art and science fictional elements.

Alsart Group will take part in the 18th EELEX 2009 being held in Moscow, Russia on the 9-11th of June, 2009.

Alsart Group has continued to expand rapidly. Carrying out one after another of its ambitious projects, Alsart has confirmed its status as one of leading representatives of gambling market in the region.

TAB-Austria started a three-month international SILVERBALL CHAMPIONSNET tournament in April. Players all over the world will be playing for prizes and the trip of a lifetime worth more than 7,000 euros on more than 1,200 SILVERBALL terminals.

Praesepe plc, the low stake high volume gaming group headed by former BACTA President Nick Harding, has continued the roll-out of its Cashino brand with the opening of a Greenfield site in Birmingham's inner city district of Smallheath. The opening of the 1,200 square feet (112sq.m) venue increases the number of Cashino branded Adult Gaming Centres (AGCs) to 33.

Gaming Support has reached a definitive sales agreement with Holland Casino covering the purchase and installation of Gaming Support signage for its Rotterdam casino. Under the terms of the agreement, Gaming Support will provide exclusively designed custom signage, as well as slot-themed signage to be featured within Holland Casino Rotterdam.

This is the busiest time of the year for Strachan cloth manufacturer Milliken, whose snooker and pool products are in demand around the globe.

Apart from the China Open in Beijing, Strachan was used at the African Billiards & Snooker Federation's Snooker Championships in Johannesburg, which attracted players from countries including Mozambique, Libya and Egypt.

BACTA, the UK trade association and InterGame Ltd. on Wednesday reached agreement to run one united trade show next year.

Gamestec, a leading player in the UK gaming and amusement machines sector, has announced the appointment of Chris Butler as Managing Director.

Timed to coincide with the ENADA 2009 show in Rimini, Heber Limited has announced the launch of a new gaming control system, designated Pluto Comma 6a, that is specifically engineered and approved for the Italian gaming market.

Despite undeniably tough times in the manufacturing sector, Sound Leisure is bucking the trend by investing in new machinery for its woodworking and plastic divisions. 

Rock-Ola has appointed Jukeboxes Unlimited in Cambridgeshire, England, as its official Rock-Ola Service Centre for parts and repairs in the UK and Europe. Jukeboxes Unlimited was established in the West Midlands in 1984 by jukebox enthusiast Fred Pentney. Over the years, Pentney built his company's reputation as supplier of top-quality restored classic jukeboxes.

Two industry legends met recently at the IGE show in London. Paul Gauselmann, founder and CEO of Gauselmann AG met with Australia's Leonard Hastings Ainsworth, Australian coin-op machine pioneer and today's Executive Chairman of Ainsworth Game Technology. These two veterans of the coin-op industry, who are both still fully active in their respective roles, have been decisively shaping the global gambling markets for several decades.

London & Essex, sponsored by Cosmic Video Amusement, enjoyed a 2 -1 Cup Victory over Durning FC this month in front of a supportive crowd and under floodlights at the Oakside Stadium in Barkingside, Essex.

As Euroslot went to press, ACE Interactive, a subsidiary of Aristocrat Leisure Ltd., demonstrated the TruServ on innovative Indago Video Lottery Terminals at the Rimini Show.

Barcrest Group and the UK's leading snooker club operator Rileys have agreed a deal for the supply of Category B4 video gaming content for its estate of over 150 clubs throughout the UK.

Ritzio's President, Oleg Boyko, has been granted a special award in recognition of his diverse charity practices and the company's outstanding efforts in corporate social responsibility. The Heart Award was presented at the annual International Gaming Awards ceremony in London, England on January 26th at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel.

Frank Ziegler recently took up the position as director of sales and marketing at Merkur Gaming GmbH. The company is responsible for the development and European sales of AWP machines within the German Gauselmann Group.

Cameron Cartmell, head of hospitality and leisure at Ernst & Young commented, "During the major recessions of the early 1980s and 1990s, gambling spend fell only modestly, by 10% at most. Since then, the industry has changed enormously. Stakes have doubled with the advent of new ways to gamble, such as the National Lottery and online gaming that are yet untested by deep recession in the UK and only time will tell the impact. The gambling industry now appeals to a wider audience and this may leave it more susceptible to cuts in consumer discretionary spend."

Peter Collinge has been appointed Operations Director at Gamestec Leisure Ltd, the leading player in the UK gaming and amusement machines sector.

Innocore Gaming Ltd, one of the leading manufacturers of PC based gaming platforms has welcomed Jon Temple and his company Demon Interactive Ltd as the newest addition to its growing sales team. Demon Interactive now covers the UK and Ireland for Innocore.

Aristocrat Leisure Limited announced that its fully-owned subsidiary ACE Interactive has received an order for 1,000 IndagoTM interactive Video Terminals (iVT) from Norsk Tipping, the Norwegian National Lottery. These terminals will be installed as part of an anticipated network of over 6,500 terminals throughout Norway.

Astro Corp, the Taiwan-based operator and manufacturer of gaming PCBs and video slot machines, has been awarded membership of the prestigious Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM).

E-Service has released a unique, new 26" dedicated TFT LCD kit, designed as a drop-in replacement for the original CRT monitors in Midway's sit-down Cruis'n series of video games

The RGA denounced the Opinion on the integrity of online gambling adopted today by the European Parliament, which it believes dramatically overplays the risks associated with online gambling.

Betfair has welcomed the support expressed for the alternative report on protecting the integrity of online gambling. The report was tabled in the European Parliament and seeks to replace the original report by Danish MEP Christel Schaldemose.

"The report is not legally binding but it does show a keen interest in the gambling sector in the European Parliament, which EUROMAT welcomes," said Lucy C. Cronin, Secretary General of EUROMAT.