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

DENMARK

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

Population: 81.5m

Under 15: 10.9m

Aged 15-64: 53.8m

Urban population: 74 percent

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

GDP per capita: $35,700

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

How did you first get involved with the amusements industry?

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

Population 62.7m

Under 15 10.9m

Aged 15-64 41.5m

Urban population 80 percent

Major cities London (8.6m), Birmingham (2.3m), Manchester (2.2m)

GDP per capita $34,800

Sound Leisure’s managing director Chris Black has been with the family firm since he left school, and he’s not bored yet.

How did you first get involved with the amusements industry?

I left school in 1986 at the age of 16 and intended enrolling on a painting and decorating apprenticeship. I had always been a hands-on type of person, and that appealed to me.

Population 313m

Under 15 62.9m

Aged 15-64 209.2m

Urban population 82 percent

Major cities Nine over 1m, a further 24 over 500,000

GDP per capita $47,200

Bet365 appears well-positioned to lead the market for online in-play sports betting, according to a new report from GamblingData and Sporting Solutions. With live betting on events while they take place the fastest-growing part of the e-betting sector, the battle for market share is being fiercely fought. But the new research shows that Bet365 comes first in terms of both the number of different sports covered and the number of specific events on which consumers can bet.

ALDERNEY

The Gambling Control Commission in Alderney is to review its online gaming policies after the discovery that Full Tilt Poker, registered on the island, had misinformed authorities regarding its finances.

Arcades and other leisure venues face security challenges which can lead to vastly increased insurance costs – not to mention the risks of theft and damage. Jon Bruford investigates what operators can do to increase on-site security

From production to marketing to tech support to software development and finally to sales, Steve Priest has spent an entire career with cash handling specialist AstroSystems. In fact, he’s done everything but drive the truck...

A chance visit to a printer of bingo tickets... and Gareth Phillips, now international MD of The Global Draw, was hooked on the gaming industry

Novomatic’s Astra Games unit has released three new Category B3 slots to take advantage of the operator and player demand expected after maximum stakes were raised to £2. The government expects that as many as 3000 machines with the higher stake could be required.

Britain’s Embassy Services has called on a specialist developer to improve the solenoids that control its lane-cleaning and oiling equipment. The electronics have been enhanced by Penny + Giles Controls, a subsidiary of Curtiss-Wright Controls.

Bowlplex is launching Sega Active Zones to complement bowling and other activities in its 18 entertainment centres across the UK, as part of a £2m investment in upgrading the venues. Developed with Sega Amusements Europe, the Active Zones feature games from the Sonic Sports Collection, such as Sonic Sports Air Hockey and Sonic Sports Basketball, with Sega branding and colours as well as the instantly recognisable, 20-year-old Sonic the Hedgehog character.

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

Outdoor advertising giant Clear Channel is finally deploying its long-awaited Socialite network of screens in pubs and bars, but on a much smaller scale than originally promised. Present in Revolution and Walkabout bars as well as independents, Socialite so far comprises 180 40-inch portrait-format screens in 165 venues.

Outdoor advertising giant Clear Channel is finally deploying its long-awaited Socialite network of screens in pubs and bars, but on a much smaller scale than originally promised. Present in Revolution and Walkabout bars as well as independents, Socialite so far comprises 180 40-inch portrait-format screens in 165 venues.

Like Dirty Harry and his .44 Magnum, Andy Dinning and his pens are an inseparable double act that has progressed from designing advertising campaigns for cars to creating gaming machine concepts for Barcrest, Electrocoin and now Novomatic’s Astra

Is there still a place for non-digital amusements in a shiny networked world? There is if your customers are under seven, reports Jon Bruford

Amusements and gaming firms, like their counterparts in every sector, are turning to the new social media to engage with consumers and other stakeholders. But how can businesses make the best use of platforms such as Facebook?

DENMARK

AWPs are only permitted in alcohol licensed restaurants and approved arcades in Denmark. All sites must have a licence to operate AWPs. Every machine must be approved by an authorised test institution. All machines in operation must be linked to a central monitoring system controlled by the Gaming Board.

Often the man behind the headlines, rarely the man in them, John Carroll reveals why he decided to leave a career with the big suppliers and set up his own public-relations agency

The amusements sector is a whole new world for Congatec’s UK ambassador Bob Pickles – but he’s hoping that using the electronics expertise he’s picked up in other industries, he can reduce long-term costs for gaming manufacturers and operators

When a part fails, is repair always the answer? One firm, E-Service, argues that it can also be an opportunity to upgrade. It offers 26-inch and 42-inch LCD replacement kits, designed to replace CRT monitors on older units.

An effective maintenance service isn’t just about technical expertise, as Gamestec’s experience fixing machines across the UK has shown. Factors such as speed of response and simplicity of fault reporting make a difference too.

Maximising income means minimising machine downtime – but operators and venues rarely have the skills to tackle major repairs themselves. We find out who can help

Attracting new customers is good for British betting shops’ business. But the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has warned that it may also lead to an increase in problem gambling. That’s thanks to changes in the law introduced by the Gambling Act of 2005, which overhauled the outdated 1961 Betting and Gaming Act.

In-play betting is pulling a younger generation of punters into betting shops – and BuzzSports is helping bookmakers achieve that with Zone Play. It’s a constantly-updated sports-betting system which uses an attractive tablet-size console for players to bet on. It’s interesting, exciting, and, BuzzSports marketing director Ian Williams told Euroslot, drives greater returns for the betting shop.

Customer-facing technology is changing Britain’s bookmakers and luring a new, younger breed of punter into betting shops. Jon Bruford reports. The Internet poses a significant threat to high-street bookmakers. The big names all have profitable sportsbook-style Websites, which will rarely be financially viable for an independent. And punters can now bet by smartphone and text message too.

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

The famous TV spots warn “Don’t mess with Texas!”. And several Texas bowling centres aren’t to be trifled with either. In fact, these are perfect examples of how a few progressive centre owners are shaking up the entire bowling business. Shenaniganz is a dazzling family entertainment centre in Rockwall, northwest of Dallas. It includes Rosie’s Grill, the Z Lounge, a sprawling arcade, a two-storey laser-tag arena, a black-light mini golf course, a go-carts track and a climbing wall, all anchored by  lanes of bowling.

The star attraction at Brunswick Bowling’s Bowl Expo booth will be live demos of the latest Vector Plus release.

Vector Plus’s new uChoose feature lets bowlers select from eight scoring graphics themes, including the kids’ favourite Jungle Jive and wacky Bowlopolis. Players pick their theme when inputting their names, and the graphics are applied instantly.

The Bowling Proprietors Association of America (BPAA) is to hold this year’s International Bowl Expo, its main annual convention and trade show, in Texas for the first time. It runs at venues in Grapevine and Arlington from 25 June through 1 July.

He was collecting cash boxes before his tenth birthday and servicing slots by the age of 15 – but TAB-Austria’s Siegfried Dattl still isn’t bored by amusements (though an island paradise might tempt him)

Various administrative and tax regulations affecting the Spanish autonomous regions were published during 2009. The Gambling Tax for 2009 varied between Euros3,832,86 and Euros2,845.80 per machine/year.

With Italy’s VLT rollouts continuing apace and Greece likely to follow soon, how are the big gaming vendors responding to this new demand?

Few major gaming suppliers can afford to ignore the large new markets opening up for video lottery terminals (VLTs). But they’re all putting different twists on VLT technology’s ability to deliver both tried-and-tested games and novel content, maximising player involvement and operator profits.

Vending leisure products, from collectible toys to iPods, provides a new revenue stream at minimal cost. But what do you sell, and how do you start?

Jon Bruford investigates

Machines that vend leisure products can be a useful source of income, with financial risks for the site operator that can be kept very slight. For example, if a gym owner wanted to vend iPods to members they could look forward to a high potential return, with no danger of pilferage thanks to excellent machine security, and a product that’s on sale round the clock with no staffing requirement.

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

CHINA

Beijing’s Municipal Bureau of Culture is regulating the number of recreation centres in the Chinese capital. It says the total number of recreation centres cannot exceed 838 unless the development of this industry requires the figure to be adjusted.

Beijing now has 98 legal recreation centres and so as many as 740 could be added under the plan by the city government. There are currently no venues for amusements in Shijingshan District, Pingu District or Yanqing County; by contrast, Dongcheng District contains 18, the largest number of existing amusement venues within the city.

Self-service is the way of the future for Britain’s betting shops, Armin Sageder believes, and to prove it he started Best Gaming Technology.

We profile the CEO who swapped physics for fun

A new sports-betting system encourages customers to make repeated small wagers on what happens next in a game, reports Jon Bruford

Most sports betting depends on both the punter and the bookmaker having, and understanding, information about the event that’s being bet on – for example, the team line-ups for a football match. Who wins the bet is partly a function of who understands that information most fully and makes the more accurate prediction based on it, as well as on luck, of course.

CHINA

Last year, The Ministry of Culture of China warned that, “as of April 30, 2010, all amusement and entertainment venues are not allowed to operate games and amusement machines that are not listed in the guiding directory of machine models for market access issued by culture administrative departments.” Understandably, this has caused the industry some concern.

 As one of the world’s biggest events for users of screen technology draws close, we look at the benefits to amusement businesses of replacing old-fashioned signs with digital displays

Digital screens are such an integral part of the gaming experience today – simulating mechanical slots and increasingly table games too, announcing jackpots to the world, displaying rules for novice players – that it’s difficult to imagine an amusement venue without them. And now, they’re becoming commonplace away from gaming areas too, replacing signs, posters and other printed material in public places, displaying multimedia content that can be instantaneously changed, and providing opportunities for interaction that were barely possible with static signage.

AUSTRALIA

Churches in Australia have launched a task force pressing for reform to gambling laws. Representatives of the Uniting, Catholic, Baptist and Anglican churches as well as The Salvation Army say that 90,000 Australian players of poker machines are problem gamblers, losing an average of AUD21,000 (€15,200) each year. Further, they say, knock-on social costs of problem gambling reach AUD4.7bn (€3.4bn) annually.

Mostly applied to slots and sometimes to digital table games too, server-based gaming means that the game runs on a central server computer rather than on the individual machine that the player is using. It’s similar in principle to using the Web: you view Web pages on your own PC, but they’re actually hosted on a server somewhere else, and most – if not all – of the jobs the Website can do (calculating a currency conversion, say) are performed on that remote server.

It’s been a buzz-phrase in the casino industry for a while – but is there a case for server-based gaming in the world of amusements too? Jon Bruford investigates

Half a dozen years ago, server-based gaming (SBG) was believed to be the magic bullet for casino gaming, the way to drive growth for both operators and suppliers. For operators, it would allow sophisticated use of and gathering of business intelligence data in ways previously impossible; it would create a tailored universe for their customers at the slot machine and, tied in with other available technologies, allow real-time marketing to the player’s hand.

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

After nearly two years of delays and discussions about the details and quality of the draft, it was hastily approved by a majority of four of the five political parties, because of the feared judgment of the ECJ in the Austrian „Engelmann“ case, C-64/08.

The regulator releases a slew of statistics that will help form policy in Whitehall and Westminster

As we went to press, UK regulator the Gambling Commission published its 2010 British Gambling Prevalence Survey. The document itself is not policy, and only in small parts is it even opinion, but is likely to inform government policy-making on gaming for some years to come.

It was the flashing lights that drew him in – but two decades later Paul Malt, director of games design at Mazooma Interactive Games, is still glad he chose a career in amusements

Vending food and drink to your customers can keep them playing on your premises, and provide a revenue stream too. Jon Bruford investigates

Vending machines are ever-present in our lives; everywhere we go, something’s available to buy from a machine – usually food or refreshments, and generally in locations where the machine is not the main attraction but where there will be enough people passing by for some to stop and take advantage of its offer, like train stations or shopping centres.

Germany had a new gaming law in 2006, which has enabled AWP manufacturers to explore new game concepts and software programmes and which has opened the market up to global suppliers. Video-based AWPs have become more popular in the German market and this has led to a greater variety of games and more choice for players.

The focus is no longer exclusively on selling new machines. In fact, leasing of hardware has become more common in Germany. Content is supplied as part of a rental contract, updated regularly. This has changed the traditional structure of the AWP sector.

Gaming machines can be big contributors to the bottom line for Britain’s beleaguered pubs, but choosing the right ones and managing them properly are essential

Britain’s 50,000-odd pubs are rarely out of the news, and it’s rarely good. Battered by the smoking ban, savaged by the recession, bled dry by rapacious pubcos, trampled by price-cutting supermarkets, they are – if you believe the scare stories – closing on every street corner.

And indeed, their number is declining. But enough are thriving, and while the big positive pub stories in the last couple of decades may have been the arrival of good food and revival of high-quality beer, many venues are finding that providing their customers with entertainment options such as gaming machines is an equally valid route to profitability.

Every month Euroslot brings you the latest regulations, court rulings and government policies affecting the gaming industry around the world

Europe handed down a series of decisions on states’ rights to regulate gaming, Britain revolutionised its tax regime for amusement machines, and everywhere regulators struggled to deal with online.

What do Britons play?

BACTA, the trade body which describes itself as “representing the British pay-to-play leisure machines industry”, says the most common type of machine in terms of installed base across the country is trivial AWPs, at 55,500 units.

They are followed by pool at 49,700 units; jukeboxes at 29,100; club/jackpot machines at 28,300 units; video at 27,500; novelties at 26,600; kiddie rides at 23,500; SWPs at 14,100; pushers at 4900; and pinball at 2000.

The Heber MD’s career has led him from electronics to safety equipment, from executive coaching to gaming – and it’s in this business that he plans to stay. Les Ashton-Smith explains why...

Although the British sometimes regard them as a typically dismal national creation, motorway services are common, albeit usually smaller, across the rest of Europe. Indeed, they are often found more closely spaced than in the UK, where the government’s recommended distance between locations is about 30 miles.

How can amusements help the operators of motorway service areas bridge the gap between high costs and receding revenue?

Legendary for their soulless air, bickering families and wallet-busting prices, Britain’s motorway services are, it’s fair to say, not among the country’s best-loved leisure venues. Perhaps surprisingly, then, they are significant users of amusements, and rely on gaming for a chunk of revenue that the government estimates could be as high as 20 percent – and as a proportion of total sales, that’s much more than gaming machines generate for either the betting-shop or casino sectors, with which they’re more readily associated.

Cruise ships and ferries must serve a broad range of consumers, all requiring entertainment during their voyage. What role do amusements play? Jon Bruford investigates

Cruise ships and ferries are two places where you’re guaranteed one thing – at some point, people will need to be entertained and amused. And the key to how that’s done lies in the demographics of passengers.

Our international readers should note that the northern part of the island of Ireland (known as Northern Ireland, or sometimes as Ulster) is part of the United Kingdom and thus has an entirely different regulatory framework from the larger southern part of the island (an independent nation known as the Republic of Ireland, or sometimes as Eire). This market profile deals only with the Republic.

Every month Euroslot brings you the latest regulations, court rulings and government policies affecting the industry around the world

AUSTRALIA

The state of Victoria is challenging the federal government’s plans for a compulsory limit on the amount gamblers can bet on poker machines. The scheme, to be in place by the end of 2014, calls for each player to have an ID card which prevents them going beyond a daily limit. It is also expected that ATMs in clubs and pubs will be restricted to issuing each individual a maximum of AUD250 (€185) per day. However, Victoria’s gaming minister Michael O’Brien has described the plan as “the type of Big Brother, nanny-state policy that many Australians will instinctively reject”.

Every month Euroslot brings you the latest regulations, court rulings and government policies affecting the industry around the world

CHINA

China has clarified its laws on online gambling. Anyone running an Internet gaming operation can be jailed for up to three years, and fined. But operators of larger sites – which are defined in a number of ways, with criteria including a membership list of more than 120 or total volume over 300,000 yuan (about £28,000) – can go to prison for ten years. It appears that financial backers as well as actual operators can be punished. This year, authorities, say, nearly 8000 people have been arrested and almost £100,000 seized in China’s crackdown on Internet gaming.

Bowling, like every leisure activity, is competing for consumer attention and spend with an ever-growing range of diversions. How can Britain’s bowling centres keep their customers and attract new ones?

Britain’s coastal resorts are at a low ebb, and their amusement centres are hurting from tight licensing restrictions as well as the towns’ slow decline. But things may not be quite as gloomy as they look, suggests Barnaby Page

The total income in 2009 of the Italian Newslot system reached 50% of the entire revenue of on-site gaming in Italy. All machines on site have now been replaced by new law games (as of 16 December 2009). The new games have more features and higher performance than previously and this has attracted more players. The trade association SAPAR reports that overall the new machines have also helped to drastically reduce the amount of illegal gaming in the country.

For the past 20 years, JCM Global has led the gaming industry with peripheral components allowing slot operators to quickly and safely accept wagers and pay out winnings. Now at G2E 2010 in Las Vegas, the firm will be showing two revolutionary new products...

AUSTRALIA

The Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation (VCGR) is reported to now be taking into account the views of specific communities when considering applications for gaming-machine licences within them. It recently rejected an application for 30 poker machines at the Beach Hotel in Jan Juc, citing a telephone survey conducted by the local council which showed that just 17 percent of residents were in favour. It is suggested that the VCGR is listening harder to grassroots voices after a court case in which the small town of Romsey successfully contested plans for poker machines in its only pub.

Amusement and gambling machines are helping to modernise Britain’s licensed betting offices – and adding impressively to the bookies’ bottom lines too, discovers Barnaby Page

A visit to a British bookmaker was once a matter of scrawling the name of your favoured horse or dog on a betting slip, using a greasy pen the recent history of which was better left uninvestigated. But retail betting has been transformed by digital technology like every other sector, on both sides of the counter.

The new Belgian gaming Act has been enacted. It has a larger scope than previously and extends the licence system to betting, online gaming and games offered through media.

Besides an extension of the responsibilities of the Gaming Board, the integration of betting and online gambling in the existing legislation forms the major part of the amendments. Some of the changes are also important to our industry, such as the obligation to actively operated a licence, the indexation of the average hourly loss, the competence of the Gaming Board to impose fines.

Although the Dutch authorities promised some measures to compensate the industry for the introduction of a new taxation system (29 % gambling tax over the cashbox replacing 15.97 % VAT over the cashbox) and the smoking ban in 2008 (1 July), these measures haven’t been realized yet (as of April 2010). It is foreseen that this will not be the case before 1 January 2011, more than two and a half years after the new taxation system was introduced!

He’s sold gaming technology around the world, earned an MBA, established his own consultancy – and made lots of coffee. We profile John Malin, whose new firm International Brand Gaming opened its doors in August

Every month Euroslot brings you the latest regulations, court rulings and government policies affecting the industry around the world

ARGENTINA

Gaming Laboratories International will hold its Latin American regulators’ round table in Buenos Aires on 28 September. Topics to be covered will include money laundering, Internet gaming, lotteries and network security.

Offering the right music isn’t just a way to please your customers – it can provide extra income too. Discover how the experts believe music can help build your business

It’s one of the great universals: nearly everyone enjoys some form of music, and nearly every venue can benefit from the right soundtrack. But we’ve come a long way from the easy options of piped Muzak or a radio behind the cash desk. Today’s delivery systems for music are designed to precisely match the audio to the audience, and in many cases to generate a revenue stream too.

What really makes the top people in this sector tick? In the first of a series of profiles, we talk to the chairman of Embed International as he announces the firm’s merger with Playsafe

How did you first get involved with the amusements industry?

My father Malcolm Steinberg has been involved in the coin-op industry since 1958 so it was probably always destiny. My first exposure was working holiday jobs in my father’s LAI Group factory where games from U.S. and Japanese game companies were built under licence for the Australian market – videos, redemption and pinball.

NORWAY

The Ministry for Culture and Church Affairs in Norway has imposed some of the world’s strictest rules on video gambling machines in a drive to reduce the number of compulsive gamblers.

Under the new regulations introduced last year, all gaming machines operated by Norsk Tipping AS, the Norwegian State-owned gaming company, are only accessible to pre-registered users via prepaid cards.

‘There will be limits on how much an individual can lose, they will be closed at night and there will be a cooling-off period after one hour of continuous play,’ said Trond Giske, Minister for Culture and Church Affairs.



The Government had grown increasingly concerned about the rising number of Norwegians reportedly addicted to gambling machines and banned all privately owned machines in July 2007 while it looked for ways of better regulating them.

Following the ban, the number of people telephoning a national gambling help line plunged from 2,276 in 2004 to 330 this year. The Government stated that the new terminals would be remote-controlled and strictly regulated to prevent people from developing a gambling problem. In addition, the machines will not take cash or credit cards and can only be used with a prepaid card sold by Norsk Tipping to registered players over the age of 18. 



The system will also limit the amount that can be bet per game to ten dollars and set a loss limit of $80 per day and $440 per month per player even if they have more than one card.

Source: IGaming Business and RGC-news

THE NETHERLANDS

The European Court of Justice delivered its rulings on two Dutch cases upholding the opinion of Advocate General Bot that a Member State can determine its gambling policy which includes the ability of the Member State to prohibit the operation of games of chance on the internet. In both rulings, which involved remote gaming operators Ladbrokes and Betfair, the court argued that restrictions on the freedom to provide services can be made if the objectives of the Member State are to protect consumers, prevent fraud and to preserve the public order. Additionally, the Court also expressed that having a licence to offer online or telephone gaming services in one Member State is not “sufficient assurance” that national consumers in another Member State will be protected. The ECJ findings mean that the Dutch national courts will likely deliver similar rulings on the cases. Source Euromat

ALDERNEY

While many European governments are introducing local licensing regimes for online gambling, the government of Alderney has been eager to transform its licensing framework to adapt to these changes. As such new regulations took effect on January 1, 2010. Source: GamblingCompliance.com

Everyone should be happy. Italy’s government is nearly 1bn Euro richer, its leading slot  operators have secured all the licences to operate the potentially lucrative video lottery terminals (VLTs) which the country is rather suddenly permitting for the first time, and the citizens of Europe’s biggest gaming market have yet another avenue to pursue their craze.

The Irish Government has finally decided to tackle its outmoded gaming laws and has published the findings of its casino committee. Ireland has one of the oldest remaining gaming acts, dating back to the 1950s and the committee’s Chairman Michael McGrath pointed out that life has changed considerably in that time.

CANADA

In a case that could have wider national implications, Canada’s Loto-Quebec has reached an out-of-court settlement worth millions of dollars with problem gamblers in the province, following a class action lawsuit filed against the provincial state lottery operator nine years ago.

Source: Gaming Intelligence

Last year, the Belgian government approved a new gaming law. The Belgian Council of Ministers approved the new bill in March with the aim of streamlining the machine licensing structure in the country, which in the previous law of 1999 gave authority for licences to various different agencies.

The Dutch government introduced a new law in 2008 that threatened to make life very difficult for those working in the gaming sector. Thanks to intensive lobbying from the gaming monopoly and issues with European law, the new gambling law has not yet been passed and looks set to be put on hold indefinitely.

BELGIUM

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

Source: GamblingCompliance.com

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

CZECH REPUBLIC

The Lisbon Treaty has finally been ratified by the Czech Republic, which means the text is now expected to come into force on 1 December. President Vaclav Klaus added his signature just hours after the treaty was given the go ahead by the Czech Constitutional Court. The Swedish Presidency of the EU is now expected to announce an extraordinary summit for mid-November, in which it will be decided who will be the President of the European Council, and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, two new positions created by the treaty. Source: Euromat

Germany had a new law in 2006, which allowed greater freedom in the design of AWP machines but which banned fun games, which were previously popular in the country.

Coin-operated amusement machines comprise three different product groups in Germany:

• Amusement machines with prizes (AWPs), which are strictly regulated by the German Gaming Ordinance.
• A second group contains gaming machines without prizes, such as touch-screen machines, video games, pinball machines etc. Until the end of 2005, fun games were also part of this category. Since 1 January 2006 – when the new German Gaming Ordinance went into effect – these once widespread machines have been prohibited.
• A third group includes sport-game machines, such as billiards, darts, table soccer, air-hockey etc.

The spinning reels of a fruit machine create an image that can be found almost everywhere. You can often see them on game shows (usually with the old fashioned handle) or on TV news coverage, to illustrate some political point. Strangely, you often find the spinning wheels on video gaming machines – despite the fact that the video interface allows limitless options to convey the same message to the player.

SWEDEN

The Council Working Party on gambling and betting held its second meeting last week under the guidance of the Swedish Presidency. Representatives of the 27 Member States debated how they deal with gambling problems in their jurisdictions. The focus was on what kind of penalties were applied by Member States authorities on illegal/unauthorised gambling and betting providers and on the regulation of advertising of such unauthorised services. Working Party members were asked for their opinion on whether they believed it best to block unauthorised websites and/or block bank transactions. Source: Euromat

There has not been much legislative movement in Italy over the past 12 months, although a draft version of the regulations that will govern VLTs in Italy has now been published, giving details of the location and pricing of the new machines, and the timing of their introduction into the market.

In addition there are concerns over the Unified State Tax/Prelievo Erariale Unico (PREU) tax (the unique tax collection imposed on slot machines) modified by the 194/08 Decree.

What makes the perfect video AWP? While many factors influence the popularity of a game, the graphics remain an important consideration in influencing player immersion, while also determining the game's overall design and functionality.

The AWP industry, particularly in the UK, has been somewhat slow in its uptake of graphics-led video AWP technology. There has been an attitude of "if it ain't broke - don't fix it" about the enduring appeal of reel-based games. However, with the new stakes and prizes has come an opportunity to do more with game design and as a result video is becoming more prevalent.

SPAIN

The Spanish region of Valencia has informed the European Commission of its draft amendments to Decree 115/2006 on the rules for gaming machines. The new rules would adapt existing regulations to recently-modified gaming machines, in a response to constantly changing economic, social and technological innovations. The standstill period will last until 19 October 2009. Source: Euromat

In Austria there is a state monopoly for Casinos and Lotteries. Only two private companies are privileged to hold respective monopoly concessions and operate aprx. 1800 machines without limits on stake and wins. An exemption of the Federal Gambling Law Monopoly allows private operators to operate gambling machines, if the maximum stake is € 0.50 and the maximum win does not  exceed € 20.- . There are no further requirements or details like game definitions, technical  or time limits, etc.

IRELAND

Draft legislation promulgated last week will subject Ireland's private members' clubs to formal anti-money laundering requirements for the first time, while full-scale ‘casinos' are also included under the bill in anticipation of future gaming reform in the Republic. Source: GamblingCompliance.com

If there is one sector of the coin-op industry that has enjoyed a revival in recent years - it is the jukebox. Digital technology has given jukeboxes a new lease of life. Now, the way music is stored, paid for and delivered has changed beyond all recognition, not only within the industry itself but in the world at large.

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

UNITED STATES

The European Commission has published the outcome of its investigation into US laws on remote gambling and their impact on EU suppliers. The report found that the US measures are inconsistent with WTO rules, and it urged the US administration to address the situation and end its "violation of global trade rules". Source: Euromat

Holding a tournament is a bit like throwing a huge party - to ensure its success, one has to make sure several elements are in place. Firstly, you have to ensure that the guests know they are invited. Secondly, you have to make it worth their while to turn up. And thirdly, you need to make sure that you have the controls in place in case the whole thing gets out of hand.

Tournaments on video games have their own set of challenges. Sega Amusements Europe has run a couple of very successful tournaments on two video games; namely World Club Championship Football (WCCF) and Dinosaur King , the children's card collecting game.

UNITED KINGDOM

The proportion of UK adults participating in remote forms of gambling has risen to its highest level in four years according to the latest survey data published by the UK Gambling Commission. Driven by the National Lottery, remote gambling participation was found to have increased to 9.9% for the year to March 2009, compared to 9.7% in 2008, 8.8% in 2007 and 7.2% in 2006. Source: Gaming Intelligence

UNITED KINGDOM

The UK's Department of Culture, Media and Sport has submitted two notifications to the European Commission's TRIS database: the first proposes to change the definition of category C and D gaming machines in order to allow the increase in stake and prize levels and therefore improve the financial situation for gaming operators. The second notification makes changes to the technical standards of category C machines, so that they are clearly distinct from category B machines.

Source: Euromat

The world appears to have gone poker crazy. The appetite for the classic card game has increased hugely in recent years, partly due to the popularity of the game Texas Hold'Em. Poker has the endorsement of some of the most glamorous celebrities, and has built up a devoted following on specialist TV channels.

While we are used to thinking of poker as a game played in casinos and gambling dens, we are now starting to see it as an amusement or skill game in bars and other locations where no prize is on offer.

What is the situation about gambling business legislature in Armenia?

The gambling business in Armenia is regulated by the Law "On games with money prize and gambling establishments". According to the law all the casinos and slot halls should be located at the distance not less than 50 km from Yerevan city administrative border and 10 km from the borders of regional centres.

IRELAND

Ireland's private members club operators have expressed "cautious optimism" at the news that the justice minister is going to register and regulate them as he seeks to placate international financial watchdogs and bring the Republic into line with regard to international anti-money laundering practices. Source: gamblingcompliance.com

Machine operators used to be likened to "furniture removers" - particularly in the UK - where cabinets were traditionally moved from prime sites after a few weeks of use, waterfalling down into secondary and tertiary sites as time went on.