New offices, new business divisions and new staff members – the Sega Amusements Europe Open Day held last month was an upbeat event. Led by staff members, Aaron Gilbey, Martin Riley and Maria Villaroya – the presentation of new machines was witty and lighthearted, perfectly in keeping with the games themselves.

The portal of the 10a1.com betting company has more than 10,000 active clients and expects to finish the year with gross sales of 26 million euros, according to its Director General, Xavier González at its latest press conference, during which the new projects being planned by this pioneering Spanish on-line betting company were presented.

The Senate Commission for Economic Affairs and Finance has asked the Government to work on a law to regulate the gaming and betting services provided via electronic media and, in particular, the Internet, and cited by way of reference the fact that other countries in the European Union already have legislation and standards in place to regulate this activity.

The Director General of the Department of Interior of the Principality of Asturias, Julian González, has recently held meetings with representatives of AERPA (Asociación de Empresas Recreativas) - the Association of Amusement Companies and ASEBI (Asociación de Empresas del Juego de Bingo) - the Association of Bingo Companies.

I have long expressed my surprise that organisers of important pool events do not always seek the best looking, high quality tables for their events, especially when those events are to be televised.

The second Hot Games Show 2007 was held on Sept 7th and 8th in Hall 2 of the Taipei World Trade Center. The bustling exhibition welcomed over 50 companies and the Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the biggest gaming amusement company in the Philippines.

Following the 2005 devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, businessman John Georges has decided to run as an independent candidate for the governor’s job. Georges’s businesses include AMA Distributors and Lucky Coin, a route operation, in a New Orleans suburb. He took over the two longtime companies following the death of popular former AMOA president Bob Nims.

Fer Interazar 2007, the Spanish amusement exhibition organised each year by the Interazar Group in the Spanish capital (Madrid), took place in Pavilion 7 of IFEMA - (Instalaciones Feriales de Madrid) in September. According to the data supplied by the organization, the exhibition occupied a total of 16,200 square meters and there were 158 exhibitors representing a total of 535 companies, both national and foreign. Exhibitors came from 24 countries and there were 13,736 visitors, 22% of whom were professionals from outside Spain.

The AMOA/Fun Expo conventions were jointly held from September 28-30 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Statistical information, as of press time, released on the second day- September 29- revealed the expo’s growth remained flat, showing losses in most categories.

To strengthen the management of its entertainment market, crack down on illegal business activities and further promote a healthy development of the market, on August 1-30 the Cultural Market Administration Office of Zhengzhou City conducted a special rectifying activity in the cultural market of the city.

The “Local Standards for Large-scale Amusement Facility Maintenance Requirements” drafted by the Special Equipment Inspection Institute of Shandong Province have recently been approved by the Shandong Bureau of Quality and Technology Supervision as Shandong Province’s first compulsory local standards for large-scale amusement facility maintenance.

Sega opened Club Sega Kohoku in a business building located in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture on July 20.

By the end of 2007, elementary and junior high school students in Taiwan will be able to enjoy fun sports facilities such as dance games, foosball games, basketball machines, nine-square grid baseball games, trampolines and simple rock climbing facilities. Currently many elementary and high schools have unoccupied classrooms.

Taiwan’s Annual Gaming & Amusement Industry Exhibition - GTI Asia Taipei Expo (GTI Expo) 2008 will be held from May 8-10 at Zone B and C of the World Trade Center (TWTC) in Taipei. The year of 2008 has a significant meaning to the exhibition because it happens to be the 15th anniversary of GTI Expo.

There is no time to lose, says Mario Negro, former president of Assotrattenimento and renowned industry entrepreneur. He has no doubts and does not refrain from using tough language in relation to what is happening at the current time. “My experience as an entrepreneur and association representative won’t permit me to attempt to cling onto a “consolatory” interpretation of what is happening. When I recently had a chance to read some sections of the rough draft of the fiscal decree submitted to the Council of Ministers, my attention was drawn to the short section that referred to the “third parties responsible for collection”.

MANY thanks to all those who have sent their best wishes, emails and texts. This month I had two deadlines - one to produce the magazine you have before you and the other at the hospital to be induced to give birth to my first child. Unfortunately, the two were uncomfortably close. Now as I type these words 8.5lbs of gorgeous baby boy is sharing lap space with my computer. Joseph arrived during the Preview show and is the reason I was unable to attend that exhibition, or the ones in Rome and Prague last month.

Ritzio Entertainment Group, the largest East European gaming operator, has launched in Italy. The Group has entered the market with ‘Vulcano della Fortuna’, a chain of gaming clubs to open in the next months across the country.

Industry buyers from throughout the world are being targeted by organisers of ATEI, whose marketing campaign in support of the 2008 London Show has gone live.

At Preview 2008, Barcrest Group showed its newly launched Triple 7 cabinet and its extensive collection of video game content. Robert White, Managing Director, summed up this groundbreaking new development, saying: “With its stylish, distinctive looks and high earning potential, Triple 7 really stands out from the crowd. The cabinet offers the ultimate in playability, functionality and security.”

Available as a standalone unit, or networked for Server Based Gaming, Triple 7 is a multigame platform which allows customers to refine and enhance their offer as Barcrest Group creates more games.

The 13th edition of the Hungarian Gamexpo show was a great success, according to exhibitors and visitors alike. The Hungarian market is quite small but there are still untapped resources and many areas to exploit.

TouchTunes has announced that it will offer free conversions to owners of jukeboxes made by View Interactive, which recently informed its customers that it will be ceasing all operations.

NRI has appointed Solutions & Options as its new distributor for Greece and Interbrands Limited as its new distributor for Malta. Both Solutions & Options and Interbrands will distribute all NRI products in all markets. Solutions & Options was founded in 2006 by Yiannis Tamaresis.

Games Media showed a selection of the company’s latest Category C, Category B4 and digital entertainment terminals at last month’s Preview and provided an opportunity to see a comprehensive range of fully compliant gaming products.

Aristocrat Technologies Europe has announced major progress in its plans for sustained growth. Sales for the first six months across the EMEA region have risen over 55 per cent year-on-year. Europe’s profitability for the first six months grew by a staggering 200 per cent.

Astra Games revealed new games for Sectors B3 and C at last month’s Preview show. “The UK industry entered a new era on September 1st 2007, and the team at Astra, from games design through to dispatch, has taken an enthusiastic, proactive approach to this exciting time,” said Astra Managing Director Neil Chinn.

“The stand at Preview will present an eclectic mix of groundbreaking new developments, such as our new multiplayer “Triple Hot”, accompanied by more familiar names that have been fine tuned to take advantage of the new act.” Astra’s evergreen brand “Party Time” was represented by a Category C “Party Time Player”, re-designed to incorporate “playing off the win meter”, and the three different versions of the 2007 success “Party Time Double Decker”; single, three-player upright and four-player sit down arena.

The Oak pub in Leicestershire, UK, has just taken delivery of the 1500th Icon jukebox from NSM Music. The historic music machine was presented to landlord Ian Geldard by local operator Keeday Leisure.

2007 has seen Innovative Technology Ltd (ITL) embark on an ambitious reorganisation of its manufacturing sites; make significant changes to the Group Board and invest in additional resource to grow the capability of its research and development department.

Pan Amusements, renowned worldwide for the manufacture of electronic shooting galleries intends to use its 12th appearance at IAAPA to promote general scenery building and animation skills as well as shooting galleries.

The Global Draw, the UK’s leading provider of digital betting solutions has advised that its full estate of circa 9500 betting and gaming terminals was successfully converted to meet the requirements of the new gambling bill which came into force on 1st September.

Aristocrat Technologies Europe has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of Yogi Patel to the post of Finance Director. A qualified UK accountant, Patel brings with him significant financial control and planning experience, having worked in the technology sector for over 25 years, holding senior posts at local (UK), regional (EMEA) and global levels.

Lejano Oeste Video, from Bally Wulff remains one of the most successful video machines on the Spanish market so far. The machine combines digital video game and mechanical reel game, and is popular throughout the Iberian peninsula and the Balearic Islands.

Densitron Gaming Ltd. (to be known as Innocore from November 11) has signed an agreement with Videobet, the developer of software and systems for server-supported and downloadable gaming.