The ruling of the Court in Terni given in acceptance of a claim brought by a third party as a collector of funds and represented by Dott. Marco Ripamonti, solicitor, clarifies a well-established principle in a very unusual and more positive way than in the past.

The first-stage recruitment of GTI Asia Taipei Expo 2008 for VIP customers has already been launched.

IN all families there are rivalries and jealousies and the sister industries of coin-op and casino are no exception.

Johan Buyks enjoys his evening with Euroslot's Geeta Kesur

Global VR's Frank Ballouz shows off his eclectic eyewear at ATEI

The recent IMA and ATEI exhibitions have proved that Austrian touchscreen giant funworld has entered a new era of cooperation. For the first time, the company, for so long synonymous with the Photo Play market-leading touchscreen games, showed itself to be a multi-product company with new brands and company sectors to tackle different areas of the gaming and amusement markets.

For the second year running the changes made by the organization continued to maintain the polemic between visitors and exhibitors. From the visitor’s point of view it is not easy to organize an agenda when going from one stand to another takes so much time and robs you of the calm needed to close a deal, knowing that the next “meeting” you have is somewhere on the other floor and you need to go via several “check points” in order to get there.

How refreshing to attend a show where everyone is in a good mood and business is booming. The German market is enjoying a very positive spell due to the gaming legislation that was introduced in 2006. We saw the first signs of a turnaround at last year’s IMA but very few machines had made it through homologation and it was still early days.

Bally Wulff Entertainment presented various new products featuring lots of new games, new technology and new design at this year’s IMA show in Germany. This was a growing continuation of last year’s trend: traditional reel machines are increasingly being replaced by versatile digital multigame machines. Two of the biggest launches at IMA were the Royal Casino and Multi Casino machines, each presented on their own exclusive stage.

Sound Leisure and Soundnet launched their revolutionary new digital jukebox interface at ATEI, called Trackdial and have reported immense interest in the service at the show. Trackdial will open up a new income stream for operators, as customers are able to access the jukebox services from anywhere within the venue and multiple users can access the box simultaneously. In addition, no cash is required as music choices are charged to the user’s mobile phone bill.

TAB-Austria has signed a contract with The Official UK Charts, the body that is responsible for the official music and video charts in England. The charts are based on information from more than 6,200 retailers and are thus representative country-wide for the single track and album market in England.

Namco Bandai Games has reported an exceptional response to its Fun Factory range of amusement games unveiled at ATEI 2008. Incorporating at least 15 world/European debuts, the company’s product mix is being cited by Managing Director John McKenzie as the principal factor behind an unsurpassed level of orders taken at the London show.

Gamestec, the leading player in the UK gaming and amusement machines sector, has announced the appointment of former Gala Bingo Managing Director Steve McKenna as commercial consultant to the business

Videobet, a subsidiary of Playtech, has announced the appointment of Peter Cercone to the position of business development director – Videobet. Cercone's role will include the ongoing development of opportunities with Tier 1 operators and suppliers. He joins Videobet with over 15 years experience in the land-based gaming industry having held senior positions with the Independent Gaming Corporation, TABCORP and BMM International.

Sebastian Salat has been promoted to the newly created position of President, WMS International. With more than 25 years of experience in the global gaming industry, Salat has established the presence of WMS in over 70 countries, built a strong and well-respected worldwide sales and service organization that is focused on taking care of WMS international customers’ needs, and significantly grown sales and profitability.

Astra showed a wide variety of UK and overseas product at ATEI. There was a selection of video and reel based Category C games; the evergreen themes of Party Time and Bullion Bars were re-incarnated in a new Platinum presentation, complete with a new Category C overhaul. These games were accompanied by Astra multiplayer “Locomotion”– which introduced a compelling presentation enhanced via three 32” LCD top screens; mixing a Wild West train theme with an innovative top feature for the UK market.

Global VR announced the appointment of Frank Ballouz as SVP International Business before the London shows. Effective January 14, 2007, the 30-year veteran of the coin-op industry and former head of international sales for companies such as Atari, Merit Industries, Namco Europe, and even a stint as Global VR’s International Sales VP, has taken on a new role which focuses on expanding business opportunities for the company. “It is no secret that Frank is one of the most knowledgeable executives in the coin-op industry,” commented Jim DeRose, Global VR President and CEO.

Sega Amusements Europe has signed an exclusive deal with the Canadian Amusement Manufacturer Triotech Amusement for the exclusive distribution rights of their coin-op products to Europe, Russia, the Middle- East and Africa. Triotech specialises in manufacturing larger interactive products that provide a “total entertainment experience for all” especially the all important “family” element of the amusement industry.

Mark Stewart, President of Optima Global Corporation is pleased to announce that he is actively seeking interested parties throughout the world to manufacture, market and distribute Optima’s new electronic scoring steel tip dart machine under licence. Optima, a research and development company is located in Canada.