Datateam has made an alliance with the Mexican trade show GAMMEX. I must admit this came as something of a surprise to me, when I found out this month. We haven't exactly devoted pages of editorial to the Mexican market in Euroslot traditionally. However, my colleague and editor of Casino International Americano, Ricki Chavez-Munoz assures me that Latin America is where it's at!

Euroslot publisher Datateam has entered into a strategic alliance with the organisers of a Mexican trade show called GAMMEX to be held in April next year.

Henrik Mattsson from PAF was pleased to confirm that in the near future, the ultra compact SPEED Airhockey from NordicCC is to be tested on ships cruising between Sweden and the Baltic States. Mr Mattsson saw an advertisment for "SPEED" in the international Euroslot magazine and immediately got in touch with Reinhard Schloh at NordicCC.

Embed, a leading provider of Debit Card and Point of Sale Systems for the amusement and family entertainment industry, is pleased to announce that it has been selected by the Majid Al Futtaim Group (MAF) to supply and support Debit Card and Management Systems for MAF's chain of Magic Planet Family Entertainment Centres. Magic Planet is the premier operator of Family Entertainment Centres in shopping malls throughout the Middle East with existing locations in the UAE, Oman and Egypt. Magic Planet is set for rapid growth with new locations to open in the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait in coming months.

Cosmic Video Amusements (CVA) took advantage of a unique opportunity at the recent football game held as part if the Soccer Aid campaign organised by UNICEF at Wembley Stadium. CVA was asked to provide a game to keep participants entertained during the event in the hotel bar & lounge area.

IGT-UK and WagerWorks have restructured their UK businesses which will result in the UK division of WagerWorks being integrated into IGT-UK.

Sound Leisure marked a unique anniversary at this year's Preview show. It was exactly 20 years since Alan Black, the company's founder, first showed digital jukebox technology in public - at the very same show.

During the recent ENADA Gaming show in Rome, leading Italian gaming operator COGETECH and ACE Interactive jointly announced their intention to work together in order to offer server-based Video Lottery Gaming in Italy under the pending Comma 6B gaming legislation.

Danoptra Gaming Group, the UK's leading gaming manufacturer and gaming machine operator and a leading operator of leisure facilities, has announced the appointment Keith Hamill as Non Executive Chairman.

Mathias Reindl joined Eurocoin last month. Based in Hamburg, Germany, Reindl will undertake the role of Regional Sales Manager for Eurocoin, using his extensive industry knowledge to develop business for the company across all key market sectors.

Soundnet has pulled out all the stops to provide its lowest ever priced service. At £29.95 per month, the latest offer from Soundnet is also the best value available anywhere in the UK by at least £10 per month.

Industry Veteran Jack Guarnieri has taken his PinballSales.com company which he founded in 1999 and merged it into one of the nation's biggest operating companies, Elaut USA, Inc, formerly Monduce, Inc.

More bookings and a very positive reaction from exhibitors at an on-site meeting last week were reported by organisers of the new London IGX show.

Inspired Gaming Group plc, a leading player worldwide in the Open Server-Based Gaming market, has signed a worldwide multi-year revenue share licence with Stanleybet International, to provide its virtual sports system across the Stanleybet estate. The licence will initially be rolled out over a two-year period and is expected to cover approximately 500 terminals in five countries.

Display Technology Ltd is proud to announce that it has completed the purchase of Apollo Display Technologies Ltd from Apollo Corporation USA for an undisclosed sum, creating one of the largest TFT display specialists in the UK.  Display Technology specializes in Industrial, Gaming, Digital Signage, retail, kiosk and complete custom Display solutions including software and its own proprietary hardware for the retail and Digital Signage markets, including full custom solutions.

Sega Amusements Europe Ltd. has announced that it is to open up its UK market and sell its products direct to the end user. This change ends many years of using only distributors to get product to market.

Mecca Bingo has forged ahead with an extended rollout of Barcrest Group's ICONIC sb server-based gaming solution. Mecca Bingo clubs throughout the country are now primed to take full advantage of the benefits ICONIC sb has to offer. Presented in Barcrest Group's Triple 7 cabinet, ICONIC sb allows a constant stream of the very latest games from Barcrest Group's comprehensive library to be available for Mecca players.

The Bell-Fruit Group has announced plans to review its structure and cost base in response to a much-reduced UK gambling machine industry. The decline in the pub business and implementation of the new Gambling Act has resulted in the anticipated demand for Category "C" gambling machines reducing dramatically for the coming year. Despite this, BFG have done a great job in achieving the highest market share on record.

Suzo-Happ Group, a portfolio company of private equity firm Pfingsten Partners, L.L.C., has purchased Owens Precision Fabricators (OPF) located in Henderson, Nevada (Las Vegas).

ATEI visitors will be able to relax, socialise and network out of hours without leaving the exhibition hall, courtesy of a free drinks reception taking place between 5.30pm and 7.30pm on the first day of the show (27th January).

The latest publication to be produced by ADIPS, Safety of Amusement Devices - In Service Inspection, received its official launch at the recent Leisure Industry Week (LIW) exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham, UK. The new guidance is the latest in a series of planned publications to be written by ADIPS and is a detailed technical guidance for inspection bodies and the controllers and operators of fairground attractions and theme/amusement park rides. It is an integral part of the work of the organisation and has been fully endorsed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

BALPPA Chief Executive Colin Dawson has been elected President of Europarks, the federation of theme and amusement park associations throughout Europe.

Ritzio International has linked its worldwide operations to a single online management system (OMS). With its installation of SmartBoss, Ritzio expects a 5% reduction of the Group's operational costs due to automation of the key administration processes. Gaming machine management and control functions, such as data collection and pay-out procedures, will now require less involvement from the personnel. The management companies also take advantage of the SmartBoss by cutting costs on the financial and operational controllers trips to remote gaming venues.

On 1 October, Bally Wulff Entertainment celebrated the 10th anniversary of Managing Director Tim Wittenbecher. He was honoured with flowers, a certificate and a golden pin.

FremantleMedia, one of the largest creators and producers of entertainment brands in the world, has announced deals with NextGen and Electracade, two leading developers of cash prize based online games.

The report concludes that land-based casinos and the online casino gaming sectors have the potential to create in the region of 13,000 new jobs and deliver annual returns to the Exchequer of EUR 280 million by 2020, if the appropriate regulatory and fiscal structures are put in place.

ARGENTINA

A second legislative proposal has been presented in Argentina aimed at disrupting the activities of online gaming companies, this time in the province of Santa Fe. The move follows the proposal last week in Buenos Aires of a bill seeking to ban remote gambling in the province. Source Gaming Intelligence Group

During the Fer Interazar Show in Madrid, Cirsa at its annual dinner celebrated the 30-year anniversary of the corporation founded by Manuel Lao Hernández in 1978. It was a festive occasion that its president wished to extend to the industry overall, but more particularly to his family.

Kiroljokoa and Reta have seen more than 15,000 bets placed since they opened. The two betting houses consider this to be a real success. It could not be otherwise: Kiroljokoa and Reta (Ekasa), the two Basque sports betting companies that started their operations in late September, are more than satisfied with the response from sports fans. Both have achieved a high operational performance. Kiroljokoa, based in Eibar, has seen 7,000 bets placed during the first few days of operation.

The Third Congress of the Mediterranean Platform for Responsible Gaming took place in September. The event was attended by the current Director of Gaming in Catalonia, Mercé Claramunt and several local politicians associated with public health and the social implications of not adopting a responsible approach to gaming.

The Platform in Defence of the ONCE ticket (National Organisation for the Spanish Blind), which comprises 19 state organizations for people with disabilities and the social organisations representing more than 4 million people with disabilities in Spain, as well as the two main Spanish trade unions, today asked the Government to regulate the new electronic games.

?34bn: this is the total amount of revenue from the gaming sector for the first nine months of 2008, equal to a rise of about 11% over last year. Should growth continue at this pace the annual revenue could reach ?47bn by the end of 2008.

Immigrants are more likely to become addicted to gambling. This conclusion is reached in a study commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Justice, responsible for games of chance, conducted by a leading research Institute on social issues. According to the study, presented to the Dutch Parliament in the last few days, immigrants from Turkey and Morocco are far more at risk of becoming addicted to gambling than Dutch people.

Armando Iaccarino, the Italian State Monopolies Agency (AAMS) Official Director, has signed a circular letter extending the compulsory deadline for the provisional proof plate. The circular states:

This year, winnings totalling ?780k in the Italia Lottery remain unclaimed. In the Viareggio Lottery ?140k are unclaimed and another ?25k are lost in the Fiaba Lottery. Is this something we should view with anxiety and regret? Not at all: this is just chicken feed, because lotteries are no longer big news in Italy. And so this year against a total of ?103m in unclaimed winnings, tickets forgotten in the country lotteries only amount to about ?1.5m (?1.547m to be precise). Traditional lotteries are definitely going out of fashion. They are being overtaken by what are technically called instant lotteries but commonly known as «scratch cards». People want everything and now. Even before now.

The National Dart Association (NDA) is launching a new initiative that will assist NDA charter holder members as they work harder to thrive in these current turbulent market conditions. NDA will offer educational and training "webinars", or live online seminars, to help members develop solutions for all the challenges they confront in their coin-op businesses.

USA Technologies Inc., a leading Pennsylvania provider of wireless, cashless, micro-transaction and networking services, plus energy management hardware, has released a study that suggests that vending machines equipped to accept debit and credit cards continue to change consumers' purchasing habits. After examining 3,000 machines on college campuses and military bases over a six-month period, cashless purchases represent half of all transactions on campuses and almost two-thirds on bases.

In light of the uncertain economic conditions, the 2008 AMOA Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center pleased most attendees. Figures indicated that buyer numbers decreased to 1,700 from 1,880 in 2007. Total attendance spiked to just over 3,000, which compares with a number just under 4,000 at last year's show.

The perfect storm of subprime mortgage meltdown, credit collapse and falling real estate prices, mixed with rising fuel and energy costs, has severely impacted the amusement industry. Add to that scenario those regions across the U.S. that have been devastated by hurricanes and tornadoes, and it will be a very tough year for coin-op. Automatic vending and coin-operated amusements are a part of the equipment finance sector that  totals more than $600 billion and fuels the nation's economic growth.

The discussion of offshore island gambling laws caused a debate between two political parties in Taiwan, the ruling party KMT and the opposition party DDP. The latter is opposed to giving permission to casinos to open on offshore islands only, while some KMT members have requested that central government clarify its position on where exactly casinos can be sited.

The first meeting of the cultural industry development team of Zhuhai city, Guangdong province was held on August 6; "The Temporary Practice Measure of the Special Fund of Zhuhai's Cultural Developments" was deliberated and passed in principle, and will be announced officially soon.

The Changchun Comic Industry Park in Jilin Province (China) has signed contracts with four Korean schools. The contract stipulates that the Korean schools will assign 100 students to study abroad in The Changchun Comic Industry Park (Jilin University Art College - Zhi He Comic School). 

According to reports, the "Cool Japan" marketing of the Asian entertainment industry (including that of amusement and gaming machines) has drawn more and more foreign visitors to visit Japan recently. In arcades, it is not difficult to see the obvious increase of foreign customers, especially from China, Korea, and Taiwan, where prize machines are popular.  The Western customers are more into shooting games.  However, in Japan, the current trend is to use gifts as prizes, not money. Some foreign customers are not used to this rule, and there have been disputes.

Manufacturing skills and Superleague technology have finally come together to enable the Cannock factory of Hazelgrove Superleague to start production, said director Eric Lewis in October.

This year's Preview did extremely well despite difficult trading conditions. Hats must come off to Philip and Ylva Howard, the show's organisers who worked tirelessly to ensure the show was up to its usual high standard.

Seeben Company from Belgium keeps on doing what it knows best: combining the past, the present and the future. Both for the home market and the international markets the engineers are combining completely new technology with several decades of experience on their bingo product. The result is astonishing: the Magic Empire.

"Games Warehouse produces UK and Spanish versions of its video gaming terminal that serves the AWP market. In both markets, Infiniti is a dual-screen touchscreen unit with GPRS wireless connectivity and a fully upgradeable multi-game menu.

Bell-Fruit Games has been pioneering the development of mainstream Video AWP product longer than anyone else in the industry - coming up for ten years. It was always going to be a gradual process, converting the medium of choice from mechanical to digital, but BFG's commitment to the cause - helped by a general acceptance of living in ‘the digital age' - is winning players over.

Empire Games' current best-selling video AWP product is Ocean's Eleven. The company has been historically very strong in the UK bingo and arcade sectors with reel-based games. "I would see no reason why we couldn't transfer this success to a video platform," says Empire's Managing Director Craig Beer.

Our best selling product is "The Player" which is a downloadable Multi Game AWP Product.

Our Webak Casino Elegance Slim with the best-selling game Bell Scatter is our best-selling video AWP product. The latest cabinet on the market is the Webak Casino Future Line with touch monitor (see photo), a dual monitor cabinet will come out shortly and a wall unit is in the pipeline.

As an international concern, Astra has developed innovative video cabinets and content for all of our key markets. Of course the company has been undeniably strong in Astra's domestic market in the UK, particularly with Section 16/21 and B3 product, therefore games such as Party Games Slotto and Reel King - which have been hugely successful across a variety of platforms - would be Astra's most successful video products.

Barcrest Group's Triple 7 cabinet has been a monumental success. 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 with games from Barcrest Group.  Built to the highest standards in a metal cabinet with hard chrome finish and long-life components, every aspect of Triple 7 is designed for longevity and Triple 7 can be relied on to look stunning and perform consistently for years to come. 

On 24th, 25th and 26th September the XXVIII International Gaming Fair, FER Interazar 2008, was held at the Parque Ferial Juan Carlos I in Madrid. Despite the economic crisis that has rocked Europe, for the Private Gaming and Leisure industry this event represented a unique opportunity for manufacturers, distributors, employers and professionals to exhibit and to view the new machine models and latest technologies that are determining the future of this business.

It's been a long time coming, but 13 years after the original debut SEGA RALLY Twin has returned.

A few years ago Seeben launched a new type of machine that was a cross between a traditional (pinball) bingo game and a modern upright AWP-style game. This machine called Magic Circus conquered as expected a large part of the Belgian market and also performed very well internationally.

MEI has expanded its offering to casinos with the introduction of EASITRAX Soft Count. The integrated software/hardware solution places information collected in the CASHFLOW SC bill validator into a database that can be networked to multiple locations and be accessed to analyze slot floor performance.

Sega has unleashed another blockbuster title upon the industry in the form of RAMBO, which will preview on the European trade show circuit in both the Standard and Deluxe cabinet versions. 

Namco Europe has launched its first wholly in-house developed Kiddie Ride since acquiring the Amutec brand name. ‘Finley the Fire Engine' is a two-seat rocking ride based on the television cartoon character which is hugely popular amongst two to six-year-olds. The ride, which has been licensed from Entertainment Rights, features authentic sounds and interactive controls.

Games Media has unveiled a new SWP cabinet for UK pub retailers with twice the gaming content of its previous version.

The European distributor for Texas Hold ‘Em Heads Up Challenge, Cosmic Video Amusements, reports that since launching into Europe, five months ago, it has machines in eleven different countries and growing.

PHOTO PLAY MASTERS is a new tournament series comprising the 12 most popular PHOTO PLAY games. A four-week long tournament series is held once a month with national and international competition.

Allstar Vending has introduced the perfect one inch capsule item for girls - the all-new Glitter Glam. Each capsule contains a packet of body glitter. There are six different neon colours available: orange, green, purple, pink, blue and yellow. Girls simply open the packages and apply the gel-like glitter to their skin for an instant glittery effect! It is sure to be a huge seller among ‘tweenage' girls, who love to shimmer. The product has been safety tested and is completely non-toxic. This product will also be available for sale in two-inch capsules in the near future.

Sound Leisure enjoyed a particularly successful Preview show this year - due to the interest in the company's latest machine, named simply "The Jukebox".

"Skill Wins Prizes" is an exciting new development from Instance Automatics. Very similar to the Stacker & Pile Up merchandiser machines but with a big difference, the game content of the machine is upgradeable. Instance's Ian Eason comments, "This is an amazing machine, think of it like the late 80's & early 90's video games, where you bought a cabinet & then when the income from the machine dropped, you simply bought another game pcb, changed the top flash and bang you had the next big money-taking machine but with minimal costs."

GeneralTouch Technology will take its Multiplayer Machinery Touch Solution to the Las Vegas G2E show this month (November 18-20).

The International Gaming Expo 2009 will play host to at least 20 companies who will be making their debut appearance in London next January.

Inspired Gaming Group plc (Inspired) unveiled a raft of new and exclusive category B2, B3 and C content at The Betting Show 2008. Inspired also launched a range of new B2 and B3 content in advance of the Betting Show through partnerships with Gamesoft, Psiclone, Max Gaming and Barcrest.

"MUSIC TO GO" is the latest development from TAB-Austria allowing a direct data transfer of music files and videos to external data carriers. TAB-Austria is breaking new ground with new features for the MAX FIRE jukebox.

At this year's Interazar fair which took place from September 24 - 26 in Madrid, Bally Wulff Entertainment introduced two new machines for the Spanish market - the reel-based Bally's Chicago and Royal Bank, combining classic reel technology with modern video sequences. In addition, the Indianapolis machine is included in the successful Spanish portfolio.

Comestero Group showed off the best of its payment systems at the Enada Rome show last month.  The Italian company had a new modern stand and exhibited its kit designed for Italian newslot2 (complete with coin validator, smart coin sorter and hoppers) its banknote readers with integrated stackers, and also accessories for gaming machines. 

Nicktoons Nitro Racing is a new family-oriented, fast action video driver fresh from the Raw Thrills studio. Distributed exclusively throughout the UK and Ireland by Brent Sales and in continental Europe by Bandai Namco Games, the game is licensed on the highly popular series of Nicktoons TV characters led by Spongebob Squarepants.