Nevertheless the approval of the new gaming Regulation by the government of the autonomous region of Madrid, after a long wait for the outcome, was the signal for which many manufacturers were waiting to decide to exhibit their products at a fair, that from its outset has always been among the three most important fairs in Europe. According to the information provided by the organizers of this event, they recorded a total of 18,023 professional visitors. One should state that, in general terms, the number of participants this year was lower than usual for this type of event. Indeed, there were fewer exhibitors than the previous year, 155 companies; 23 of whom came from abroad; 252 indirect exhibitors; 536 represented companies; 316 foreign companies; 16 specialist press stands. The exhibition was in the same Hall as last year, and as such out of the 16,200 square meters of exhibition space, the net area occupied by the exhibition decreased by almost 1,200 m2. Ancillary services occupied some 5,000 square meters; 235 square meters were occupied by the institutions; there were 3,362 foreign visitors; 1,350 professionals; 2,500 machines and other products were on display and there were 55 participating countries - one more than last year.

There were two companies that did not pass unnoticed. Astrum and Ludicus; both appearing for the first time but neither was a stranger. The first, directed by Antonio Gallardo, is the result of his departure from one of the oldest companies in the gaming industry in Spain, Picmatic, of which he was a founder member; whilst the second, Ludicus, has joined forces with Zest Gaming and acts as a technological partner in the Italian firm. Astrum presented a multiplayer Texas Hold´em poker machine for ten players that was added to the seven models of terminals for electronic bingo which are classified as machines of type B3 in Spain, and have been proving themselves in the market for more than a year. For its part Ludicus, which occupied one of the largest stands at the fair presented a type B (AWP) machine based on the popular character "Torrente", who gives his name to the machine and is known for being the protagonist of a Spanish film which covers the adventures of a lone detective, in the town of Marbella. The actor who brought this character to life was present during the event which, without a doubt, turned the space occupied by Ludicus into one of the most visited.

The central corridor of the fair is like the golden mile in Chicago. To cover it means discovering 80% of the very latest new products. In the case of Madrid, little more than a dozen companies were competing for the attention of the visitor. On both sides of the corridor could be seen innovative products matching the needs of the most important sectors that go to form the Spanish market. Bingo machines, AWP's for bars, special machines for arcades and casinos. Take Aristocrat for example with its two new models, "Queen of the Nile" and "Dolphin Treasure", which it has added to the models already marketed in Spain and which have been developed using the experience it has gained from "Big Red" in the Spanish market over the last year. On the same stand we could see a broad range of "Organic" roulettes from the Slovene company Interblock, and Novamatic presented a varied collection of multiplayer tables midway between roulettes and poker.

For its part Gigames constructed a space divided into two different sections to house its star models: Gigavegas, exhibited for the first time at the Málaga Fair and Viva Tijuana, both reel machines which have proved very successful with the public, the company having sold some 10,000 models. Thanks to the demand for the Gigavegas model there is now a model designed especially for arcades. As is to be expected of the Cirsa Group, it made a show of force through its companies and presented several models based on single reels, on videos or mixed. Unidesa presented "Multistar", a machine with three video games in one, that is to say, a multigame type model on which it is possible to enjoy the games: "Aladdin", "Cat'n'Mouse" and "The Jungle". When it comes to reel machines only, "Gladiators" is an option for adapting machines with low takings and "The jewel of Egypt", the most profitable model, and lastly "Vikings" a mixed model like "Wild Saloon" from Europea, also part of the Cirsa Group.

A few yards away, R. Franco offered its range of products for casinos, arcades and bars including two new models "Moky Raky" and "Africa". The first is a reel machine, the latest model in the successful line of these products produced by the company. However "Africa" is the company's first venture into a mixed model and is a revolutionary offer, now that the Regulation by the Madrid autonomous government has come into effect allowing the introduction of this type of video product. Just opposite the space occupied by R. Franco, another giant Sente S.A. confirmed its success in the distribution of the "Master Games" model from the Merkur company. Further on, Comatel had some outstanding new products on its stand. For example, JCM exhibited ‘Vega', a state of the art ticket machine that incorporates the option of checking the tickets entered into the machine and paying out the prizes with these same tickets. This requirement within the market was also covered by the Billhopper from Azkoyen whose basic characteristic is that it makes it possible to rationalize the method of paying the players. After two years in development, Comatel finally showed its "Infiniti Evolution" at FER Interazar. This is a multigame, totally video machine from the British manufacturer Games Warehouse. Nevertheless, the most important news from Comatel was the signing of an important distribution agreement by means of which the Comatel Group will be representing the extensive range of TCS John Huxley products in Spain.

Just alongside and as is usual, the MGA stand was swarming with products that ranged from classic roulettes to spectacular video simulators. Over an area of 250 m2 the company exhibited models such as the "Harley Davidson, Fiesta, the Sega Rally 3 mini DLX, the Pigs might fly, the Double up stacker, the Texminator, the Barber cut DLX, the Barber cut Lite, the Techno Cosmic Crane, the Techno Giga Crane, the Road Trip and the StarBlitz", traditional models like the Megastar roulette, Gold Bars, Deal or no deal, Feeding Time, Slam'n Jam, Squid Spies, Super Trivia Single and UFO Catcher. In addition it had time to organize a poker tournament. All the participants in the poker tournament received a gift of a small case containing a set of poker cards and in addition, the winner received a statue by the international sculptor Lorenzo Quinn, son of the actor Anthony Quinn.

Lastly there is the Bingo sector. In the past this has been a stable market and companies like Vaprel from Valencia and MacB from Madrid have been its backbone for many years. Now, in need of stimuli to move it out of the situation in which it finds itself, new machines of types B3, B4, or any other name by which they may be recognized in the future, form the present reference and their installation, as is happening now within the Madrid autonomous region, is dependent on the present Regulations being modified in the other autonomous regions too. Companies such as Zitro and FB Metronia are pioneers in the design of this type of product. On their stands could be seen a large number of games and solutions. Their technologically advanced platforms handle new concepts that may be the future of the sector. At the present time, not only do these companies, but others like R. Franco and Cirsa, have the technological capability to confront this challenge.

All the above is just a sample of what could be seen in Madrid. It is impossible to mention each and every one the new products that were exhibited at the fair but what is certain is that FER Interazar 2009 was an exhibition that was full of options which, in a time of crisis, show the way forward. Nevertheless, when visiting this fair it is not simply a question of walking down the fantastic mile of the central corridor. Also participating in the show were a great many companies, manufacturers, distributors and ancillary industries that are also an essential part of the gaming industry in Spain. For example, Famai and Electrodiver along with Industrias Falgás specialising for many years in kiddie rides. Likewise, the increased flow of money in the arcades has given rise to the SIPAR protocol, which has been specially designed to avoid the handling of cash. In this domain, Amyc, Azkoyen, Money Control, Hispacounter and Jofemar are specialists in payment methods, whilst the company IPS specialises in managing the operating companies. Carlos Collado, Marketing Director at IPS, told us: "Visitor numbers apart, every year professionals come to the IPS stand looking for solutions and finding them. Some of the solutions have been on the market for a long time and others are really innovative, but they all have a common objective which is to improve the management of the operating companies and to offer new incentives for increasing their profits. We are a large family where we all depend on each other".

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