G3 January 2015

SOUTH KOREAGenting Hong Kong is to invest US$117.2min a joint venture with Landing Int.

MEXICOMexico fast-tracks new gaming law toreplaced out-dated Act of 1947

SPAINNovomatic acquires majority shareholdingin GiGames and Conei Group

NEW JERSEYLast minute taxation strategies proposed tosave Atlantic City’s remaining eight

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GLOBAL GAMES AND GAMING MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2015 I WWW.G3NEWSWIRE.COM I WWW.G3-247.COMINTERNATIONAL GAMING NEWS I KNOWLEDGE I STATISTICS I MARKET INFORMATION I DIGITAL AND PRINT

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OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

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JaNuary 2015Contents

SOUTH AMERICA NEWS01: mExICo Having fast-tracked its a new gaming lawmexico has finally replaced the country’sout-dated act of 1947 – G3Newswire pg 08

02: BrazIL the Brazilian police force has instigated amajor crackdown on an alleged illegalgaming ring across several states–G3Newswire pg 10

03: puErto rICo the government of puerto rico has madesweeping changes to its horse racinglegislation that has met with approval– G3Newswire pg 12

NORTH AMERICA NEWS07: NEVada the american Gaming association (aGa)has released a comprehensive set of anti-money Laundering Best practices– G3Newswire pg 32

08: NEw JErsEy Last minute taxation strategies proposedto save atlantic City’s remaining eightcasinos as unemployment rockets– G3Newswire pg 34

08: NEw JErsEy Borgata has announced details of the$13m property-wide renovation takingplace over the next several months– G3Newswire pg 38

EMEA NEWS04: spaIN Novomatic Group of Companies’s spanishsubsidiary has become majorityshareholders of GiGames and Conei– G3Newswire p g 14

05: EstoNIa olympic Entertainment Group (oEG), hasbeen ranked as first among the top 100successful Estonian companies. – G3Newswire pg 16

06: uK four operators have continued to expresstheir interest in the stalled middlesbroughcasino project with movement in sight – G3Newswire pg 22

ASIA & OCEANIA NEWS09: austraLIa aquis Casino acquisitions, the companybidding to build a a$4.2bn casino projectin Cairns , is to complete in Canberra – G3Newswire pg 42

10: saIpaNImperial is to launch 510m new shares onthe HKsE to raise funds for a HKd774mcasino project on the island of saipan– G3Newswire pg 44

11: soutH KorEaGenting Hong Kong is to invest us$117.2min a joint venture with LandingInternational development – G3Newswire pg 46

MARKET REPORTGrEECE VLt updatE market report detailing the recent changestaking place in the Greek market as VLtgaming is introduced to the marketplace– G3-247 market report pg 78

BCN worLd ENtErs sECoNd pHasE the Government of Catalonia hasannounced the four successful applicantsthat have passed into the second phase– Insight pg 28

NEpaL CasINos rEopENNepal’s casino industry is likely to be backin business soon, however operators arestill concerned about new regulations– Insight pg 48

EXHIBITIONSHow ICE Is mappING tHE futurE ICE is a must attend for exhibitors fromacross the world - G3 charts the journeysof two poles apart exhibitors to ICE 2015– Exhibitions pg 56

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While putting together this month’s preview to the ICE show in February,Clarion Gaming asked for a blog of memories from my ICE exhibitions past. My14 years of shows have blurred together somewhat, but I can clearly remembermy first ICE back in 2000. Riding the escalator from the roaring cacophony thatwas the ATEI show below, the upper level of Earls Court in London was a strungout horseshoe of an exhibition floor, weaving between pillars and low ceilings, itwas an intimate affair that felt muffled and refined compared to its penny-arcade cousin on the floor below. The passing of ATEI as a con-joined exhibitionwas something for which is was easy to spill crocodile tears.

Striking compared to today were the stands themselves. No double decks, meet-ing rooms or acres of carpet, the ICE show was a lean operation. While today it’snot unusual for a games developer to launch 50+ games at a single exhibition, in2000 the stands had only a handful of new games, perhaps less than 50 newgames for the entire event.

Interviews were conducted on the stand, pressed between guests and stacks ofgames. And they were interviews with CEOs and Managing Directors. Few com-panies had dedicated marketing staff, so the heads of Novomatic, R.Franco,Gauselmann etc., were all available to discuss the products that they personallyhad put their time and effort into developing. The interviews were often raw and

unedited, with the lack of filters that are appliedto today’s managed events. There was a trust thatyou’d get the story right, or face a grilling at thenext event on the calendar.

Gossip and rumour was a currency of the showsthen - with the tacit knowledge that while noth-ing was for print, it was no holds barred in termsof the rumour mill surrounding appointments,departures, mergers and acquisitions. You couldstart a rumour on one stand and meet it comingback as you followed the horseshoe around to itsnatural conclusion. And then there were the par-ties. What happened to the parties? Not that Iremember much about those...

FEW COMPANIESHAD DEDICATEDMARKETING STAFF,SO INTERVIEWS ATICE WERE WITHTHE HEADS OF ALLTHE MAJORCOMPANIES

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JaNuary 2015Comment

EdItorIaL

EditorLewis [email protected]+44 (0) 1942 879 291

News EditorPhil [email protected]+44 (0)161 236 6669

associate Editor (maLaGa) Karen [email protected]

ConsultantJohn Carroll (BILLErBECK)[email protected]

CorrespondentJames [email protected]

ContributorsDaniel LindsayDavid AddisonBepi MottesRory Shanahan

adVErtIsING

Commercial directorJohn SlatteryEmail:[email protected]+44 (0)7917 166471

advertising ExecutiveJames SlatteryEmail:[email protected]+44 (0)7917 166471

produCtIoN

sub EditorLisa Nichols

senior designerGareth Irwin

production managerPaul Jolleys

subscriptions managerJennifer Pek

Commercial administratorJohn Pek

JaNuary 2015Events

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February 3-6 2015ICE Totally Gaming 2015, London

LocationExCeL London Exhibition Centre,London, United KingdomOrganiserClarion EventsFulham Green, Bedford House69-79 Fulham High StreetLondon

United Kingdom SW6 3JWContactGareth DedmanTel: +44 (0)20 7384 8120Email: [email protected]: www.icetotallygaming.com

March 3-4, 2015Irish Gaming Show, Dublin

LocationRed Cow Moran Hotel, Dublin,IrelandContactSusan FeeryOrganiserGaming & Amusement

Publications8 South Ring Business ParkKinsale Road, Cork, IrelandTel: +353 21 431 6776Email: [email protected]: www.irishgaming.ie

March 9-11, 2015Gaming Technology Conference,

Las Vegas

LocationCaesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada,United StatesContactLesley GrashowOrganiserBNP Media Gaming Group

2401 W Big Beaver Road, Suite 700Troy, MichiganUnited StatesMI 48084Tel: +1 203 938 2782 Email: [email protected] Web: www.tablegamesconf.com

January 13-15, 2015EAG International Expo 2015 &Visitor Attraction Expo, London

LocationExCeL London Exhibition Centre,London, UKOrganiserEAG/Swan EventsOffice 10, Clare Lodge41 Hollybush LaneHarpenden, Herts

United KingdomAL5 4AYContactKaren CookeTel: +44 1582 767254Email: [email protected]: www.eagexpo.com

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March 18-19, 2015Caribbean Gaming Show &Summit 2015, Puerto Rico

LocationSan Juan, Puerto RicoOrganiserCGS Group Investments LLCSoutheast Financial Center200 South Biscayne Boulevard,Suite 2790

Miami, FloridaUnited States FL 33131Tel: +1 305 394 9292Email: [email protected]: www.caribbeangaming-show.com

March 18-20, 2015ENADA Spring, Italy

LocationRimini Fiera, Rimini, ItalyOrganiserRimini Fiera SpaVia Emilia 155Rimini, Italy47900

Contact: Sonia BodelliniOpening Times: 10am-6pmTel: +39 0541 744250Email: [email protected]: www.enadaprimavera.it

March 17-19, 2015iGaming Asia Congress, Macau

LocationGrand Hyatt, MacauOrganiserBeacon Events20/F Siu On Centre188 Lockhart RoadWanchai

Hong KongTel: +852 2219 0111Email: [email protected]:www.igamingasiacongress.com

March 18-19, 2015FADJA Peru 2015, Lima

LocationAtlantic City Convention &Entertainment Center, Lima, PeruOrganiser3A ProductionsAmador Merino Reyna Street No 307

Of 602 San IsidroLima Peru 27Tel: +51 1 716 2728Email: [email protected]: www.fadja.com.pe

soutH amErICa NEwsG3Newswire

With 297 votes for, 34 against and 17 abstentions,the House of Representatives has finally approvedthe new Federal Betting and Raffles Law.

The new law aims to regulate the gaming industrymore efficiently, safeguard the rights of playersand make the licensing process more transparent.The new law has been the result of many monthsof work by the special committee first convenedto look into the issue back in April 2013. The com-mittee made up of 11 deputies was charged withlooking into how licenses had been granted by theInterior Ministry (SEGOB) after growing reports ofcorruption and allegations that former membersof SEGOB had trafficked licenses.

SEGOB and committee members agreed on theterms of the new act after a two hour meeting lastweek. The new act rules that each casino or gam-ing establishment will be issued a single licenceper gaming establishment, raises the minimumentry age from 18 to 21 and creates a new gamingcontrol board called the National Institute ofGaming and Raffles.

After meeting with the members of the committeeto discuss the new measures The Head of Mexico’sInterior Ministry Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong said:"The Interior Ministry and Deputies of the House

have agreed to fast track the issue which willallow for new modern legislation with a clear andtransparent rules which fit in with the country’scurrent needs and generates certainty for thosewho take part in this activity. It does so by replac-ing the Federal Betting and Raffles Law whichdates back to 1947 and is now obsolete.”

After being fast tracked to the Lower House law-makers voted unanimously in favour of the newbill. In a number of last minute developments itwas revealed that licences will now be valid fortwelve years and can be extended for a further ten.This could cause some disappointment amongstoperators as local insiders had argued thatlicences should be valid for up to 12, 15 or 20 years,with the same extension time in order to encour-age foreign investment on a large scale. The newlaw also bans mini casinos which would haveallowed operator’s licences to house up to 30machines per site.

Having fast-tracked its a new gaminglaw Mexico has finally replaced the country’s out-dated Act of 1947 Mexico - Legislation

www.G3newswire.com

unanimousLy approVed new Law

con 297 VoTos a faVor, 34 en conTra y 17 abstenciones, el Parlamento de México ha aprobado final-mente la nueva Ley Federal de Apuestas y Sorteos. Dicha leytiene como objetivo regular el sector del juego de una formamás eficiente, salvaguardar los derechos de los jugadores yhacer más transparente el proceso de concesión de licencias.

eL dipuTado nacionaL arGenTino omar ducLósha presentado un nuevo proyecto de ley a la Cámara Baja pararegular la publicidad y la promoción del juego. La nueva leyrestringiría severamente los anuncios publicitarios de juegopara salvaguardar a la población frente a la ludopatía y susconsecuencias negativas.

La poLicía federaL de BrasiL ha puesTo enmarcha una operación a gran escala en varios estados bauti-zada como Operação Trevo (Operación «Trébol») que tienecomo objetivo desmantelar una banda criminal acusada de lle-var a cabo actividades organizadas de blanqueo de dinero yjuego ilegal.

dos casinos han cerrado sus puerTas enCosta Rica, lo que refleja el continuo declive del sector del juegoen el país. Según la prensa local, los elevados costes operativoshan forzado el cierre de dos casinos, el Casino Europa ubicadoen el Hotel Europa y el Casino Europa que funcionaba en elHotel Radisson. Estos cierres, consumados a finales denoviembre, han supuesto la pérdida de 200 puestos de traba-jo.

como refuerzo de su infLuencia cada Vezmayor en Latinoamérica, Gaming Laboratories International(GLI) ha sido registrada oficialmente como laboratorio pararealizar servicios de prueba y certificación en Paraguay.

eL ausTríaco noVomaTic Group, a TraVés de su filial española NOVOMATIC Gaming Spain, se ha hecho conla participación mayoritaria en GiGames.

en VisTa deL enorme desarroLLo deL jueGoonline y de la apertura de un nuevo período de solicitud delicencias por parte de la Dirección General de Ordenación delJuego (DGOJ), el Grupo R. Franco ha decidido entrar en el sectoronline.

eL primer compLejo de casino deL sur deChipre ha despertado un enorme interés, según noticias de laprensa local que vinculan el proceso a Caesars Entertainment,Genting y Las Vegas Sands.

eL operador francés joa acaBa de aBrir Laextensión de juego en su Casino D’Uriage, ubicado en la locali-dad de Saint-Martin d’Uriage (Ródano-Alpes). El diseño incluyeel uso de cristal tintado opaco en tonos naranja, rosa y rojo paracrear un espacio de casino contemporáneo.

eL noVomaTic Group ha anunciado que Jens Halle,todo un veterano en el sector del juego, abandonará sus cargosconjuntos como Director Gerente de Austrian GamingIndustries GmbH y Director General de Novomatic AmericasSales LLC.

ARGENTINANational Deputy Omar Duclós(GEN Party - pictured right) hasintroduced a new bill to theLower House that would regulatethe advertising and promotion ofgaming. The new law wouldseverely restrict the advertisingof gaming in order to safeguardthe population from gamblingaddiction and its negative conse-quences. The initiative states thatArgentine television watchdogAFSCA (The Federal Authority ofAudiovisual and CommunicationServices) would be responsiblefor the monitoring and compli-ance of the new regulations.Failure to comply would includeheavy fines for those companiesfound to be breaking the law.

New laws are necessary, accord-ing to the legislator, in order tochange the growing perceptionthat legal gambling is a securesource of income for theTreasury. Speaking before the

Lower House, Mr. Duclos saidthat it was essential, “to adoptconcrete measures to raiseawareness when it comes to thenegative effects of compulsivegambling and problem gambling.”

As a result the new bill prohibitsthe promotion and advertising ofgambling across all media plat-forms except within gamblingcentres themselves. And whenpresent they must clearly outlinethe negative consequences ofexcessive gambling.

Highlighting the growth of gam-bling advertising in Argentina Mr.Duclós said: “In our country thereare many advertisements for lot-teries, casinos, racetracks andbingo on television, radio, in printand electronic media as well assignage on public roads, stadiumsand malls, which target a largenumber of potential consumers,and they provide a picture ofgaming as a leisure and enter-

tainment activity associated withhappiness and good fortune.Some of these ads are promotedby State institutions.”

Advertising of gambling hasbecome increasingly present inlocal media for both the landbased and online sector overrecent years even though onlinegaming is illegal in theautonomously governed city ofBuenos Aires.

And while online gambling islegal throughout the rest of thecountry it is only where permis-sion is granted by the regionalgovernments where they operate.However interactive gamblingsites often promote themselvesvia cable television and local chatshows.

Lawmaker calls for majorrestrictions on advertising

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www.G3newswire.com

Lawrence ho, co-presidenTe deL operadorMelco Crown Entertainment, con sede en Macau, está intentan-do abrir un casino en la República de Georgia. Según un expedi-ente presentado a la Bolsa de Valores de Hong Kong, el Sr. Hoaspira a conseguir 50 millones de dólares con la venta deacciones en una sociedad instrumental a través de su empresade loterías china MelcoLot Limited.

sTaTion casinos, eL primer operador enofrecer juego en casinos online legales en Estados Unidos, sedispone a cerrar su negocio de póquer online en Nevada,Ultimate Gaming, alegando que no ha conseguido alcanzar susobjetivos financieros.

GameaccounT neTwork ha suscriTo un acuerdo con Spin Games, con sede en Reno, para integrar elservidor de juego remoto de Spin Games (RGS) y lanzar sucartera de juegos en HTML5 para Simulated Gaming a nivelnacional en Estados Unidos, además del juego en Internet condinero real en ciertos mercados regulados.

eL comiTé de conTroL deL jueGo de neVada haaprobado que Blackstone Group, el fondo de inversión de capitalprivado, obtenga la licencia para comprar el CosmopolitanCasino en Las Vegas. Blackstone declaró en mayo sus inten-ciones de adquirir el Cosmopolitan de manos del banco alemánDeutsche Bank por 1730 millones de dólares.

una fiLiaL conTroLada aL 75 por cienTo porCentury Casinos ha sido elegida por Horse Racing Alberta(HRA) para operar la red de apuestas de caballos parimutualesfuera de hipódromo de Alberta del Sur a partir de 2015.

GaminG LaBoraTories inTernaTionaL (GLi) hareubicado su laboratorio de Colorado trasladándolo a unasnuevas instalaciones de aprox 3700 m² en Wheat Ridge,Colorado. La nueva ubicación estará plenamente operativa el 1de diciembre.

aquis casino acquisiTions, La empresa queestá detrás de la licitación para construir un espectacular casinoy un proyecto de complejo recreativo valorado en 4200 mil-lones de dólares australianos en Cairns (Australia), se dispone afinalizar en Navidad su adquisición del Casino de Canberra trashaber conseguido un descuento de 3 millones de dólares sobreel precio de venta.

marie sTephens properTies ha presenTado susplanes para un hotel-casino valorado en 250 millones dedólares australianos que tendrá la forma de una perla gigante yque está diseñado para flotar mar adentro en la Costa Doradade Australia.

GenTinG honG konG se dispone a inVerTir 117,2millones de dólares en una empresa de capital conjunto 50/50con la promotora inmobiliaria china Landing InternationalDevelopment para desarrollar una planta de juego en el HyattRegency Hotel, ubicado en la isla surcoreana de Jeju.

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COSTA RICATwo casinos have closed theirdoors as the gaming industrycontinues to decline in CostaRica. According to local newsreports, high operating costs haveforced two casinos, the CasinoEuropa located in the HotelEuropa and the Casino Europaoperating in the Radisson hotel toclose. The closures, whichoccurred late November, haveleft 200 people out of work.

After the announcement TheMinistry of Labour met with rep-resentatives from the HotelEuropa, along with five union

officials and quickly reached anagreement regarding their sever-ance pay and annual bonuses.

Labour Minister, Victor Moralesalso confirmed that workers willbe given additional training sothat they may find other work.

The closure is the latest in a num-ber of closures over recentmonths including the RoyalDutch Hotel and Casino. Locatedin downtown San Jose the casinohad been open for over twentyyears. In common with manyother countries in the region,casinos were first permitted in

order to boost tourist infrastruc-ture and were only allowed inhotels. With around 50 casinosnow operating nationwide thevast majority are located aroundthe most well-known beacheswith another handful located inthe capital.

There have been a number of sig-nificant closures of late due toadditional obstacles such as thesmoking ban and taxes whichhave forced other larger opera-tions to reduce their runningcosts. Industry insiders havewarned that a number of casinosare running at a loss and couldsoon also close.

In January, Jorge Hidalgo,President of the Association ofCosta Rican Casinos, said theindustry in Costa Rica has beenstruggling for 16 years due to alack of regulatory frameworkwhen it comes to casinos andoperators have consistently criti-cised the government due a lackof regulation when it comes toillegal gambling and high taxrates.

Two more casino closures addto Costa Rica industry woes

The Brazilian Federal Police Force have launcheda large scale operation across several states calledOperação Trevo (Operation Shamrock), aimed atdismantling a criminal gang accused of running amoney laundering and illegal gambling scheme.According to police sources, the gang has beenactive in 13 states and the scheme involved thepopular Jogo do Bicho game (The Animal Game)and illegal slot machines. Police sources estimatedthat the organization handled approximately 1.5bnReais.

The operation, which involved over 300 policeofficers, had orders to arrest 57 individuals andseized houses and other properties belonging tomembers of the gang. The arrests were the culmi-nation of a nine month investigation into illegalgaming in Brazil and arrests were made in thestarts of Pernambuco, Alagoas, Goiás, São Paulo,Minas Gerais, Amazonas, Espírito Santo, Pará, Riode Janeiro, Piauí, Rio Grande do Sul, Bahia andParaíba.

According to police, the band took advantage of afake charitable lottery and then used the moneyfor money laundering activities. Meanwhile,another gang leader based in São Paulo, wasresponsible for the provision of illegal slotmachines operating in a number of states nation-wide. The group also, according to the investiga-

tion, acted to ensure the money used in the popu-lar Animal Game in the Northeast of Brazil , wasused for money laundering purposes.

Illegal gambling in Brazil has been a long runningissue and gambling in Brazil is the most politicallycharged issue in the region due primarily to theproven links between gambling and organisedcrime. Worth billions of dollars each year, TheAnimal Game, an illegal street lottery, is playedwidely and numbers runners have repeatedlybeen found to operate bingo halls and offer politi-cians and local officials bribes in return for closure.

Casinos were first banned in 1946 by PresidentEurico Gaspar Dutra and casinos and online gam-bling remain prohibited under Brazilian law.While bingo halls were banned in the aftermath ofthe bingo scandals of 2004 since then the majorityof bingo halls have been able to remain open byindividual judicial order or via specific legislationnow in place in several Brazilian states.

The Brazilian police force has instigated amajor crackdown on an alleged illegalgaming ring across several states

Brazil - Operations

crackdown on iLLeGaL GamBLinG


MEXICO Revenues continue to increase inChile. According to statisticsreleased by The Chilean GamingControl Board (SCJ) gross gamingrevenues for the 16 casinos oper-ating in Chile stood at US$38.5min October a 17.8 percent increasecompared to the previous month.The 16 municipalities and 11regions where the casinos arelocated received a total ofUS$6.4m in gaming tax revenuewhile casinos generated an addi-tional US$2.2m in tax onentrance fees for the state. On topof this amount the casinos alsogenerated US$6.1m in VAT.

In terms of gross gaming incomegenerated by the casinos, theMonticello Grand Casino came infirst place with 27 per cent(US$6.128m). In second placecame Casino Rinconada with 15.5

percent or US$3.524m of marketshare. Meanwhile, in third placewas Marina del Sol with 12.1 per-cent - a US$2.750m share of themarket. This was followed byEnjoy Antofagasta 9.3 percent(US$ 2.104m), Dreams Temuco6.6 percent (US$1.490m),Dreams Punta Arenas 5.0 percent(US$ 1.126m), Casino Sol Calama4.7 percent ($1.076m), DreamsValdivia 3.8 percent (US$854m),Gran Casino de Talca 3.7 percent(US$839m), Antay Casino &Hotel 2.8 percent (US$632m),Casino Sol Osorno 2.1 percent(US$486m), Casino Gran LosÁngeles 1.8 percent (US$405m),Casino de Colchagua 1.7 percent(US$394m), Casino de Juegos delPacífico 1.7 percent (U.S$381m),Dreams Coyhaique 1.3 percent(US$294m) and finally EnjoyChiloé 0.9 percent (US$211m).

According to the latest statistics

released by the SJC, the 9,635 slotmachines in operation in Octoberhanded out an average of 93.9per cent of the stake. While thetotal bets made on slot machinesstood at $503.6 m the prizeshanded out stood $472.9m leav-ing a total win for the casinos ofUS$30.m.

As revenues increase the casinoindustry in Chile is set to contin-ue to expand with the municipalcasinos now scheduled to comeunder the control of the GamingControl Board in two years time.According to the terms of Chile’s2005 act, the eight casinos thatwere already licensed before2005 were set to come under thesupervision of the ChileanGaming Control Board at the endof next year, and the tax would besplit equally between the localmunicipality and the central gov-ernment. However agreementhas been reached whereby thecasinos, which were alreadylicensed before the new act, nowhave an additional two yearsbefore their licences expire.

www.G3newswire.com

panama - reVenues sLump By 17.2 per cenTGaming income generated for the state is down by 17.2 per-cent in Panama going down by U.S$1.4m in October com-pared to the previous month. According to statistics releasedby the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in October gamingrevenue generated by the industry for the government stoodat around US$6.8 while in September it stood at U.S$8.3m. According to the report, Type 3 slot machines (classified asType A slot machines in Panamanian gaming law) generatedUS$3.4m for the state. This was followed by tax revenuegenerated in casinos which stood at around US$2m.Meanwhile tax gaming revenue for Type C machines stood ataround US$1m. Categorised as Type C in Panamanian gam-ing law, type C slot machines may only pay a maximum ofUS$200 per machine in prizes.

According to the president of the Association of Managers ofGaming (ASAJA), Antonio Alfaro, the decline in revenuescould, however, simply be down to the fact that January,March and August are the busiest times for the casino indus-try due to the higher influx of tourists during these months. Inaddition local insiders say that revenue in casinos are downdue to the rapid growth of slot parlors in the country - anissue that could well be addressed by the government in thenear future.

According to statistics released by the ASAJA there are 7,300slot machines in slot parlors in Panama and 5,400 slotmachines located in casinos. While the most recent statis-tics may not be that troubling, as reported in November rev-enues across some sectors is on the decrease for the firsttime in ten years according to statistics released by thePanamanian Gaming Control Board (JCJ). According to theJCJ a total of U.S$129m was bet in the first six months of thisyear compared to U.S$147m in the same period in 2013.All the same Panama has been a bright spot for the industryfor some years.

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Revenues for Chilean casinosup by over seventeen per centparaGuay - GLi receiVe paraGuay accrediTaTion

Further strengthening its reach in Latin America, GamingLaboratories International (GLI) has been granted registrationas a laboratory that conducts testing and certification servic-es in Paraguay. The registration was granted by the NationalGaming Commission (CONAJZAR), the gaming and lotteryregulator in Paraguay, and covers devices and systems forgaming and lottery.

GLI has been very active and supportive of regulators andsuppliers throughout Latin America and the Caribbean formore than 16 years, and this new accreditation in Paraguayfurther strengthens the company’s position in the region.

“We are proud to be recognized by CONAJZAR by authorizingour registration as a lab in the jurisdiction. We are thankful tothe regulator for the trust that this recognition means,” saidGLI Director of Latin American Development Karen Sierra-Hughes.

“GLI continues to be the leader in the Latin American andCaribbean Region. We do this in part by being ready to fulfillall requirements set forth by regulators to establish the tech-nical compliance process, and by complying in a timely andefficient manner with the laboratory registration process. Inaddition to regulatory support, suppliers will be able to reachout to GLI for their testing and certification needs for thisexciting jurisdiction,” Sierra-Hughes added.

The Puerto Rican Senate has approved a signifi-cant amendment to its Horse Racing Laws. TheAmendment has been welcomed by local industryexperts who say that that the new amendmentwill bring a new lease of life to the industry, whichhas suffered a number of serious setbacks overrecent years. The Senate voted in favour of thenew bill by 27 votes to 21 with two absentee votes.The amendment now only needs to be signed bygovernor of the Governor of Puerto Rico AlejandroGarcía Padilla before going info force.

The bill went through several changes as it wentthrough its draft stages with Senators finallyagreeing to reduce taxation imposed on bets from10.54 percent to 4 percent. The new law also cre-ates a new fund which will be destined for pro-moting thoroughbred breeding and acquisitionprograms for thoroughbreds so that races in thefuture are more attractive to fans.

President of the largest racetrack in Puerto RicoErvin Rodriguez Velez welcomed the new moveand thanked Senators for, “the sensitivity withwhich they endeavoured to address the socio-economic problems the sport-industry faces forthe first time in many years.”

Mr. Velez went onto say that the amendments tothe law marks a major change to the industry andwill signify, what is hoped, a major reversal in thedecline in tax revenue for the Government gener-

ated by the racing industry.

“The current economic situation has resulted inlayoffs within the horse racing industry andreduced working hours,” Mr. Velez said. “It hasreduced the number of races, the number of bet-ting outlets and the total of registered horses,which has negatively affected the dynamics of thesport and its appeal as a game of chance.”

The crisis has been especially acute for the horseracing industry due to the rise of casino gamingand illegal gaming on the island. The crisis hascaused government revenues related to horse rac-ing alone to have decreased from US$ 31.4m in2005 to about $13.2m in 2013.

Local experts had predicted that the industrywould continue to decline if the government didnot move to quickly to approve new measures. Itis believed that the executive will sign the amend-ment this week and that the project will come intoforce within the next 60 days.

Law chanGes haiLed By indusTry The government of Puerto Rico has madesweeping changes to its horse racinglegislation that has met with approvalPuerto Rico - Legislation

EmEa NEwsG3Newswire

UKThe cancellation of the IMA tradeshow, scheduled to take place inDüsseldorf in January 2015, willeffectively make London's ICETotally Gaming the Germanindustry's 'international tradeshow' according to Lars Rogge,Managing Director of Bally Wulff,one of the principal Germanmachine manufacturers. "I wouldexpect there to be at least 300 ofthe most important Germanoperators visiting London for theshow," he said. "For us – and ourfellow machine-makers inGermany – ICE will thereforebecome our principal interna-tional showcase. We will feature

our machines for Italy and Spainthere."

Responding to the news KateChambers, Portfolio Directorresponsible for ICE, said: "WhenGermany had no IMA show in2013, we welcomed a large num-ber of German gaming profes-sionals to what was the first yearat our new home at ExCeL. Aspart of the broader gaming familywe sympathise with the complexpolitical situation, which hascaused the cancellation of IMA.ICE is a unique meeting place forthe international gaming industryand we look forward to welcom-ing German operators in even

bigger numbers to London inFebruary."

With what is the busiest showfloor in gaming, ICE features asignificant number of Germanexhibitors including theGauselmann Group subsidiaryMerkur Gaming, which confirmedthat it will be bringing an ‘exten-sive’ selection of gaming cabinetsto ICE. Discussing the offering,the company's managing directorRalf Markmann added: “Neverbefore has Merkur Gamingoffered so many gaming possibil-ities at an exhibition. We under-stand that each market has itsown special requirements, whichis why visitors to our stand canexpect solutions for a host ofmarkets, including Spain, UK,Netherlands, Czech Republic,Italy and South Africa."

ICE set to become Germany'sinternational trade show

www.G3newswire.com

miT 297 ja-sTimmen, 34 GeGensTimmen und 17Enthaltungen hat das mexikanische Repräsentantenhausendlich dem neuen Bundeswetten- und Gewinnspielgesetzzugestimmt. Das neue Gesetz zielt darauf ab, dieGlücksspielbranche effizienter zu regeln, die Rechte vonSpielern zu wahren und den Lizenzierungsprozess transpar-enter zu gestalten.

arGenTiniens Vize, omar ducLós, haT eine neueGesetzesvorlage im Unterhaus eingebracht, wonach dieWerbung für das Glücksspiel geregelt werden soll. Das neueGesetz würde die Werbung für Glücksspiele erheblichbeschränken, um die Bevölkerung vor der Spielsucht und derennegativen Konsequenzen zu schützen.

unTer dem namen operação TreVo (operaTionKleeblatt) hat die brasilianische Bundespolizei eine großangelegte Operation über mehrere Bundesstaaten mit dem Zielgestartet, eine kriminelle Bande zu zerschlagen, die derGeldwäsche und des illegalen Glücksspiels bezichtigt wird.

zwei casinos mussTen im zuGe der fortgesetzten Talfahrt der Glücksspielbranche Costa Ricas ihrePforten schließen. Laut lokalen Presseberichten haben hoheBetriebskosten zwei Casinos, nämlich das Casino Europa imHotel Europa und das Casino Europa im Hotel Radisson,gezwungen zu schließen. Diese beiden Schließungen, die EndeNovember stattfanden, kostete 200 Menschen ihrenArbeitsplatz.

GaminG LaBoraTories inTernaTionaL (GLi)erweitert seine Präsenz in Südamerika. Das Unternehmenerhielt die Registrierung als Labor, das Tests undZertfizierungsdienst-leistungen in Paraguay erbringt.

die ösTerreichische noVomaTic Group erwarBüber ihre spanische Tochtergesellschaft NOVOMATIC GamingSpain eine Mehrheit der Anteile an GiGames.

anGesichTs der enormen enTwickLunG desOnline-Glücksspiels und des Beginns einer neuen Periode derErteilung von Lizenzen durch das General Directorate onGaming (Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ)), hatsich die Franco Group dazu entschlossen, in die Online-Brancheeinzusteigen.

LauT LokaLen zeiTunGsBerichTen, die caesarsEntertainment, Genting und Las Vegas Sands damit inVerbindung gebracht haben, war das Interesse am erstenCasino-Ressort im Süden von Zypern gewaltig.

der französische BeTreiBer joa haT jeTzT Beiseinem Casino D’Uriage in Saint-Martin d’Uriage in der RegionRhône-Alpes seinen Erweiterungsbau eröffnet. Dabei kommtundurchsichtig lackiertes Glas in Orange-, Pink- und Rottönenzum Einsatz, das eine zeitgemäße Casinofläche ausmachensoll.

cenTury casinos 75%iGe TochTerGeseLLschafTwurde von Horse Racing Alberta (HRA) ausgewählt, das Pari-Mutuel Wettsystem für Pferderennen außerhalb derRennplätze im Süden Albertas zu betreiben, das 2015 an denStart gehen wird.

marie sTephens properTies haT pLäne für einA$ 250 Mio. Casinohotel, das die Form einer gigantischen Perlehaben und vor der Goldküste von Australien schwimmen soll.

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SpainIn view of the huge development of online gaming and the opening of a new period for submitting licencesby the General directorate on Gaming (dirección General de ordenación del Juego (dGoJ)), the r. francoGroup has decided to enter the online industry and has applied for the corresponding licences by way of ther. franco digital company. r. franco digital will apply for two general licences: a) bets and, morespecifically, sports betting; and b) other games: slots, roulette, blackjack and baccarat.

Austria’s NOVOMATIC Group, through its Spanishsubsidiary NOVOMATIC Gaming Spain, hasacquired a majority shareholding in GiGames.

Through the newly announced partnership withNOVOMATIC, Europe’s largest gaming group and amajor player on the world stage, GiGames and theConei Group are now confident of ensuring con-tinued growth as manufacturers and distributorsof gaming equipment and on expanding andimproving their product offerings.

The NOVOMATIC management is convinced thatthe longstanding experience of GiGames and theConei Group, as a local and successful manufac-turer and operator, will greatly help the Companyto consolidate and further enhance its future mar-ket position in the Spanish gaming sector, clearlyacknowledged to be one of the most importantgaming markets in Europe.

Pictured above left - right: DI Ryszard Presch,COO Novomatic AG, Mag. Harald Neumann, CEONovomatic AG,, Josef Segura, Managing DirectorConei Group, Prof. Johann F. Graf, Founder andMajority Shareholder Novomatic Group Nullamquis Juan Lao, Founder and President Conei Group,Mag. Bernhard Teuchmann, Managing DirectorNovomatic Gaming Spain and Francisco Poveda,Managing Director GiGames.

Novomatic Group of Companies’sSpanish subsidiary has become majorityshareholders of GiGames and ConeiSpain - Corporate

GiGames joins noVomaTic Group

EmEa NEwsG3Newswire

The list of the most successful Estonian companiesis annually published by the largest Estonian busi-ness daily Äripäev. The ranking is based on top500 Estonian companies with the biggest revenueand developed taking into account also operatingprofit, revenue and profit growth, profitability andasset productivity.

OEG ranked the first ahead of Elering AS, compa-ny managing the Estonian electricity system;Riverside OÜ, a construction company; Port ofTallinn and Eesti Energia AS, an internationalenergy company operating in the energy marketof the Baltic and Nordic countries.

According to Mr. Armin Karu, Chairman of theBoard of OEG, the company is proud to be rankedas the most successful enterprise in its home mar-ket. “We have put a lot of effort into building aprosperous international business keeping thehigh satisfaction of our customers and the bestindustry standards at the same time in all ourmarkets,” Mr. Karu said. “Our ambition never set-tles, however, and we are continuously looking forpossibilities to expand and grow our business inEurope even more as well to other continents,” hesaid, adding that the company is currently build-

ing a brand new luxurious Hilton hotel and thelargest ever Olympic Casino that will be opened inTallinn, the capital of Estonia by the first half of2016.

In addition to being ranked as the most successfulcompany in Estonia, OEG has received severalother substantial recognitions recently, havingalso been named the most competitive serviceenterprise in Estonia and the Casino Operator ofthe Year at the Totally Gaming Awards in Londonin 2013.

With more than 2,600 employees, OlympicEntertainment Group is the largest provider ofcasino entertainment in the region. OEG is a fullmember of the European Casino Association(ECA). The Group operates casinos in Estonia,Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Belarus andItaly.

Olympic Entertainment Group (OEG), hasbeen ranked as first among the top 100successful Estonian companies.

Estonia - Corporate

www.G3newswire.com

oeG: esTonia’s Top ranked firm

sTaTion casinos, der ersTe BeTreiBer, der legales Online-Casino-Glücksspiel in den USA anbietet, gibtsein Online-Pokergeschäft Ultimate Gaming in Nevada auf, dadas Geschäft seine finanziellen Ziele nicht erreicht habe.

GameaccounT neTwork haT miT spin Games miTSitz in Reno einen Vertrag geschlossen über die Integration desRemote Gaming Server (RGS) und den landesweiten Start desHTML5-Spieleangebots für Simulated Gaming in den USAsowie Echtgeld-Internetglücksspiel an ausgewählten geregel-ten Märkten.

die aufsichTsBehörde für das GLücksspieL von Nevada genehmigte der Blackstone Group, einem Private-Equity-Fonds, die Lizenz für den Kauf des Cosmopolitan Casinoin Las Vegas. Blackstone sagte im Mai, dass das UnternehmenCosmopolitan von der Deutschen Bank für US $ 1,73 Mrd.kaufen wolle.

Lawrence ho, sTeLLVerTreTender Vorsitzender von Melco Crown Entertainment aus Macau,beabsichtigt ein Casino in der Republik Georgien zu eröffnen.Laut seiner Einreichung bei der Hongkonger Börse hofft HerrHo $ 50 Mio. durch den Verkauf von Anteilen an einer eigensdafür gegründeten Gesellschaft über seine chinesischeLottogesellschaft MelcoLot Limited sicherzustellen.

GaminG LaBoraTories inTernaTionaL (GLi) haTsein Labor in Colorado an seine neue, 40.000 Quadratfußgroße Anlage in Wheat Ridge, Colorado verlagert. Der neueStandort ist seit dem 1. Dezember voll funktionsfähig.

aquis casino acquisiTions, das unTernehmenhinter dem Angebot über den Bau eines spektakulären $ 4,2Mrd. teuren Casinos und Ressort-Projektes im australischenCairns, wird wahrscheinlich die Übernahme des Canberra-Casinos bis Weihnachten perfekt machen und hat sich einenPreisnachlass von A$ 3 Mio. auf den Verkaufspreis gesichert.

die nepaLesische reGierunG isT BereiT, siLVerHeritage Limited mit Sitz in Hongkong zu genehmigen, einCasino im Shangri-La Hotel & Resort in der HauptstadtKathmandu zu betreiben.

GenTinG honG konG wird us $ 117,2 mio. in ein50/50-Joint-Venture mit dem chinesischen BauträgerLanding International Development investieren und eineSpielfläche im Hyatt Regency Hotel auf der südkoreanischenInsel Jeju betreiben.

ezuGi haT sein LiVe-casino-sTudio Bei einer dergrößten Gruppen Kambodschas, der Dai Long Companyeröffnet, die Besitzer und Betreiber des Grand Dragon Resortsund Casinos ist.

die james packers crown-Gruppe sTehT Vorneuen Hürden bei ihrem Bestreben, ein $ US 400 Mio. teuresCasino in Sri Lanka zu eröffnen, nachdem der Präsident desLandes damit gedroht hatte, neue Abgaben auf das Glücksspielzu erheben, falls er die bevorstehenden Wahlen im Januargewinnen sollte.

die noVomaTic Gruppe GaB BekannT, dass einVeteran der Glücksspielbranche, Jens Halle, seine kombiniertenPositionen als Managing Director, Austrian Gaming IndustriesGmbH und CEO of Novomatic Americas Sales LLC aufgebenwird.

Germanyedict egaming recently signed a partnership with the international casino operator LeoVegas. edict willoffer a selection of merkur slot games to its global player base. the new developed edict Game Bridge willdeliver the games, which allows large operators to integrate the famous merkur slots via an apI easily totheir game portfolio. “this is a great opportunity for LeoVegas and edict. I am sure their players base willenjoy the unique experience that the merkur slot games offer and we can gain from their mobileexperience,” comments dominic-daniel Lienard, CEo of edict. the edict Game Bridge currently offers 10merkur slots to large sports betting or casino operators.

CYPRUSInterest in Southern Cyprus’ firstcasino-resort has been immenseaccording to local news reportsthat have linked CaesarsEntertainment, Genting and LasVegas Sands to the process.

Caesars has already sent repre-

sentatives to Cyprus to presenttheir case to financial ministers.

The plan is to offer the winningoperator a 30-year license, with aguaranteed monopoly for the first15, in exchange for 15 per cent ofthe establishment’s annual grossrevenues. The annual gaming

license will cost €2.5m for thefirst four years of operating, then€5m for the next four.

The bill paving the way to thelicence, which will also beallowed two satellite casinosalongside the larger resort stylelicence, is expected to be submit-ted to the house soon.

A ministerial committee meetingbetween the Finance, Commerce,Interior, and Justice Ministerswere told that Legal Services hadnow completed the review of therelevant bill.

The resort casino must have atleast 1,000 slots and 100 tablesalongside 500 hotel rooms.

The winning casino bid is expect-ed to be announced by August2015.

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Caesars, Sands and Genting alllinked to new Cyprus casino

EmEa NEwsG3Newswire

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uk – hippodrome To hosT icc conferenceThe iconic Hippodrome Casino, situated in London’sLeicester Square, has been chosen as the venue for the2015 International Casino Conference (ICC), taking place onMonday February 2. Organised jointly by Clarion Events andthe European Casino Association, the ICC serves as the cur-tain raiser to ICE – the world’s biggest B2B gaming event –which runs from February 3-5 at London’s ExCeL Centre.

Co-organised with the European Casino Association, the2015 ICC will bring together Presidents, CEOs and BoardMembers of all of the largest casino groups in Europe. TheConference will provide delegates with a platform toexchange views on issues affecting the land-based industrywhile giving them access to key speakers.

ausTria – kuBiLay ozer joins The apex TeamKubilay Özer has been appointed as Global Sales Director forAPEX gaming. Mr. Özer will manage worldwide sales at APEXgaming in all markets, including casino, AWP, VLT, online andmobile. The position of Global Sales Director has been espe-cially created at APEX gaming to reflect the growing interna-tional demand for the company’s solutions.

“We are setting the management structure, knowing thatour company motto to take gaming to the ‘next level’ hasbeen mirrored in the demand for our solutions. We arethrilled to have gained such a professional gaming person inKubilay Özer who will be responsible for the sales depart-ment, covering all markets and all products. I have greatrespect for Kubilay. This appointment is the natural next stepafter having appointed Max Pessnegger as Chief ExecutiveOfficer. We are taking our management structure to the nextlevel”, explained Mr. Johannes Weissengruber, Chairman andfounder of APEX gaming.

Mr. Özer has gained extensive knowledge of the global gam-ing market in his previous position working for a leading pay-ment systems company.

The delayed development of Middlesbrough’s‘large’ casino licence could finally get under waywith Stockton-based developers Jomast puttingforward a three phase development programme.

It has signed an agreement with hotelier PremierInn to complete phase 1, which if approved wouldsee the construction of an 83 bed hotel, and con-firmed it has ‘positive interest’ from four casinooperators.

A report to Middlesbrough Council’s Executivesaid the three phase development would increasethe appeal of the overall scheme each phase pro-viding ‘greater confidence to both investors andprospective occupiers that the scheme is bothdeliverable and successful.’

The report blamed the economic downturn forhaving ‘a major impact in taking schemes forwardnationally.’

“Casino and hotel development across the country

have proved difficult and Middlesbrough hasproved no exception to that, which is the reasonwhy the development has not progressed asquickly as anticipated,” the report stated.

“However, with the upturn in the wider economy,development in Middlesbrough is improvingacross a number of sectors, including the hotelmarket, as proved with the development of theHoliday Inn Express. Unfortunately the casinomarket is not showing the same appetite fordevelopment but it is anticipated that as the econ-omy continues to grow this will change according-ly.”

Four operators have continued to expresstheir interest in the stalled Middlesbroughcasino project with movement in sight UK - Licences

moVemenT for middLesBrouGh

France french operator Joa has now opened the gaming extension at its Casino d’uriage in saint-martin d’uriage,the rhone-alps. the design includes the use of opaque lacquered glass coloured in oranges, pinks and reds tocreate a contemporary casino space. Laurent Lassiaz, the Chairman of the management Board of the LyonGroup Joa, opened the new extension along with Casino director arnaud Loret. at a cost of €5m, the1,000m² has provided a whole new gaming floor, space for shows and business conferences as well as a newreception area and a new entrance opposite the Grand Hotel, under a huge glass roof.

the casino restaurant can now welcome customers through its own entrance without the need for proof ofidentification. mr. Lassiaz said: “the aim of Joa is to become the number two or even number one operatoron the french casino. our aim is primarily to change the look of the casino world by making our facilitiesgenuine leisure destinations. with these developments, we expect a 10 per cent increase in our traffic.”

UKThe Partouche-operated casino inBath, a historical city in Somersetin the south west of England, hasmoved a step closer with devel-opers behind the £14m SawClosescheme being grated new prem-ises licences for a casino andrestaurant.

A licence for the hotel will bedecided on at a later date. The‘small’ casino’s opening hours

have been limited to 11am to11.30pm Monday to Saturday and11am to 11pm on Sunday.

It will be allowed to serve alcoholand play recorded music while itis open. Late night refreshmentswill only be served indoorsbetween 11pm and 11.30pmMonday to Saturday. The casinowill be run by French firm GroupePartouche SA in partnership withGlobal Gaming Ventures Limited.

The restaurant will be run by theItalian chain Zizzi.

Deeley Freed director AndrewMaltby said: “I’m delighted wehave been at this for seven yearsso it’s nice to get to the end.”

Avon and Somerset Police havestipulated that a CCTV systemmust be in operation and that thecasino must display signsinstructing customers to exit qui-etly.

Staff must adhere to a challenge21 scheme, whereby proof of ageis required from anyone lookingto be under 21-years-old.

Several buildings will be demol-ished to make way for the newdevelopment, including a sectionof the Grade II listed Gala Bingooperation.

Partouche’s Bath casino plan is moving a step step closer

Kubilay Ozer is welcomed to the APEX team byJohannes Weissengruber

BeLGium – inTerBLockappoinTs maGendansInterblock has announced theappointment of Patrick Magendansas new Director of Sales for Europe.

Patrick has joined Interblock to leadits sales department in Europe withover 25 years experience. He started as a field engineer andhas worked his way through many different positions. Patrickbrings a wealth of knowledge and has previous experiencewith Interblock’s current customer base in Europe.

EmEa NEwsG3Newswire

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www.G3newswire.com

The Novomatic Group has announced that gamingindustry veteran Jens Halle is to leave his jointpositions as Managing Director, Austrian GamingIndustries GmbH and CEO of Novomatic AmericasSales LLC.

When the news was announced in G3Newswirethat Jens Halles was to leave the Novomatic Groupof Companies, the site recorded the largest spikein news readership in 2014. Over 59 per cent ofNewswire’s 6,000 readership opened and read thestory online. A further 34 per cent forwarded thestory to at least four colleagues. Such is therenown for Mr. Halles that his departure has beenone of the news events of the year.

This move, which was reached by mutual agree-ment, will see Jens Halle relinquish his roles with-in Novomatic by the end of this year.

Commenting on the decision Mr Halle said:“Fifteen years ago I was honoured by the invitation

of President and majority shareholder ProfessorJohann F. Graf to join the iconic Novomatic Groupas Head of Sales. Later, I was appointed ManagingDirector of Austrian Gaming Industries and,assisted by a loyal team of true gaming profes-sionals, was able to see Novomatic achieve

notable success not just in Europe but around theworld. However, although I now feel the need fornew challenges and new directions, I will alwaysbe grateful for the experience of working togetherwith colleagues and friends and for the satisfac-tion that I gained from being within one of thegaming industry’s true leaders.”

Commenting on the decision reached jointly byNovomatic and Jens Halle Mr Herbert Lugmayr,Chairman of the Supervisory Board of NovomaticAG, said in recognition of Mr Halle’s work: “Iextend my appreciation to Mr Jens Halle on behalfof the owner, the management board and thesupervisory board, for his long-standing commit-ment. Mr Halle has made a significant contribu-tion to the international orientation of this compa-ny. I wish him all the best for his future.”

Gaming industry veteran Jens Halle’ssurprise announcement that he’s to leavethe Novomatic Group at the end of 2014 Austria - Corporate

jens haLLe To LeaVe noVomaTic

niGeria – BeTradar enTers niGerian markeTBetrader has launched its Live Channel product with Nigerianbookmaker 1960Bet who will roll out the Live Channel Retailacross 5,000 stores by using a local satellite distributionprovider. It will implement the Live Channel Online into itssports betting website 1960bet.ng.

In addition, 1960Bet has also signed up for Betradar’sManaged Trading Services, a new business concept thatallows sports betting operators to externalise their labourintensive risk and liability management to Betradar’s provenindustry expertise. Combined with the live streaming servic-es Live Channel Retail and Live Channel Online, 1960Bet isstrengthening its live betting offering significantly in retailoutlets and on their website, to provide their clients with anew level of entertainment and bet-stimulation.

1960Bet CEO, Dotun Ajegbile said: “We look forward to tak-ing advantage of the growing interest in live betting by rollingout the Betradar Live Channel in 5,000 of our 1960Betshops and agents. Together with this, we have entrusted ourday to day risk-management to the Betradar ManagedTrading Services, and we are confident this is a great stepforward in securing our future growth in the market.”

HOLLANDInterblock was at the VAN tradeshow in Amsterdam onNovember 26 showing its G5Diamond generation of productthat has just been approved for

sale in the the Dutch market.Patrick Magendans, new Directorof Sales for Europe at Interblock,was excited about his first exhi-bition as a part of Interblockteam: “The G5 was received with

great enthusiasm. During theevent we were awarded with theapproval license, which allowedcustomers to place their firstorders. We hope to see the firstinstallations in following weeks.Interblock team is looking for-ward to these new exciting timesand the recognition from theplayers in The Netherlands.«

Klemen Sitar, Regional SalesManager at Interblock, added:“After a ‘G3 Megastar decade wehave introduced Interblock’smost popular product at themoment, the G5 MiniStar to thisextremely important market. Wehave no doubt G5 MiniStar willconquer the market in the sameway Megastar has. I am thrilledabout all opportunities this intro-duction of a new InterblockRoulette generation has enabledus in the Netherlands market.”

Interblock’s G5 Diamondapproved for The Netherlands

Italy the mayor of san pellegrino terme, in Lombardy, Northern Italy, is calling for the parliamentary leaders ofLombard, the regional councillors of Bergamo, the trade unions and the mayors of the municipalities of thevalley to unite in an effort to reopen the region’s casino saying it would bring strength to the touristdevelopment of the entire Valley. the Casino of san pellegrino terme was built in just two years andinaugurated in 1907. It opened as a multi-purpose facility with the aim to entertain and entertain hisillustrious guests, inside, could listen to music, read and groped their luck with gambling. the casinos wereclosed in 1926, then re-open for a short time in 1946.

uk – LadBrokes ceo LeaVes With pressure mounting due to poordigital returns, British bookmakerLadbrokes is looking for a new CEOto replace Richard Glynn.

Mr. Glynn is to be replaced after fourand a half years in charge.Ladbrokes, under the leadership of Mr. Glynn, had beenimplementing a fundamental re-engineering of its businessand operational and digital capabilities.

Richard Glynn was appointed CEO of Ladbrokes in April2010, with a clear mandate to implement the recovery pro-gramme within a five year term. Following extensive andconstructive discussions between the Board and Richard, it isintended that he will complete his term and continue in hisrole as CEO into 2015. The Board will shortly start a processto identify his successor and the search will evaluate bothinternal and external candidates. Once an appointment hasbeen made, Richard has agreed to remain in post as requiredto ensure an orderly transition.

Peter Erskine, Chairman of Ladbrokes, commented: “Onbehalf of the Board, I would like to thank Richard for his lead-ership of the Company and his considerable achievements indelivering a new digital future for Ladbrokes. He has devotedenormous energy and dedication to securing the transfor-mation of the Company and the benefits of that work arebeginning to be seen. I am pleased that he will both seethrough the final steps of the implementation plan and be onhand to facilitate an orderly succession process. Ladbrokeshas been transformed and is a far stronger company as aresult of his work. ”

Richard Glynn commented: “Everyone at Ladbrokes hasworked incredibly hard over the past, nearly five years, todeliver the transformation programme. We have faced sig-nificant operational challenges, as well as economic and reg-ulatory headwinds. However I am pleased that the businessis fundamentally stronger than it was and now has the oper-ational and digital capabilities to compete effectively.”

EmEa NEwsG3Newswire

Players across four casinos with the prestigiousGroupe Partouche in France can now experience anew dimension of gaming with GTECH’s TRUE 3Dtitle, SPHINX 3D. Based on the highly successfulSphinx theme, and using patented, award- winning3D display technology, GTECH has created an unri-valled gaming experience.

The SPHINX 3D game is the first of its kind to use aglasses-free 3D display, and the first game releasedas part of GTECH’s TRUE 3DTM line. It pairsautostereoscopic technology with eye- tracking thatconstantly adjusts the image based on the player’sline of sight. This generates a high-resolution imagethat leaps off the screen, creating an experienceunlike any other game on the market. The game runson the AXXISTM cabinet, which creates a sense ofpersonal space and maximizes player comfort. Thecabinet, combined with the TRUE 3D technology,produces an all-encompassing 3D experience.

“We have chosen GTECH’s SPHINX 3D machinesbecause they are a true innovation. For our loca-tions, it is the perfect highlight on the slots floor, with

lots of potential to create very strong external com-munication around it,” said Fabrice Paire, GeneralDirector of Groupe Partouche. “The eye-catchingexterior of the AXXIS cabinet, combined with theamazing 3D effects, are exactly the kind of productwe want to offer our players. We believe that theseare the best premium machines.”

Groupe Partouche has installed 24 SPHINX 3Dmachines in their casinos in Aix-en-Provence(Bouches-du-Rho ne), Saint-Amand-les-Eaux(Nord), Pornichet (Loire-Atlantique) and Le Pharaona Lyon (Rho ne).

“The feedback we are receiving from operators aswell as players is extremely positive,” said GTECHInternational Vice President of Commercial GamingMarcel Heutmekers. “Players are enjoying the 3Deffects, as they enhance the typical gaming experi-ence and add an extra level of excitement. The effi-ciency of the installation, as well as the customersatisfaction, has demonstrated our team’s profes-sionalism and commitment. We are looking forwardto introducing more TRUE 3D titles to the industry inthe months to come.”

The SPHINX 3D game, which is live in numerouscasinos across Europe, while the latest True 3Dproducts will be on display at the ICE Totally Gamingshow in London in February.

France-based casino operator, Partouche,has installed the latest GTECH True 3Dslot machines, Sphinx 3D in four sitesFrance - Installations

SLOVAKIAInterblock successfully installedtwo G5 MiniStar 08 Roulettesinside Rebuy Stars in Bratislava,making it the first launch of thisproduct in Slovakia.

“The decision to chooseInterblock equipment was rela-tively easy for us to make. Wewere simply looking for the bestproduct on the market. Our goalis to build and equip our facilitiesin absolutely unique way thathelps us reach the top levelsfrom the technological as well asgaming perspective. The effectsof choosing Interblock equip-ment are very fast to see, assur-ing us we have made a greatdecision and used our resources

effectively,“ commented JosefLiska, CEO in Rebuy Stars.

‘’We are always looking forpartners, who desire to offersomething more to their cus-tomers, and Rebuy Stars provedto be a perfect fit. We are veryhappy with the results and hopethis will continue into long last-ing relationship,’’ commentedMr. Ales Zvipelj, Regional SalesManager in Interblock.

The company Rebuy Stars isyoung, but in the field of gamingindustry already well recognisedcompany and with its network ofslot machines and casinos isassociated with other brands inthis segment.

Interblock installs its first G5 Mini-Star Roulette in Bratislava

www.G3newswire.com

GTech BrinG sphinx 3d To france

BuLGaria – eGT wins major Business awardThe manufacturer of casino equipment, Euro GamesTechnology, won the prize of the audience in the third editionof the business competition “Best Bulgarian Company”.Organized by First Investment Bank it includes several cate-gories and honours the most successful and fast-growingcompanies in the country that operate with entirely Bulgariancapital and managers. 220 firms took part in the contest forthe title “Company of the audience,” awarded to Euro GamesTechnology for the highest votes achieved. EGT surpassedthe second competitor for the prize with more than 16 percent score difference.

“The competition ‘Best Bulgarian Company’ of FirstInvestment Bank has become a good tradition and a muchanticpated event among the Bulgarian business community.There were many and worthy competitors for the prize thisyear and I’m especially proud that I’m holding the audienceaward plaquette,” said Vladimir Dokov, General Manager ofEGT, during the official final ceremony in Sofia.

Francesuzo-Happ continued toshow its focused supportto the local gamingmarkets by exhibiting atthe slot summit in Lille,france. this was an idealopportunity for frenchcasino operators to see theextensive solutions suzo-Happ offers the market.suzo Happ’s Haraldwagemaker commented,“the slot summitprovides so muchfundamental informationto casino operators andwe have seen its successgrow from summit tosummit. we are proud tobe a silver sponsor of theslot summit and so havethe opportunity to take anactive role here.”

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GeorGia – ho has hiGh hopes of GeorGian casinoLawrence Ho, Co-Chairman of Macau-based operator MelcoCrown Entertainment, is looking to open a casino in theRepublic of Georgia.

According to a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Mr.Ho is hoping to secure $50m through the sale of shares in aspecial purpose vehicle via his Chinese lottery companyMelcoLot Limited. He then plans to partner with Taiwanesecompany Firich Enterprises to develop the casino. The filingstates that Firich will subscribe for 5,530 subscription shareswhilst another investor, named as Oz, will subscribe for 200shares. Firich is a shareholder in Beijing Telenet InformationTechnology whilst Oz is involved in developing food and bev-erage and other entertainment-related businesses inGeorgia.

The filing states: “The casino project represents an opportu-nity for the MelcoLot Group to expand its business interestsinto the gaming and casino sector in the developing marketof Georgia. The MelcoLot directors believe that this wouldprovide synergies with and complement the existing lotterybusiness of the MelcoLot Group. It is intended that SPV willutilise the net proceeds from the subscription of approxi-mately US$49,890,000 to fund the costs and expensesrelated to securing the lease arrangements in respect of theproject site of the casino project and payments under thatlease, and the general development, implementation andrunning of the casino project.”

The group hopes the casino will be operational by the firstquarter of 2016. Henry Ko Chun Fung is CEO of MelcoLotLimited, a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands,whilst its mother company Melco International is chaired byLawrence Ho.

Having been a long-term subscriber to G3magazine, Cape Town-based Grand ParadeInvestments cancelled their subscription mid-summer 2014, just as it announced the wholesalesell-off of its casino investments and the majorityof its LPM operations in South Africa. It appearedas though GPI was taking a non-gaming tack andconcentrating on its profitable Burger Kingfranchise instead. However, it looks as if theclaims of GPI’s demise in gaming have beensomewhat premature.

Despite selling its stakes in the GrandWest Casinoin Goodwood and Golden Valley Casino inWorcester as well as selling control of its LPMoperations to Sun International, GPI has notentirely given up on gaming. The difference,however, is a new alignment with manufacturing.

Besides retaining a significant minority stake inthe Sun International controlled LPM business,GPI will now also play a major role in supplyingslot machines to the gaming sector. In August GPIreiterated its LPM ‘hardware’ play by entering into

a manufacturing joint venture with Retreat-basedelectronics contract manufacturer Tellumat.

The deal entails GPI acquiring 51 per cent of a jointventure company, Grand Tellumat Manufacturing,with Tellumat owning the balance of 49 per cent.The transaction has been described as a merger ofthe engineering skills and manufacturingcapabilities of Tellumat with the investmentknow-how of GPI.

The newly created company wants to positionitself as the manufacturer of choice for electronicand related technology products designated asrequiring minimum levels of local content to beeligible for procurement by governmentdepartments and local infrastructure projects.Both GPI and Tellumat are clearly anticipating

that government’s localisation initiative willcreate more local manufacturing opportunitiesand act as a catalyst for job creation. In essence,Grand Tellumat Manufacturing looks wellpositioned as a localisation partner for foreign andlocal vendors bidding for governmentprocurement and infra-structure projects.

At the end of 2012, GPI entered into a deal withGerman slot machine manufacturer MerkurGaming to manufacture gaming machines in SouthAfrica. This saw an arrangement where they couldmanufacture, assemble and distribute slotmachines, sports betting and lottery terminalsthrough a joint venture with Tellumat as thecontract manufacturer.

Tellumat CEO Andrew Connold has commentedthat the South African government’sinfrastructure build projects and localisationpolicies are a significant opportunity for GrandTellumat Manufacturing. “There is no need forSouth Africa to fully import or outsource themanufacture of high tech electronic products tocompanies overseas. We have all the necessaryskills to do this competitively, which not onlyprovides convenience to our local customers, butwill create much needed jobs and keepengineering skills in South Africa.”

soutH afrICaInsightGraNd paradE INVEstmENts Is

aLIVE aNd KICKING IN GamINGSouth Africa’s GPI swaps operations formanufacturing with an expansion of plansto build slot machines with electronicscontract manufacturer, Tellumat

uK oNLINE LEGIsLatIoNInsight

The new rules affect the remote gamblingindustry who offer remote betting and gaming toUK consumers from outside the UK and UK landbased betting business such as high street bettingshop. Land-based gaming sector such as casinosand bingo halls will not be affected by these newrules unless they offer remote betting or gaming.

Premises based betting and the treatment ofspread betting will be unaffected except for someadministrative changes.

Previously, gambling activities have been taxedon a ‘place of supply’ basis. This means that if anoperator is supplying gambling from the UK, theypay tax on all their gross gambling profits.Operators supplying UK customers from outsidethe UK pay no UK gambling taxes.

From December 1, 2014 HMRC is changing howthese duties are taxed from ‘place of supply’ to‘place of consumption’. This means that onlineoperators have become liable to one or more ofthe taxes (GBD, PBD or RGD), if you offer remotegambling to a person who usually lives in the UK.This applies no matter where in the worldoperators are based.

If an operator supplies remote gambling to UKcustomers from outside the UK they will becomeliable to a UK gambling tax for the first time andGBD, PBD or RGD will become payable. UK basedoperators who supply remote gambling tocustomers who do not usually live in the UK will

no longer be liable to GBD, PBD or RGD on thosetransactions.

GBD is charged on a bookmaker’s profits ongeneral bets or pool bets on horse racing or dogracing where the bets are made with abookmaker by a customer who is present in abetting shop regardless of where the customerusually lives. It is also charged on spread bets,that is betting on the outcome of financial or non-financial fluctuations of an index where thesebets are made with a bookmaker who is in theUK.

GBD is also relevant for general bets or pool betson horse racing or dog racing made with abookmaker, not in a UK betting shop, by a UKperson regardless of where in the world thebookmaker is located

PBD is charged on a bookmaker’s profits frombets that are not at fixed-odds and are not onhorse or dog racing, where the customer ispresent in a UK betting shop regardless of wherethe customer usually lives or the customer is aUK person regardless of where in the world thecustomer is located.

RGD is charged on a gaming provider’s profitsfrom remote gaming played by a UK person.

HMRC is also moving to an online system forregistering for these taxes and for making returns.HMRC can issue paper forms for registration andreturns, but only if you don’t hold (and are notrequired to hold) a Remote Operating Licence(ROL) from the Gambling Commission (GC).

Pool bets on horse or dog racing are currentlycharged with GBD. This won’t change, but themethod of calculating pool betting profits for taxpurposes, for both GBD and PBD, will beamended to exclude non-UK customers from thecalculation where it is appropriate to do so.

Peter Greenhill, Head of e-gaming for the Isle ofMan Department of Economic Development, said:“The effect of POC on the Isle of Man onlinegaming sector will be minimal compared to otherjurisdictions due to the fact that, despite each Isleof Man licence holder having a different operatingstrategy and very different player profilesgeographically, the vast majority of players usingIsle of Man operators reside outside the UK. Thelegislation does not force UK facing licenceholders to set up their companies in the UK nordoes it force the processing of bets to take placeon UK servers meaning that our licensees on theIsle of Man can retain their current structureswith all of the benefits that they bring.”

“The legislation also requires offshore licenceholders to either appoint a UK based FinancialRepresentative who, at great expense, will takeresponsibility and personal liability to pay UKHMRC the duty owed, or may negotiate to pay sixmonths duty in advance,” he explained. “Thepositive news as far as the Isle of Man isconcerned is that we have negotiated anarrangement with the UK tax authorities that UKfacing operators licensed with us do not need totake on this vast expense. This represents a majorsaving over other jurisdictions.”

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uK INtroduCEs NEw oNLINEpoINt of CoNsumptIoN tax

If an operator supplies remotegambling to UK customers

from outside the UK they willbecome liable to a UK

gambling tax for the first timeand GBD, PBD or RGD will

become payable.

The UK’s rules for General Betting Duty(GBD), Pool Betting Duty (PBD), andRemote Gaming Duty (RGD) changedfrom December 1 2014.

EuropEaN sLot tourNamENtInsight

A thrilling final to the European SlotChampionship 2014 took place in November.The final involved participants from the qualify-ing rounds held in eight different Europeancountries (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Slovenia,Austria, Hungary, Serbia and Poland) in 28 reallife casinos and on the www.casinocampione.itgaming site.

The grand finale took place in a single three-minute round, with Ron Goudsmit, Chairman ofthe ECA, wishing the best of luck to the finalists.The 12 players competed not only for the title ofthe European champion, but also for a wonder-ful trip to Las Vegas.

At the end of the three minute competition,Spaniard Josè S. won the title, dominating thefinal competition with a score of over one mil-lion points (the only player to achieve such ascore), which was more than 200,000 pointsahead of the runner-up, Tatjana G from Poland.Third place went to the Hungarian, Marton.

The winner, having qualified at his localBarcelona casino, was especially excited at thetime of the awards ceremony, claiming a victorythat he definitely won't forget.

european sLoT markeTinG eVenTThe European Slot Championship is the firstEuropean marketing project relating to the slotmachine segment and it is a new promotionalmethod for the benefit of all traditionalEuropean casinos, and it perhaps exceeds - interms of implementation time frames - certain

projects promoted by on-line gaming multina-tionals.

As part of the ESC (European SlotChampionship), slot machines have been thefocal point of a compeition that seeks to pro-mote their positive values, such as fun, competi-tion, communal play and entertainment value.

Partners in the operation include the EuropeanCasino Association and IGT, who both con-firmed their support for ESC 2015. This futureevent is set to see an even wider participation

base if certain countries (such as France) man-age - as it would seem - to get the green light forthe organisation of slot tournaments from theirrespective gaming boards.

“The European Slot Championship has finallybought the thrill and excitement of major slottournaments to Europe.’ Commented Sabby Gill,Senior Vice President International Sales at IGT.‘This is a fantastic opportunity for operatorsthroughout the region to drive new demand totheir slot floors and showcase a more dynamicand engaging side of slots. We’re thrilled to beinvolved with the championship from the outsetand are looking forward to a bigger and moreexciting tournament next year.”

The European Slot Championship was one of thecase studies presented at the most recent LilleSlot Summit, the event managed by Clarion andnow considered a European benchmark for thetraining of slot management executives. TheSpeaker, Carlo Pagan, is behind the concept ofthe European Slot Championship.

2 6

“This is a fantastic opportunityfor operators throughout the

region to drive new demand totheir slot floors and showcasea more dynamic and engaging

side of slots.”

spaIN wINs tHE EuropEaN sLot CHampIoNsHIp A Spanish player took the overall crownat the grand final of Carlo Pagan’sEuropean Slot Championship, held at theCasino de Campione in Italy

BCN worLd, spaINInsight

BCN worLd CompEtItIoN ENtErs sECoNd pHasEThe Government of Catalonia hasannounced the four successful applicantsthat have passed into the second phase ofthe licensing process for BCN World

On November 27, 2014, the Government ofCatalonia, Spain, published the final list ofcompanies that have been choose to enter thesecond stage of a competition to create the casinomega-resort of BCN World.

The Ministry of Finance approved the final list offour companies that have been accepted toparticipate in the second phase of the tendercasinos in the field of CRT Vila Seca and Salou.According to the resolution published in theDOGC, the four business groups selected to beeligible for one of the four licenses for theinstallation and operation of the casino game are:

lGroup Pereladal Property Development Limited Melcol BCN IR 3, SA (owned by: Veremonte and Hard

Rock)l BCN 2 Integrated Resorts, SA (owned by: Glory

Holdings Limited and wholly owned by Melco-Veremonte)

According to the text of the resolution, theTechnical Committee Casinos have seen,objective criteria, admitted that the fourcompanies meet the requirements of the contest,provided the law 6/2014 of 10 June, amendingLaw 2/1989 of 16 February on tourist recreationalcenters, and establishing rules on taxation, tradeand play passed by Parliament on 29 May.

On July 25, the deadline for submittingapplications to participate in the first phase of thecompetition. The Ministry of Economy andKnowledge of the applications received fivecompanies to participate. After analysing thedocumentation, August 6, the TechnicalCommittee issued a provisional list of admitted.This list will be admitted provisionally four of thefive applications submitted since the fifth -BCNIR 1, SA (wholly owned by Veremonte) - had notsubmitted within the deadlines necessarydocumentation to prove the "technicalcapabilities in field operating gambling casinosand gambling (...) during the last five years"required at the base of the competition 4.2.2.

Likewise, the Technical Committee found thatthe documents submitted by the other companies

lacked certain documents, which depended onothers, but for which they had already proven itsrequest, in accordance with the provisions of rule13 of the competition .

This first phase of the competition was to certifythe technical competence and experience in the

management of casinos of interested parties overthe past five years. It also checked if they hadbeen financially healthy enough to cope with aminimum initial investment of €300m for theoperation of casinos and hotels and also forshopping and recreation or any activity that maycomplement the project. Final checks were madeto ensure participants are not in any of thecircumstances provided for in Article 3 of Law6/2014, of 10 June, in criminal matters, orpenalties breach of the regulations on theprevention of money laundering, and they areup-to-date in the payment of their tax obligationswith the presentation of certificates anddeclarations of appropriate charge.

an exTension of one monThOn October 24, after analysing the informationreceived in response to the request for extensionof time made by some of the applicants, the

Technical Committee agreed to grant a non-extendable period of one month to presentpending documentation, according to thesubmission of the required documentation couldlead to more complexity in processing.

Finally, the Technical Committee found that theapplicants had submitted all the requireddocumentation and on November 24 raised to thebody calling the corresponding final list ofadmitted and excluded participants, according towhat is expected in the first phase of thecompetition.

The second phase of The compeTiTionWith the publication of the decision on November27 and the final list of admitted and excluded, thisterminates the first phase of the competition. Inthe second phase there will be the evaluation ofthe proposals submitted by applicants, whichmust be submitted as final projects. Thus, asprovided by law, the contest will end with theaward of up to four permits allowing for gamblingcasinos, one for each of the applicationsaccepted.

The start of the second phase of the competitionis linked to the approval of the Urban Master Plan(PDU) reorganisation of the field of tourismRecreational Center Vila-Seca and Salou. Thenew PDU should allow the implementation ofnew activities related to business tourism,conferences, conventions, trade and gaming andbetting activities in the field of CRT. On 29 July,the Committee on Regional Policy and Planningof Catalonia decided to initiate the procedure. It isexpected that the PDU is completed in the comingmonths.

2 8

The start of the second phaseof the competition is linked to

the approval of the UrbanMaster Plan (PDU), and thereorganisation of localised

tourist attractions.

All 55 casinos in the Grovenor group participat-ed in the 2014 event with 1,037 dealers enteringtheir club heats between July and Septemberwith each year’s participation showing growthsince the 407 entries in 2009. Each club ran andunder and over 2yrs experience competitionwith the winners each receiving £200. The clubswere split into groups and the under and overtwo years club champions took part in regionalfinals throughout October.

The finalists were invited to the grand final atGrosvenor Casino Coventry on November 27,each receiving £300 and a Gold Dolly Trophy,which saw the dealers completing a series oftable gaming related challenges with penaltiesfor mistakes and slow times.

The gauntlet Challenge was opened to all thatattended with a “Beat the Bong” challengewhere the audience could pit their skills againstBong Ali’s Score of 74 points in six minutes and54 seconds, no one on the day beat this scorebut the nearest entry was Adrian Frost (GMBirmingham Broad St) with a score of 68.

The Gauntlet was also thrown down to theGeneral Managers with each of the OperationsDirectors/Regional Operations Managers askedto represent their area by asking a GM to com-pete. Paul Benton and Adrian Frost(Birmingham Broad Street), Paul Armitage andPaul Jones (London Golden Horseshoe), RichardEdwards and Matt Rudd (Walsall), StuartBowker and Wayne Sheekey (Hull) andMalcolm Beattie and Pete Watson (Blackpool)were brave enough to take on the challenge.

The event was streamed live through a link onthe NDSC website www.dealerskills.com andthe entire day can be watched by following thelink; http://youtu.be/1i4SEDG2xkY

The event was once again sponsored byTCSJohnHuxley, without whose support the

Dealers Skills Competition would not haveachieved the growth in entries and improve-ments each year. TCSJH also ran a Big 6 compe-tition throughout the day for all to enter with thechance to win an iPad mini with the highestscore winner on the day, Rebecca Oliver – F&Bhost Grosvenor Casino Coventry.

NatIoNaL dEaLEr sKILLs’ BIGGEst CompEtItIoNGrosvenor Casinos held its Annual DealerSkills Competition at the end ofNovember at the Grosvenor Coventry

dEaLEr sKILLs CompEtItIoNInsight

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under Two years

Club Name Score PrizeWinner G Reading Angelo Frizzarin 196 £600 + Live Casino

ExperienceRunner Up Victoria Florian Gros 192 £300

oVer Two years

Winner Coventry Gareth Williams 212 £1,000 + Live Casino Experience

Runner Up Southampton Tamlyn Jones 189 £500

L-R, Tamlyn Jones, Florian Gros, Senol nedip, Parida Riccobono, LewisFrater, Chris Gill, David Sneddon, Joe White, Gareth Williams

NortH amErICa NEwsG3Newswire

NEVADANevada Gaming Control Boardhas approved Blackstone Group,a private equity investment fund,license to buy CosmopolitanCasino in Las Vegas. Blackstonesaid in May it wanted to purchase

the Cosmopolitan fromGermany-based Deutsche Bankfor US$ 1.73bn. The company’sjoint owner Tyler Henritze said:“We think there is a lot of oppor-tunity to bring the property to itsfull potential.”

Co-owner Jonathan Gray added:“We’re excited by the potential ofthis hotel. We plan to bring tobear all the experience we havewith other assets. For us, this isan exciting opportunity to dosomething special. We’re bullishon Las Vegas.”

In its four years of operation,Cosmopolitan has never made anannual profit. With 2,995-room,the $3.9bn Cosmopolitan openedin December 2010. DeutscheBank took over ownership of theproperty after the initial devel-oper defaulted. Blackstone Groupcommented that it would makechanges including, changing thecasino’s façade, adding anotherrestaurant and refurbishing partsof the gaming floor to boost rev-enue.

www.G3newswire.com

3 2

La chamBre des représenTanTs du mexique afinalement approuvé la nouvelle loi fédérale sur les parissportifs et les tirages au sort par 297 voix pour, 34 contre et 17abstentions. La nouvelle loi vise à réguler l’industrie du jeu defaçon plus efficace en préservant les droits des joueurs tout enrendant le processus d’octroi des licences plus transparent.

Le dépuTé arGenTin à L’assemBLée naTionaLe,Omar Duclós, a déposé un nouveau projet de loi à la chambrebasse qui régulerait la publicité et la promotion des jeux dehasard. La nouvelle loi restreindrait sévèrement la publicitépour les jeux de hasard afin de préserver la population desaddictions aux jeux et ses conséquences négatives.

Les forces de poLices fédéraLes du BrésiL onTlancé une opération à grande échelle à travers différents Étatsbaptisée « Operação Trevo » (opération trèfle), avec pourobjectif de démanteler une organisation criminelle accusée deblanchiment d’argent et de l’exploitation illégale de maisons dejeux.

Le décLin de L’indusTrie des jeux de hasard auCosta Rica a entrainé la fermeture de deux autres casinos.Selon la presse locale, les coûts d’exploitation élevés ont obligédeux casinos, le Casino Europa situé au sein de l’hôtel Europaainsi que le Casino Europa de l’hôtel Radisson à mettre la clésous la porte. Ces fermetures, intervenues fin novembre, ontprovoqué le licenciement de 200 salariés.

renforçanT son réseau en amérique LaTine,Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) a été homologuécomme laboratoire d’essai proposant des services de certifica-tion au Paraguay.

Le Groupe auTrichien noVomaTic Group, àtravers sa filiale espagnole NOVOMATIC Gaming Spain, a prisle contrôle de GiGames.

en Vue du déVeLoppemenT fuLGuranT des jeuxen ligne et de l’ouverture d’une nouvelle période d’octroi delicences par la Direction générale des Jeux de Hasard(Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ)), le groupeR. Franco a décidé de faire son entrée dans l’industrie en ligne.

L’inTérêT susciTé par Le premier compLexe deloisirs intégrant un casino en Chypre du Sud a été immenseselon la presse locale ayant fait le lien entre ce processus etCaesars Entertainment, Genting et Las Vegas Sands.

L’opéraTeur français joa a inauGuré ses nouveaux équipements de jeu au sein de son Casino D’Uriageà Saint-Martin d’Uriage, en région Rhône-Alpes. Le design faitlargement appel au verre laqué opaque coloré dans lescouleurs orange, rose saumon et rouge afin de créer un espacecasino contemporain.

Le Groupe noVomaTic a annoncé que Le VéTérande l’industrie du jeu de hasard, Jens Halle, est en passe d’aban-donner ses fonctions réunies de Directeur général d’AustrianGaming Industries GmbH et de CEO de Novomatic AmericasSales LLC.

Le GouVernemenT népaLais esT disposé àapprouver l’exploitation par la société Silver Heritage Limitedbasée à Hong Kong d’un casino au Shangri-La Hotel & Resortdans la capitale de Katmandu.

The American Gaming Association (AGA) hasreleased a comprehensive set of Anti-MoneyLaundering (AML) Best Practices to guide theefforts of casinos to protect the US financial sys-tem and national security from money launderingand other forms of illicit finance.

The AGA’s Best Practices for Anti-MoneyLaundering Compliance are the result of morethan a year of work to identify and enhanceindustry guidelines, which were developed incoordination with the Financial CrimesEnforcement Network (FinCEN).

“Today marks a milestone for the gaming industry,which has come together to develop the first-of-its-kind, forward-looking set of Best Practicesthat reflect our industry’s commitment to a strongculture of compliance,” said Geoff Freeman, presi-dent and chief executive officer of the AGA. “Welook forward to further bolstering our partnershipwith FinCEN to prevent money laundering andprotect the integrity of the U.S. financial system.”

Casino companies have developed risk-basedprograms that promote compliance with the legalrequirements of the federal Bank Secrecy Act(BSA) and associated AML regulations to discour-age illicit behavior and safeguard the integrity of

the casino industry. Risk-based complianceefforts are essential to the casino industry’s effec-tive implementation of AML controls.

The Best Practices illustrate the industry’s com-mitment to a strong culture of compliance. Theydistill the procedures that a wide range of casinoshave adopted across critical issues including cus-tomer due diligence, transaction monitoring andemployee training. Notably, the document alsosets forth a series of “red flags” that are specifical-ly tailored to the gaming sector. Individual casinoshave implemented a range of measures andguidelines that aim to prevent, detect and reportefforts to present illicit funds at casinos. The AGAadded: “While the vast majority of patrons visitcasinos for entertainment, those engaged in illegalactivity may attempt to use the casino’s financialservices to conceal or transfer illicit wealth. Therelease of the Best Practices is an important steptoward achieving the goals the industry shareswith regulators and law enforcement: protectingthe integrity of gaming and keeping illicit fundsout of our nation’s casinos.”

The basic framework of a BSA/AML complianceprogram involves the appointment of a compli-ance officer for the casino, the assignment of sub-stantial employee time to compliance measures,and oversight of the compliance effort by a com-pliance committee, which includes representa-tives of the property’s operations and financialstaff. In order to promote a culture of compliance,casinos also may want to consider periodicupdates regarding their AML programs to theBoard of Directors.

The American Gaming Association (AGA)has released a comprehensive set ofAnti-Money Laundering Best PracticesNevada - Policy

aGa reLeases amL BesT pracTice

Antiguathe antiguan Government has signed a deal with australian casino developer James packer and Hollywoodactor robert de Niro for a major project at the former K Club resort on Barbuda. It is not known at this stagewhether K Club’s owner, Italian designer mariuccia mandelli has decided to sell the property, which hasbeen closed for the last 10 years. the Government’s Chief of staff, Lionel Hurst, said: “In Barbuda, we have agreat scheme worked out with the son of Kerry packer, who is himself a billionaire and actor robert de Niro.they are going to take the K Club and breathe new life into it.” It is not known yet whether a casino wouldbe part of the plan although given mr. packer’s involvement, it is highly likely.

Blackstone Group approvedfor Cosmopolitan takeover

aGa reLeases amL BesT pracTice


New Jersey State Senate President Steve Sweeneyand former mayor Senator James Whelan havepresented a series of bills trying to revive AtlanticCity’s eight remaining casinos. The plan is to cutproperty taxes by 28 to 43 per cent for the casinosector, which has seen four of its 12 gaming floorsshut this year.

The bills would allow operators to pay a collective$150m in lieu of property taxes for the next twoyears. The contribution from each casino would bedetermined based on the size of real estate eachcasino owns, the number of hotel rooms andannual gambling revenue.

It would also redirect an alternative casino invest-ment tax, currently used for redevelopment proj-ects, to pay $25m to $30m of Atlantic City’s debtin each of the next 15 years. It would also eradicatethe Atlantic City Alliance, the marketing agencythat spends $30m a year to promote the resort toother regions of the US.

Kevin Ortzman, President of the CasinoAssociation of New Jersey: “Atlantic City needsthis type of stabilisation, which is critical to main-

tain the thousands of jobs and investment dollarsin the market and enable further diversification tostimulate growth.”

Unemployment has increased to 11 per cent, twicethe national average.

The Taj Mahal was to become Atlantic City’s fifthcasino to shut down in December, though lastminute plans were afoot as G3 went to press forowner Carl Icahn to strike a deal with the unionrepresenting about a third of its 3,000 workers. Ifthe Taj does close it would follow The AtlanticClub, the Showboat, Revel and Trump Plaza.

Whilst October’s figures were down slightly com-pared to last year’s figures, the third quarter as awhole saw GGR increase by 7.2 per cent. Theabsence of large losses generated by Revel andThe Atlantic Club certainly helped.

Matt Levinson, Chairman of the New JerseyCasino Control Commission, commented that theremaining casinos are starting to stabilise. “Sevenof the eight casinos reported increases in October,a sign that gaming revenues are starting to sta-bilise while non-gaming revenues are growing,”he said. “Five of the properties reported doubledigit increases including two; Golden Nugget andTropicana,that were up by more than 50 per cent.We have come through difficult days, but the cityclearly is transforming into a new full-scaleresort.”

Last minute taxation strategies proposedto save Atlantic City’s remaining eightcasinos as unemployment rocketsNew Jersey - Operations

NEW JERSEYGameAccount Network has signedan agreement with Reno-basedSpin Games to integrate the SpinGames remote gaming server(RGS) and launch their HTML5games portfolio for SimulatedGaming nationwide in the US andreal money Internet gaming inselected regulated markets.

Spin Games has a wide portfolio ofHTML5 mobile-optimised gameswithin its RGS including videoslots, video poker and keno vari-ants widely recognisable to casinopatrons in the US.

Dermot Smurfit, CEO ofGameAccount Network comment-ed: “Spin Games has developed a

strong mobile-first portfolio ofHTML5 games content including awide range of video poker, slotsand keno likely to appeal to casinopatrons online. As our first RGSintegration for Simulated Gamingin the US, we’re delighted to dis-tribute Spin Games’ gaming con-tent across our growing networkof major US casino operatorsengaged in offering SimulatedGaming to their casino patrons.”

Kent Young, CEO of Spin Gamescommented: “GameAccount hasdeployed its Internet system forvarious major casinos in the US,into diverse regulated real moneyInternet markets including NewJersey, and represents a com-pelling distribution opportunity.”

www.G3newswire.com

new BiLL To saVe ac’s LasT eiGhT

USthe Internationalassociation of Gamingregulators (IaGr) hasannounced its officers/trustees at the 2014 annualBusiness meeting held inphiladelphia, us inconjunction with its annualconference. ms. Birgittesand of denmark wasinducted as presidentduring the association’sconference in philadelphia.ms. sand is the director ofthe danish Gamblingauthority. mr. Bhekimlambo of south africawas inducted as Vicepresident of IaGr,treasurer a.G. Burnett andsecretary trude feldeInaddition, four new trusteeswere elected to the Board.

3 4

Lawrence ho, co-présidenT de L’opéraTeurMelco Crown Entertainment basé à Macao, cherche à ouvrir uncasino en République de Géorgie. Selon un classement de labourse de Hong Kong, Monsieur Ho espère réaliser 50 millionsde dollars US à travers la vente des parts via une entité ad hocà travers sa société chinoise de loterie MelcoLot Limited.

sTaTion casinos, premier opéraTeur àproposer légalement des jeux de casino en ligne aux États-Unis, arrête ses activités de poker en ligne, Ultimate Gaming,au Nevada, déclarant à ce sujet que ces activités avaient man-qués leurs objectifs financiers.

GameaccounT neTwork a siGné un accord aVecSpin Games, basé à Reno, afin d’intégrer le serveur de jeu dis-tant Spin Games (RGS) et de lancer son portfolio de jeuxHTML5 de simulation au niveau national aux États-Unis ainsiqu’une série de jeux d’argent réel sur Internet sur certainsmarchés régulés.

La commission de surVeiLLance des jeux dehasard du Nevada a accordé au groupe Blackstone, une entitéprivée d’investissements directs, une licence pour le rachat duCosmopolitan Casino de Las Vegas. Le groupe Blackstone adéclaré en mai qu’il souhaitait procéder à l’acquisition duCosmopolitan de la Deutsche Bank basée en Allemagne pourun montant de 1,73 milliards de dollars US.

La fiLiaLe déTenue à 75% par cenTury casinosa été sélectionnée par Horse Racing Alberta (HRA) pourexploiter le réseau de paris mutuels hippiques à distance dansle Sud de l’Alberta à partir de début de 2015.

au coLorado, GaminG LaBoraTories International (GLI) a emménagé dans de nouveaux locaux de40 000 pieds carrés à Wheat Ridge, au Colorado. Les nou-veaux locaux sont pleinement opérationnels depuis le 1erdécembre.

aquis casino acquisiTions, La sociéTé derrièrele pari de construire un projet spectaculaire de casino intégré àun complexe de loisirs à Cairns, en Australie, est en passed’achever sa prise de contrôle de Canberra Casino qui devraitintervenir autour de Noël après avoir obtenu une baisse du prixde vente de 3 millions de dollars US.

marie sTephens properTies a présenTé Les plans d’un hôtel-casino d’un coût de 250 millions de dollarsaustraliens qui devrait avoir la forme d’une perle géante et êtreconçu pour flotter devant la « Gold Coast » en Australie.

GenTinG honG konG esT sur Le poinT d’inVesTir117,2 millions de dollars US dans un joint-venture détenu àparts égales par le promoteur immobilier chinois LandingInternational Development afin d’exploiter une espace de jeuxà l’hôtel Regency sur l’île sud-coréenne de Jeju.

ezuGi a Lancé son sTudio de casino en direcTavec l’un des plus importants groupes du Cambodge, la sociétéDai Long Company, propriétaire et opérateur du casino etcomplexe de loisir « Grand Dragon ».

Le Groupe crown de james packer faiT face àune nouvelle série d’obstacles dans sa quête d’ouvrir un casinode 400 millions de dollars US au Sri Lanka suite aux déclara-tions du Président du pays menaçant d’imposer de nouvellestaxes sur les jeux en cas de victoire aux prochaines élections dejanvier.

GameAccount Network signsdeal with Spin Games for NJ


CANADACentury Casinos’ 75 per cent-owned subsidiary has beenselected by Horse Racing Alberta(HRA) to operate the pari-mutueloff-track horse betting networkin Southern Alberta starting in2015.

HRA invited applicants to submit

their proposals to operate the off-track betting network in Alberta.After a thorough selectionprocess, Century Casinos, togeth-er with its 25 per cent-partnerwith long-standing off-track bet-ting network experience, wasawarded the license to operatethe off-track betting network inSouthern Alberta, which includes

Red Deer, Calgary, Lethbridge,Medicine Hat and the rural OTBsin this area. HRA awarded a sec-ond license to Northlands Parkout of Edmonton, who will runthe OTB network in NorthernAlberta.

“This license will enable us toprofessionally develop and oper-ate off-track betting offeringsthroughout Southern Alberta,”Erwin Haitzmann and PeterHoetzinger (pictured), Century’sCEOs said. “It is an exciting timein the pari-mutuel industry withvarious new technologies thatwill assist in growing and servic-ing the Alberta off-track bettingnetwork,” they continued.

HRA is a not-for-profit corpora-tion, which reports to theMinistry of Finance andAgriculture & Rural Developmentand is responsible for regulatingthe horse racing industry inAlberta by authority of the HorseRacing Alberta Act.

Century Casinos land off-trackbetting network for Alberta

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USGaming Laboratories International (GLI) has relocated its Colorado laboratory to a new 40,000sq.ft. facility inwheat ridge, Colorado. the new location became fully functional on december 1. dave daniels, sr. directorof Engineering for GLI, is also General manager of the Colorado laboratory. He said, “GLI has been veryfortunate to have an ever-increasing demand for our services, both in our testing and certification servicesand in our many services beyond testing, such as forensics, network security assessments, field inspectionsand GLI university training. this new facility will allow us to serve our customers even better, while alsoallowing for future expansion.” the lab’s phone number remains the same, (303) 277-1172.

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WMS Gaming has announced the global launch ofit’s The Flintstones slot game at Borgata Hotel Casino& Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Flintstonesgame combines the sights, sounds and characters ofthe classic animated series with the Gamefield xDcabinet from WMS.

Ted Herzchel, Vice President Slot Operations forBorgata, said: “Keeping our slot floor fresh and excit-ing for our players is extremely important to Borgata,and we are thrilled to be the first casino to offer TheFlintstones game from WMS.”

The town of Bedrock is brought to life thanks to a42-inch horizontal screen over a vertical 32-inchscreen with a mechanical wheel on the GamefieldxD cabinet. The 5×4 base game features both aFlintstones and a Rubbles array, and reels stretch upto 10 symbols high as WILD reels and multipliers arepotentially added in The Flintstones mystery fea-ture. Unique bonus rounds, drawn straight from theiconic series, include the Bedrock bowling featureand the DINO Bonus.

Borgata worked seamlessly with the New JerseyDivision of Gaming Enforcement and is grateful forall its efforts to make the installation of this gamepossible.

Dean Ehrlich, WMS Senior Vice President of GlobalGaming Operations, said: “Borgata has always beena great partner to WMS, and we are very excited towork with them on the first installation of our excit-ing new brand, The Flintstones.”

The Borgata Casino Hotel & Spa inAtlantic City installs the latest GamefieldxD game from WMS, The FlintstonesNew Jersey - Installations

wms The fLinTsTones aT BorGaTa

us – GTech wins missouri LoTTery conTracTGTECH has been awarded a seven-year integrated servicescontract to provide a new central gaming system, a variety oflottery/self-service machines, multimedia displays, anupgraded telecommunications network, and related ongoingservices to the Missouri Lottery.

GTECH has been the major lottery technology and servicesprovider to the Missouri Lottery since 1991. The new con-tract, which is scheduled to run for seven years beginning inthe second half of 2015, is the result of a competitive pro-curement, and includes one three-year extension option,exercisable at the Lottery’s discretion. GTECH expects toreceive revenues of approximately $112 million over theseven-year term.

“Over the past 23 years, GTECH’s flexible technology solu-tions and marketing insights have supported the MissouriLottery’s innovative approaches and multi-faceted portfolio,”said GTECH Americas President and CEO Jaymin Patel.“Through this agreement, our robust, forward-thinking solu-tions will help to ensure that the Lottery continues to growand raise funds for good causes.”

“The Missouri Lottery is continuously seeking new ways toincrease profits for public education through strategic inno-vation,” said Missouri Lottery Executive Director May ScheveReardon. “This agreement with GTECH will continue to drivethe Lottery’s performance to greater levels as technologyand player demographics evolve.”

us – scienTific Games names Leadership Team Having completed its merger with Bally Technologies forapproximately $5.1bn, including the refinancing of approxi-mately $1.8bn of existing Bally net debt, the company hasannounced its executive leadership team. The executiveteam will oversee an organization comprised of three operat-ing units: Gaming, Lottery and Interactive. In addition toPresident and Chief Executive Officer, Gavin Isaacs, andExecutive VP and CFO, Scott Schweinfurth, the executiveleadership team of Scientific Games will include: DerikMooberry as the new Group Chief Executive, Gaming; andJames Kennedy will be Group Chief Executive, Lottery.

CEO Gavin Isaacs commented: “Our new senior manage-ment team comprises some of the most accomplished exec-utives in the gaming, lottery and interactive industries. I amvery excited to have this team of great leaders from ScientificGames, WMS, Bally and SHFL entertainment helping to leadthe Company forward. Our new organizational structure willfocus on driving consistent and measurable progress on ourgoals of increasing profitable global growth and increasingfree cash flow to pay down debt. The experience, leadershipskill and commitment that each of our senior leaders bringsto the Company will be a significant influence in our integra-tion efforts and development of solutions to bring value toour customers and shareholders.

“Completing the Bally transaction brings together twoexceptional organisations with a common culture of innova-tion and customer focus,” said Mr. Isaacs. “We are excited bythe opportunities that will be created by combining eachorganization’s core strengths in developing engaging gamingentertainment products, advanced technologies and sys-tems, and providing value-added services to help our cus-tomers grow their revenues.”

CANADAWilliams Interactive has gone livewith its library of casino gamecontent on Playnow.com, theonline casino operated by theBritish Columbia LotteryCorporation (BCLC).

As a result of the integration withthe Williams Interactive RemoteGame Server, players within theCanadian provinces of BritishColumbia and Manitoba haveaccess to slot themes popular interrestrial casinos across NorthAmerica, including hit games Zeus,Reel ‘em In, Bass Bucks and TheWizard of Oz.

With the launch of WilliamsInteractive casino content onPlayNow.com, Scientific Gameshas furthered its relationship withBCLC to include lottery, land-based gaming and interactiveproducts. Williams

Interactive is helping supportBCLC’s goal to build player loyaltyacross all channels and extendsthe BCLC customer entertainmentexperience beyond traditional lot-tery and land-based casinos.

Jordan Levin, President forWilliams Interactive, commented:“This launch is another excitingmilestone in our mission to providethe world’s most compellingiGaming entertainment. The key tobuilding player loyalty, on thecasino floor or online, is to consis-tently offer great gaming experi-ences; our proven content libraryis an ideal solution for BCLC andManitoba to further enhance thegaming entertainment availablebeyond the walls of their casinos.BCLC is one of the premier casinooperators in the world, and we’rethrilled to contribute content thatwill strengthen their player rela-tionships online.”


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new jersey – BeTfair us up By 17 per cenTBetfair US, which comprises pari-mutuel horserace bettingoperator TVG, and online casino site Betfair New Jersey, hasannounced its first-half results via its parent Betfair Group.

Total first-half (May to October) revenue across Betfair USincreased by 17 per cent to $47.3m, driven mainly by astrong performance at TVG alongside an encouraging contri-bution from Betfair New Jersey, which currently holds an 11per cent share of the fledgling New Jersey online casino mar-ket.

TVG’s strong recent growth continued with handle (the totalvolume of bets placed) between May and October up 15 percent in a wider market where handle was down two per cent.

A key growth driver was an 85 per cent increase in Mobilewagering in the first half of the year, with customers makingincreasing use of the smartphone channel following thelaunch of native TVG iPhone and iPad Apps in the Apple appstore. Mobile represented 14 per cent of TVG’s total staking, asignificant increase from 2013.

us – moheGan siGnaLs resorTs expansionResorts Casino Hotel, the first casino to open in Atlantic Cityand a property managed by Mohegan Gaming Advisors, hasannounced a $9.4m multi-faceted expansion of its conven-tion space that will bring an additional 12,000 sq. ft. of eventspace, including 11 new conference rooms.

This expansion is part of the hotel’s long-term property rein-vestment plan, following the recent $35m Jimmy Buffet-themed Margaritaville and nearly $70m expansion and reno-vation of Resorts under Morris Bailey’s ownership.

“This conference center expansion is the latest example ofthe company’s reinvestment in the property and Atlantic Cityas a whole as we continue to strategize ways to revive andturnaround this market,” said Morris Bailey, Owner ofResorts. “From the growing demand for additional confer-ence space from a new niche audience to the increasing pop-ularity of Margaritaville, Resorts is showing a positive returnon investment as a successful destination location on theEast Coast.”

Continuing to invest in its market leadingproduct, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa hasannounced details of the $13m property-widerenovation taking place over the next severalmonths. Improvements include a completeredesign of the Borgata Buffet, renovations toSpa Toccare, the casino floor, front desk, Borgatasuites, and back-of-the-house Talent areas.

“Borgata’s market leading casino and resortproduct has been its strength since it opened2003,” said Tom Ballance, President and COO ofBorgata Hotel Casino & Spa. “Our commitmentto continued development and exceeding ourcustomers’ expectations when it comes tokeeping our property fresh and inviting is ofcentral importance in strengthening Borgata’sposition as the East Coast’s premier resortdestination. We are dedicated to providing aworld-class, full-service guest experience,unlike anything else in the region by investing$13 million towards our dining, spa, casino, roomproduct and employees.”

From December 1 to 24 Borgata will completelyrenovate and redesign its award-winning buffetby devoting $2m to porcelain stone flooring, aswell as strikingly resurfaced sky-like ceilings,all by Avenue Interior Design. Featuring a colorscheme of warm whites, light taupe, and greytones, the space will be highlighted by its

exquisite architectural details. The carpetingwill offer a new take on a traditional Italianfresco, while the vertical surfaces will receive atextured, patterned-wall covering paired with aconventional sconce to give the iconic buffet acomfortable, residential feel.

The evolution of Borgata’s guestrooms began in2012 with a complete $50 million redesign to all1,566 Classic guestrooms and hotel corridors,and continues in 2015 with an additional $6mdedicated to restyle 39 Opus suites in addition totwo 5,000 square-foot Residence suites.Borgata’s decade-long relationship with theaccomplished interior design firm Laurence LeeAssociates created a seamless vision for theredesign of the finely-appointed suites, blendingauthentic, welcoming shades with proficientopulence. Excellence radiates from every inch ofthe space with contemporary carpeting, wallcoverings and furniture, creating an atmosphereof ultimate hospitality the moment you step intothe room.

Additional refashions to give the casino floor amore modern Italian feel will be comprised ofnew carpeting, wall treatments, ceiling drapery,and light fixtures, in addition to the refinishingof columns, accounting for over $4m in spend.

Borgata has announced details of the$13m property-wide renovation takingplace over the next several monthsNew Jersey - Casino Operations

BorGaTa pLan $13m renoVaTion

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us – muLLer heads To niGaCourtney Muller, the former seniorvice president and head of the GlobalGaming Expo trade show for ReedExhibitions, has joined Atlanta-basedUrban Expositions, producer of theannual NIGA Indian gaming tradeshow, as executive vice president.

As EVP of Urban Expositions, Courtney will report directly toUE’s Doug Miller and Tim von Gal. She will assume responsi-bility for overseeing much of the day-to-day management ofthe company. Additionally, she will seek out new acquisitions,launches and partnerships for Urban Expositions.

“We are so happy to announce that Courtney has joined ourteam,” said Partner and President Doug Miller. “She is awidely recognised talent in the trade show industry, and withher background on G2E and her strong industry relation-ships, she is the perfect person to work with NIGA to helpshape the future of their event.”

Williams Interactive library islive on BCLC’s Playnow.com

Nevadastation Casinos, the firstoperator to offer legalonline casino gambling inthe us, is shutting down itsonline poker business,ultimate Gaming, inNevada saying it has failedto meet its financial targets.the company has alreadyclosed its online operationsin New Jersey. stationbranded its online pokersite ultimate poker andlaunched it in Nevada inapril 2013, marketing italongside its ultimatefighting Championship.tom Breitling Chairman ofultimate Gaming said:“online poker revenues inNevada have fallen farshort of original projections.moreover, the state-by-state approach to onlinegaming has created anextremely cost-prohibitiveand challenging operatingenvironment.”

mardI Gras CasINo & rEsortInsight

KEEpING aN EyE oN fat tuEsday

The Mardi Gras Casino & Resort is located onlyminutes from picturesque Cross Lanes inCharleston, West Virginia. As the name says, theentire casino runs under the “carnival and MardiGras” theme. On 90,000 square feet (over 8,000m2) of floor space, passionate gamblers will findeverything their hearts desire: over 1,200 slotmachines, 24 poker tables and 31 gaming tableswith Blackjack, Roulette, craps and more. Thosewishing to explore the culinary delights ofCharleston can do so without even leaving thecasino. From quick snacks between games toluxurious gourmet dinners, the variousrestaurants and bars have something to offer tosuit every taste.

Anyone looking for relaxation after a long,exciting night in the casino can get some rest inthe elegant Mardi Gras West Virginia Hotel. 150deluxe rooms and suites are available to guests.

And that’s not all. The Casino-Resort has a veryspecial highlight: a dog racetrack on whichseveral live races with first-class greyhoundstake place every week.

In short, it’s a huge facility that has to be reliablymonitored to guarantee the guests’ safety at alltimes.

from pLanninG To fuLL operaTionsThe video specialists Dallmeier together with thenational systems integrator: North AmericanVideo (NAV) were responsible for the planningand installation of the CCTV system. The videosystem is a modern IP system with high-resolution HD cameras into which the existing

analogue fixed and PTZ cameras were smoothlyintegrated. The cameras cover not only thedifferent casino and hotel areas, but also the dogtrack.

“The unusually high image quality and attentionto detail provided by the cameras even in thedifficult lighting conditions of the casino areaconstituted one of our main reasons for selectingDallmeier products,” explained Chris Batog,Surveillance Director of Mardi Gras Casino &Resort. Fixed dome cameras and movable PTZcameras from the Domera series are installed inthe casino. Domera is a modular, high-speed PTZcamera system. The high-resolution networkcameras with 10x optical zoom and autofocus

supply full high-definition video with 30 fps up to1080p. The images taken by the surveillancecameras are recorded on several servers of theDMX 2400 Smatrix model, a video IP appliancewith as many as 24 video channels and anintegrated storage system with up to eight harddisks. The low power input of max. 125W makessubstantial savings in energy costs possible forthe casino.

What’s more, the DMX 2400 allows for multicastaudio and video streaming through the SeMSy IIIvideo management system. SeMSy permits easyhandling and management of different video andaudio streams and their live presentation andrecording at any point in a linked system. Withgraphic user interfaces into which the site mapsof the Mardi Gras Casino & Resort have beenintegrated, employees can easily and intuitivelyoperate the complete video system.

An additional advantage of the SeMSy systemresides in its scalability. SeMSy can be expandedas needed and is always flexible. For example,additional cameras or monitors can be easilyintegrated into the network at a later date.

smooTh operaTionSince installing the system in September of 2011,the Dallmeier surveillance system has beenoperating to the utmost satisfaction of thecustomer. Chris Batog confirms, “Not only wasthe support during the planning and installationphases exemplary; the after-sales care isfantastic, too. Our contact person is available toanswer questions and provide updates at alltimes.”

Fixed dome cameras and movable PTZcameras from the Domera series areinstalled in the casino. Domera is amodular, high-speed PTZ camerasystem. The high-resolution networkcameras with 10x optical zoom andautofocus supply full high-definitionvideo with 30 fps up to 1080p. Theimages taken by the surveillancecameras are recorded on severalservers of the DMX 2400 Smatrixmodel, a video IP appliance with asmany as 24 video channels and anintegrated storage system with up toeight hard disks. The low power input ofmax. 125W makes substantial savingsin energy costs possible for the casino.

4 0

The Mardi Gras Casino & Resort is one of the foremost casino and gaming destinationsin West Virginia. The video surveillance system in use there, which was supplied byDallmeier, represents cutting-edge technology.

asIa & oCEaNIa GamING NEwsG3Newswire

Aquis Casino Acquisitions, the company behindthe bid to build a spectacular A$4.2bn casino andresort project in Cairns, is likely to complete itstakeover of the Canberra Casino by Christmashaving secured a $3m discount on the sale price.

Led by Chinese tycoon Tony Fung’s, the companyhas agreed to buy the Casino Canberra, located onthe eastern side of the Australian capital’s CentralBusiness District in Glebe Park, from CasinosAustria for $6m.

initially the deal was dependent on the AquisGroup receiving gaming regulatory approvals fromthe ACT government and agree the purchase ofReef Casino Trust. Aquis has though only secured82.8 per cent of shares of the Cairns casinoinstead of the 90 per cent needed.

ACT Gambling and Racing Commission ChiefExecutive Greg Jones said: “The previous dealwould see Aquis takeover the Reef Casino andhotel complex, and as part of that they wouldeffectively own Casino Canberra, as they are

owned by the same organisation, Casinos Austria.Aquis and Casinos Austria have now agreed toseparate the sale of the properties, so the sale ofthe Canberra property can go ahead.”

Aquis said:“Aquis has tremendous confidence inthe future of Casino Canberra and has agreed withCasinos Austria that the acquisition of the facilityis no longer conditional on the RCT takeover offer.Through the due diligence process for the broadertransaction we have gained a strong understand-ing of the Canberra facility and its potential.

“As a committed, active owner for the long term wewill be looking at various options for improve-ments and upgrades and look forward to workingwith local stakeholders to build a facility every-one in the ACT can be proud of,” said Aquis.

The bigger resort proposal would be located 13kmnorth of Cairns and would be called Aquis Resort.It would market itself to Chinese tourists and haspitched itself as being bigger than James Packer’sCrown casino in Melbourne. It wants to operate750 tables and 1,500 slots at a resort that, ifapproved, would include nine hotels with 3,750rooms, one of the world’s largest aquariums, a25,000-seat sports stadium, 1,200 apartments and135 villas, high-end retail shopping, theatres, a 13-hectare reef lagoon, 18-hole golf course, a conven-tion and exhibition.

AUSTRALIAMarie Stephens Properties haspresented plans for a A$250mcasino hotel to be shaped like agiant pearl and designed to floatoff the Gold Coast in Australia.

Known as the Sea Pearl Hotel, itis the creation of ProfessorJianping Zheng, a man who hasdesigned over 200 theme parksand hotels in China. Sea Pearl willfeature 300 hotel rooms, a casinoand an underwater restaurant.

Mr Zheng wants the developmentto become one of Australia’siconic landmarks.

A spokesperson said the aim wasfor the futuristic designs to ‘makea statement as big as the OperaHouse did for Sydney.’

He hopes that new gaming lawsand a raft of new licences inQueensland will allow the devel-opment to be built at Gold CoastIntegrated Resort and Cruise ShipTerminal in southeasternQueensland.

The professor of ZhejiangUniversity presented his plans atthe Australia China Chamber ofCEO’s G20 lead up event.

It will also feature shopping malls,a sky viewing deck, night lightentertainment, a swimming pool,restaurants and an exhibition cen-tre. A spokesperson for MarieStephens Properties said talksconcerning the project’s potentialwith Queensland PremierCampbell Newman were greetedwith a positive response.

Plans presented for Sea PearlHotel off the Gold Coast

www.G3newswire.com

aquis compLeTe canBerra deaL

phiLippines – no new Licences TiLL mid-2016New casino players seeking to enter the country will have towait longer as regulator Philippine Amusement and GamingCorp. (Pagcor) said it was unlikely to award new gaminglicenses until President Aquino steps down in mid-2016.

Pagcor chair Cristino Naguiat Jr. said the direction was due tothe fact that there were barely two years left in the Aquinoadministration, apart from the need for existing players todevelop their business in a still-untested market.

The move is bad news for new players seeking to set upshop, like Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment Corp.,and a boon to existing license holders like the four majoroperators in the Entertainment City casino complex alongManila Bay. The four licenses, three of which went to Filipinotycoons and one to Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, wereawarded under the previous administration. No new licenseshave been granted under President Aquino.

Mr. Naguiat noted that Pagcor was taking a long-term viewin developing Entertainment City, which is being styled as aPhilippine gaming hub that could compete with regionalrivals like Macau and Singapore. “We have to look at the bigpicture and definitely this is a long-term strategy,” he said.

The 120-hectare Entertainment City currently has only onecasino operating, the $1.2-billion Solaire Resort & Casino,owned by ports magnate Enrique Razon Jr., which opened in2013. This will be followed by the City of Dreams Manila, aventure between Filipino retail and banking taipan Henry SySr. and Macau’s Melco Crown Entertainment, led byLawrence Ho and James Packer. Okada’s group said its $2bnManila Bay Resorts would open by the end of 2015 whileBayshore City Resorts World, a venture between Filipino bil-lionaire Andrew Tan and Malaysia’s Genting Group, plans toopen its doors in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Recently, Caesars Entertainment approached PresidentAquino to possibly build a casino in a property near the NinoyAquino International Airport in Manila, the country’s maingateway and its busiest airport.

ausTraLia - crown wins major Tax concession According to an announcement by Racing and GamingMinister Terry Waldron, the state government is giving a taxbreak to Crown Perth so casino mogul Packer can lure inter-national high rollers away from Singapore’s new gamblingresorts and back to West Australia.The new arrangement, according to Waldron, cuts the taxpaid on the profits the casino makes from so-called whalesflown in from abroad from the current 11 percent to 8 per-cent.In return, Crown Perth Casino will guarantee it will pay atleast $45.25 million to the state government over the nextfive years – well above the $37.4 million it paid over the pastfive years.

Australiaformer prime ministerpaul Keating has turneddown a role on a newdesign advisory panelwhich will provide adviceabout the latest changes toBarangaroo, includingJames packer's proposedcasino, hotel andresidential tower. mrKeating confirmed he hadhad discussions with theplanning minister aboutthe new panel, but said hehad achieved the designobjectives he wanted tosee at Barangaroo. mrKeating said it was amistake for the formerpremier Barry o'farrell toscrap the hotel which wasto have been built on a pierin darling Harbour, whichhad necessitated thegranting of new site for thehotel/casino.

4 24 2

Aquis Casino Acquisitions, the companybidding to build a A$4.2bn casino projectin Cairns , is to complete in CanberraAustralia - Casino Operations


4 4

www.G3newswire.com

Imperial Pacific, an investor in a Macau junketoperator, is to launch 510m new shares on theHong Kong stock exchange to raise funds for aHKD774m (US$99.8m) casino project on thePacific island of Saipan.

The company stated: “The maximum gross pro-ceeds and the maximum net proceeds from theplacing will be

approximately HKD791m and HKD774m respec-tively. The board considers that the placing repre-sents a good opportunity to broaden the share-holder base and capital base of the company andto raise certain required capital of the group.”

Imperial Pacific, a financial contributor to theHengsheng Group, confirmed it had been issuedwith a 25-year casino licence by the governmentof the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands back in August. The development wouldbe the first large scale integrated resort on Saipan.The move follows a growing trend for junketoperators to move into full operations due to alessening of margins paid from VIP play to thejunket operators.

Imperial Pacific added that the 25-year Saipanlicence had an option for renewal for a further 15years and would include the construction of 2,004hotel rooms and 17,000sq. m. of gaming floor. Thelicence fee for the first year is US$15m althoughthis will changed every five years to account forchanges in inflation. The company confirmed thatthe Saipan authorities would allow it to bring inoutside investors to a maximum of 49 per cent ofthe issued share capital of the company.

Imperial is to launch 510m new shares onthe HKSE to raise funds for a HKD774mcasino project on the island of SaipanSaipan - New projects

NEPALThe Nepalese government ispoised to approve Hong Kong-based Silver Heritage Limited tooperate a casino at the Shangri-La Hotel & Resort in the capitalof Kathmandu.

Silver Heritage, who will oper-ate the property alongside aNepal-based company, willinvest over NPR1bn (US$10m) inrebranding the Shangri-La casi-no as the Millionaire’s Club andCasino. It also runs casinosacross the Asia Pacific, in India,Vietnam and the Philippines. Itis preparing to ‘ open its doorsduring the first quarter of 2015.’

Millionaire’s Club and Casinowill house 22 tables and 40electronic gaming machines.The casino will be primarilyaimed at providing expandedgaming opportunities for cus-tomers from the growing Indian

and Chinese markets, and willalso service the growing expa-triate community living inNepal.

Silver Heritage‘s ChiefExecutive Mike Bolsover said:“We are confident theKathmandu opportunity andour development of otherresorts in Nepal represent ahuge opportunity given Nepal’sproximity to both India andChina’s massive and growingmiddle class consumer, andNepal’s cultural affinity with itssouthern neighbour.”

Tim Shepherd, Silver Heritage’sChief Operating Officer, added:“We believe the work we areundertaking in Nepal will helpthe Nepali government achievetheir goals by encouraginginbound tourism, particularlyfrom India and China, and stim-ulating the local and national

economy through our plannedphased investment of more thanUS$100m in developing a chainof 5-star resort facilities acrossNepal.”

Tulasi Gautam, Director Generalof the Department of Tourism,said: “The company has met allthe requirements. After a joint-venture company is registered,we will forward the company’sproposal to the TourismMinistry for its final approval.”

Star Management, a Malaysiancompany, had operated theCasino Shangri-La for the lastfour years but was forced toshut due to labour unrest.

Silver Heritage also revealedplans to develop a hotel andconference resort called TigerPalace in the city ofBhairahawa, 265km west ofKathmandu.

The 5-star hotel resort willhouse 300 rooms. It is expectedto open in 2016. Silver Heritageplans to open two more resortsin Nepal before the end of 2018.

imperiaL pacific To fLoaT shares

Singaporethe fight for VIp customers is heating up in singapore where the dwindling stream of Chinese high-rollershas seen resorts world sentosa and marina Bay sands intensify their VIp efforts. Genting singapore thirdquarter profit was down by 43 per cent whilst Las Vegas sands’ most recent quarterly results saw its revenuedown by 8.7 per cent. analysts believe the same austerity crackdown in China that is affecting macau’scasino sector is also now the norm in singapore with the Chinese government investigating large cashoutflows amid a crackdown on corruption. as a result VIp spend has been dramatically affected. marina Baysands said its VIp betting volume had dropped by 34 per cent.

macau – apex muLTi-TakinG aT mGs exhiBiTion APEX exhibited at the Macao Gaming Show (MGS) took placebetween in November at the Venetian Macao. Together withlocal partner Laxino Systems Limited, the APEX teamenjoyed a positive show. The APEX Player Station (APS) waswarmly greeted by visitors to the stand. This electronic multi-player offers roulette and three additional table games:Bacarrat, Sic-Bo and the APEX game Quikke,r which is aunique card-based game.

“We have done our homework and will continue to do it. Wehave studied player requirements. We have not just takenour European offer and exhibited it, which explains why theAPS is already certified for the Macau market. Together withLaxino, we will be investing in ensuring that our productrange is ideal to meet local needs and requirements”,explained Mr. Max Pessnegger, CEO of APEX gaming.

The strategy of introducing APEX gaming to the South EastAsian market is following clear steps. The first step has beensuccessfully completed – the certification of the APS withfour table games. The next step will to be to include slotsgames especially targeted to player needs here. The thirdstep is then to offer the updated slots solutions – namely thePinnacle 24” upright and Pinnacle SL 27” slant top.

“We have set our strategy and are looking for long-term suc-cess in SE Asia. There are opportunities for companies whooffer the best gaming entertainment solutions. Having sucha strong partner in Laxino ensures that we attain continualmarket feedback to safeguard we are creating the right solu-tions. We do not expect immediate success. We know andunderstand that it will take time to establish ourselves. Webelieve we have the right solutions and look forward to sup-porting our customers there,” concluded Mr. Pessnegger.

camBodia - eGa reporTs Losses from sLoTsEntertainment Gaming Asia (EGA)—which leases slotmachines and once operated the Dreamworld casino in Pailinprovince—is continuing to incur hefty losses, with its third-quarter gaming revenue down 9 percent year-on-year as aresult of lower player numbers at Phnom Penh’s NagaWorldcasino, according to the company.

In a filing to the U.S. stock exchange Nasdaq on Thursday,EGA reported revenue of $4 million between the start of Julyand end of September, down from $4.3 million during thesame period last year.

EGA, a subsidiary of Macau gaming giant Melco InternationalDevelopment, attributed the decline primarily to renovationsof NagaWorld’s casino floor, which disrupted the use of slotmachines.

“The decrease in gaming operations revenue for the thirdquarter of 2014 was largely due to a decline in revenue fromNagaWorld,” EGA CEO Clarence Chung said in the filing.

Silver Heritage to reopenShangri-La as Millionaire’s Club


Genting Hong Kong is to invest US$117.2m in a50/50 joint venture with Chinese property devel-oper Landing International Development to oper-ate a gaming floor in the Hyatt Regency Hotel onSouth Korea’s Jeju Island. The move to rebrand anexisting casino will see the Genting brand enterJeju earlier than expected following delays to its$2.2bn Resorts World Jeju, a project where it isalso teaming up with Landing.

The casino in the Hyatt Regency is one of eightgaming licenses in Jeju under the TourismPromotion Act. It is currently being refurbishedwith an opening date of January 2015 earmarkedfor its 30 gaming tables and 16 slot machines. Thejoint venture will operate the Jeju Casino underthe Genting brand.

Genting is keen to cement a move into Jeju fol-lowing doubts over the future of its much biggerResorts World Jeju project. In February, GentingSingapore said it was partnering with LandingInternational Development, marking it first moveinto South Korea with Resorts World Jeju. Theresort is to feature roller coasters, hotels with cas-tle-like facades and replicas of monuments likethe Taj Mahal and the Pyramids.

However the Governor of Jeju, Won Hee-ryong,has heaped doubt on the timing of the project say-ing the island must be ‘vigilant about protectingour citizens from unscrupulous operators.’ Hewants to set up a supervisory body for casinoswhich could take up to a year.

Genting is keen to prove its worth in Jeju byinvesting into a much smaller, existing property.

Landing Chairman Yang Zhihui is confident aboutthe prospects for Jeju, as it has a visa free policyfor more than 180 countries including China andJapan.

“The transaction will lead to the introduction of thefirst world-class casino brand to Jeju, marking akey milestone in the tourism industry,” he said.

“Leveraging Genting group’s international expert-ise in world-class resort operation, the joint ven-ture will be able to tap on a reliable and reputableplatform for the development of Jeju’s tourismindustry. We are always excited about the enor-mous potential of Korea gaming market. We areparticularly bullish on the development of Jeju,the largest island of Korea. Our cooperation withGenting HK will introduce to Jeju an internationalworld-class experience and expertise in operatingand managing a world-class mega gaming andintegrated resort. It will be able to greatly enhancethe operational efficiency and performance of theJeju Casino and lay solid foundations for thefuture development of our businesses in Korea,including our jointly-developed Myth-HistoryPark project, and turn Jeju into a paradise of NorthPacific,” he added.

Genting Hong Kong is to investUS$117.2m in a joint venture withLanding International Development South Korea - New projects

CAMBODIAEzugi has launched its live casinostudio with one of Cambodia’slargest groups, the Dai LongCompany, owners and operatorsof the Grand Dragon Resorts andCasino.

Grand Dragon Resorts is one of theleading gaming and entertainmentcompanies in Cambodia with theircasino located in Chreythom,Kandal Province. The agreementsees Ezugi utilising its casinostreaming technology to broadcastlive and direct from the gamingfloor, which shall include baccarattables and VIP tables along withproxy/telebetting.

Kfir Kugler, CEO of Ezugi said:“Live casino streaming is increas-ingly popular with players as

those off-site players can see,hear, and interact with actualtables and dealers in a live andinteractive environment. We arethe only provider with live dealerstudios across three continents inEurope, South America and now alive gaming floor broadcast expe-rience from Asia. We look forwardto our partnership with GrandDragon Resorts in delivering thehighest standards for the live gam-ing experience as possible.”

Darren Heng, CEO of Dai LongCompany, owners and operatorsof Grand Dragon Resorts com-mented: “This fits extremely wellwith Grand Dragon Resort’s brandstrategy, to offer a superb livecasino gaming experience and Ilook forward to growing this excit-ing new partnership.”

Grand Dragon Resorts launchwith Ezugi’s live casino studio

www.G3newswire.com

GenTinG To proVe worTh in korea

Sri LankaJames packer's Crowngroup faces a new set ofhurdles in the quest to opena $us400m casino in sriLanka after threats by thecountry’s president thatnew gaming levies will beimposed should he win theupcoming Januaryelections. sri Lankanpresident, mahindarajapaksa, who is set toseek an unprecedentedthird six-year term,announced new fundingmeasures in his latestbudget. this includes a $100entrance fee and a 10 percent gaming levy on threeproposed casino resorts,including one venture thatincludes mr packer's CrownLtd. Crown confirmed that itis still in discussions withthe sri Lankan government.

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macau – second mGs success wiTh caVeaTsThe organisers of the 2nd edition of the Macao GamingShow, (MGS) which attracted an international audience of C-Level gaming professionals to the Venetian Macao onNovember 18 to 20, have declared the event a major suc-cess with all Key Performance Indicators (KPI) utilised by theorganisers showing a positive year-on-year trend.

The attendance figure jumped from 8,634 in 2013 to 11,987,an increase of 39 per cent, the number of exhibiting compa-nies rose 30 per cent to 146, and the number of exhibitingcountries represented at MGS jumped from 11 to 20.

MGS opened with an address by Jay Chun, Chairman ofMacau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association(MGEMA), the organiser of the show. Mr. Chun believes thatthe success of MGS has sent out a clear message to theinternational gaming community. He stated: “Gaming pro-fessionals from throughout the world as well as from thedomestic industry here in Macao took the opportunity to visitour exhibitors, to network with industry colleagues, and to lis-ten to the key note speakers we assembled as part of the co-located Macao Gaming Summit which debated key topicsimpacting gaming in Asia. The show floor went beyond justgaming. We have a broader exhibitor base showcasing topgaming and non-gaming products and services, even luxurycars, including one worth HKD30m.”

“Our international guests who came to Macao have wit-nessed the tremendously exciting projects that are takingplace here. They saw at first hand the economic developmentof the city which has been made possible through the sup-port of the government. I am delighted that MGS has beenable to play a part in assisting international gaming delegatesto understand the dynamics of the city and the uniquely pro-gressive vision of our government.”

He continued: “Our survey showed that over 96 per cent ofattendees are likely to return to MGS in 2015 and that 94 percent would recommend MGS to work colleagues or industrypeers. Based on these findings and other show statistics, it isclear that MGS has built on the momentum generated fol-lowing its launch in 2013 when many similar events strugglein their second year. We are now busy preparing for yearthree and putting an ambitious but deliverable strategy inplace to take Asia’s No.1 gaming exhibition to the next level.”

While the organisers were jubilant, some of the exhibitorshave expressed their concerns about the event, which occu-pied a very small hall at the Venetian and anecdotally didn’tprovide the volume of visitors or geographic reach of the G2EAsia event held in May last year. Despite this, local govern-ment support is likely to win the day in Macau, with the MGSevent sure to grow in strength in the coming years.

NEpaLInsight

Nepal’s beleaguered casino industry is likely to be back inbusiness soon, however operators are still concerned aboutnew regulations and are urging the government to do more toattract much needed foreign investment.

The government closed the country’s sevenremaining casinos for the first time in theirhistory in April after they failed to comply withnew rules that came into effect last July.However, the move had a major impact on analready struggling tourism industry, one of themainstays of the economy.

According to the new rules, casinos wererequired to have a paid up capital of at least 250million rupees ($2.6 million), with the minimumset at 150 million rupees for slot parlours, knownas mini casinos.

A new annual license fee, to be paid to thetourism ministry, was set at 20 million rupees forcasinos and 10 million rupees for mini casinos.Similarly, the annual royalty fee, paid to theinland revenue department, was doubled to 40million rupees for casinos and set at 20 millionrupees for mini casinos and was made payable inadvance rather than in arrears.

Despite several extensions of a deadline for thecasinos to come under the new regulatory regime,the operators failed to meet the requirements.

After the dramatic shutdown, operators, unionsand employees began to put pressure on thetourism ministry to revise the rules. As a result, inJuly, the new government slashed the annualroyalties by 10 million rupees for both casinosand mini casinos and is said to be consideringfurther amendments.

The Tourism Ministry is also mulling overwhether to review the paid up capitalrequirements, according to Amba Datta Bhatta,the executive director of Casino Association of

Nepal (CAN). “The government has realised thatthe closures have incurred a loss to tourism.Hotels are reporting a decrease in occupancy. Thegovernment officials are positive about makingamendments (to the regulations),” he said.

While the decision to slash some royalties waswelcomed by the operators, they viewed otherprovisions such as a 25 per cent tax on casinowinnings as detrimental to the business.

“The new rules stipulate that casinos can paytheir clients only after levying a windfall tax of 25per cent. This would complicate the matter as therules don’t specify on how it would be taxed.Neither do we have any systematic tax collectionmechanism in Nepal,” Bhatta told AGB.

Kumar Shrestha, the operations manager at

Casino Anna said: “I have visited casinos all overthe world, but never found the windfall taximposed upon the players. Nothing is clear aboutthe tax. Will it be collected in an annual basis orevery time a player wins a jackpot?” Casinosattract both regular players and occasionalplayers. It’s not clear how will these twocategories of people come under a tax system.”

Shrestha added casino employees had borne thebrunt of the shutdown. “Our casino (CasinoAnna) owes about 45 million rupees to theemployees in gratuity, salary tax, provident fundsetc. Some casinos also have yet to pay the rent tothe hotels,” he said.

An ad hoc committee representing about 700employees of Casino Anna met Deepak ChandraAmatya, the new tourism minister on October 17to voice their concerns, Shrestha said.

UmakantaParajuli, JointSecretary of theMinistry of Culture,Tourism and CivilAviation

Explaining the second closure of CasinoRoyale - "The Supreme Court did notadvise casinos to resume operationwithout renewing license. This is whyrequested the home ministry to shutdown its operations." Article first appeared in Asia Gambling Brief.

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NEpaL CasINos sEt torEopEN, But furtHErCHaNGE NEEdEd

NEpaLInsight

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Casino Royale, which resumed operation in September 2014, wasforcefully closed on November 22 on the orders of the NepaleseMinistry of Home Affairs (MoHA). Police closed the casino located inHotel Yak & Yeti premises at around 1:30 pm. MoHA instructed NepalPolice to shut the casino after the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and CivilAviation (MoCTCA) claimed that the casino was being operatedillegally.

There was a brief scuffle between police and workers of the casinobefore police ultimately closed the casino. "Police came all of a suddenand closed the casino. We had resumed operation based on the stayorder issued by the Supreme Court," explained Bhabishwor Aryal,General Manager of Casino Royale. "We had been clearing dues oninstallment basis."

The government had shut down all 10 casinos earlier in April after theyfailed to clear outstanding dues and renew licenses as per newguidelines. However, only Casino Royale had resume operation afterclearing dues and getting a go-ahead from the Supreme Court.

MoCTCA officials, however, say the casino was being operated illegallyas it had not renewed its license based on new Casino Regulationwhich was introduced earlier in 2014. However, Laxman Tiwari,President of the Nepal Independent Hotel Workers Union, said thegovernment shut the casino even though it was clearing dues. "Thecasino was preparing to renew its license as per the new guidelines.But police shut closed it down without giving prior notice," he added.Casino Royale had resumed its operation from September 23 after it"received a go-ahead from the Supreme Court on September 21".

"We got a letter, which said the casino was operated illegally, from thetourism ministry in the morning. In the afternoon, police came andshut the casino forcefully," Mr. Aryal said.

Casino Royale has been providing employment to around 750 people.“The government action has rendered us jobless. More than 10,000workers have become jobless due to the government decision to closethe 10 casinos," Mr. Tiwari said, adding: "It should have thought aboutthe works before amending the guidelines."

LiVe and LeT die

“The minister told us that he was studying aboutthe closure. But he assured us that he would keepin mind the workers’ concerns,” he said: “Nepal’scasinos ran for more than four decades withoutany rules and regulations. But once thegovernment introduced the laws, instead ofpromoting the industry, it stifled the business.”

When the casinos may reopen is unclear,especially in light of recent developments withCasino Royale.

On September 26, the Supreme Court issued aninterim order to allow the reopening of CasinoRoyale. The Casino Royale’s earlier attempt at thecomeback had hit a snag after it failed to depositthe paid up capital.

However, mid-November police raided thepremises and closed the casino again, creatingfurther confusion over the situation in theHimalayan Kingdom.

Umakant Parajuli, joint secretary of the Ministryof Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation told localmedia the Casino Royale had not renewed itslicense in line with the new Casino Regulationintroduced earlier in 2014.

"The Supreme Court did not advise casinos toresume operation without renewing license,"Parajuli was quoted as saying. He said this wasthe reason that led to the request by the homeministry to close the operations.

This year, Nepal’s tourism sector has been dealtone blow after another, with natural disastersstriking the Himalayan nation. In April this year,an avalanche struck Mount Everest, killing 16Nepali high altitude workers. While in earlyOctober, blizzards and snowstorms onAnnapurna Circuit, a popular trekking trail incentral Nepal, killed more than 40 trekkers andlocal guides.

While the tourism industry was marred by crises,both natural and man made, Bhim Acharya, thetourism minister was dismissed from his job.

On September 14, the coalition governmentappointed Deepak Chandra Amatya as theminister for tourism and civil aviation. One of hisfirst actions was to inaugurate a new Departmentof Tourism, replacing the mountaineeringindustry division, which also oversaw casinos.

Tulasi Prasad Gautam, the director general of theDepartment of Tourism, commented that thegovernment was keen on reviving the casinobusiness.

“We have received green signals from the financeministry on the amendment of the regulations.We want to ensure that Nepal’s casino operatorsrun the business in a comfortable environment. Iam optimistic the business will resume soon,”Gautam said adding that the officials wereholding discussions on how to address theoperators’ concerns.

“Casino is a part of the whole tourism industry.So, our ministry has taken this issue seriously.We would amend the regulations so that the vitalforeign currency and tourists it generates is notlost,” he added.

However, the government could do more to spurinvestment in the industry, they say. Bhatta ofthe CAN cited the example of Sri Lanka where the

government has given a 10 year tax holiday tolure foreign investors.

There has so far only been a trickle of foreigninvestment into Nepal, with Sikkim -basedCasino Mahjong, which owes 266.80 millionrupees in dues to the government, applying toreopen its casino in Kathmandu. Similarly, HappyWorld Private Limited, a Kathmandu- based firm,whose foreign investor is Hong Kong -basedSilver Heritage Group, has applied to operateCasino Shangri La.

“Many more foreign investors, particularlyIndians (because they consist of the major bulk ofclients), would like to invest [in casinos] in Nepal.But the government must to be supportive to thebusiness,” Mr. Bhatta said.

NEpaLInsight

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maCauInsight

maCau VIp CoLLapsE promptsquEstIoNs oVEr JuNKEt systEm

Analysts are warning the days of rapid growth inthe high rolling sector may be a thing of the pastand see a flat outlook going into 2015. Grossgambling revenue has fallen in each of the pastfive months, with the 23.2 per cent Octoberdecline the worst on record. That was hit by adrop of about 37 per cent in VIP revenue,according to Wells Fargo Securities.

Aaron Fischer, a Hong Kong-based analyst withCLSA, says the VIP market in Macau may havereached a plateau after a decade of rapid growth,rising to become worth an estimated US$30billion a year.

"No one ever expected the market to be this big.So the fact that the base has become so high itjust makes it harder to grow at the same way it'sbeen growing in the past," said Fischer.

A crackdown on corruption on Mainland China,coupled with a slowing Chinese economy, reportsof a lack of liquidity among junkets, as well ashigh profile reports of money going missing haveall taken their toll on the high roller segment.

But the extent of the downturn has left somequestioning as to whether the problem issystemic.

“Funding and liquidity remains very tight, junketsare facing difficulty obtaining capital, and turningthat capital, leading to weaker rolling volumesand margin pressure,” Standard Charteredanalyst Philip Tulk said in a recent note,suggesting the system may be “near broken.”

“We see these issues persisting well into a Chinaeasing scenario.” Tulk told a recent panel sessionat the Macao Gaming Show that many of thejunkets rely on high net worth individuals as asource of funds and several high profile cases ofmoney disappearing from junket operators earlierthis year has shaken faith in the business model,he said. “Until we see that confidence returning,we will not see a snap back.”

Fischer agreed the scandals earlier this year hadundermined confidence. "That's resulted in some

investors in other junkets pulling their funds out,"he said. "There's been a drop in liquidity withinthe junket system as well," he said.

However, JPMorgan analyst DS Kim disagreeswith the theory that a lack of liquidity is behindthe problem. He argues that while in pastdownturns, liquidity issues with the junkets hadbeen largely to blame, this time around thereappears to be enough cash in the system.

He says some smaller junkets are experiencingissues, but nothing outside the realm of thenormal and not enough to explain the magnitudeof the collapse in VIP revenue.

“We believe this is more a demand side problem(players), rather than supply side (junket’s creditprovision),” he said in a report.

Most analysts do agree that the biggest hit on thedemand side has been China’s anti corruptiondrive, which has made anyone wary of any kindof “extravagant” behaviour that may put them onBeijing’s radar.

Hong Kong-based Nomura Asia analyst, LouiseCheung, in an interview with AGB said the VIPsegment was set to "remain pressured for 2015,"as the crackdown, now in its second yearcontinues and becomes more entrenched. But shesaid there is hope of a recovery in the second halfof next year.

"We do think that when you look at the anti-corruption policy that China is pushing outbasically they are institutionalising it, so for usthat means there’s going to be pressure," she said."Basically that people stay away because ofconcerns over that [anti-corruption policy] theywill probably never come back."

While Kim agrees the crackdown has caused “alot of fear” in the market, he attempts to answerwhy revenue has fallen off so sharply only overthe past few months, given the crackdown isn’tnew.

He points out that recently, the anti-corruptiondrive has focused more directly on Guangdongprovince, with the announcement in June of anofficial investigation on Wan Qingliang, the then

Aaron FischerHong-Kong-based Analyst,CLSA.This article firstappeared in AsiaGambling Brief.

“The VIP market in Macau may havereached a plateau. No one ever expectedthe market to be this big. So the fact thatthe base has become so high it justmakes it harder to grow at the same wayit's been growing in the past. The junketscandals earlier this year haveundermined confidence. That's resulted insome investors in other junkets pullingtheir funds out. There's been a drop inliquidity within the junket system as well.”

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The collapse in Macau’s VIP revenue has been deeper and more prolonged than mostanalysts had foreseen, prompting questions as to what’s really behind the downturnand whether the junket system that fuelled explosive growth is still viable

Communist Party Secretary of Guangzhou. Theprovince is thought to be the main source marketfor most of Macau’s high rollers.

He also puts forward the view that thecrackdown has moved to corruption in lowerlevel tiers of government and thus may beslowing the approval process for businessesneeding government permits. This may beaffecting some players’ businesses directly, hesaid.

Another factor hurting sentiment is a plannedvisit by China's President Xi Jinping to Macau inDecember. "We think gamblers and junkets maywant to lie low until they get more details (or lackthereof) from those events and regainconfidence," Kim said.

Cheung, who says Nomura is perhaps moreconservative than others when it comes to theVIP sector, also said some junkets are looking todiversify into markets outside of Macau whichmay hurt revenue.

That trend is likely to accelerate as other casinos

open around Asia, with operators seeking to lurejunket business to their new properties. UBSestimates VIP competition from other countriescould take 34 percent of junket volume in 2015.

Other challenges to the market include table capsin Macau prompting casino operators to switchtables from VIP to the mass market due to higherreturns from premium mass tables.

CLSA’s Fischer says the mass market is stillholding up despite slowing, but sees considerablepotential for recovery once more hotel roomscome onto the market.

"We have a very, very bullish view on the impactof new properties. We think that new supply willaccelerate the growth in the market becausethere's a shortage of hotel rooms in Macau for themoment," he said.

While the opening of new properties hasgenerally been seen as mainly beneficial toexpanding the mass market, JPMorgan’s Kim alsosees potential for a boost to VIPs.

"For VIP, the new opening (of new casinos) wouldgive junkets a good excuse to approach andconvince their clients, while players themselveswould certainly want to try out new productstoo," he said.

maCauInsight

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While the crackdown has caused “a lot offear” in the market, revenue has fallen offso sharply only over the past fewmonths, when the crackdown isn’t new.The anti-corruption drive has focusedmore directly on Guangdong province,with the announcement in June of anofficial investigation on Wan Qingliang,the then Communist Party Secretary ofGuangzhou. The province is thought to bethe main source market for most ofMacau’s high rollers. In fact thecrackdown has moved to corruption inlower level tiers of government and thusmay be slowing the approval process forbusinesses needing governmentpermits. This may be affecting someplayers’ businesses directly.Article first appeared in Asia Gambling Brief

mEmBErsHIp NEwsAGEM

AGEM KEY BOARD OF DIRECTORS ACTIONS:

l AGEM sponsors a $10,000 scholarship for Drexel University’sCenter for Hospitality and Sport Management. The scholarship isfor students interested in pursuing a career in the gaming andcasino industry. Vincent Santosusso, a junior hospitality.management major, is the recipient for 2014.

l Approves American Indian College Fund AGEM Scholarship for$10,000.

l Reaches cooperative agreement with Chilean regulatory bodyl Approves US$15,000 sponsorship for European Casino.

Association / International Casino Conference at ICE.l Helps shape responsible gaming discussions in Massachusettsl AGEM Mexico Committee set up to give suppliers a stronger

voice as the other trade organisations in the market have a moreoperator focus.

RECENT EVENTS:

l aGEm Cup Golf tournament and Holiday reception - held 20thNov 2014 at DragonRidge Country Club, suburban Las Vegas.This popular yearly event is open to all AGEM members bothgolfers and non golfers.

l slot summit, Lille 25th - 27th November 2015 - AGEM hassupported this event in previous years and decided to continuesupport now that Clarion have taken over the running of theevent. The sponsored welcome reception was well attended byall the event delegates.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS:

l European Casino association (ECa) / International CasinoConference - AGEM once again supporting / sponsoring thispopular event which is held during ICE 2015 - 2nd Feb 2015

l may 5, 2015 - southern Gaming summit – AGEM sponsoredreception

Company– Ainsworth Game TechnologyWeb address– www.ainsworth.com.auAGEM Membership level– Gold MemberCompany Description - Ainsworth Game Technology is a designer ofinnovative gaming machines and game software. Ainsworth offers a widerange of gaming products including, stand-alone, progressives and linkedgames through its sales offices and distributors in Australia, New Zealand, Asia,Europe, Latin America and the United States. What new products, technologies/services will you introduce this year?In 2015, Ainsworth will expand its licensed portfolio with the release of TheSound of Music and Showgirls. The Magnificent 7 Reloaded, a sequel based onthe legendary classic film and top-performing licensed slot The Magnificent 7,will debut on the A560 Wide Boy cabinet. Also to be released on the A560Wide Boy is Reels of Wheels Horsepower which incorporates the MustangMoney red hot free game comprising the unique multi-wheel “Reels ofWheels” concept. The A560 SL cabinet game range will continue to grow withthe release of Firestorm, 5 Star Jackpots, Order of the Dragons, Fire Wizard, IceWizard and many more. Ainsworth will also release additional games for theircore GamePlus library including Quad Shot, Double Shot, Triple Shot, Play100Lines/50Lines, Wheel Winner and High Denom.Do you have any newsworthy events to share?Ainsworth Game Technologyheld a ground breaking ceremony on Friday Oct 3, 2014 for our new 290,000+sq.ft. Headquarters for the Americas in Las Vegas. The new facility will belocated on Sunset Road near the Jones exit on 215 West. Construction willcommence in early 2015 with estimated completion in the first half of 2016. Forthcoming events you will be attending?Ainsworth Game Technology willbe exhibiting at the National Indian Gaming Association tradeshow on March30 to April 2, 2015 in San Diego, CA.

AGEM is an international trade association representing manufacturers of electronic gaming devices, systems, and components for thegaming industry. The Association works to further the interests of gaming equipment manufacturers throughout the world. Throughpolitical action, tradeshow partnerships, information dissemination and good corporate citizenship, the members of AGEM work togetherto create benefits for every company within the organization. Together, AGEM and its member organisations have assisted regulatorycommissions and participated in the legislative process to solve problems and create a positive business environment.

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aGEm INdEx

mEmBErs NEws

mEmBEr profILE

The AGEM Index reported a composite value of 185.58 inNovember 2014, which represents a decline of 1.41 points(-0.8 percent) when compared to October 2014.Compared to a year ago, the index fell 7.89 points (-4.1 percent). The AGEM Index reported month-to-monthdeclines for three consecutive months and year-over-year declines for two consecutive months. During thelatest period, 10 of the 16 global gaming suppliers reporteda monthly decline in stock price, with six falling by morethan five percent. Of the six companies reporting gains instock price, only one was up by more than five percent.

Broader equities markets continued to trend in a positivedirection in November 2014. The Dow Jones IndustrialAverage ended the month at 17,828.24, up 2.5 per centfrom the prior month. The S&P 500 also reported a 2.5-percent increase during the period, rising to 2,067.56.NASDAQ reported the greatest monthly increase of thethree major indices, rising 3.5 percent to 4,791.63.

EVENts aNd aCtIVItIEs

Location: Silverwater, New South Wales, AustraliaGrid Reference: -33.832861, 151.037028Distance from ExCeL Centre: 17,012km (10,571m)Route: Sydney to Dubai (6h 55m). Layover inDubai (1h 45m). Dubai to London (13h 55m)Travel time: 22h 35mICE Stand Number: N1-140Web: www.brightgroup.net

“The Bright Group has visited the ICE gamingshow previously, but this is the first time for us toexhibit. We are currently looking to expand out-side the Australasian and North American regions,where we are already well established, and theLondon ICE show is a big part of that strategy. ICEis a really good opportunity to find out where themarket is moving and it will provide us the oppor-

tunity to display our latest products and tech-nologies while sending the right signal that TBG isready for and serious about the European market.We will be celebrating 20 years in the gamingindustry next year and have a lot of contacts thatwe are looking forward to catching up with,which requires our physical presence.

Like most exhibitors, we spend quite some timeon show preparations. Luckily The Bright Grouphas a great team of people willing to assist withany small last minute requests, from marketing tomaking sure our display is working and looks asplanned. I’d like to also mention, the preparationtime is not just for our own stand – the pressure isalso on us to get our customer’s latest productsready for them to display, and this can be veryhectic. To send displays over to London by seawould require us to dispatch by the end ofNovember, and we simply do not have this timeluxury. So our displays are sent by airfreight, at amuch higher cost! Three staff will probably betravelling from Australia, as well as other associ-ates attending from outside Australia. They'll dothe booth set-up, man the stands for the durationof the show and then pack everything up again assoon as it finishes. Then they'll continue on toNorth America for further visits and follow-ups.Our week at ICE will be pretty full-on, but we arelooking forward to finding some time to see whatLondon has to offer before we leave.”

Location: Canary Wharf, London, UKGrid Reference: 51.505000, -0.019611Distance from ExCeL Centre: 4.5km (2.8mi)Route: From Canary Wharf take the Jubilee Lineunderground train to Canning Town. At CanningTown get the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) toCustom House (for ExCeL).Travel time: 11mICE Stand Number: S2-130Web: www.racingpost.com

“Despite the fact that ICE is our 'local' show, wefind it to be the most critical in terms of generat-ing international business. Quite simply, it's easi-er to meet the most relevant people at ICE overthree days than it is to cover the globe chasingthem. Its a perfect mixture of hard-nosed busi-ness taking place alongside seeing and appreciat-ing innovation as well as just having fun, meetingold friends and making new ones.

From a commercial perspective, we see ICE as thekey show. Our café stand is a familiar feature toregular attendees and acts as a hub and meetingpoint for the betting industry. We don't have thetime to hold any 'formal' discussions or events,but we will have lined up a series of meetingswith clients as this is the one show of the yearthat all of the key decision makers attend. Therewill be some product launches too, and from anew business perspective we will have staff onhand at all times to discuss what we provide toour customers and what we could provide to newcustomers, whether that concerns new products,new content, or any of the various sports wecover. We are there to talk print, web, mobile,tablet and retail solutions, and we provide qualityofferings for each medium.

Quite simply ICE is the Grand National,Cheltenham and Royal Ascot rolled into one. It'sinspirational in so many ways, but it is very busy,with everyone working hard in a very competi-tive environment. So my advice to attendees istake time to step back, reflect where you are andwhere you’re going, and check what others aredoing. ICE gives you that chance so do take it.”

ICE totaLLy GamING 2015Exhibitions

How ICE is mappingthe future of gaming

ICE has become a 'must attend' event for exhibitors throughout the world. None more sothan The Bright Group and Racing Post, both of which are using ICE to further bigexpansion plans. But that's where the similarities end, with The Bright Group's Raif Oymenpreparing for a 22.5 hour flight across 11 time zones to get to ICE whilst Racing Post's JimCremin simply has to navigate the 11 minute underground and Docklands Light Railwaytrip from Racing Post's Canary Wharf headquarters, which involves just one change atCanning Town. So what do ICE's furthest and closest exhibitors expect to gain from theirthree days at ICE 2015?

5 6

Raif Oymen,Director, GlobalEngineering - TheBright Group

Jim Cremin,Betting IndustryEditor, Racing Post

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ICE totaLLy GamING 2015Preview

mErKur dELIVErs GrEatEst CHoICE EVEr at ICE

The ICE is a truly international gaming show andnaturally a key exhibition in the calendar ofMerkur Gaming. The large 650 square metrestand offers the space for Merkur Gaming forvisitors to enjoy an unforgettable time on thisstand, seeing just why ‘made in Germany’technology is the future for global gaming.

Never before Merkur Gaming has shown such awide array of gaming machines. A total of elevendifferent cabinets will be on display. These arethe Evolution, Privilege Plus, WB 4, Vision Plus,Uno, Motion, Motion 2, Highflyer, Evolution SL,Avantgarde SLT and Ozone. Merkur Gaming offersso much more than just ‘upright’ or ‘slant top’gaming machines. For example, take a look at theHighflyer – a slant top with a real difference. Theupper monitor here seems to be floating in the air.Extensive marketing research, followed byfocused R&D work led to this solution whereplayers can choose between two fundamentalseating positions – either focusing on the lowergaming screen or choosing the gaming screen tobe on the upper monitor with the desire to leanback and relax to this unique gaming experience.Talking about unique, the Ozone is just that. Thisgaming orb allows the player to completelyindulge him or herself in this wonderful gamingexperience. It has the feeling of an amusementmachine as the player sits inside the orb and isshielded from the outside world. The soundeffects can naturally be made most use of withsuch a design.

Merkur Gaming’s philosophy is all about offeringchoice. Merkur Gaming recognises that playershave different needs and aspirations whenplaying and the extremely wide cabinet choicereflects this. Visitors to the Merkur Gaming standwill see focused solutions for particular gamingmarkets, such as for Spain, Great Britain, theNetherlands, Czech Republic, Italy and SouthAfrica. It goes without saying that MerkurGaming has several R&D offices spread aroundthe world to be able to best cater to regionalrequirements. Merkur Gaming has the strategy,structure and financial strength to be able to

invest in the future. This investment will bedirectly demonstrated at the ICE – as MerkurGaming will be showing around 20 brand newgames, all in HD definition.

The continual international growth of theGauselmann Group will furthermore be reflectedin the number of companies joining MerkurGaming on stand number # N4-260. adpGauselmann is the manufacturing companywithin the group that provides the gamingsolutions for both the international and Germanmarkets. Blueprint Gaming is a leading UKsupplier of gaming machines and digital content

to land-based venues, server-based gamingnetworks and online & mobile casinos. Cashpointis the company responsible for sports bettingwithin the Gauselmann Group with its focus bothon online sports betting and land-based sportsbetting with an array of exciting sports bettingterminals.

This sheer choice on the Merkur Gaming iscomplemented with the company’s fundamentalknowledge on cash management. TheGauselmann Group is a pioneer in bringingbanknote recycling to gaming machines – somuch so that it developed its own solution – theMerkur Dispenser 100 – to ensure its success. Thefurther-improved version called MerkurDispenser Gold will be on display on the MerkurGaming stand. This banknote recycler can storeand pay out three separate denominations with acapacity of 34 notes of each type.

Mr. Ralf Markmann, Managing Director at MerkurGaming, is looking forward to his first ICE, stating,“Never before has Merkur Gaming offered somany gaming possibilities. We understand thateach market has its own special requirementsand can draw upon great internal knowledgefrom our long-standing multi-lingual team andnaturally from a cabinet and games choice thatincredibly keeps continuing to grow. ‘Made inGermany’ with all the local market requirementsin- built. Merkur Gaming has so much to offer toglobal gaming”.

Being in the entertainment industry, naturallyMerkur Gaming will be entertaining its guests.Come to Merkur Gaming at ICE – it promises to bean unforgettable visit.

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Gauselmann subsidiary Merkur Gamingwill yet again be exhibiting at ICE. TheGerman powerhouse offers so muchmore and promises a memorable event

The Gauselmann Group is apioneer in bringing banknote

recycling to gaming machines –so much so that it developed its

own solution – the MerkurDispenser 100

as the Cube, Flow and Evolution hoppers and theXenon LED, Towerlight and Video Topperalongside a number of RBG lightstrips to brightenup any slot machine. Suzo-Happ offers morechoice with its PRO brand which includes theVISION PRO, PRINTER PRO AND BILLIARDPRO. The wide range of pushbuttons, includingthe LCD pushbuttons, will be on display.

Special mention deserves the role Suzo-Happ isplaying in increasing its vertical integrationservice. Suzo-Happ should not just be seen as asupplier of spare parts and components. Suzo-Happ offers more vertical integrationpossibilities – an example is the pushbuttonpanel that saves manufacturers having to

integrate pushbuttons individually in theirmachines. This level of vertical integration hasbeen extended to include contract manufacturingservices. Manufacturers have the choice of howmuch manufacturing integration Suzo-Happoffers, from part-machine manufacturing tocomplete outsourcing of machine hardwarerequirements. This enables manufacturers tofocus more on their value-add, in other wordstheir software and their games

Suzo-Happ will be exhibiting the solutions offurther key distribution partners, such as ELO,Innovative Technology, MEI and Assa.

Mr. Harald Wagemaker, Executive Vice PresidentSales & Marketing of Gaming and Casino EMA,sends out a warm welcome to ICE visitors,stating, “We are in celebratory mood. Pleasecome and toast the 60 years inbusiness with us at ICE. Andthen take the opportunity to seejust how much we can do foryou. We look forward to seeingyou at ICE”.


5 9

Zitro is getting ready to revolutionise ICETotally Gaming 2015. In London, Zitro willexhibit a phenomenon currently engagingplayers around the world - the Zitro Revolution,packed with major advances never seen beforein the sector, such as more community games,more exciting functionality and, of course,exhilarating new titles.

Zitro’s Interactive Division will also display itsnew products designed for the online market aswell as the social sensationwww.worldofbingo.com, the leading videobingo site on Facebook, which is currentlyplayed in more than 160 countries.

Another of Zitro’s “star turns” at ICE will betheir electronic bingo system, BET, a uniqueproduct offering an innovative alternative toconventional bingo. BET gives players a fresh,

enjoyable gaming experience combined withthe thrill of participating in a large network ofprizes.

All those attending the ICE will be able to seefor themselves why ZITRO has the mostentertaining, most dynamic, most exciting andmost profitable products on the market,offering players a unique and unforgettablegaming experience and a state-of-the-art stand(N6-245) with a design which will leave no-one indifferent.

Zitro promises to perform a series of‘star turns’ at the ICE show with a hostof new bingo-related innovations

The forthcoming ICE in February is set to be amemorable occasion for Suzo-Happ. TheEuropean part of Suzo-Happ (Suzo) was foundedback in 1955 and the ICE will be a greatopportunity for the company as a whole tocelebrate this milestone.

The Suzo-Happ team invites visitors to come tothe stand in the same position as last year tocelebrate this 60th anniversary at stand number#N4-110. There will be plenty to see here:

This will be the first ICE that Comesterogroupwill be exhibiting as part of the Suzo-Happfamily. The Italian expert for change machinesand cash handling was brought into the Suzo-Happ Group in 2014. Both international andsolutions specific to the Italian AWP market willbe on display. Comesterogroup is also ahousehold name for change machines and cash-in machines, with more then 10 different modelswith machines such as Rock and Swing offeringunique benefits. These are joined by the PROrange, such as Jolly PRO and Dual Coin PRO. Theelectronic coin selection from Comesterogroup –the RM5 Evolution and RM5 HD – have aninstalled base of well over a million. These canbe found in all applications, including thetailored version for the Italian market for thenewslots, including the Suzo-Happ Flow hopper.

The ICE will also mark the first internationalexhibition for Suzo-Happ as exclusive globaldistributor for TransAct with the agreementhaving being extended to Europe as from 1stJanuary 2015. The Epic 950® printer fromTransAct is the perfect solution for ticket-in,ticket-out (TITO) applications. Currentlyinstalled in over half a million slots in casinosthroughout the world, its success stands outsignificantly in Europe. For example, the ItalianVLT (video lottery terminal) market and theBritish FOBT (fixed-off betting terminal) marketuse TransAct printers exclusively. Operators areinvited to see just how many benefits theEpicentral, the promotional software system canoffer.

The extended Suzo-Happ product range will beon proud display. This includes the Bill-to-Billbank note recycler that is the preferred choice ina whole range of applications around the world.Suzo-Happ is known as the ‘hopper and toppercompany’ and customers and all interestedpersons are invited to get to know just which ofthese products are best fit for their needs – such

suzo-Happ’s VEry spECIaL ICESuzo-Happ is preparing for a very specialcelebration at the ICE Totally Gamingshow in London, with plans to welcomevisitors to toast its 60th anniversary

zItro taKEsrEVoLutIoNto LoNdoN


enLarGed inTernaTionaL saLes TeamInnovative APEX gaming solutions are in demandand the team has been strengthened to offer evenstronger support. Mr. Max Pessnegger is lookingforward to his first ICE with APEX as CEO (withMr. Johannes Weissengruber now being thecompany Chairman). Furthermore, Mr. KubilayÖzer will be leading the sales team in his positionof Global Sales Director, having joined APEX inDecember. His international experience will beput to optimal use with the ever-expandingsolutions of APEX gaming.

new updaTed pinnacLe GaminGcaBineT seriesThe Pinnacle gaming machines have received afacelift. This not only retains the youth of thePinnacle yet also offers even more space topresent the HD graphics of the APEX games. Theupright Pinnacle 22” has now been updated to thePinnacle 24” and the slant top Pinnacle SL is nowequipped with 27” screens. These new gamingmachines retain all the benefits customers areaccustomed to, such as optimal componentchoice, security and patented cooling system toenable 24/7 gaming entertainment.

The eVo pLaTformThe EVO platform within the Pinnacle gamingmachines allows the APEX games to be broughtto life. This is the platform of the future whichenables both 3D and 2D games to be played upon.Operators can offer their customers more gameschoice here. The standard choice is with five 3Dgames, twenty classic games and two brand newgames – namely Red Hot 20 and Red HotBurning. The games are clearly structured on thescreen and can be simply chosen with the sametechnology that users are used to fromsmartphones and tablets.

The idrop – uniTinG BoTh sLoTs wiTh

TaBLe GaminG and sLoTs and moBiLeGaminGThe iDROP is making waves in the global gamingindustry and rightly so. The iDROP is available intwo versions: The iDROP is the perfect table gamesolution that has filled an important gap in themarket place – namely as the link between table,slots gaming, accounting and the casinomanagement system. It combines security, speedand flexibility and accepts and can also dispensetickets. It contains a banknote reader with bulknote feeder so that croupiers can enter the notesin a bundle. The ticket printer can then print out aticket if required (for cashing out or should theplayer wish to only exchange part of the ticketwin for chips, then the remaining value isreturned in ticket form). The iDROP can beintegrated into all systems and its real-timeaccounting information enables management tohave complete and immediate information of theiDROP contents.

The second key factor of the iDROP is that itunites land-based slots gaming with mobile-based tablet gaming. Gaming operators have thepossibility to offer tablet gaming to theircustomers. The question is how to link the slotsand tablets. The solution is the iDROP. The moneyon the ticket is converted to credit on the tablet.On cashing on the tablet, the credit is transferredto a ticket thanks to the iDROP.

apex moBiLe sLoTsAPEX provides complete solutions. This naturallyalso relates to mobile gaming. The name is APEXMOBILE SLOTS. The APEX games are simple tointegrate on any standard (Android-based) tablet.Operators can therefore offer their customers thesolution to unite slots and mobile gaming on theirpremises. The classic games such as Leonardo’sCode, Arriva, Ocean Tale and Red Hot Fruits arealready available for mobile play.

apex pLayer sTaTionAPEX gaming formally introduced the APEXPLAYER STATION (APS) at the last ICE. Much hashappened since then. It is already certified for the

market in Macau.This fullyelectronicmultiplayer offersfour table games -Roulette,Baccarat, Sic-Boand Quikker.Quikker is uniqueto APEX and is acard-based tablegame that is justgreat to play.Come to the APEXstand to find outjust why.

The APS can beconnected to atotal of fourroulette wheels –giving playersmore choice andoperators evenmore reasons tochoose APEX. Theseinclude both electronic andlive wheels.

Furthermore, APEX gaming offers its customersthe chance to integrate the APEX slot games intothe APS.

The APS is terminal-based. The customer decideshow many player positions there should be. Anyfuture expansion is simple to integrate. Playershave the complete choice on four table gamesand the APEX slot games here.

and much, much more…!This year’s ICE promises so much for APEXcustomers, as Mr. Johannes Weissengruber,founder and Chairman, points out: “We arededicated to taking gaming to the next level. Ournew management structure represents this andour product range has never been so large andinnovative. This will be an ICE never to forget”.

6 0

APEX gaming sends out a warmwelcome to ICE where once again APEXwill be showing a host of gamingsolutions on its stand S3-350.

apEx GamING adds atouCH of ICE maGIC

New products from E-gaming for the ICE showincludes a new Upright cabinet with two 23inches screens with LED technology and hypedesign. In addition, a mass of new games will beshown to the public for the first time, including

new games developed during 2014, gameswhich already have been proven in the field. E-gaming’s latest version of its online platformwill also be revealed during the exhibition, thisnew platform is available in several languages.

E-gaming is offering this very flexible platformfor all online casinos for all jurisdictions. It hasa variety of casino table games, poker and acomplete library of video slots from E-gaming.

With this new flexible platform it is alsopossible to offer third party game content sothat online casino operators have the choice toadd games from most developers. This platformis currently online as E-gaming is offering gamecontent to several Belgian online casinos,whereby all video slot games can be played onlaptops, PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Contact Eastern Europe Pavel Michalcio +420773784646 [email protected]. ContactMiddle Europe, South America UrbainThewissen +34 671920766 [email protected]

At ICE 2015, E-gaming, the Czechmanufacturer of SBG systems, willpresent a mass of new developments

fLExIBLE E-GamING soLutIoNs


6 1

Ainsworth Game Technology brings “A WinningPlay” to the 2015 ICE show with the all new A560SL. The newest cabinet from Ainsworth, theA560 SL is a one screen wonder speciallydesigned and custom built for a unique,highly entertaining game range. Featuring astriking 32” High Definition display, 19” LCDTopper option for Jackpot promotion,unique attract lighting package stylised tothe game, premium surround soundtechnology, sky high stacks andbreathtaking animations, the new A560 SLis sure to be a main attraction on yourgaming floor.

The new A560 SL provides a robustentertainment packed range of gamebrands. Titles that will be on displayinclude: Rumble Rumble, Big Bang Buck,Flying Horse, King Cat, Fire Wizard, IceWizard, Power Fruit 7’s and Mega Fruit 7’swith many additional titles due for release

in 2015. Ainsworth’s Managing Director, RobertDijkstra, commented “This is a very exciting yearfor Ainsworth. We have pushed the boundariesof technology with our latest cabinet to ensurethat players receive an enhanced gamingexperience through improved sound, graphicsand a wide range of new branded games. We are

very proud to share these newproducts that will be on displayin our booth this year with our

casino operator partners.

The super-sized A560 Wide Boybrings features alive with the 32”landscape mode LCD top box andexciting game driven LED lighting!Titles being highlighted at ICEinclude Hummin King Spin, Reel ofWheels Horsepower and CashChallenge.

Ainsworth will display a new lineup of themes for their core GamePlus library: Quad Shot, Double Hit,Play 40/50/100 Lines, WheelWinner, Multi Win and HighDenom, and don’t miss out viewing

Ainsworth’s new games developed exclusivelyfor the UK B1 category (Casino) Fortune Ox andRoyal Diamonds.

Ainsworth’s Group General Manager Strategy andDevelopment, Scott Clarebrough, notes “Thisyear’s ICE lineup is a combination of, innovativegame mechanics and hardware and exceptionallyentertaining math models that will definitelyprovide the best player experiences and createtremendous excitement on any gaming floor.”

He continued, “We will be showcasing a diverseproduct portfolio to date so show attendees willwalk away with a vision of the future! The newproducts on display will again demonstrate thecreative and innovative edge Ainsworth brings toits product design and development. Ainsworthhas been building for the future and now we’reready to further raise the performance bar withmore leading edge brands and exceptional gametitles. We are committed to delivering playerswith quality and unique entertainmentexperiences.”

Be sure to see the “A Winning Play” for yourselfat booth N3-120!

aINswortH BrINGs “a wINNING pLay” to ICE 2015Ainsworth Game Technology brings “AWinning Play” to the 2015 ICE show withthe all new A560 SL slot cabinet

Evolution Gaming, the world leader in video-streamed Live Dealer gaming, will showcase ahost of new additions to its extensive range ofLive Casino solutions on stand N5-250 at ICE.Amongst the solutions on display and demoswill be the all-new and massively scalableBlackjack Party, along with Live Blackjack forMobile and a bespoke variant of ImmersiveRoulette, Evolution’s Game of The Year awardwinner.

According to Helen Hedgeland, Evolution’s UKManaging Director, the new Blackjack Party is“an exciting, low-stakes, mass-market LiveBlackjack game offering fun and chat with aTV-style duo of dealer and presenter, andvirtually unlimited ‘bet behind’ and revenuepotential for licensees.”

Hedgeland continues: “With Blackjack Partythere’s unlimited opportunity to bet behind, soit’s a case of ‘the more the merrier’ in terms of

the number of players involved at any table.Because Blackjack Party includes scalable BetBehind, there’s potential for hundreds ofplayers to join the main game and choose to ‘betbehind’ the players on the most successfulwinning streaks.”

She adds: “As the name of the game implies,there’s a party-style atmosphere with musicand a bubbly, chatty dealer and co-presenter,both of whom are trained in TV presentation.With low stakes and lively encouragementfrom the staff at the table, the aim is to give asmany players as possible the chance to sharethe fun and bet behind the hottest players.”

This powerful ‘bet behind’ capability, whichalso allows all players to easily track the hottestplayers in the main 7 seats at the table via goldmedal score indicators in the game’s UI, wasadded to Evolution’s Green Live Blackjacktables on desktop in early December. Thisfurther extends the massive scalability ofEvolution’s range of Live Casino table games.

Alongside these new Bet Behind solutions,another key focus area at ICE will be

Evolution’s leading Mobile Live Casino offering,highlighting the company’s full range and‘access all tables’ Mobile strategy. On the standEvolution will major on the recent release ofLive Blackjack on smartphone and theimminent launch of Live Baccarat onsmartphone. Following these latestintroductions, the Evolution Mobile offering willspan multiple Live Roulette variants, SlingshotAuto Roulette, Immersive Roulette, LiveBlackjack and Live Baccarat.

Hedgeland points out that Evolution’s ‘access alltables’ Mobile policy means that all live tablesfor these games are available to play on iPad,iPhone and leading Android tablets andsmartphones, not just on one or two tables.

Other Live Casino developments planned forEvolution’s ICE stand include ImmersiveRoulette ‘Lite’, an exciting new option forlicensees with dedicated tables, and solutionsspecifically for land-based casinos. The latterincludes the option to stream games from a LiveCasino studio in the land-based casino itself, aswell as from Evolution’s studios.

To avoid the queues, visitors to the Evolutionstand N5-250 can request an appointment,simply email [email protected].

Evolution showcases the new BlackjackParty with Bet Behind, full Mobile LiveCasino offering, land-based casinostudios and more at ICE 2015

EVoLutIoN Is rEady to party


BuoyaNt GamEaCCouNt NEtworK taKEssImuLatEd GamING soLutIoN to ICE sHow

The leading developer and supplier of enterprise-level B2B gaming software and online gamingcontent, will be using ICE to showcase the hugestrategic and commercial benefits of its uniqueSimulated Gaming offering to an internationalaudience of key opinion-formers.

Explaining how Simulated Gaming can bedeployed by land-based casinos, GANCommercial Director Daniel Lindsay said: "Wedeveloped Simulated Gaming as an off-Facebooksocial gaming product to enable land-basedcasino operators to offer a fully immersivegaming proposition for their customers when noton site.

"The trust and integrity of the land-based brandsare brought online and the same games - tablesand slots - are available. In essence, it’s a mirrorimage of the land-based environment wherevirtual credits purchased allow continuous playand, where regulations allow, cash backincentives, using land-based loyalty cards andCasino Management Systems."

Highlighting the commercial benefits he said:"Casinos benefit in a number of ways. Not onlydoes Simulated Gaming™ serve to generatesignificant incremental revenue courtesy of a

new channel of entertainment, but it alsoreactivates lapsed players and drives renewedcasino visitation where spend is up on gaming aswell as on other verticals within the property."

He added: "In general, social gaming monetisesplayers - registration to deposit - at around twoper cent. The very best social casinos managesomewhere around five per cent, whilst ourSimulated Gaming product is currentlymonetising above 15 per cent of registeredplayers through to deposit and play. The feedbackwe are receiving from land-based casinooperators is that it presents the perfectopportunity to engage with their current, lapsedand future patrons as well as allowing them toprepare for real money online gaming in a pre-regulated environment. For players, it’s a positiveexperience which allows them to earn rewards –where regulations allow - whilst playing theirfavourite slot games and using brand names theytrust."

Following its successful showing at October's G2Ein Las Vegas, GameAccount Network hasconfirmed that five US operators will be live withits Simulated Gaming™ offering by the first half of2015 along with a group of operators in theAustralian gaming market.

Enabling bricks and mortar casinos in the UnitedStates to move online is a core element of thecompany's mission statement and to this endGAN has partnered with Betfair plc to provide itsInternet Gaming System following the

introduction of regulated real-money onlinegaming in New Jersey in November 2013. InConnecticut, it has licensed its Internet GamingSystem to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation- owners and operators of the Foxwoods CasinoResort - and currently offers Simulated Gamingvia the Online Casino published onFoxwoods.com website. In Oklahoma,GameAccount Network has been chosen tolaunch a promotional play Simulated Gamingwebsite via OsageCasinos.com and in New York,the company has been chosen by Empire CityCasino to launch a Simulated Gaming website viawww.EmpireCityCasino.com. In Pennsylvania,GameAccount Network has been chosen by ParxCasino to launch a Simulated Gaming website viawww.ParxCasino.com.

The company has also built an establishedbusiness in Europe, licensing gaming contentacross the regulated .com market. In theregulated Italian market, GameAccount Networkprovides content delivery to over 65 per cent ofthe existing operators with a further 3 newoperators joining the network in 2015. In theregulated Spanish market, GameAccountprovides platform services and content and willbe providing a range of proven performing gamesahead of new regulations coming into force in2015 allowing slot games.

GameAccount Network is listed on the ESMMarket of the Irish Stock Exchange and the AIMMarket of the London Stock Exchange under theticker: GAME. (GAN)

6 2

'Faster, Higher, Stronger' is the Olympianthemed adopted by GameAccountNetwork (GAN) to promote its presenceat ICE 2015 (Stand N2-310).

Casino Technology is ready to wow audiences atICE 2015 with its latest innovations and updates,combining technology and creativity into aunique and inspirational mix. CasinoTechnology's stand N5-140 will be dominated byits groundbreaking concept THE BIG 5, markingthe next stage of gaming evolution through acomplete synergy of online/offline channels,contents, functionalities, etc. The system suite forseamless multi-channel gaming is coming backto London after its world premiere at ICE 2014and a very positive feedback from its numerousinstallations across different locations. Featuringimproved functionalities and new options, THEBIG 5 provides a powerful tool for successfullybridging land-based and online sectors throughthe means of latest convergence technologies andbest practices.

Among the sure winners to be presented atcompany's booth is the “tip” of CasinoTechnology's game ICEberg – GAMOPOLISHIGHWAY multi-game series. Its latest additionsfeature brand new titles, attractive themes andimproved game selection interface, whileretaining successful maths model and popularbonus schemes. They will be presented with thenew modern AURORA upright cabinet designedto attract and comfort customers by its glowinglook, ergonomic features and superior visualtechnology.

Building on the success of the GAMOPOLISmulti-game series on many markets worldwide,

in 2014 Casino Technology developed a specialmultiplayer product line, combining Company'smost preferred video slots with new offeringssuch as live roulette, virtual and other populargames in a single package. The plannedintegration with other classic table andcommunity games will further enhance playerexperience and expand operators options forflexible and profitable casino floor management.

China's mythological creatures and historicalfigures will welcome visitors at CasinoTechnology's booth with the new series of Asianthemed progressive link gamesPEACOCK&DRAGON with innovative 8PEACKOCKS 4-leveled progressive jackpot. Theseries was recently expanded with a new gametitle – THE GREAT WARLORD, with anotherfresh addition coming soon.

Bingo fans will surely re-discover their favorite

game with the new BINGOGATOR multi-game.The thrilling mix of classic bingo rules and newinteractive game and jackpot optionsincorporated in the collection of 4 exciting e-bingo games with different maths and gamingconcepts, will tempt even people who havenever played bingo, to try their luck.

Building on its experience in creatinginspirational roulette concepts that have won thehearts of players around the world withinnovative features and unique designs, CasinoTechnology made the next step of rouletteevolution by offering a hybrid solution withoptions of remote bet placing. With the newlydesigned CASINO PRINCE roulette terminalscoupled with the CASINO PRINCESS mobiletablet terminals, clients can play simultaneouslyon up to 4 roulette wheels, providing clearbenefits for operators along increasedinteractivity and convenience for players.


6 3

GLoBaL staGE Is sEt for CasINo tECHNoLoGyAfter a year of tremendous success,Casino Technology returns to Londonwith a host of brand new developmentsfor both land-based and online sectors

The beauty of 20th anniversary is that it is along experience for a company which alsoserves as a good indicator of its stability and

reliability; on the other hand, it’s the ”age”when there is still so much ahead and there arethings to aim at, and DLV does have a lot ofambitious plans. The designs set for 2015include DLV’s participation in international andregional exhibitions creation of subsequentversions of the already successful series ofgames, and work on online offers for ourclients.

At the exhibition in London, DLV will showcaseits modern STD, DWS and HD cabintes andjackpot series –the three-level Dragon Jackpotand Jewel Jackpot III, and the four-level GauyaQuest and Vollinstars, as well as its series of

multigames for standalone machines with themost recent versions - Diamond GamesPremium VII, VIII and IX. Of course, our 25-games multigame Diamond Ultra will not beleft out; moreover, it will come with a noveltyfor ICE show – its sequel, Diamond Ultra II.

One more surprise for ICE guests will be thepresentantion of DLV’s new online totalizator -dlvbet, which will provide our clients with thepossibility to make bets 24/7 on the outcome ofa great number of sports, political and otherkind of events. But let’s leave the detailedinformation about DLV and its products for theshow. The entire DLV team will be delighted toshare the company’s 20th anniversary with allof its ICE guests and welcome everyone to itsbooth N4-160!

DLV, international manufacturer andoperator, with the head-offices in Riga,Latvia and an office in Peru, is celebratingits 20th anniversary at ICE 2015

dLV Is CELEBratING 20 yEars

The connection begins with JCM’s bill validationtechnology featuring iVIZION, iPRO and iPRO-RC. First, iVIZION has the most advancedvalidation security features and anti-stringingtechnology available, all with an acceptance rateof 99+ percent. Learn more atwww.iVIZION.jcmglobal.com.

Secure, flexible and innovative, iPRO has a highfirst time acceptance rate, a faster note-to-noteacceptance rate, and JCM’s innovative sensingand anti-stringing package. An optional recyclingpackage on the iPRO-RC means less fills lessoften.

Connections are enhanced with JCM’s printertechnology and the PayCheck 4, GEN2 Universal,TableXchange and Ticket2Go products.PayCheck 4 prints and presents a complete tickettwice as fast as competitive printers, has the most

standard memory of any printer in its class andhas a print head with an average life span of640,000 slot-type tickets.

The GEN2 Universal family of printers iscompatible with existing gaming platforms(RS232 and NetPlex) as well as the nextgeneration of downloadable, server-based andUSB games. GEN2 Universal printers offercompatibility with existing games on the floor.

TableXchange allows players to use cashoutvouchers at table games by connecting tablegames to a casino’s existing TITO network byscanning and printing TITO vouchers,streamlining operations by virtually eliminatingthe need to replenish chips at table games.

Perfect for AWP and low payout markets,Ticket2Go delivers a networked TITO solutionand the proven network-less Ticket Payoutfeature. Multi-lingual and multi-currency,Ticket2Go offers a retrofit ticketing solution forgaming machines that do not support open

standard ticketing protocols.

The connection is completed with JCM’s systemsolutions, including Dynamic NetworkApplications (DNA) and PromoNet. DNAempowers operators and regulators with real-time health and event monitoring of all peripheralcomponents used inside EGMs, on table games orinside redemption kiosks, utilizing either a wiredor wireless connection to a local server.Peripherals that DNA can monitor are practicallylimitless and include bill validators, ticketprinters, card readers, digital displays and coinacceptors.

PromoNet intelligent couponing identifiesvaluable players, targets both carded and non-carded players, links promotions to game-playand delivers promotions exactly where and whenthey are needed.

Start making better connections by joining JCM atICE on stand N3-220 on Facebook, LinkedIn andTwitter.


JCm CoNNECts aN INtELLIGENtfamILy of produCts at ICE 2015

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At ICE 2015, JCM Global is helpingoperators create better connections withbetter, smarter, faster bill validationtechnology, printer technology andsystems solutions. JCM will show itsadvanced and diverse product portfolioon stand N3-220 in London

At an average of 120,000 per month, GLI issuesmore certifications than any other lab for morethan 455 global gaming jurisdictionsworldwide. Only those products that meet thehighest testing standards bear the GLI Certifiedmark, and that gives confidence to regulatorsthat the devices and systems on the floor intheir jurisdictions are operating as expected,keeping the game fair for everyone – forplayers, for operators and government agencies.

From its stand N3-210 at ICE, GLI will discussits testing services as well as its many servicesbeyond testing that make GLI the go-tolaboratory for regulators, operators andsuppliers who want to get more than justtesting from their lab.

In particular, GLI will be shining a spotlight onits auditing services, which contain a criticalpackage of auditing services ranging from WLAcompliance to IT security. The auditing serviceshelp regulators, operators and suppliers to

improve governance, risk and complianceprocesses across the entire operation. GLI’sportfolio of auditing services includes:

l WLA security controls certificationl WLA responsible gaming certificationl Enterprise risk managementl Field auditsl Internal auditl IT processesl Network risk assessmentl PCI:DSS compliancel Security audits

GLI is an associate member of WLA, NASPL,CIBELAE and the European Lotteries. Inaddition to auditing, GLI offers its clients anextensive portfolio of services, including lotterytesting, gaming device and systems testing,online gaming systems and security testing,rule writing, consultation and professionalservices.

GLI’s professional services division has fourmain areas, each specifically designed to makedoing business in the lottery industry faster andmore effective. Those categories are: ProjectManagement; Governance, Risk andCompliance; Technical Services; and GLI

University Training.

GLI University conducts training for manygroups all over the world. Most recently, forexample, between its September LatinAmerican Roundtable and its recentlycompleted Argentinean Regulators Seminar,this year GLI University brought together morethan 90 representatives from regulatoryentities and state lotteries from 25 jurisdictionsacross the region for critical training anddiscussion across Latin America.

GLI University also recently completed its firstMaster’s Level Commissioner CertificationTraining for the National Indian GamingAssociation (NIGA). Next, GLI University willstage the North American RegulatorsRoundtable on March 4 and 5 in Las Vegas, andthen it will produce the European RegulatorsRoundtable on May 28 and 29 in Rome.

The company also boasts an array of exclusivetools that streamline processes and speed timeto market. These tools include the award-winning GLI Link, Point. Click. Transfer. SM,Point. Click. Submit.SM, GLI Mobile and therecently released GLI CloudSM. Join GLI onstand N3-210 at ICE or visit gaminglabs.com.

Land-based, lottery and iGaming standsacross the ICE will be populated bydevices and systems that have beentested and certified by GLI

GLI Is tHE Go-to LaBoratory for VIsItors


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At ICE 2015, gaming entertainment leader IGT willshowcase an exciting portfolio of industry-leading hardware and best-in-class content thatplayers can enjoy anytime, anywhere.

IGT’s all-new hardware innovation, the CrystalDual cabinet will make its world-premiere inIGT’s Stand N2-240. A sister-product to IGT’swidely-praised Crystal Core cabinet, the CrystalDual is a for-sale cabinet that will attract playerswith its dynamic player experience and moderndesign, while operators will value the hardware’simproved serviceability features and therefreshed look that it will bring to casino floors.The Crystal Dual boasts a pristine touch screendisplay and a user-friendly digital player panelwith a static Bash Button. This must-seehardware is backed by an exciting library of gamecontent, including both legacy titles and newthemes including Golden Eagle, The Fates and therecently introduced title, King Reels.

A highly anticipated release on the Crystal Dual isa re-vamped and re-energized version of one ofIGT most loved multi-level progressive themes,Party Time. Boasting the same time-tested basegames and identical math that propelled theoriginal version of this title to the top of players’minds, this game is sure to be a hit on casino

floors worldwide. Refreshed versions of MysticalMermaid, Wolf Run Party, Prairie Party andTrailer Park Party feature improved sound,graphics and presentation and are complimentedby the iconic bonus events from Tipsy the pink,dancing elephant.

IGT’s show-stopping S3000 cabinet will make itsinternational debut at ICE 2015. After aremarkably successful G2E, this new take on theclassic spinning reel experience is ready to thrillon the tradeshow floor again. Backed by apipeline of more than fifty of themes, includingindustry favorites such as Double Diamond,Double Gold, Wild Cherry, Super X Pay andnever-before-seen titles including the sizzlingRed Hot Tamales and Stacked Red White andBlue. Available in both classic three-reel andfive-reel multiline games, S3000 providesattractive play options for all player types. TheS3000 is impossible to miss - not only does thecabinet boast a dynamic design, its adjustablesound and lighting package and capabilitiesdemand attention. Banked machines can besynched up to deliver an attention-grabbing lightand music show that will demand attention inany environment.

Discover IGT Interactive’s commitment to qualityat ICE 2015. The Company will demonstrate itsinnovative yield-driving features and a numberof meta-game, revenue-enhancingdevelopments, deployed on IGT’s remote gameserver (rgs). IGT will showcase newMegaJackpots Games in the Company’s ever-expanding licensed portfolio including Wheel of

Fortune, Sherlock Holmes and Family Guy.Prowling Panther, a global land-based success,will take center stage ahead of its imminenttriple-channel simultaneous release in the UKacross land, mobile and online.

To learn more about IGT and the Company’s ICEproduct portfolio visit igt.com or join at theconversation via @IGTNews and #igtblue.

At ICE 2015, gaming entertainmentleader IGT will showcase an excitingportfolio of industry-leading hardware andbest-in-class content that players canenjoy anytime, anywhere

Eurocoin is one of Europe’s leading suppliers ofsecure cash-processing and currency validationhardware, plus the preferred supply partner ofmany manufacturers for their TFT display andtouch screen solutions.

At ICE this year Eurocoin will be showing thevery latest andaffordable multi-touch solutionson a wide variety of bright, full-HD TFT panels.Eurocoin’s entire range of major brand technical

components, consumables and security itemswill be on show at ICE.

For gaming, casino & VLT operatorseverywhere, Eurocoin’s exciting range ofnetworked systems offer major security,marketing and operational benefits to theindustry. The VisuaLimits gaming table signagesystem is now installed and proven in both theUS and Europe, providing unique game & bet

analytics and other major advantages for casinooperators. Eurocoin’s Herta Facial Recognitionsystem provides gaming venue operators with acost-effective and versatile BioSurveillancesystem that can track and instantly identifyplayers who have self-excluded or have beenblacklisted, or are in your VIP database.

Other significant new systems will be launchedon our ICE stand, including our CountR &Thomas payment systems and terminals.

Additionally, see the latest JCM bill acceptors,Motorola barcode scanners and Azkoyen coinvalidation technology, all on stand #N2-322,where you are cordially invited to join Eurocoinfor some traditional hospitality throughout theshow!

Eurocoin is looking forward to welcomingcolleagues from across the gamingindustry to ICE 2015 and will bedisplaying a host of world-class productsand innovative networked hardwaresystems on its stand in the North Hall

EuroCoIN GEt tHE rECoGNItIoN you dEsErVE

IGt: aNy tImE, aNy pLaCE, aNywHErE


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On its stand Inspired will be exhibiting thebreadth of its industry-leading product portfolio,from its omni-channel games, Virtual Sportscontent, to its latest range of VLT cabinets for theUK and international markets.

IGaming is the hottest theme in the industry andInspired is proud to be leading the charge towardsomni-channel gaming. As one of the firstsuppliers to launch new games simultaneouslyon VLT, online and mobile, Inspired is alreadydelivering convergence to global operators,repeatedly and actually.

At ICE Inspired will be advising delegates on bestpractice for this iGaming movement, as well asshowcasing a variety of its outstanding HTML5content for mobile and online – some of whichare the most engaging and popular games in thisfast growing gaming channel. Titles playing onthe stand will include White Knight, Goddess ofthe Amazon, Merlin, Drop it, Spirit of the Samurai

and Centurion, where the design of the latter hasbeen driven by the mobile space, followingextensive consumer research and customerinput.

As the market leader in Virtual Sports, Inspiredhas been supplying its premium Virtual Sportscontent across all platforms for some years. It hasundergone huge international expansion in thelast year, with deals signed across AsiaPac andthe development of a €1billion p.a. market inItaly, in just over 12 months. Inspired will beadvising delegates on how its Virtual Sportsproposition is world-renowned for drivingincremental, compliant revenue in new andexisting gaming markets.

As part of Inspired’s strategic internationalexpansion plans, it will also be launching twonew VLT cabinets at ICE – Optimus and Inceptor- which join Blaze, a dual screen, HD hybrid slanttop cabinet, in order to form Inspired’s newcabinet family, specifically targeted to emergingand established international distributed andvenue based VLT markets.

Optimus is a sleek, modern and customisable VLTcabinet, optimised for multiple market tiers. It isan ergonomically designed and flexible machine.Inceptor is designed for in-countrymanufacturing; a cost-effective and versatile

machine, with both, single and dual screenoptions, upright and wall mounted - itsfunctionality is perfectly aligned for distributedVLT’s and lottery points of sale.

Delegates at ICE will also have opportunity to gethands on with Inspired’s new baccarat content onits industry-leading Sabre Synchro, the world’sfirst synchronised multi-game table product – aswell as its enhanced Virtual Sports BetManagement System (BMS), BetBOX, the winningsolution for betting operators worldwide.

Inspired will be setting the standard innext-generation gaming content andtechnology on stand S2-310 at ICE. As aleading provider of Virtual Sports, VLT andMobile entertainment, Inspired is excitedto be showcasing its latest productinnovations on its home turf.

Interblock invites customers, business partnersand friends in the gaming industry to meet withthe team and see the presentation of company’s18th visit to the ICE show.

All the products that will be displayed at ICELondon 2015 show will be the latest, newest andmost innovative designs from Interblock:

l G5 MiniStar Roulette with 05 Play Stationswith Single Sided PID and LED Sign StraightSingle Sided (Single Zero Game andTouchDown Side Bet)l G5 MiniStar Roulette with 08 Play Stations

with Double Sided PID and LED Sign Round(Single Zero Game and GoalRoulette! SideBet)l G5 MiniStar Roulette with 10 Play Stations

with Double Sided PID and LED Sign Round(Single Zero Game and Jackpot ProgressiveGolden Chip)l NEW Terminal for Power Tournament

Supportl G5 Roulette Generator with 10 G5 Play

Stations with PID and Roulette Sign (SingleZero Game)l G5 Dice Generator (Stand-Alone) with Craps

Gamel G5 Card Generator (Stand-Alone) with

Multihand Blackjack Gamel G5 Live Roulette Generator (Stand-Alone)

with Single Zero Gamel G5 Live Card Generator (Stand-Alone) with

Baccarat Game

l G5 Live Dice Generator (Stand-Alone) with Craps Game

l G5 IBHG 55’’ with 05 Play Stations(Blackjack, Multihand BJ or Baccarat Game)l G5 Star Bar with Power Meter, Physical

Buttons and Button Deck LCDl IB Multidata Terminall Special Project for Belgium market: Wheel of

Dice with 06 Play Stations

The latest product released by Interblock wasfor the newest Interblock game, Video Poker(G5 Poker), which features a variety of titles andcan be displayed in two distinct formats.

Available as a single game or part of a multiplaysetup and the most important, the game isavailable also on a Star Bar; new technologythat redefines the gaming experience on a barsurface and any G5 Interblock play station.Under a new company Slogan, Interblock willpresent the latest and most innovative G5products accompanied with one of the mostpopular games on Casino Floors, the brand newpresentation of Interblock’s G5 Poker Game onone of the Star Bar products on stand S3 - 310.

INtErBLoCKto raIsE tHEBar at ICEInterblock is to present its upgraded G5generation of internationally renownedmulti-player products at the ICE show

INspIrEd prImEs tHE sHow for optImus rEVEaL

The Optimus Line.


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Offering a whole new dimension of gamingencapsulated in a sleek, sensuous and futuristiccabinet with enhanced audio-visualcapabilities, advanced processing power andrefined aesthetics and ergonomics, the Helixcabinet range will provide an ideal vehicle toparade Aristocrat’s player centric gamingsegments, according to Donal Maguire, Sales &Marketing Director - Europe.

“Coinciding with the introduction of thissupreme machine, Aristocrat is making a stepchange in the game content it provides.Leveraging the key learnings from the hugelysuccessful E*Series family of games, the verybest elements of their maths, video animationsand audio effects have been integrated into twonew families – the J-Series Jackpot games andC-Series Core games. All three families willfeature an extraordinary array of innovativeconcepts whose massive player appeal willbecome very quickly evident to visitors to ourstand at ICE,” explained Mr Maguire.

“Max Stacks was a power-house gamemechanic behind much of the E*Series successin 2014, starting with the Sky Rider and Templeof the Tiger game families and compounded bylater models, Moon Maidens and Pearl Warriors,incorporating Double-Up and Triple-Upfeatures,” he continued. “The next chapter inthe story, Flowers of Babylon takes this themeto the next level with addition of a three-level

standalone jackpot over base games Heart ofIris and Lily of the Nile.”

Following on from the most recent E*Seriesfamily release, Magic Flower, Aristocrat isbringing more Exploding Reels action to EMEAgaming floors with two new titles under theDiamond Dynasty theme, Heart of Eternity andStar of the East, whilst the brand new 3Emperors games continue this theme with atriple standalone progressive jackpot overhead.

The E*Series Mega Symbol range also gets aboost with the introduction of two newfamilies, the first to be released being TheGoddess Sisters incorporating Queen Coral andViper Princess. Extending this concept further,the Sacred Guardians family pushes the limitsone more step with the addition of a four-levelstandalone progressive jackpot.

Fully demonstrating the continued innovationin this very successful range is a ground-breaking new E*Series family, with Dual Reelstechnology and a five-level standaloneprogressive, Romance of Fire & Rain games willinclude Heart of Fire and Strength of Rain.

Aristocrat’s J-Series has just started hittinggaming floors in Europe, with Jackpot Streakgames Garden of Amazon and Sparkling Royaland Quickfire Jackpots titles Electric Boogalooand Golden Peach showing very promising

early signs of popularity amongst players.

Quickfire Jackpots will welcome two newgames at ICE, Panda Paradise and Pharaoh’sRansom, alongside the introduction of a newfour-level jackpot concept, Gold Pays, sportingtwo variants in Golden Festival and GoldenPrincess, and the four-level jackpot game PureGold featuring Twin Spins.

Having gained tremendous traction throughoutEMEA over the last 12 months with its corePlayer’s Choice multigames, Deluxe andDiamond Edition, Aristocrat is now preparing torelease three more multi-game packages withSapphire, Gold and the high denomination Ultrapacks all making their entrance at ICE.

Another huge C-Series success story, Wonder 4makes a welcome return with a new featuregame format, introducing a spinning wheel andthe added benefit of overhead jackpots, one foreach of its multi-play games, Buffalo Deluxe,Miss Kitty, Wicked Winnings II and Wild Panda,as well as an overarching grand jackpot.

Having got off to a swinging start with players,The Fabulous Fifties and The Swinging Sixtiesare now joined by a third Mega Reel Powergame, Celtic Queen, whilst ICE sees the launchof its new sister category, Mega Line Power,brandishing launch titles Silver Wolf andDowntown Diamonds.

Underlining the substantial transformation ofAristocrat’s core games segment, a further fourC-Series families will be unveiled on the ExCeLshow floor, including Super Feature gamesFortunes of Atlantis and Sunset King, SuperWheel Blast games Lion of Venice and MissLiberty, Extra Bonus Wilds games Birds of Payand Wild Lepre’Coins and the configurablestandalone progressive games Wild Inferno andWild Wings.

“The combined effect of Aristocrat’s 2015portfolio of E*Series, J-Series and C-Seriesgames is simply awesome and a ‘must have’ forany operator looking to grow their gamingrevenue over the next 12 months,” concludedDonal Maguire. “Add to this the ‘Helix factor’and a slew of new, jaw-dropping gamingoperations centre-pieces – of which more willbe revealed in the final weeks before the show– and what we have here really does go beyondthe next level; it will take players and operatorsinto a completely new dimension.”

Aristocrat Technologies is counting down to its ICE launch, where it will propelmore than 60 new games into the EMEA gaming space. Touching down between3rd- 5th February on Stand S2-250 in the South Hall of London’s ExCeL Centrewill be a brand new generation of games and themes, the majority hosted onAristocrat’s innovative range of premium, hi-tech Helix cabinets.

arIstoCrat uNVEIL GamING’s NExt dImENsIoN


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CPI will exhibit at ICE 2015 (booth N3-320) withthe largest portfolio of payment systems in theGaming industry – including the new MEI SCRnote recycler, which has been yieldingimpressive results across multiple field trials.SCR will be released to the European AWPmarket, beginning with Germany, in the firstquarter of 2015. CPI is now entering commercialagreements with the OEMs.

SCR is the latest extension of the reliable SCproduct line, which has achieved an installedbase of more than 1.5 million units worldwide. Itfollows the same winning formula as theCASHFLOW SC and SC Advance note acceptors,raising performance expectations to deliver amore efficient, secure and cost-effective way tohandle cash payments.

By combining proven components with newtechnology, SCR opens new possibilities for whatnote recycling can offer as part of a total cashmanagement solution.

Its value proposition begins with the reliabilityassociated with the same acceptor headand 600-note cashbox as SC Advance.Two 60-note recycling drums alsoprovide SCR with the capacity to meetthe needs of diverse applications withina small footprint. They utilize the samemechanics hardened with other CPIproducts – the 4-denomination BNR (banknote recycler) and 1-denomination VNR(vending note recycler). And from top tobottom, SCR’s architecture has beenfortified with several innovative featuresthat offer a new level of security to themarket:

l A removable anti-stringing moduleprotects against mechanicalmanipulation.

l A combination of lockable transport doors andentrance/exit sensors offer traceability to helpprevent theft.

l “Door open” detection ensures an accuratecount of cash stored on the recyclers, evenwhen SCR is in a powered down state.

In games that traditionally pay jackpots in coins,SCR virtually eliminates hopper starvation by

paying out higher value notes instead – using thesame notes it accepts and stores on its

recyclers from previous transactions. As aresult, SCR requires lessmaintenance and can run forlonger periods of time, loweringthe overall cost of operation.

SCR has been yielding impressiveresults across multiple field trials.It will be released to the EuropeanAWP market, beginning withGermany, in the first quarter of2015. CPI is now enteringcommercial agreements withOEMs.

In addition to SCR, the CPI boothwill feature a variety of solutions

for casino slot machines, AWPapplications, VLTs and more. The CashCode oneand Money Controls Ardac Elite note acceptorswill be on display at the ICE show, along with SCAdvance and its portfolio of modular extensions– including the EASITRAX Web cashmanagement system and a variety of cashboxsizes. The MEI CASHFLOW 9500 and NRI G-13,v2 eagle, v2 pelicano and v2 colibri coinacceptors will also be shown, along with anassortment of coin hoppers and more.

CpI sHowCasEs NEw sCr NotE rECyCLEr at ICECPI will showcase the new SCR NoteRecycler at ICE 2015. The largestportfolio of payment systems in theGaming industry is expanding even more

SG Interactive premium products include thewhite-label Play4Fun Network B2B socialcasino platform and its Game Server thatprovides real-money gaming sites access to anexpansive portfolio of world-famous casinogames like Zeus, Quick Hits, Let it Ride, andRainbow Riches, in addition to numerouslicensed entertainment games already popularwith many online players.

Visit the Scientific Games stand at ICE 2015 toexperience the robust products from itsInteractive division, including:

l SG Interactive’s Remote Game Server,launched in the beginning of 2013, providingwagered online casino games to the world’s toponline casino operators, with recent launchesincluding Zeus III, Raging Rhino, Cool Jewels,and Rainbow Riches ranking amongst the topslot games throughout Europe.

Over the past 15 months, SG’s developmentteam has rapidly accelerated gamedeployments to a cutting-edge HTML5 mobileplatform, through which gaming sites candeploy games simultaneously for players onweb and mobile devices. For a look at SGInteractive’s full game catalog of online, provenslots and table games from Williams, Bally,Barcrest, and Shuffle Master studios, visit:www.williamsinteractive.com/games.

l The Play4Fun Network social casinoplatform, designed with tools andcapabilities that empower terrestrial casinosto build an engaged online player communityahead of real-money wagering, providescasinos a seamless multi-channel experience

for players that, in current deployments, isdriving exceptional engagement andmonetisation. Daily players are spending 85+minutes engaged with the Play4Fun Networkonline or via native iOS and Android mobileapps. Learn how your casino can benefitfrom a fully customised Play4Fun Networktoday at:www.williamsinteractive.com/play4fun.

l An inVenue Mobile Wagering product thatempowers land-based casinos to offer localarea network-constrained, real-moneywagering on player’s mobile devices ofchoice. Powered by our iGaming Platform,casinos running our solution can pop real-money gaming content direct from nativeiOS or Android apps, once players enter theirdesignated areas on property or property-wide. The product includes slots and tablegames from our various game developmentstudios, and can integrate 3rd party contentto give casinos the opportunity to providetheir players an online solution that nicelycomplements their EGM and table game play.

sG INtEraCtIVE BrINGs tHE fuN to LoNdoNThe Interactive division of ScientificGames Corporation provides robustiGaming and Social Casino solutions tothe global gaming industry, anchored bythe world’s strongest portfolio of casinogames, including slots and table gamecontent from its Bally Technologies,Barcrest, Shuffle Master and WilliamsInteractive game studios

At Microgaming, we’re busy gearing up for thelargest gaming show of the year. 2014 was apretty roarsome event, but we’re confident that2015 will be just as spectacular, if not even a littlebit better!

2014 was a year full of activity and we had plentyto talk about – we launched 167 new Casinogames, including blockbusters Avalon II, JurassicPark, Terminator 2 and Game of Thrones. Plus,our Terminator 2 online slot won Digital Productof the Year at the Global Gaming Awards!

We added 62 games on mobile and launchedseven new multi-player games. Our multi-playerplatform grew hugely, and through our networkand operator tournaments, a total of €6 millionwas paid out! Furthermore, our progressivejackpot network, the largest in the industry, paidout a whopping €39 million.

Our Quickfire platform also continued to grow atan exceptional rate - we signed up over 45 newoperators, including Betfair, Thrills.com andVera&John, taking the total number of operatorslive nearer to 200! And the MPN welcomedseveral new customers including PokerHeavenand iGames.am.

Not forgetting, we also launched a brand-newCorporate Social Responsibility identity,

Microgaming PlayItForward, which representsour comprehensive CSR programme on the Isle ofMan and further afield. This was celebrated at theIsle of Man Newspapers’ Awards for Excellencein November, where we proudly took home theaward for CSR.

With all this in mind, ICE in February is theperfect place to celebrate and showcase our 2014achievements. Our latest content will be playableon the plethora of devices on our stand, acrossonline, mobile and land-based platforms. Therewill even be a giant iTab or two!

But what would ICE be without some exciting,new announcements – and we always like tohave a few surprises up our sleeves. Withoutgiving too much away, this includes a new brandlicensing agreement, an extensive roadmap ofcontent, and a flurry of exciting deals! We’ll alsobe demoing our most recent productdevelopments in Casino, Poker, Bingo and LiveDealer, as well as an exciting upgrade to ourQuickfire platform. Our operators have plenty tolook forward to in 2015!

Finally, evolving on from last year, where weamazed attendees with our vision of the future,we’ll once again be showing a glimpse of whatcould lie ahead for our industry. We’ll delve intothe fascinating world of wearable technology –smartwatches, oculus rift and google cardboard -and show how virtual reality could becomereality in the near future. Want to know more?Step into our world at the Microgaming Stand andBar. Microgaming Stand N5–220.


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mICroGamING Is roarING INto tHE ICE sHowMicrogaming’s Head of ProductChannels, Neill Whyte, reveals theforthcoming attractions set to thrillvisitors to the booth at ICE 2015

Based in London, UK, GamCrowd is thebrainchild of a group of serial entrepreneurswith vast start-up, and betting and gamingexperience. The management team consists ofchief executive officer Chris North, chairmanIan Hogg and finance director Andrew Bowen.Pre-screened start-ups that have completed arigorous process in order to be certified as‘GamCrowd fit’ are connected to sophisticatedinvestors and high-net individuals through the

platform. GamCrowd will also be launching acrowdsourcing network that will create a globalmarketplace where buyers can obtain services,ideas and content for a pre-determined pricefrom a group of skilled, professional supplierson a per-task basis.

The company has teamed up with Clarion and isoffering a free and easy-to-enter opportunityfor start-ups to pitch their businesses at theworld’s largest betting and gaming event, ICETotally Gaming 2015.

Pitch ICE will provide the platform forentrepreneurs to present live and direct toattendees – these entrepreneurs will have 15minutes to sell their concepts on the show floor.

Following a public vote over the two weeksfollowing ICE Totally Gaming 2015 the best pre-and post-funding propositions will bedetermined. The winner from each of the twocategories will gain free access to GamCrowd’sincubator skills and expertise and an invaluablepromotion to the gambling industry.

Applicants should simply upload a two-minutepitch video via the GamCrowd website that setsout their idea, includes a short product demo,and outlines what they want to achieve fromthe show. All approved videos will be publishedat GamCrowd.com so ICE delegates canschedule in the pitches they want to see.

Visit www.GamCrowd.com/pitchice for furtherinformation and terms and conditions.

GamCrowd is the first and onlygambling-specific crowdfundingplatform, showcasing a range ofcompanies in the space that areoffering investment opportunities inreturn for equity in their business

GamCrowd pItCHEs INto tHE ICE taLENt pooL


Playtech is the world’s largest multi-channelgaming software and services supplier with morethan 3,600 employees across 12 global offices.

Traded on the London Stock Exchange’s MainMarket, the company offers cutting-edge, value-added solutions to the industry’s leadingoperators across more than 20 jurisdictions.These include bet365, Betfair, Ladbrokes, PaddyPower, Sisal, Sky, SNAI and William Hill.

Our approach is, and continues to be, centred onthe continual development of best-of-breedgambling products, content and services, builtupon strong partnerships with more than 120licensees.

We have the most comprehensive content library

of more than 500 of the world’s most populartitles including leading in-house and brandedgames and the broadest selection of productsacross all distribution channels – online, mobileand retail – all supported by a best-in-classback-end platform, enhanced by sophisticatedmarketing solutions. We also pride ourselves onbeing a ‘mobile first’ business with more than 350mobile developers across the world.

We have the widest-ranging product suite in themarket, fully integrated into a broad cross-platform offering; our state-of-the-artinformation management solution (IMS) enablesplayers to play online, on mobile and on retailserver-based gambling terminals through a singleaccount and wallet.

Business inTeLLiGence TechnoLoGyIn preparation for one of the most challenging,competitive and compelling periods in ourindustry Playtech has invested heavily ininnovation and developed the latest, cutting-edge

business intelligence technology in order topower next generation licensees.

We are pleased to present Business IntelligenceTechnology (BIT) at ICE 2015 and confident it willprovide new and existing licensees with superiorinnovation for their next stage of growth. Thisunique data-driven, business intelligencemarketing technology, exclusive to Playtech, isdesigned to significantly enhance licenseerevenues by increasing player experience andlifetime value.

We firmly believe that our BIT software willrevolutionise the way operators run theirbusinesses and consumers experience gameplay.

The products, services and distribution channelswe offer has established Playtech as the ultimateone-stop-shop and supplier of choice foroperators with our pioneering approach toregulated and newly regulating markets playing akey role in our continued success.

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pLaytECH: BusINEss INtELLIGENCE tECHNoLoGy At the ICE show in London Playtech is setto reveal its latest gaming innovation,Business Intelligence Technology (BIT)for the next generation of licensed play

The theme of Comtrade Gaming’s ICE 2015 is thepresentation of ‘open innovation’ - platformsdesigned and deployed to provide significantupgrades to current system technologies. It isthe starting point of a collaboration with clientsto develop new products and features that canhelp land-based and online operators buildunprecedented loyalty with their players.

At the heart of Comtrade’s open solutions is itsCore platforms; iCore, gCore and sCore.Comtrade’s iCore platform, connects multipleproducts and enables centralised managementof all player activities. At ICE, Comtrade will beshowcasing a number of extended iCorefeatures. The upgraded platform enablesoperators to more efficiently manage theirbusiness from a single location and engageplayers consistently across all channels (landbased, online, mobile) and products.

Comtrade’s marketing engine, which featuresreal-time segmentation, has been extendedwith behaviour-driven player evaluation thatfurther improves player acquisition features,

such as product and channel cross-sell.

There are also new innovations, includingUniversal Free Spins and Leaderboards, whichunify and enhance the player experience acrossall gaming products. Comtrade’s mobiledevelopment team will present new HTML5games, including the latest Live Roulette clientwith real-time HD video streaming.

On the land based systems side, Comtrade willpresent the latest solutions for managingmachines in distributed and casinoenvironments combined with central solutionsfor player management, responsible gaming andregulatory control. All of its solutions are basedon the Gaming Standard Association’s G2S

protocol. This year, Comtrade will also present anew sCore Connect product that enablesexisting SAS-based systems to communicatewith machines trough G2S.

sCore integrates online and land-basedplatforms, enabling customers to play from acentral wallet whatever and wherever theychoose. Comtrade will also unveil its newresponsible gaming solution, withdemonstrations on the stand (N4-332) detailingthe way in which play on a machine, online andvia mobile can be uniformally tracked, withplayer spend limits and session times allcontrollable by the system.

“Our integration of GSA protocols has broughtabout hugely significant advances in the waywe can connect products from various vendors,which allow operators and regulators to trackgameplay, accurately report important playerinformation and comply with regulations,”explained Aleš Gornjec, General Manager ofComTrade Gaming.

“We look forward to demonstrating at ICE howComtrade’s open technology can connectmachines from various vendors and trackonline and mobile play to deliver one completepicture of the player,” said Mr. Gornjec.

Comtrade Gaming is to showcase itsCore product solutions at ICE 2015, alldrawn together by open technology

opEN INNoVatIoN drIVEs ComtradE’s ExHIBItOur integration of GSA

protocols has brought aboutsignificant advances in the

way we can connect productsfrom various vendors, to trackgameplay, report player infoand comply with regulations.

Alfastreet will take advantage of the upcomingedition of the London ICE show in February 2015to display surprising new products that willdefine the extension of the current ETG line andincrease competitiveness. This is the first time inover 20 years that the company will branch outof the area in which it achieved success andrecognition, and established itself as a worldleader, and an absolute reference in the business.The idea has been on company's drawing boardfor a while and it is a logical evolutionary step indesign strategies, acquired knowledge andfeedback from customers worldwide.

Alfastreet is proud to have established very goodconnections and partnerships with its clients and

business professionals, who have contributed tothe future product line to great extent. It is vital tolearn about and thoroughly know the operators,their needs and expectations, to define the newdesigns. The company boasts extensive insightinto the secrets of the gaming industry, knowingeverything that goes into such venture, frommathematical and physical models, to technicalexcellence and innovation. The customers havesupported these efforts, knowing the reputationand the dedication of everyone involved. Theyknow, that the new products will incorporate allthe characteristics, that adorn Alfastreet ETG'sfrom the very beginning, such as flawlessergonomics, intuitive and reliable software, thatis true to the genuine spirit of the game, andabove all; superior quality and attention to detail.The management is confident that the time isright for the launch, and is encouraged by thereactions from partners that are eager to placethese products in respective markets.

As mentioned in the beginning, everybodyinvolved is very excited about the upcomingunveiling on the ICE show, from 3rd to 5th ofFebruary 2015, where the visitors will witness thepremiere of the products yet unassociated withAlfastreet. The first units will arrive oninternational casino floors immediately after theshow, in order to measure them against thecompetition and players reactions.

The start of 2015 is an extremely busy one forAlfastreet. Many of the company’s existingproducts will receive significant improvementsthat are a result of constant evolution, and thedesire to even further adapt to, and satisfy asmany demands as possible. There will bedefinitive versions of several prototype machinesfrom last year and much more. The London showwill be a landmark for Alfastreet, which has setthe focus firmly on the market segment, that is adeparture from the traditional field in which theyare market-leaders. Considering the reputationand the impressive track record to date, you canexpect to find a new Alfastreet instrument nearyou in a very short while.

Albert Radman, Sales Director for Alfastreet,commented further: ‘’In the past year we werevery successful in our existing markets, and weeven strengthen our position in Europe, Asia,Africa and Latin America. We also entered the USmarket and we expect some great results in theyear to come. With all the new developments,and the existing prospects, we are more thanassured that Alfastreet is on the right path, andwill continue growing and ensuring its leadingposition in the world of ETG product line.’’


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aLfastrEEt NEwLy ExpaNdINGproduCt array dEButs at ICEAlfastreet is to launch a brand newcategory of products at the forthcomingICE, complementing its ETG pedigree

Elo Touch Solutions (Elo), original inventors ofthe touchscreen, is introducing IntelliTouchCurve technology for the global gamingindustry’s next-generation of game designs.Full HD resolution and clear glass optical claritycombine to deliver a professional-grade touchscreen built for continuous use in publicenvironments, backed by a 3 year warranty.Tested to handle 50 million touches in onelocation without failure, IntelliTouch Curvedelivers superior image resolution, lighttransmission, and reliability because it utilisesclear glass. There are no coatings, plastic filmsor moving parts to scratch, wear out, or damage.

“The new Elo Curve looks great, performsbeautifully, and is tough enough for gamingenvironments,” said Craig Witsoe, CEO EloTouch Solutions. “Our patented acoustic wavetouchscreen technology uses only invisible

sound waves on clear, curved glass to deliverbright and sharp HD graphics.”

Elo research, design, manufacturing,customisation and support capabilities helpgaming manufacturers avoid integration issues,enable touch on borders, create unique shapesand curves, and incorporate company or brandlogos into the final gaming device. IntelliTouchCurve and true flat IntelliTouch Zero Bezelsurface acoustic wave (SAW) touch technologyis complemented by IntelliTouch Pro projectedcapacitive technology (PCAP) for horizontalcounter, furniture and tabletop integration forelectronic roulette. Elo surface capacitive(SCAP) touchscreens lower maintenance costsof gaming machines already deployed byplugging directly into third party touchcontrollers.

Elo touch screen innovations extend beyond thegaming floor to loyalty program kiosk,interactive directory map, digital signage, sportsbook, hotel, connected meeting room,restaurant menu and retail applications.

Ranging in size from 7 to 70 inches, Eloruggedised tablets, professional touch monitors,all-in-one touch computers, and interactivedigital signs help improve employee efficiencywhile delivering engaging brand experiences togamers, diners, guests and shoppers.

Elo’s IntelliTouch Curve is making itsEuropean debut at the ICE show inLondon after dropping jaws at G2E

CurVaCEous NEw ELo dIspLay draws tHE EyE

GTECH, with its Interactive, Betting, Lottery, andSPIELO Gaming pillars, will be presenting itscomprehensive portfolio at ICE Totally GamingExhibition. Featuring the “All Together GTECH”theme, visitors to Booth N3-160 will experience afull array of games, cabinets, systems andinteractive solutions, including an expandedlibrary of TRUE 3D titles.

Using patented, award-winning 3D displaytechnology, GTECH´s innovative TRUE 3Dproduct line provides an unrivalled gamingexperience. The SPHINX 3D game has won threeindustry awards and is live in numerous casinosacross Europe, the United States and LatinAmerica, enjoying success and generatingexcitement among players. At ICE 2015, GTECHwill be introducing several additions to its TRUE3D game library that are specifically designed toappeal to different player segments. Titles includeBEJEWELED 3D, DRAGON´S TEMPLE 3D,DREAMS OF ASIA 3D and ALADDIN’s FORTUNE3D.

Emphasizing its expertise in linked gamingproducts, GTECH will be featuring several newlinked products in its booth. PERUVIAN RICHESand SECRETS OF THE SEA are two powerfulmulti-level mystery jackpots. These conceptsallow operators to select nearly any title fromGTECH’s core game library and insert them into aprogressive bank.

THE MONEY DROP will be making its globaldebut at ICE. The multi-level progressive is a titlelicensed by Endemol and features an innovativerisk-based progressive play-off.

TERRIFIC TEAL and LUXURY LILAC are brand-new editions to the well-known and highlysuccessful diversity multigame suites for theEuropean market. GTECH will also present a newsuite specifically adapted to U.K. requirements.Furthermore, plenty of core games will bepresented to visitors with a variety of new andunique game play features.

GTECH’s line-up also includes yet anotherinternationally-recognized licensed title from theexciting DEAL OR NO DEAL franchise, with thenewest version in the series, DEAL OR NO DEALLAS VEGAS! presented on the MaXVusioncabinet.

On the interactive gaming side, visitors will beable to experience GTECH’s total iGamingsolution, including entertaining interactive casinogames, bingo, poker, sports betting, and iLotteryproducts, as well as exciting new mobileadditions for players on the go. GTECH’s openarchitecture platforms allow fast integration ofthird-party products to easily create a successfulonline solution tailored to customer needs.

New casino games include favourites from thepopular SPIELO casino games library, with manynew titles launched for desktop and mobiledevices, such as Moving Moments, Goldify,Egyptian Dreams and Treasure Blast. With astrong selection of content, GTECH will illustratethe player journey and convergence from land-based to desktop gaming, tablets andsmartphones.

GTECH’s networked bingo and poker solutionswill also be on show. Attendees will be able totest the newly launched, cutting-edge Poker Macclient and app, as well as HTML tablet bingo withuser-friendly features that are the result ofextensive research and development.

Play for Fun and Social Casino are great tools foroperators to build their brand in the interactivearena, helping them to acquire new players,increase player lifetime value, and drive playersback to operators’ land-based or real-moneyofferings. GTECH´s Play for Fun and Social Casino

offerings contain a complete mix of games from alarge, ever-growing library, and are availableacross platforms including mobile. Additionally,they offer the ability to monetise social gamingby selling virtual currency for real money.

GTECH will also show its market-leading suite ofinteractive solutions for Lottery markets,including a comprehensive game portfolio ofmore than 100 eInstant games. GTECH’s mobilefirst approach will be demonstrated with thelatest releases of baseline wagering and aconvenience app, featuring a rich suite of playerfeatures and functionalities. Key playerengagement features such as group play, secondchance draws and loyalty will also be presented.

In addition, WagerWise is GTECH’s new single-integrated, end-to-end sports betting platform,backed by the comprehensive GTECH BettingServices to provide support across all channelsand markets. It allows operators to connect withplayers anytime, anywhere, on any device,ensuring that they never miss a moment’sexcitement.

As the provider of the top-performing and top-selling single and multi-games in the Italian AWPmarket, GTECH will showcase severaloutstanding performers on the delite cabinet. Aspart of GTECH Content Sales program, visitorscan choose which of these titles they would liketo adapt to player preferences in their market.


GtECH: ENd-to-ENd GamINGsoLutIoNs dELIVErEd at ICE

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The GTECH line-up for the ICE showincludes new games, system solutions,and services across land-based gaming,interactive, sports betting, and lottery


7 3

iT’s aLL aBouT The Games…AMATIC INDUSTRIES continues to focus on itshighly regarded games range. The internationalplayer understanding has allowed the AMATICteam to regularly create new games in varyingthemes. This year’s ICE continues the traditionand AMATIC will be presenting its variety ofbrand-new games that receive theirinternational premiere at the ICE. For example,you can feel the heat with ‘Hot 81’ and ‘RedChili’ or adjust your diet to enjoy ‘Square Fruits’.One can discover many more exciting gamesthat are unveiled at the show. Anyhow, there issomething for everyone with AMATIC’s games,especially if integrated in an individual MultiGame configuration, the successful gamingconcept from AMATIC INDUSTRIES.

…in The riGhT caBineTs…AMATIC proved at the ICE 2014 its flair fordesign. The Performer Grand Arc Slant Top wasgreeted often as the “show’s most attractiveCasino cabinet” with its curved design,particularly the version with three monitors.

The Performer Grand Arc is to be joined withnew highlights for 2015: The C24 Casino Cabinetis the new upright model of the successfulPerformer series. This comes with 3 wide-screen 24” monitors, showing brilliant coloursfor enhanced player attraction and more gamingfun. The V24 Cabinet is the latest AWP-modelfrom AMATIC INDUSTRIES. Equipped withlarge and brilliant 24” monitors, the AMATICV24 is the perfect solution for gaming arcades orstand-alone operation in bars.

…ThaT can aLso Be pLayed onmuLTipLayersThe beauty of being a designer andmanufacturer of electronic gaming machinesand electronic roulette is the possibility tomarry together solutions to bring true addedvalue for both players and operators. The rangeof Grand Jeu electronic roulette machines allhave one thing in common – operators can offerplayers Multi Game slot games as well on theAMATIC multiplayer.

Roulette Grand Jeu 22WS is the well-regardedelectronic roulette from AMATIC. Beautiful asever, made of the finest materials and

incorporating only the best electroniccomponents, like 22” wide-screen monitors, theGrand Jeu 22WS is built for 24/7 play. It`savailable in 5-, 6- or 8-player configurationsand can be connected with multiple terminals toallow more players to join the live roulette.

The Roulette Grand Jeu Double is a true eye-catcher. The integrated dual wheels offer doublethe value in excitement and fun. Players canchoose between either one or both wheels tobet upon at the same time (depending on locallegislation). The standard configuration comeswith four in-built large screen monitors thatoperators can use to portray all key rouletteinformation and entertainment info as well.Additionally, players can enjoy their favoriteAMATIC slot games here as well, as the MultiGame solution can be easily integrated too.Furthermore, a numerous number of playerscan join the live roulette on the Grand JeuDouble via connected satellite terminals.

AMATIC INDUSTRIES will be presenting itsSolitaire electronic roulette wheel. It’s theperfect solution for customers who look for aspace-saving roulette solution that can beeasily connected with a desired number ofgaming terminals, e.g. Slant Tops. The attractivedesign of the Solitaire embodies AMATIC’spassion for style.

All electronic roulettes from AMATIC will be ondisplay at the ICE with faster number

recognition than ever, which means: morehands per hour, more turnover = more profit.Number recognition now takes less than asecond, making the Grand Jeu electronicroulettes one of the quickest in the industry.

ThaT can Be manaGed and added ToThe jackpoT……with the ‘COS’ Casino Online System thatcompletes the AMATIC gaming range. Thisentire, state-of-the-art Casino ManagementSystem includes clever features like PlayerTracking and Cash Card and enables operatorsto link together all AMATIC’S solutions into theircomplete machine park. And finally, the COScan be combined with the right jackpot system.Thus, it is only natural that AMATICINDUSTRIES provides a wide range of completejackpot solutions for individual needs.

and aLso aVaiLaBLe as onLine andmoBiLe soLuTions…This market segment continues to grow rapidlyas does the opportunities AMATIC INDUSTRIESoffers here – providing customised solutions forboth online and mobile gaming. Players andoperators both appreciate creativity as well asperformance of AMATIC’s huge andcontinuously growing game library. Anotheradvantage for the customer is that each candevelop an Online Gaming website configuredto their individual needs first, whereas theintegration of AMATIC games makes thesolution complete.

AMATIC INDUSTRIES will be presenting ahost of new solutions at the forthcomingICE. Visitors will find AMATIC in the sameposition as last year – at stand S3-150

mastErfuL GamING soLutIoNs, INfINItE IdEas


VIsIt taB austrIa at ICE aNd you’rE ‘GoLdEN’

TAB Austria is a manufacturer of coin-operatedgaming, betting and entertainment machines.Today, they carry one of the largest and mostprolific product ranges in the whole industry. Thedemands of changing to new technologycombined with the demands of increasinglycompetitive approved hardware are just some ofthe issues that operators are facing globally. Toovercome these challenges TAB designs anddevelops individual and high-specificationsolutions to complete todays gaming and betting.

GoLden isLand GaminG pLaTformTAB Austria´s game portfolio for the GoldenIsland Gaming Platform again expands. Theyunveil a host of new games including morefeatures and high performing content. Operatorswill also see the latest version of the platformthat is designed to meet all the demands of streetand casino gaming. Today they provide fivedifferent and reliably engineered cabinets and anever growing selection of high definition gameswith state-of-the-art animations. Each terminalfrom TAB Austria is a piece of genuine Austrianquality. The Golden Island platform is availableas VLT, AWP and as a progressive Jackpot versionand includes several technologies that meet therequirement of the current market. Hardwareand software are perfectly intertwined and thuswork seamlessly and intelligently together. Theinnovative and intuitive design of the userinterface provides the very best overview to haveeverything in view.

BeTTinG caBineT Go4pLaTinumThe new Go4Platinum betting cabinet isextremely well designed and equipped with thelatest and best components. The terminals will befinished in the customers corporate colours andwill enhance customer’s betting experience.

The new Go4Platinum cabinet is characterized byits ultra-slim body and the clear and futuristiclines. It has been designed to deliver convenienceand player comfort in betting shops. It includescarefully considered screen positioning, an easy-to-reach button panel and plenty space for legclearance.

It is supplemented by eye-catching LED-lightstrips, which run alongside the cabinet and areadjustable according to customers´ individual

preferences. We pay particular attention to ourcustomer’s needs and requirements to make theplayer experience more exciting and let theterminal work faster when players get busy. Ouraim is to create unique machines that maximizeclients´ profits and identity.

TAB Austria offers a wide range of turnkeyterminal solutions that provide an unique playerexperience and refer to almost all the top players

in the industry. With our terminals solutions youcan easily bring your ideas to the market. Colour,equipment, screen size – we customize theterminals and equip them with hardware deviceslike card reader, hoppers, recycler or NFC as youneed it for your own requirements. Our solutionsare implemented currently within Sports Betting,Fixed Odds Betting, Gaming and Video Lotteryterminals, with many more appliances yet tocome.

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TAB Austria is set to launch the widest,most diverse and innovative range ofnew gaming, betting and amusementproducts at this year’s ICE. Visit boothNo. S2-330 to discover more

The team at GeWeTe has always prided itself inon its market focus. The market leader forchange machine solutions in Germany (itshome country) is committed to the globalmarket. This subsidiary of the GauselmannGroup has again invested strongly in supportingits international customers.

Particular focus has been placed on the Britishmarket, the home of the EAG and ICE. GeWeTehas installed more PC-based machines than inprevious years and as the expansion of ticket-in, ticket-out continues, GeWeTe is well placedto offer a very flexible, secure cash handlingsystem to support it. Change machine solutionssuch as the Cash Recycler, Coin Recycler, Cash

Centre Compact, and WGS200 all have hadgreat impact on the British market. Looking tothe largest VLT market in Europe, Italy, the VLTchange machine solutions, the Cash Recyclerand Cash Centre have been joined by thecompletely new Cash Centre Compact that waspremiered at the ENADA Roma.

Aristidis Tsikouras, Managing Director ofGeWeTe, sends out a warm invite to visitGeWeTe at ICE, stating, “Our European team isgrowing continually as we have offices in Italy,Spain and the UK alongside our core market inGermany. We have sold tens of thousands ofchange machines throughout the world and canlook back on more than twenty-two years ofexperience. Our customers know and trust our‘made in Germany’ technology. We have somuch to offer and have a great team to supportthe global market. We are really lookingforward to ICE.”

Germany’s GeWeTe will display itslatest cash and coin change solutionsat the ICE show on booth S6-240

GEwEtE: EVEr GrowING GLoBaL dEmaNd for CHaNGE

Employing a talented team of in-house staff,including experienced game designers, softwaredevelopers, graphic artists and animators, Kironensures it is always at the forefront of the latestgaming technologies and market trends.

Their flexible and advanced gaming platforms arehelping to power the rapid growth of virtualsports around the globe, as players bet online, onthe move and in gaming venues. Their RaceKingsproduct, powered by multi-station bettingterminals, has brought the excitement of horseracing to the casino floor and is helping operatorsattract a new generation of customers.

At ICE 2015 Kiron will be showcasing theirexpanding content portfolio, up-graded betmanagement system, BetMan, and their newVision Platform, which provides a cost-effectivescreen solution for casinos and betting shops.

Chief among these, is their expanding contentportfolio that is now one of the mostcomprehensive available. As well, as an upgradedsuite of horse racing, dog and football products,

this will include harness racing and an Indy Car-style motor-racing game.

Kiron will also be showcasing new digitised horseand dog tracks, following the success of a numberof implementations with existing clients. Theseallow players to watch the action unfold amidsettings they are familiar with in order to makethe games richer and more immersive. Thissupports Kiron’s philosophy of always tailoringcontent for local audiences, wherever they are inthe world. The company will also bedemonstrating its new keno numbers product,which will be joined in 2015 by virtual roulette.

Kiron’s proprietary bet management system,BetMan, was one of the success stories of 2014.An upgraded version will be on show on theirstand at ExCeL, S1-132, for land-based operators,alongside a brand new one suitable for thoseconcerned with online. Land-based companies,such as betting shops and casinos, can also

benefit from demonstrations of new hardware,including new NUC devices designed to replacebulkier PCs, and Kiron’s new Vision screensolution, which enhances the in-venueexperience for players.

A second version of Kiron’s Race Kings game willbe available in 2015, this time with a newlydesigned and improved, more user-friendly,betting interface. They’ll also be unveiling theirnew mobile betting applications that can be usedboth online and for in-shop application.

In December 2013, Kiron became the first virtualproducts supplier to be granted a licence and thengo live in Italy, first with Intralot and then Sisal.

Following the success of this venture they arenow pursuing other opportunities further afieldin other regulated markets, and have ambitiousplans for further expansion on all four continentsin the next 12 months.


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Kiron Interactive is one of the world’sleading suppliers of virtual sports gamesto the land-based betting and onlinegaming industries. Using the latestgaming and animation technologiesKiron aims to recreate the excitement ofreal sports in a virtual world.

ICE 2015 will be a show of new precedents forEuro Games Technology. The booth S3-130 willspread across the vast 762 sq.m, displayingstunning designs, a second floor hospitality area,and the largest number of EGT premier launchesever. The entire exhibit will convey thestrongest values of its creator: to develop 360-degree solutions for different aspects of thecasino industry, meeting the most exactingstandards.

A “platinum” line-up of products will be shownto prove this deem: slot-cabinets of Premierseries, three of them making their debut at theexhibition; a completely new jackpot system;

shown for first time fun-filled multigamemixes; technologically advanced multiplayersolutions revealed by diverse configurations ofSTORK terminals with bingo, live, andautomated roulette wheels together with manymore surprises from this division of EGT, and amultitude of online games with excessive rangeof new titles for playing on the go.

“I’m thrilled to share that for EGT the ICE 2015is expected to be a show like no other. We willwelcome the visitors with an overwhelmingvariety of new developments from all of ourproduct divisions – slot machines, multiplayersolutions and interactive games,” saidStanislav Stanev, Sales and Marketing Directorof EGT.

“There will be not only renewals, but

completely new series and types of products,backed up with state-of-the-artimprovements in hardware, software, anddesign. We will not be modest. We can’t be.EGT is growing faster than ever as marketcoverage, know-how, portfolio, businesspotential, and manufacturing capacity. We aimfor the best and I’m confident that our displayduring ICE 2015 will be considered as a must-see presentation from the visitors.”

pLatINum LINE-up of INNoVatIoNs from EGt

KIroN INtEraCtIVE: maKING tHE VIrtuaL rEaL

EGT promises to showcase a stunningline-up of new products, its biggest ever,across a vast newly designed booth

A Bet A is a leading supplier of betting systems toretail bookmakers, call centres, and onlinesportsbooks. Their secure EPOS system is themost fully functional product on the market andis now used in numerous traditional bettingshops, modern betting lounges and kiosks aroundthe world. It can be used as a stand-alone deviceor linked back to a head office site for liabilitycontrol and event management. Operators canconfigure it to control their credit business withina shop environment as a small call centre would.Working in tandem with A Bet A’s EPOS system is

their BetMaker device, a pre-authorised bettingslip creator which is a unique and valuableaddition to the betting shop environment. Inaddition, the company offer self-service bettingterminals that provide customers with a fullrange of sports betting opportunities, includingvirtual sports, in-running betting, and traditionalfixed odds.

Ease of transaction will to feature prominentlyfor A Bet A at ICE 2015, with a number of newproducts and services set to be revealed that aredesigned to make life easier for those wanting awager. The first such innovation to be showcasedis the new Smart Screen display product thatprevents latency issues that have plagued retailbookmaking for years. This finally removes the

discrepancy between the odds shown on shoptills and its customer-facing screens, a persistentsource of dissatisfaction among punters. Othersystem benefits include cutting out the need forin-venue graphics control hardware and the needfor an expensive installation process by on-sitetechnicians. Controlled by the in-shop EPOSterminal, the Smart Screens prevent any risk ofdata relay and can be delivered whereappropriate over a wide-area network tolicensed end users.

As well as in-shop EPOS developments, A Bet Awill be unveiling new technology that will aidboth customers and bookmakers in remotelocations. The new platform will provide anultra-portable, all-encompassing mobile EPOSsolution for emerging markets at an unbeatablecost. A Bet A will demonstrate their full range onstand S1-310.


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a BEt a BEats LatENCy IssuEsSince their establishment in 1990, A BetA has provided robust, reliable, and cost-effective transactional and operationalsoftware to sportsbook operators

The unveiling of Cammegh Spreadbet Roulettegives operators the opportunity to offer a widerrange of roulette bets with exciting new payoutlevels. Operators with existing Cammegh 360wheels and Billboard displays can immediatelyoffer players a thrilling new roulette-based sidebet, which starts with low payouts and rises toodds of 1,200 to 1. Cammegh is also looking toretrofit the system to work with Mercury 2wheels with Billboard displays to offer thegreatest level of flexibility for customers.

“We are delighted with the approval ofCammegh Spreadbet Roulette by the UKGambling Commission,” comments AndrewCammegh. “It’s an achievement that would nothave been possible without the help andcooperation of Grosvenor Casinos, who jointlyworked with us to submit Cammegh SpreadbetRoulette to the Gambling Commission. We aredeeply grateful to the Grosvenor Casinos teamfor sharing their knowledge and expertise toensure the successful approval of this excitingnew side bet. We now look forward to bringingthis fantastic opportunity to market and thetiming couldn’t be more perfect for ICE.”

Cammegh Spreadbet Roulette uses the speed ofthe ball at ‘no more bets’ to create a completelyrandom bonus number. This second value iscombined with the red/black result to create aspread bet sum that has a finite number ofpossible spreadbet combinations. The results

are presented on the Billboard display, whichdelivers the spreadbet outcome via a beautifullyrealised digital results table that shows eachresult and alongside the spreadbet combination.Cammegh Spreadbet Roulette cranks up theexcitement at the table as players have thechance to win big from this stunning new sidebet.

In addition to Cammegh Spreadbet Roulette,Cammegh will also exhibit a brand new range ofBillboard display panels at ICE Totally Gaming2015. The new Billboard panels are a stunningadditional to the current range, offeringadditional sizes and new features tocomplement the hugely successful Billboardrange.

Cammegh will also be showing its EyeCard Pluscard recognition system, Slingshot 2 automatedwheel and a fantastic new table gaming bundlewhich combines Cammegh’s renownedMercury 360 wheel, with Bally Technologies’state-of-the-art chipping machine, roulettetable and colour wheel checks as part of a singlesource solution for all things roulette focused.

All this will be on show alongside the BillboardMediaPro, MultiBoard and complete array ofanalysis options from Cammegh.

“We have been extremely busy in recentmonths with installations of our integrateddisplays and security cameras at the new ParkLane Casino in Mayfair, London, our wheels anddisplays have just been installed at theTropicana Casino in Atlantic City; and acomplete systems installation of the CammeghMultiBoard and MediaPro at the Merkur Casinoin Saxony-Anhalt, Germany has also just beencompleted,” outlines Mr. Cammegh.

“We have had a tremendous 2014, with newproduction and marketing staff joining us tohelp fulfil an expanding order book ascustomers continue to place their confidence inboth our ability and the reliability of ourproducts,” concludes Mr. Cammegh.

The ICE 2015 show in London will also mark the25th anniversary of Cammegh and the wholeteam looks forward to welcoming everyone tostand S6-120 to celebrate this very specialoccasion.

Cammegh, makers of the world’s finestroulette wheels, will proudly debut adynamic new roulette side bet, recentlyapproved by the UK GamblingCommission, at ICE 2015.

CammEGH sEt to dELIVEr a faBuLous ICE sHow sprEad

Open Face Chinese Poker, also known as OpenFace Chines or OFC, which is the newest pokervariant that is currently spreading across theglobe, is now available to all BetConstruct clients.The game consists of two to four players, eachreceiving five cards, face down, which they placeon a board consisting of three levels - back (5),middle (5) and front (3). Cards are subsequentlydealt, one at a time, until each player has 13 cards,which they have arranged on their individualboard. To be considered legal and viable, eachplayer’s three hands must be of sequentialstrength, in decreasing order from back to front.Failure to achieve this causes fouls and receivespenalties. Rather than betting prior to each round,the game is played out in full, following whichpoints and bonuses (which have an agreed pre-assigned financial value) are scored for winninghands and particular card combinations.

Suren Khachatryan, BetConstruct’s CEOcomments: “Poker games are continuouslyevolving - and that’s the reason the genre hasstood the test of time. Open Faced Chinese sideevents are already being held at the EuropeanPoker Tour, the World Poker Tour and the WorldSeries of Poker. The game combines simple ruleswith big drama, which is why it’s compelling andpopular with both professionals and amateursalike.”

Levon Gyulzadyan, the product manager for OFCat BetConstruct, added: :The game is only a fewyears old, yet it has already attracted millions ofplayers as it offers a type of tactical play that isnot present in other versions of poker. Sinceopponents can see each other’s cards, there is nobluffing, but the depth of the strategic nuancesmake OFC captivating and unique.

BetConstruct is a leading developer and providerof online and land-based betting and gamingsolution service.

BetConstruct’s robust, cutting edge offeringsinclude online and land-based sportsbook, poker,RNG and Live Dealer Casino, Skill and Virtualgames, financial betting and fantasy sports.BetConstruct currently powers more than 80clients in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa,enabling them to immediately stand out from thecrowd and reap the rewards of superiortechnology, service and expertise. VisitBetConstruct at the ICE 2015 show, stand S1-350,to find out more.


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BetConstruct will launch Open FaceChinese Poker - the massively fast-growing and popular skill game - at ICE

SkillOnNet is one of the leading softwareproviders in the online gaming industry. Theyuse cutting edge graphics and design, coupledwith proprietary back-end systems and a first-class development and distribution service, topower some of the world’s biggest online casinooperators. These include a number of their ownhighly-successful, consumer-facing websitessuch as EUcasino, PlayMillion, SlotsMagic,CasinoRedKings and MegaCasino.

Founded in 2005, the company broke intogaming by developing software for well-knownBackgammon site BGroom.com. Since then,SkillOnNet has grown to become a very popularP2P platform and network offering both B2Cand B2B white label solutions.

A landmark acquisition of Jackpot Party, whichis now the popular site SlotsMagic, gave them afirm footing in Europe’s longest establishedmarket. These online casinos remain a keydriver for SKillOnNet and provide invaluablelessons for their B2B services thanks to the

daily interaction with players about thepopularity of games and what they need to do toimprove them.

Their current games offering includes a host oftable games , video poker, scratch cards andover 50 different Slots offering up to 50 linebets, bonus games, as well as two progressiveslot titles: Millionaire Genie and Good & Evil.

In recent times they have significantlyupgraded the performance of their proprietaryslot and table content and removed some of theolder versions in order to provide compelling,immersive player experiences on the latestmobile technology.

The acquisition of their new UK licence,alongside those they hold in Malta, Denmarkand Schleswig Holstein has been a significantboost for the company. It has helped themstreamline their offering and focus on regulatedmarkets around the world. It is also set to kick-start their off-line advertising, including TVcampaigns, for their B2C brands such as SlotsMagic.

As well as their own games, SkillOnNetaggregate the best content from leadingindependent manufacturers such as Amaya,WMS, and NextGen Gaming.

In addition, they recently completed a deal todistribute the full suite of Net Entertainment’spopular slots, a must-have on any online casinothese days.

Net Ent’s live casino offering also now sitsalongside those from Evolution, XProGaming,and Amaya to give SkillOnNet the mostcomprehensive live casino suite anywhere inthe online industry.

At ICE 2015 they will be showcasing their B2Bbusiness in particular, as they seek white labelopportunities in new and existing marketsaround the world.

At ICE 2015 SkillOnNet will beshowcasing their B2B business inparticular, as they seek white labelopportunities in new and existingmarkets around the world.

sKILLoNNEt wHItE LaBEL soLutIoNs at ICE

BEtCoNstruCt BuILds a BEttEr poKEr GamE

SkillOnNet’s Michael Golembo.

Traditionally gaming in Greece was restricted to thecasino market with amusements permitted in arcadesand in street sites. Of course illegal slots were rife andeven video games would pay out money.

In 2002 the whole thing erupted in a political scandaland the government’s knee jerk reaction to the publicoutcry was to introduce the 3037/2002 bill in July 2002which saw all electronic games banned even those run-ning on home computers.

Although the industry understood the need to wipe outillegal gambling, the problem was that the law wasdrafted in such a hurry that is wasn’t able to differentiatebetween a gaming machine and games played on a com-puter at home. It was also put into place without thedesired three months notice that the EuropeanCommission requires for draft laws.

The upshot of this chaos was that the Greek industrycrashed and died overnight, companies closed down andthousands were made unemployed. The EuropeanCommission was dragged into the battle and for years

the saga has been a campaign to have the bill amended.

In 2006 Greece was convicted for its failure to fulfil itsobligation under EC rulings but it still refused to takeaction and thereafter the European Commission orderedthe Greek Republic to pay a penalty of €31,798 for eachday of delay in “implementing the measures necessaryto ensure full compliance with the judgement.”

Then things began to change. The ban combined with acomplete lack of regulation led to the emergence of avast illegal market. In addition the government neededurgent revenues to save it from falling deeper into eco-nomic crisis.

So in September 2010 the government began its legisla-tive initiative ‘Regulating the Gaming Market’ and inJanuary 2011 the Greek Minister of Finance GiorgosPapakonstantinou unveiled the new Greek gambling billwhich suggested several changes from: fully privatisingthe remaining casinos; introducing a VLT market andopening the market to providers of sports betting, inter-net poker and online casinos. The bill is part of a privati-

sation programme which aims to raise €7bn through thesales of its state owned companies.

Greece has an estimated 120,000 to 140,000 illegal VLTsand casino games plus more than 250 illegal gamblingwebsites. The overall illegal gambling market is estimat-ed to see a turnover of between €5bn and €6bn eachyear.

Despite a slump during five years worth of recessionGreece is still one of the leading gaming sectors in the EUand in 2013 the gross gaming revenue was estimated tobe €1.7bn making it the EU’s ninth largest gaming sector.OPAP holds a 69 percent share due to the success in themain of Kino and Stihima.

Initially the VLT law caused some controversy at thetime from Greek casino operators who say the movewould damage their business and cause unfair competi-tion.

Several of the nine land based casinos have asked torelocate due to dwindling incomes which have dropped

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GrEECE marKEt updatEG3-247 Report

Reconstructingthe marketWhatever the cost of the EU crisis,Greece remains a powerhouse in thegaming sector in Europe and recentchanges to allow VLT machines willhave massive ramifications for theentire market going forward.

by over 50 percent in the last five years. Casino HotelLoutraki was put up for sale and this is the number twocasino in the country.

It is the only casino in Loutraki and with plans to rede-velop the old Athens International Airport it has beensuggested this is the perfect opportunity and timing foran integrated casino resort.

Meanwhile the roll out of VLTs has been delayed withnumerous legal challenges which were partiallyresolved in October last year when Brussels forced theOPAP to pay an extra five percent tax on VLT GGR. Nowthe VLT roll out will begin in 2015.

At the moment Greece’s gaming market consists of:

l Lottery: OPAP and the State Lottery Division

l Casinos: Nine casinos privately operated and domi-nated by Regency.

l Betting: Dominated by OPAP

l Horse racing: Run by domestic horserace betting(ODIE) which has 417 agents of which 380 are jointlyoperated with OPAP.


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Greece is still one of the leadinggaming sectors in the EU and in2013 the gross gaming revenue

was estimated to be €1.7bnmaking it the EU’s ninth largest

gaming sector. OPAP holds a 69per cent share due to the

success in the main of Kino andStihima.

01 Greece's OPAP, Europe'ssecond-biggest gamblingcompany by stock market value,is pushing back the launch of itsvideo lotto machines (VLTs) byabout three months to thesecond quarter of 2015.The new business is seen as amajor growth catalyst for thecompany, which offers lotteriesand sports betting through about4,700 outlets in Greece.OPAP had previously said itwanted the first machines to berolled out in the last quarter ofthe year, but regulatory snagsand negotiations with theoperators of its retail outlets overtheir role in the project delayedthe launch.

2012 2014 2016 2018 2020

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

Horse racingCasinos OPAP Scratch cards

State Lotteries VLTs Online

GaminG markeT diVision esTimaTions in €m.

OPAP has a 71 percent share of the gaming market fol-lowed by the casino sector with 22 percent, state lotterywith five percent and ODIE with two percent.

Law 4002/2011This law has given OPAP the exclusive monopoly forVLT operation for a 20 year period from December 2000until 2020. This agreement was extended to 2030except for Stihima, Monitor Games and Go Lucky’s andonline operations (until 2020). OPAP can fix the maxi-mum amount of the bet and winnings and may use upto 10 percent of the advertising space in the stadiums forfree.

The 4002/2011 states that Greece will now host 35,000VLTs which is defined in articles 25-54. The main pointsstate that:

l OPAP will control pricing policy and there will beidentical pricing for all VLTs

l Licence also includes online Random NumberGenerator games

l The operator and concessionaires will supervise theactivities of each subcontractor.

l Each VLT will require an individual player card whichis issued upon request to players over the age of 21.They are entered into a central computer.

l Minimum payout is 80 percent.

l Concessionaires are prohibited to sub, with or withoutconsideration, the right to operate VLTs.

l Concessionaires will pay for the VLTs including GameCertification fees, Gaming Machine Certification feesand Premises Certification fees.

l The concessionaire may install VLTs in Certified Shopsin type B and E and have the right to choose theirgaming machines.

l Information on VLTs will include the name of thegame, amount each time a player participates in thegame, the result of last participation, amount of profitfrom participation, balance available etc.


01 At the end of November 2014, OPAPChief Executive Kamil Zieglerexplained to analysts on a conferencecall that OPAP had set a target ofbefore the early second quarter 2015for installation of the VLT machines tostart their roll-out in the Greek gamingmarket. He said the companyexpected by that time to have beenable to allocate the resources neededto proceed with the implementation inthe most effective way. The companysaid it aimed to operate between3,500 and 5,000 VLTs initially and toroll out all 16,000 by the end of 2015.The company has picked Italy'sGTECH, U.S. company ScientificGames, Britain's Inspired Gaming andCzech-based Synot as its VLTvendors

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l Tax is 30 percent on the VLT GGR per gambling oper-ator payable to the state every three months. If rev-enues increase over a certain thresholds this willincrease to 35 percent.

l Players are subject to a 10 percent tax on winnings.

l OPAP as the exclusive operator of VLTs and its sub-contractors are subject to corporate tax of 25 percent.

l Exclusive licence given to OPAP which is renewableupon fulfilment of certain conditions. Licence grantedin 2011 on payment of €16,000 per VLT.

l 16,500 VLTs are to operate in OPAP and ODIE’s net-work of agents.

l Four to 10 concessionaires to be selected throughpublic international tender conducted by OPAP forthe highest bidders to operate the remaining 18,500.

l All machines (VLT terminals and hardware) and

games to be selected from a list drafted by OPAP andapproved by commission.

l Online real time monitoring of concessionaries to bedone by Greek Ministry of Finance, Commission andOPAP.

l Minimum bet is 10c and maximum bet is €2 pergame. This can be changed after a decision of theHellenic Gaming Commission. The daily limit of€500 on a players card which players must hold orthey cannot play.

l Each VLT shall require a minimum space of threesq.m per machine and gaming halls will be on aver-age between 120 and 150sq.m.

l Hours for the gaming halls are 9am until 2am (week-days) and until 4am on weekends and holidays. Food,drink and low alcoholic beverages will be permitted.Smoking is permitted in 50 percent of the space withan annual cost of €200 per sq.m.

l There is no minimum or maximum number of VLTsper concessionaire.

l No ATMs are permitted on premises where VLT arelocated.

l No VLTs are permitted on premises located less than

The OPAP (Greek Organisationof Football Prognostics) is a

public company based inAthens. It has the exclusive right

to operate and managenumerical lottery and sportbetting games in Greece.


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5km in a straight line from any of the nine licensedcasinos.

l VLTs can be installed and operated on cruise shipssubject to licences issued by the commission.

l Maximum number of 25 VLTs on premises exclusive-ly dedicated to VLT gambling. However there is adraft legislation to increase this to 50 VLTs. PendingEuropean Commission approval.

l Operators must obtain an administrative licenceissued by Greek authorities.

Under the changes the OPAP will create new gaminghalls and it is thought they this will also expand themarket in terms of age profile. At the moment an aver-age OPAP customer is 40+ years and VLT market is -40years. It will also expand the market in terms of operat-ing hours.

The opapThe OPAP (Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics)is a public company based in Athens. It has the exclu-sive right to operate and manage numerical lottery andsport betting games in Greece.

OPAP was founded in 1958 as a private entity to organ-ise and operate PROPO (Greek Football Pools game) andin 1999 was transformed into Societe Anonyme with theHellenic Republic as the sole stakeholder. In 2000OPAP acquired a 20 year licence from the state to be theexclusive operator of lottery and sports betting gameswhich has since been extended to 2030. In 2001 theshares were listed on the Athens Stock Exchange.

In 2008 the Greek state owned 34.4 percent and in 2013the company was privatised with Emma Delta Ltdacquiring a 33 percent stake in the company. Initiallyeight potential investors expressed an interest: BCPartners; Emma Delta Ltd; Consortium of Gauselmann,Playtech and Helvason; Consortium of Intralot, PrimroseTreasure Limited, Third Point LLC, TPG Capital andTriple Five World Group Properties.

Emma Delta is a Cyprus registered bidding vehicle whopaid €650m in August 2013 for the stake and the com-pany submitted the only valid binding offer.

The company is now apparently being investigated.Weeks after the take over it replaced the chief execu-tive and other board members with its own appointees.The probe focuses on transparency, governance andpossible conflict of interest in the deal.

The leading investors include Jiri Smecj, a Czech billion-aire and Dimitris Melissanidis, a Greek oil tycoon. MrSmecj controls Emma Capital, an investment companywhich set up Emma Delta as a vehicle to bid for OPAP.Melissanidis controls a stake in Emma Delta through aCyprus based company.

The shares of OPAP are now divided between Investors60.99 percent, Silchester International Investors 5.01percent, Emma Delta 33 percent and Hellenic Republicretains one percent.

The privatisation deal delayed the 2011 law, howevernow the Greeks are now eager to get the VLT ball rolling.

Gaming company 2009 (bn €) 2011 (bn €)

OPAP €5.4 €4.3Lotteries €0.418 €0.300ODIE €0.260 €0.123Casinos €2.8 €2.2TOTAL €8.9 €7.0

fiGures for GamBLinG TurnoVer 2009-2011 To show decLine


The company is now headed by Chairman KamilZiegler. Revenues for 2013 amounted to €3.71bn withgross profits of €346m. Kino saw the highest saleswith 55 percent of turnover followed by STIHIMA andJOKER. Revenues in 2012 from the games amounted to€3.9bn whilst gross profit was €773m.

OPAP has 4,869 points of sale in total (4,681 in Greeceand 188 in Cyprus) and has a 50 percent share of thegaming market in Greece and Cyprus and currentlyruns three sports betting games – Stihima, Propo andPropo-Goal which between them account for almosthalf of the group’s total revenues. OPAP also managedto shut down Stanleybet back in 2008 after the UKcompany opened two betting shops in Greece and wasto be a major competitor to OPAP.

There are 1,902 agencies in Attica, 758 in WesternMacedonia, Thessaly and Epirus, 880 in Central andEastern Macedonia and Thrace, 408 in the FaroeIslands and 791 in Central Greece, Evias, Peloponnisouand Ionian Islands.

Today OPAP runs number games Lotto, Joker, Keno,Proto, Extra 5 and Super 3 plus football pools, sportsbetting and Go Lucky games.

In March 2013 OPAP appointed GTECH as the compa-ny’s provider for the expansion of its activities in theonline sports betting market focusing primarily on theonline sports betting sector.

OPAP’s subsidiary OPAP Investment Ltd takes part ina joint venture to operate the lottery with Intralot (16.5percent), Scientific Games (16.5 percent) andLottomatica (0.00001 percent). OPAP has the remain-ing 66.9999 percent.

The three main growth changes for OPAP will be theVLT market plus capitalising on online gaming via bet-ting games and OPAP is currently developing its onlineactivity to offer better services whilst OPAP, in a jointventure with Intralot and Scientific Games, is launch-ing scratch cards with an instant win.

opap and VLTsIn 2012 the European Commission authorised Greecethe exclusive rights until 2030 to operate 13 games ofchance and to operate 35,000 VLTs until 2022.

OPAP was given the right to operate VLTs by theGambling Control Commission (EEEP) and paid a

OPAP has 4,869 points of salein total and has a 50 per centshare of the gaming market inGreece and Cyprus currentlyrunning three sports bettinggames – Stihima, Propo andPropo-Goal which between

them account for almost half ofthe group’s total revenues.

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G3-247 Report

8 3

Game TurnoVer 2012 TurnoVer 2013

Propo €16.0m €12.6mLotto €56.4m €58.7mProto €27.6m €31.0m

BettingStihima €1.3bn €1.2bnMonitor Games €92.6m €68.0mGo Lucky €4.7m €1.6m

Propo Goal €1.1m €996,000Joker €208,000 €207,000Extra 5 €9.6m €7.9mSuper 3 €28m €21mKino €2.1bn €2bnToTaL €3.9bn €3.7bn

opap reVenue for Various seGmenTs for 2012 and 2013.

€m 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

GGR 1,204 1,611 2,103 2,263 2,362 2,484 2,547 2,660 2,711 2,808EBITDA 243 319 423 472 498 526 544 631 825 867Net Profit 116 127 213 258 291 314 331 409 533 568

opap predicTs ToTaL company incomes for The nexT 10 years

opap VLTs sub contract VLT ToTaL

2013 €247m €173m €4212015 €523m €586m €1.01bn2016 €575m €645m €1.22bn2017 €632m €708m €1.43bn2018 €645m €722m €1.36bn2019 €658m €738m €1.39bn

opap projecTed VLT Gross win

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

No. of machines 14,593 35,000 35,000 35,000 35,000 35,000No. of OPAP own machines 8,580 16,500 16,500 16,500 16,500 16,500Wagers - market €2,804m €7,392m €8,131m €8,946m €9,125m €9,306mPayout 85% 85% 85% 85% 85% 85%Gross win – marketwide €421m €1.109m €1.220m €1.341m €1,367m €1,396mGross win per day per machine €80 €88 €97 €106 €109 €111Game duty -€86m -€181m -€199m -€219m -€226m -€230mAgent commission -€62m -€131m -€141m -€155m -€152m -€155mTechnology Suppliers -€21m -€45m -€50m -€55m -€56m -€57mOther expenses -€14m -€15m -€15m -€15m -€15m -€15mEBITDA €64m €150m €170m €188m €197m €201mOPAP EBITDA estimate €62m €137m €145m. €153m €152m €160m

euroBank esTimaTions for opap VLT markeT

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Number of machines 6,013 18,500 18,500 18,500 18,500 18,500Gross win €173m €586m €645m €708m €722m €738mGross win per machine per day €80 €88 €97 €106 €108 €111Game duty -€60m -€203m -€223m -€245m -€253m -€258mSub contractor commission -€98m -€331m -€364m -€401m -€384m -€392mEBITDA €15m €52m €58m €62m €85m €88mOPAP EBITDA estimate €27 €67m €70m €73m €77m €80m

euroBank esTimaTions for opap suB conTracTed machines

€560m fee in 2011 for the 35,000 VLTs (€16,000 perVLT).

This included the tender to supply 16,500 VLTS forOPAP’s own network plus a public international bid-ding tender to grant the right of installation of a further18,500 VLTs to between four and 10 concessionaireswhich is expected to roll out next year.

It is predicted that there will be four big concessionaireswith 4,600 VLTs each and then a couple of smalleroperators with 1,500-2,000 VLTS. It is estimated some800 gaming halls will be opened by these concession-aires bringing the total number of gaming halls to 1,400by the beginning of 2016.

The initial roll out of VLTs was due to begin in March /April this year and after some delays is now expectedby the beginning of 2015. It will include a portfolio of8,580 directly operated machines which are anticipatedto reach €225m that year on daily yields of €73 permachine. Sub-contracted VLTs are estimated to earn thesame amount per day but only generate half the EBIT -€50m annually compared to €100m for the companyoperated terminals.

By mid next year the machines are expected to earn adaily yield of €80 per day with €500m revenue thatyear.

Under the law the first 16,500 must be installed within18 months after the Operation and Control regulationsare in place (Aug 2014). Concessionaires then have 24months from the granting of the concession to installthe remaining VLTs.

The Greek state will tax gross profits on the machineson a sliding scale of 30 to 35 percent. The sub conces-sionaires are to be treated like agents and will pass ontheir revenues minus a commission fee to OPAP. Thiswill amount to around 55-56 percent of the subcon-tracted machines gross win.

It is thought OPAP will ask for a €4,000-€8,000upfront free per VLT with €5,500 as a suggested likelyrate. This should then cover OPAP’s €86m licence fee.

VLT suppLiersIn July GTECH was selected by OPAP to provide thecentral information system for OPAP’s VLT network.


01 Synot is currently finalising its contractwith OPAP but is expected to supplyaround 2,000 of the VLTs next yearand is ready to send machines at thebeginning of 2015. Phase two of theproject will see OPAP able to sell theremaining VLT licences to chosenconcessionaires who can then opentheir own venues.

02 Synot’s David Mixa said: “Greece wasalways a very good market and alsothe indicated number of the illegalmachines clearly shows that Greeksare big players. It is extremely difficultto predict future revenue in a marketwhere the legal gaming industry hadpretty much been completelyeliminated. But we see massivepotential and Greece is a project that isa top priority for us.”

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The selection was the result of an open tender proce-dure in which four companies participated includingIntralot and Scientific Games. Evaluation of all bidderoffers was based on defined technical and financial cri-teria that were communicated in the tender invitation aswell as prior experience.

An OPAP spokesman said: “The VLT project follows thecompany’s initial design and planning. This selection isone of the key milestones in the VLT roll out project andthe first machines are expected to be running by end2014.

“The legal operation will offer a legitimate, responsibleand certified gaming experience to the public, it willcontribute to the creation of thousands of new jobs andit will also bring additional income to the state throughthe GGR taxation, which is not the case of current illegalVLT market.”

GTECH’s INTELLIGEN VLT Central Information Systemwill provide OPAP with the ability to connect up to35,000 products supplied by VLT manufacturersthrough the Game to System (G2S) protocol which willpermit advanced network functionality such as multi

level jackpots, remote game downloading, integratedResponsible Gaming solution, Advanced BusinessAnalytics, Player Services Management and ProactiveDiagnostics.

GTECH will have achieved 24 INTELLIGEN deploy-ments between 2009 and the end of 2015 inclusive ofGreece and the Greek system is currently in the processof being deployed.

Walter Bugno, President and CEO of GTECHInternational said: “GTECH’s extensive experiencedeploying large scale, open standards based VLT CentralSystems for World Lottery Association customersaround the world will help OPAP maximise the benefitsof its new VLT program. INTELLIGEN’s open standardsarchitecture and foundational features including itsintegrated Responsible Gaming solution will ensure theprogram’s success and long term sustainability, whichultimately benefits the people of Greece.”

Meanwhile recently, in November 2014 GTECH was oneof four companies selected to supply VLT products to theGreek market. These four were chosen from a short listof eight initial companies when the tender began inDecember 2013. The other three companies are InspiredTechnology, WMS and Synot.

OPAP became a GTECH customer in March 2014 when itselected the company as a partner for OPAP’s onlinesports betting operations in Greece. The solution waslaunched in three months and enabled OPAP to benefitfrom the new technology in time for the 2014 FIFAWorld Cup.

Meanwhile recently, in November 2014 GTECH was oneof four companies selected to supply VLT products to theGreek market. These four were chosen from a short listof eight initial companies when the tender began inDecember 2013. The other three companies are InspiredTechnology, WMS and Synot.

Synot is currently finalising its contract with OPAP butis expected to supply around 2,000 of the VLTs nextyear and is ready to send machines at the beginning of2015. Phase two of the project will see OPAP able to sellthe remaining VLT licences to chosen concessionaireswho can then open their own venues.

Synot’s David Mixa said: “Greece was always a verygood market as indicated by the number of illegalmachines, which shows that Greeks are big players. It isextremely difficult to predict future revenue in a marketwhere the legal gaming industry was pretty much com-pletely eliminated. However, we see massive potentialand Greece is a project which has a top priority for us.

“We imagine players will not like the players cardrequiring full identification of the players, tax deductionfrom achieved wins, limits on stake and wins. But on the

OPAP became a GTECHcustomer in March 2014 when it

selected the company as apartner for OPAP’s online sports

betting operations in Greece.


8 5

other hand the possibility to play legally without all theattributed negative aspects of illegal gaming and at thesame time enjoying the most advanced gaming systemsin the world, should outweigh some of the rather com-plex rules set up by the gaming industry regulators.”

The number of VLTs to be provided by each companyhas not yet been disclosed publicly by the companies,but a source in the market says GTECH and Inspired willsupply around 5,000 machines each, WMS 4,000 andSynot 2,000.

OPAP plans to operate 650 stores with VLTs by the sec-ond half of 2015. OPAP is committed to put 16,500 VLTsinto operation by the end of 2015 or the licences will berevoked. Each will accommodate up to 25 VLTs. This is alittle behind schedule as the initial plan was to havethese store up and running by the fourth quarter of 2014.The new target is considered a little ambitious.

But if all goes to the plan the 650 OPAP stores will housesome 16,500 VLTs with at least 4,500 of these hopefullyin operation by the first quarter of 2015 and this will beincreased to 7,000 by April then 12,500 by May and byJuly the 16,500.

OPAP is looking to operate a large portion of the VLTsimmediately as the 10 year authorisation begins fromthe day the first store opens. It is thought the majority ofVLT operations will be on the mainland with smalleramounts on the islands.

Within the first few months of 2015 the internationaltender for the allocation of licences for the remaining18,500 VLTs are also expected to begin. These 18,500VLTs will be hosted in 800 stores.

OPAP has now put together a series of proposals toagents although there is some disagreement in thecamp. The gaming halls are aimed primarily at existingOPAP agents who can operate alone or in a joint venture(with up to five agents).

Costs to set up each gaming hall is estimated to bearound €69,000 to €86,000 on construction, equip-ment, furniture, two months rent and is covered by thepromoter’s agents. The cost of the VLTs and technologi-cal equipment is down to OPAP. The agents must coverthe cost of the insurance and have sufficient capital tocover winnings and a €10,000 letter of guarantee.

With a yield of €60-70 per VLT and 20-25 percentdepreciation in three to six years the annual operatingcosts are estimated to range from €108,000 to€140,000.

OPAP wants the agents to create associations to takeover the running of an agency. But the PanhellenicFederation of Professional Agents of Lottery Games(POEPPP) believes if the running of the VLT stores areleft to third party operations it will result in a competi-tive network of non agents, which was not the initialidea.

Meanwhile tenders for various supplier licences havealso been issued including the bid for the supply andprinting of the cards needed for players to take part inthe various OPAP lottery games plus the supply of ther-mal paper rolls and shipping services.

Rapidly expanding, and at the cutting-edge ofinnovation in online gaming, China’s gamblingmarket is abuzz with opportunity. But with acomplex 4,000 year history, and a very differentmodus operandi to what we’re used to in theWest, it’s hardly surprising that foreign companieshave found it hard to understand and to navigate.This means some companies are not only cuttingthemselves off from the largest gambling marketin the world – they’re also damaging their posi-tion in the West.

Many Western companies have a tendency toassume they can achieve success in Asia by repli-cating products which have worked in the West.But Macau, the Vegas of China, has proven themwrong. Although from a commercial and legalperspective Macau and Las Vegas have somecommonalities, the products upon which eachbusiness is built differ vastly.

The rapid growth of Macau as the epicentre ofgambling in the East followed a similar path to LasVegas in the United States (U.S.) – growing itselfas the only place where punters could legallyplace a bet. In the U.S. and other Western coun-tries there is a disparity in rules and regulationsacross federal and provincial systems; similarly inChina, each province has its own requirements,legal challenges and consumer habits. Gaming hasa particularly complex status in the country: it isenormously popular as a social activity, but otherthan playing the lottery, gambling for moneyremains illegal outside of Macau.

Let’s look at an example of the differences ingaming cultures: casinos in Macau that importedall their products from the U.S. found that peopleweren’t using the slot machines. In fact, slotmachines account for just four percent of takingsin Macau. Instead, punters headed for the tables indroves. They also played different games to

Westerners at the tables. Roulette had far lessappeal; all the focus was on baccarat with 85 per-cent of players choosing it.

But it wasn’t that Chinese people didn’t like slotmachines, it was that the machines didn’t compli-ment Chinese gaming and pop culture, asexplained by Desmond Lam Chee Shiong, a gam-bling expert at the University of Macau. Citingpopular movies such as The Shell Game [1980]and God of Gamblers [1989], where suave charac-ters use their wit and supernatural powers toamass great wins on tables, Desmond noted in his2005 journal: "Everyone wants to look cool likethe actors, learn the skills (be it earthly or super-natural) and beat the house".

Social gaming, meanwhile, is very common inChina: mahjong, for example, is often played atsocial gatherings, whether at a friend’s party, awedding, or a funeral. This might sound like moreof an anthropological observation than businessadvice, but these differences really matter:Chinese gamers come to the market with a totallydifferent set of expectations to Western players.Certainly, Chinese pop culture reflects these atti-tudes: a huge number of gambling-themed filmsare produced, and almost as many TV series,which, as mentioned, have influenced gaminghabits and elevated the status of playing tablegames in casinos.

At Geonomics, we understand that these culturalattitudes make a difference – you need to knowexactly what kind of experience your gamerswant to get out of your products. If you don’t taketheir expectations and gaming psychology intoaccount, you won’t be able to design productsyour customers like. This is especially importantin the case of China: the psychology behind gam-ing is deeply embedded. A casino executive inMacau once said: "The difference between

CHINa oNLINE & moBILEInteractive

what happens in China,won’t stay in China...Perverting the old saying, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, the sheer scaleof the Chinese domestic gaming market means that its impact is being felt aroundthe world and it’s influence and ramifications must be noted by all stakeholders

Carly Mae Penworthy,Global Marketing ExecutiveGeonomics, a gamingcompany that createslocation-based lotto games.

8 6

In the case of China: thepsychology behind gaming isdeeply embedded. A casino

executive in Macau once said:"The difference between

Westerners and the Chinese isthat for Westerners, gambling

is about entertainment andcalculating probabilities. Forthe Chinese it's a battle with

destiny."

Westerners and the Chinese is that forWesterners, gambling is about entertainment andcalculating probabilities. For the Chinese it's abattle with destiny."

Many studies have shown that Chinese gamershave a higher illusion of control than Westerngamers, believing that they can control the out-come of events in baccarat, blackjack, sic bo orlottery, for example. These psychological differ-ences help explain why the Chinese gamble: “InLas Vegas, people gamble as a diversion,” saysManuel Neves, director of the Macau govern-ment's gaming department, adding “in Macau,they gamble to fight; it's Chinese.”

In Macau, this attitude pays: it has more revenueper table than anywhere else in the world, and 91percent of their gross gaming revenue comes frombaccarat alone. Macau’s well-heeled clientelelargely consists of hard-core players on junketsand day-trippers from Hong Kong. The resort-style casinos of Vegas are unlikely to interestthem, and the notion that they should bring theirfamilies is often met with incredulity. They wantto play: half of the average person’s holiday budg-

et in Macau goes on betting – far higher thanVegas. Even in the mass market the average bet isover $100, with an average gaming spend of over$650 per holiday.

The focus on tables might make China sound tra-ditional in comparison to the West, but when itcomes to online gaming it is leading the way.China is well-established as the world’s largestsmartphone market — but what exactly doChinese consumers use their mobile devices for?According to the China Internet NetworkInformation Center, more than 500 million peoplein China access the internet via their smart-phones, while 44.9 percent of all smartphoneusers play mobile games on their devices.

The mobile-gaming market has exploded inChina, with revenue expected to grow 93 percentto US$2.9 billion in 2014, and that expansion islikely to continue at a compound annual growthrate of 37.6 percent from 2013 to 2018. Indeed,Newzoo estimates that the global mobile gamingmarket will reach US$23.9 billion by 2016, repre-senting a 25 percent compound annual growthrate (CAGR) over 2013-16. Of that total market,

the Asia Pacific region is expected to have a 48.4percent market share, ahead of North America on25 percent.

Even if you have no plans to move into theChinese market right now, Chinese gaming hasalready transformed the domestic market.London casinos are changing their habits to reachout to Chinese gamers, and the UK GamblingCommission says baccarat spending has trebledover the last four years. “A few years ago casinoswere very much made up of super-rich MiddleEast customers playing roulette,” says EricaYoung, the Commission’s casino expert. “The biggrowth now is the Far East, mainland Chinese andbaccarat.”

Companies cannot afford to ignore the differencesbetween Western and Chinese gaming habits, andthey really cannot afford to underestimate theinfluence it will have on our gambling culture andbehavior on a global level - we can already seethat what happens in China won’t stay in China.So, although it may seem like a long and compli-cated path to mastering the market, it’s a far morerisky decision to ignore it.

CHINa oNLINE & moBILEInteractive

8 7

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The proven performance of Hyperlink comes to thenext level in Aristocrat’s J*SERIES with the dynamicnew Cash Explosion. Cash Explosion is the flexible,feature-rich game for players who want anexperience full of jackpots.

Cash Explosion heats up the casino floor with fourtitles, each with their own fun base game.Depending on the base game, additional featuresinclude Wild Multipliers, “Choose Your OwnVolatility” Free Games, Large Symbol Free Games,and a second-screen Pick’em feature that canaward jackpots or credit prizes.

Adding to the fun, players can trigger jackpotsrandomly with the Plunger feature or with five-of-a-kinds that can trigger multiple jackpots on a singlespin. Cash Explosion is configured as a Reel Power+ 60 credit game, with denominations ranging from1c to $10. Players will love chasing progressivejackpots that start at $10,000 (Grand) and $500(Major).

The game bank is completed with sign packageconfigurations double-sided diamond, double-sidedhub, double sided Z chassis or LCD topper.

NetEnt has launced the classic Universal Picturesfilm The Invisible Man as a best-in-class brandedslot game using HTML5 technology. The InvisibleMan Branded Slot was developed via a licensingagreement with Universal Partnerships &Licensing. The Invisible Man Branded Slot is afive-reel, three-row, 20-line (fixed) win-both-ways video slot that will also be added to NetEnt’sTouch portfolio. In addition to rich graphics, thenew title will include Re-spins, Free Spins,Walking Wilds and two Bonuses.

The first Bonus Feature is Griffin’s Rage. Thisfeature sees players join the search for TheInvisible Man at three locations with an excitingPick & Click style game delivering coin prizes andmultipliers. The second Bonus Game is PoliceSpins. This feature follows players as the policeclose in on the main antagonist during threebonus spins, with five Burning Wilds that appearon the reels randomly.

Simon Hammon, CPO of NetEnt, says:“Partnering with Universal Partnerships &Licensing has enabled us to deliver anotheroutstanding slot accessible by desktop andmobile devices. The Invisible Man showcases agreat player and gaming experience of a verypopular title and story.

01

03

EveryMatrix has launched a social sports bettingplatform, Favourit. This integration will providecustomers with over 10,000 pre-match and5,000 live betting opportunities per month.

Favourit has been redesigned from the groundup as the “social sports book”, offeringcustomers a brand new way to bet on sports andracing around the globe.

Favourit has invested heavily in surveying themarket and assessing its competitive position tocreate a completely unique proposition for thesports betting market.

Favourit offers the customer a more engaging,insightful and useful betting experience.Separating itself from the traditional “price andtransactional” driven approach, Favourit givesusers a global community of betting experts, realtime betting data and analytics, competitive realmoney betting odds as well as a free virtualbalance to test out their strategies.

The Favourit platform is available in multiplelanguages and is available on web, mobile

(HTML5 & iOS) and tablet. Toby Simmons, CEOFavourit, said: “Over the past two years Favourithas developed a unique approach to the sportsbetting industry, now we are capitalizing on thisby value adding to the experience with a sportsbook partnership with EveryMatrix.

“From our research, customers have told us thatFavourit gives them a better online bettingexperience,” continued Mr. Simmons.

“We are out to prove we’re changing the gamefor the better. Following the trends of verticalssuch as social share trading and marketinnovators including eToro & StockTwits,Favourit will continue to become the numberone brand in regards to a better user experiencefor punters around the world.”

“We are delighted to be able to launch such afantastic new operator integrating our innovativeplatform. I am thoroughly impressed withFavourit’s ambition, drive and genuineenthusiasm to change the user experience and Iam delighted to announce this launch,” EbbeGroes, Chief Executive EveryMatrix said.

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Plaor, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of verticalinterest social media network CrowdGather, Inc. haslaunched f Dinosaur Up, a new title developed fromits partner Lightning Box Games. Dinosaur Up is a 5reel video slot with scatter symbols, expandingwilds, and multipliers that is currenly available toplay in Mega Fame Casino & Slots™ and on theFacebook, iOS, and Android game platforms.

“Dinosaur Up, our second title from Lightning Box, isa unique game and unlike anything else we havelaunched to-date in Mega Fame Casino & Slots,”said Richard Corredera, Chief Operating Officer ofCrowdGather. “It is such innovation that makes ourongoing partnership with Lightning Box so valuableto us and to our players.”

Lightning Box is a leading independent slot gamedesign studio based in Sydney, Australia that hasbeen partnering with a growing list of land-based,online, mobile, and social casino clients.

DINOSAUR UPOnline social slotLightning Box Games

FAVOURITOnline Sports-betting platformEveryMatrix

8 8

LaNd-BasEd & INtEraCtIVEProducts

Based on the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, whichhas captivated the hearts of fans across the globe,Microgaming’s hotly-anticipated Game of Thronesonline slot has launched simultaneously online andon mobile. Game of Thrones online slot is a 5x3 reelgame available in both 243 ways-to-win and 15lines. Set in the world of Westeros and beyond, thegame centres on the four great Houses: Baratheon,Lannister, Stark and Targaryen. Players are giventhe opportunity to serve one of the Houses duringthe free spins selection feature, triggered by threescatter (Iron Throne) symbols.

In addition, the online slot boasts stacked wildsacross all reels and if two scatter symbols landanywhere on the reels, a fiery dragon’s egg willappear, offering players a random prize.

Roger Raatgever, CEO of Microgaming, comments:“We revealed our licensing agreement for the Gameof Thrones series in February, and anticipation forthe game’s launch has been building ever since.Such is the power of the Game of Thrones brand!“With the game going live today to bothMicrogaming and Quickfire operators, online and onmobile, players can now enter the fantastical worldof Game of Thrones with our new online slot! It’s anexciting day for us all!”

01

Aristocrat Technologies Europe has advanced thelaunch of its new, premium range of Helix cabinets,with the first installations taking place on Europeangaming floors across December. Following on fromhighly acclaimed launches at recent trade shows inSydney, Las Vegas, Buenos Aires and Macau, theglobal games developer is now giving Europeanoperators in non-approval markets the opportunityto present players with a raft of new games on Helixcabinets, ahead of its major showcasing atFebruary’s ICE Show in London.

“European customers attending G2E were blownaway by Helix and the portfolio of new games ithosts,” explained Donal Maguire, Sales & MarketingDirector – Europe. “So we have spent the last twomonths accelerating the commercialisation processto meet the high demand for a quicker delivery tothis region.”

“‘Bringing the game forward’ and making it the heroof every cabinet is the fundamental premise behindthe whole development concept of Helix,”continued Mr Maguire. “Its raison d’être is to deliverthe ultimate gaming experience and, in providing abase of new inherent technological enhancements,Helix allows our developers to cross new frontiers ofgame design in audio-visual experience and multi-dimensional engagement.”

A key feature of the new hardware is the use oflarger, infinity-edged, frameless, HD displays thatappear to float in front of the machine, projectingcontent towards the player and occupying a greaterproportion of the field of view. This is just one ofmany ergonomic aspects considered in theconstruction of Helix, where the end goal of optimalplayer comfort and interaction has resulted in moreleg room and a height-adjusted, extended buttondeck and padded wrist bolster.

Aesthetics play a huge part in the appeal of thesecabinets, whose champagne nickel finish isdesigned not only for anti-stain resilience anddurability, but also to capture the immersive, rearsurface, ambient LED lighting. This, together withthe screen-edge LED pinstripe lighting, isprogrammed to react to in-game play in both colourand intensity, creating further mood effectaccording to the type of game, bonus, feature andtempo.

The cabinet finish is designed to complement thehosted game content, portrayed on larger, full HD,23-inch screens in true 16:9 widescreen aspect,brought together to create one large playing field,the player tracking module enclosure being moveddown to the mid trim, where it sits morecomfortably alongside cash, ticket and card entryslots and the button deck. The visuals areaccompanied by operator-adjustable, reverberatingaudio, driven through a quad sound speaker systemwith ported, enclosed subwoofer.

An integrated LCD button panel now comes asstandard on all Helix models, further increasing thelevel of player interactivity, whilst an optional 19.5-inch LED/LCD topper is capable of carryingmainboard-driven attract animation sequences.

Components inside the machine have also beenuprated with vastly increased processing power,bigger storage and faster memory, graphics andcommunication devices all combining to provide theinfrastructure for current and future gamesinvolving richer and more complex sequences,sound and video entertainment.

Helix has been created not only with the player inmind, but also with more operator-friendly featuresincluding a greater range of sound and lightprogrammable features and easier access to allinternal serviceable components.

Fresh with the new Helix hardware comesAristocrat’s next generation software platform,Gen8, capable of delivering more intense gamingexperiences, whilst at the same time beingbackwards compatible with key, proven titles fromthe Gen7 games library.

“Cabinet options for European gaming floors arevery straight-forward,” continued Mr Maguire. “Inaddition to the standard Helix Upright (casino top)model, we are offering a compelling Slant variant,the captivating Super Screen Slant, which featuresa 32-inch HD top screen for truly stunning playappeal and stand-out attract effects. There is also aLow Boy format for dedicated centrepieces withinour licensed gaming operations portfolio such asthe upcoming Wonder Wheels games Batman™Classic TV Series and Tarzan of the Apes™ linkedjackpot game.”

The arrival of Helix coincides with the introduction oftwo new game categories designed, according to MrMaguire, to ‘entertain players to their very core’.

“Our games designers have been working tirelessly,pushing the boundaries to enhance our gamegenres for both current and new generations ofplayers,” he stated.

“Having introduced the hugely successfulentertainment-style E*Series phenomenon,Aristocrat has taken the best elements of its mind-blowing maths, amazing animations and stunningsound effects and built them into brand new breedsof J-Series jackpot games and C-Series coregames.”

HELIX CABINETCasino Slot MachinesAristocrat Technologies

8 9

Yggdrasil Gaming has launched its high variancegame Cazino Zeppelin to the online casino market. The game features Free Spins with Sticky Wilds andWild TransfersT The game is unique to the extentthat players can modify game speed to be able toalmost ‘fast forward’ to Free Spins mode whereplayers can win up to 40,000 times an individualline bet for each Free Spin. A team of talented soundartists have created an unrivalled in-play ambiancewith backing music to offer the best playerexperience available.

This is the eighth slot game that Yggdrasil haslaunched since December 2013. The slot will beavailable to the Yggdrasil customer network andcan be played in beta at VeraJohn.com.

CAZINO ZEPPELINOnline slotsYggdrasil Gaming

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suBsCrIBEInformation ADVANTECH-INNOCORE– pg 19

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ALFASTREET – pg 15www.alfastreet.si

AMD – pg 39www.amd.com/casinogaming

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APEX GAMING – pg 05www.apex-gaming.com

ARISTOCRAT TECHNOLOGIES – pg OBCwww.aristocratgaming.co.uk

ASIA GAMBLING BRIEF – pg 57www.asiagamblingbrief.com

AUSTRIAN GAMING INDUSTRIES – pg 09www.austrian-gaming.com

CAMMEGH – pg 17www.cammegh.com

CARROLL CONSULTING – pg 55www.carrollconsulting.de

COMTRADE GAMING – pg 45www.comtradegaming.com

DLV – pg IBCwww.dlv.lv

EAG – pg 59www.attactionsexpo.co.uk

E-GAMING – pg 37www.e-gaming.cz

ELO TOUCH SOLUTIONS – pg 55www.elotouch.com

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We’re transforming the world of gaming. Built around a new, futuristic range of Helix™ cabinets and advanced Gen8™ software platform; new technologies that allow our games to eclipse all that’s gone before.

Players will be ever more enthralled by the expanding range of E*Series™ entertainment games, the jaw-dropping jackpot excitement of J-Series™, the captivating entertainment of C-Series™ core games and by a dazzling array of centrepiece attractions in our new Gaming Operations portfolio.

Step into our world and embrace the Next Dimension of Gaming on Stand S2-250 at ICE 2015.

THE NEXT

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© 2015 Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited. Aristocrat, Helix, E*Series, J-Series, C-Series and the Aristocrat logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited.

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