Gamesoft announces free updates deal

UK: Gamesoft of the UK has announced this week that anyone buying a Power Games machine between now and September 2007 will receive free game updates.

More specifically, the firm has announced that it will provide operators who purchase a Power Games machine from ATEI onwards a free update for its Firecracker and Monkey Business Classic games changing them from £2 stake, £500 jackpot games to £1/£500 games in time for the introduction of the new B3 (replacing Section 16 and 21) category on September 1, 2007.

Additionally, when customers receive their free B3 updates they will also find free updates from £25 to £35 for their AWP games, Firestorm, Monkey Madness and Multi Win Poker.

The firm's Robert Taylor said: "Our customers are looking for reassurance that the machines they are buying now won't require expensive updating in September. This announcement means that come September all the customer has to decide is whether they want to operate the machine as a B3 or a £35 Category C and it won't have cost them a penny."

Ainsworth set to unveil CEO

AUSTRALIA: Sources in Australia inform us that as the ICE show opens in London this week the new CEO of Ainsworth Game Technologies will be unveiled.

We understand that he is to be Danny Gladstone, from outside of the gaming industry. He will replace David Creasy who recently left the company to pursue personal interests.

Ace launches 10-game compendium

UK: Ace Coin Entertainments will be showing a 10-game compendium of games at ATEI in its acclaimed Dream Play cabinet.

"The Dream Play cabinet and multigame platform is effectively future proofed," Phil Thomas of Ace said. "Hardware is ready for the September watershed and we have guaranteed all buyers that where the Act comes in we will adjust software free of charge.

"Operators who commit to Dream Play games now will be able to operate games to the current guidelines beyond September and this may well give them advantages as we have yet to see the finalisation of the 240 regulations. If I were still operating I would definitely be looking out for products with the built-in flexibility of Dream Play. Ten games for the price of one is undoubtedly an attention catching offer."

Germany hails IMA success

GERMANY: The IMA show in Düsseldorf was an unparalleled success last week. The show, held from Tuesday to Thursday, saw 8,000 visitors, mostly from Germany, operators keen to take advantage of the new German AWP laws.

There was a sprinkling of foreigners, mostly Dutch and Austrian, but a surprising low-key presence of British and Spanish representatives of the big AWP producers.

They had been expected to show up in considerable numbers to size up the prospects of the German industry for their export machines. Most, apparently, felt that without alliances with the big German manufacturers, penetration of the market would be too difficult as German operators tend to buy from local branches of the Gauselmann Group, Löwen or Bally Wulff.

Yet the small Austrian AWP maker, Webak, managed to get a machine through the PTB testing organisation, line up half-a-dozen independent German distributors and fill its order books for the next three months.

From the UK perspective, there were a couple of machines from Barcrest at the IMA show and we understand that Bell-Fruit has a German AWP under development.

The Dutch were visible in the form of JVH machines on the Bally Wulff stand, but there was no visible sign of the extensive export divisions of both Unidesa and Franco in Spain.

French smoking ban bites

FRANCE: Smoking is now banned in offices and other public buildings in France. Twelve months after the introduction of that ban - in January 2008 - will come the second half of the measure... banning smoking in bars, cafés, restaurants, hotels and casinos.

The French coin machine industry, for long complaining about the absence of AWP machines while every country around has them, fears this will further depress machine incomes.

Danoptra sparks industry rumours

UK: News that Danoptra is to sell off its Leisure Connection health clubs business was heralded by speculation in the national press that the company was having difficulty re-negotiating its financial backing.

This has been stoutly repudiated by the company which refers to the talks with bankers as normal procedure and as a venture capital company it was in any case pledged to sell off its component parts in three-to-five years.

That's about now - hence the Leisure Connection sale. The question for the industry is what is going to happen to the rest of the business, the Gamestec machine operation and, of course, the manufacturing sector with Bell-Fruit, Mazooma, QPS and Crompton.

The latest rumours suggest that Australian slots maker Aristocrat is in the market - as it was a few years ago when it chased Maygay but failed to reach an agreement. Also named is Barcrest via its IGT ownership, but that is unlikely for monopoly reasons.

At the same time, the Gauselmann Group has been mentioned in gossip. Up to a couple of years ago it held 40 per cent of the machine operations, but sold it off to Danoptra. Finally the other name which has been mentioned is WMS, the US slots maker which so far has no AWP alliance but is thought to want one.

Multiplayers poised for Germany?

GERMANY: Talk at the German show was the prospects of an automated multiplayer roulette game getting into the German street market.

Merkur already has its Glücksrad (Lucky Wheel) approved by the PTB, but has a roulette product ready to go if approval for the use of this type of game is granted - so do a whole range of other producers.

Astra granted ISO 9001

ITALY: Astra Games will today announce that it has been granted ISO 9001.

This is particularly appropriate for the company can now by-pass the usual route of working through a distributor to get a machine approved for the big Italian AWP market.

Benelux Show set to return

NETHERLANDS: Suzo is planning another of its in-house trade shows, which it names the Benelux Show, drawing exhibitors into its Dutch offices from both the Netherlands and Belgium.

The show will be on October 1 at the Oud Beijerland headquarters and Suzo will be joined by fellow Dutch companies Janshen-Hahnraths, JVH, Elam, Eurocoin, REAC, Delta, Signs4U, Idea, AWA and Orion, two from Belgium in GAA and Elaut and one from Germany in Hess.

Cashpoint secures Italy licence

AUSTRIA: Vienna-based sports betting company Cashpoint has obtained licences to open shops and install betting terminals in Italy.

The licences all apply to areas in the north of the country and will enable Cashpoint to operate around 200 machines in about 100 locations.

Source: IGI