Russian bill passes final Duma reading

RUSSIA: The bill that would seek to close most casinos and slot-machine halls in Russia and exile gambling to four relatively uninhabited zones has passed a third and final reading in the Moscow State Duma.

To become law, the bill now only needs the approval of the Federation Council and of President Vladimir Putin - who submitted the draft back in October.

The bill received the support of 428 out of 450 deputies, which would seem to indicate that the law is virtually certain to be adopted.

The bill calls for the creation of four zones for legal gambling - the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, the Primorsky region on the Pacific coast, the Siberian region of Altai and the southern Krasnodar-Rostov area.

Casinos and slot-machine operations elsewhere in the country would be banned as of July 1, 2009.

However, some experts have said that Primorsky, which is situated close to China, can sustain a gaming industry, as many Chinese already visit the region to gamble. But they have voiced doubts that the other areas will be able to draw enough visitors to make gambling viable there.

Merit conducts Malaysia crack-down

MALAYSIA: Merit International has carried out raids on companies in Malaysia, seizing copy games and components.

On Tuesday of this week, the company's Malaysian attorneys, Wong Partners, accompanied by the Enforcement Division of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, used search warrants to make the raids.

One of the companies involved was Cosmic Hitec in Penang, where authorities seized six complete Merit copy games, five hard drives and 19 mother boards.

The second raid, on an undisclosed company, yielded 15 complete Merit copies.

Harrah’s accepts buyout bid

US: Harrah’s Entertainment, the world's largest casino group, has accepted a US$17bn bid from two private equity firms.

Following two months of negotiations, Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group will acquire Harrah's large entertainment and leisure portfolio, which includes the Harrah's, Caesars and Horseshoe brands - giving it a 350-acre stretch along the Las Vegas Strip.

Harrah's said the deal was expected to be completed in about a year, but said its special committee would continue to solicit third parties for a possible higher bid for the next 25 days.

MachineGuard launches gold member scheme

UK: MachineGuard UK, the company that helps to reduce theft from coin-op machines, has introduced a gold member status for companies and individuals with five or more years’ continuous membership.

The first businesses to be awarded the gold member status will receive two bottles of fine wine in a presentation box, a laminated gold member’s certificate and their picture in the gold members’ gallery on the soon-to-be-launched MachineGuard website.

Gary Pettengell, MachineGuard managing director, said: “We are hugely grateful to those members who have been with us since the beginning. It’s largely due to their support and commitment that MachineGuard continues to thrive and we are able to help the industry combat and reduce crime.”

Bwin still going strong in Bavaria

GERMANY: A Swiss regional court has suspended an order by the German state of Bavaria that tried to ban Austrian online sportsbook bwin.com from accepting sport bets with Bavarian residents.

"Bwin can continue to offer sporting bets in Bavaria and to accept bets from Bavarian customers," bwin said in a statement. The court ruling means Bavaria cannot enforce a ban immediately, before the main case is decided in court, bwin said.

German states including Bavaria, Hesse and Saxony have ordered bwin to stop offering sports bets. Court cases are pending in all cases.

Sound Leisure jukebox to receive a facelift

UK: Sound Leisure will once again push the boundaries of digital jukebox capabilities at ATEI.

Last year the company unveiled its Milestones in Music, which has broken all records in cashbox performance. This year, a new milestone has been reached, although the exact details will not be unveiled until the show.

The company will also reveal a range of other exciting new products to be seen for the first time in London. Among these is the Micro wall-selector, which for the first time will be compatible with the branded Top of the Pops cabinet, giving customers access to every Top 40 chart hit since 1952 and allowing operators to maximise cashbox from this product by placing a second unit into a venue at a competitive price.

The Music Express free-standing digital jukebox will now benefit from a facelift and take Milestones in Music technology if required.

Sound Leisure is expecting great things from its newly reconfigured Nostalgia digital boxes, which combine hand-crafted good looks with the latest digital technology and in addition the Milestones in Music audio package - 25,000 tracks held on the hard drive with updates available either on CD ROM or via broadband internet connection.

Merkur touts new AWPs

GERMANY: Merkur Gaming of Germany had a whole number of novelties to offer at the recent G2E in Las Vegas.

On the stand of Atronic, a fellow member of the Gauselmann Group, Merkur presented its latest video-based AWP machines, Alhambra and Secrets of India.

“These two innovative gaming systems are brilliant because of their unique graphics and outstanding features, like Secrets of India’s 50 win lines and Alhambra’s free games with triple wins,” said CSO Axel Pawlas. Another highlight is a three-tier multi-level jackpot. The three levels, mini jackpot, medium jackpot and maxi jackpot add additional thrill to the game.

Merkur also exhibited further state-of-the-art AWPs from its comprehensive portfolio, all with special features, free games and two different risk levels, the hi-lo risk and the beat-the-dealer risk.

The new video-based Merkur machines come in a new casino-style cabinet with two TFT screens. The company also offers customization of all AWP machines for target markets in eastern Europe and South America.

Photo-Me unveils divestment plan

UK: The sell-off of the component parts of the Photo-Me International Group, released in this column on Tuesday, will place its coin-op interests into one of the three portions to be sold.

The Jolly Roger kiddie ride manufacturing and operating company and the majority interest in Deith Group will apparently fall within the 'vending' sector which comprises one of the areas of business which will be sold off in one segment.

The others are the minilab manufacturing business and wholesale lab manufacturing.

The prospect of piecemeal sale has been gradually emerging over the past year since the company failed to find a buyer for the entire business.

Source: IGI