Coinslot 2383 digital

Price: £2.50

August 29 – September 4, 2014 • No. 2383 • www.coinslot.co.uk029 DOND Win Fall Flap Advert_test 04/08/2014 21:07

COMMENT

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Industry news 4Seaside amusements 8The British bingo sector 10Latest machine charts 16B2B Listings 17Classified ads and opps 20Comment & Analysis 22Newsweek 24

COINSLOT

Places like GreatYarmouth could be providing a renaissance in beach holidays for thenew generation of staycationers andinbound tourists, but theycannot be left to sort thisalone. Government shouldbe providing the strategyand the catalyst for the investment.

Holiday park arcade targeted ROBBERYAn audacious theft at SymondsYat West Holiday Park inWhitchurch, Herefordshire, sawapproximately £5,000 stolenfrom a dozen coin-op machinesat the site’s Danter’s GoldenStardust arcade last week.When operator KimberleyDanter raised the alarm, thepolice were quickly on thescene, deploying severalofficers, a helicopter and dogs,but the two thieves made theirescape by running through anearby pub and into a carwhich was parked outside.Danter told Coinslot: “Theimages of the two men are onCCTV and the police have thetape in their possession. Theyweren’t just youths taking achance. I believe that these areprofessional thieves who mustdo this kind of thing for a

living.” Apparently, the two menin question held a box-likedevice behind the machines,some of which were B3s, andsomehow emptied the hoppers.

EAG International Expo has con-firmed that a new tenure has been

signed at the ExCel Centre whichwill see the show run on an earlierschedule for the next three years.Starting with the next edition, EAGwill now take place from 13-15 Janu-ary 2015, slightly earlier than in pre-vious years.

By agreeing to the new dates, EAGInternational has safeguarded itsfuture at London’s premier expocentre, and at a time when the venueand surrounding hotels are notunder pressure.

Now in its sixth year, EAG Interna-tional has become a coin-op calen-dar mainstay, commanding over 180manufacturers, many of whom usethe expo as the exclusive launch plat-form for new products targeted atthe amusement and coin-op sectors.

EAG Internationalconfirms showdates broughtforward for 2015and beyond

EVENTS

Project Design and Tech-nology has completed its

current line-up of high per-formance poker themedgames that have been devel-oped for the domestic AGCand bingo sectors. The Proj-ect quartet comprisesGolden Joker (30p/£100jackpot), Find The Lady Ulti-mate Gamble (50p-£1/£100),Chase The Ace Double Jack-pot (50p-£1-£100) and ChaseThe Ace Unlimited (20p/£10)- the latter being a strategi-cally important product thatenables operators to engagewith players at the same timeas taking advantage of the 5per cent MGD rate.

Reviewing the quartet ofgames, Project managingdirector Tony Boulton said:“We have made the designand creation of successfulpoker games into one of ourkey specialisms and I’m

Project flusfour-strong CONTENT

2383-p02-inside flap_Coinslot NEW 26/08/2014 16:42 Page 1

ESSENTIAL GUIDE

BACTA takes the businessargument to government

INDUSTRY

Bingo targetsa full house

August 29 - September 4, 2014 • No. 2383 • www.coinslot.co.uk23

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rgeted by professional thieves

hree weeks’ worth of rain ina single day made it thewettest August bank holiday

since the eighties, according toweather forecasters, making theweekend largely one to forget forthe UK’s seaside arcade and FECoperators.

Forecaster Brian Gaze of TheWeather Outlook said: “With heavyrain across much of the country itwas possibly the worst August bankholiday Monday since 1986.”

Senior forecaster Mark Sidawaywas a little more positive, addingthat while Monday’s temperatureswere likely to be several degreeslower than normal for this time ofyear, they were unlikely to break anylow temperature records.

Sidaway said it was too early totell if summer was now over in theUK, and added that the UK’s coastalarcades and FECs still had time foranother spell of good weatherduring September. “It’s only 25August, so we can hope for somenice weather into September -there is plenty of time for anothernice spell.”

The spell of rainfall was esti-mated to have cost the Britishtourism industry £1bn in lost rev-enue, with visitor numbers downfor southern seaside resorts such asBrighton and Bournemouth.

The weather, however, was not themajor problem for Jill Norman, whotold local press that Southsea’sClarence Pier suffers from majorevents put on during the summer.Norman, a director at Billy ManningLtd, said events such as Victorious Fes-tival, held over the bank holiday week-end, hit its takings as the roads wereclosed and people are on budgets.

She said: “It was a complete andutter disaster, they closed the roaddown. They need to expand theseason, not put them on in peak timesof the year. People have only got somuch to spend. It’s not just us.”

On a more upbeat note, Black-

pool’s newest pub will be namedThe Velvet Coaster following a pollof readers of local paper, the Black-pool Gazette.

The name emerged as the mostpopular choice from a shortlist offour put forward by pubco JDWetherspoon - one of the pub indus-try’s biggest supporters of AWPs andSWPs - for its new venue on thetown’s South Promenade.

The company is set to undertakea £2.2m conversion of the LuckyStar Amusement Arcade, whichfound fame as the backdrop for the2004 BBC musical drama Blackpool.

JD Wetherspoon chairman TimMartin said: “We are grateful for the

many responses to our quest for aname for our new pub in Blackpool.We have chosen the name The VelvetCoaster for the new pub and lookforward to it adorning the front.”

The Velvet Coaster was one of theearliest rides introduced at thePleasure Beach in the early 1900s. Itwas rebuilt in 1933 and is nownamed Nickleodeon Streak. Thesecond most popular name in thepoll was Flying Circus, followed byGrand Pavilion and The Troubadour.

The pub was granted outlineplanning permission earlier thisyear, but now more detailed pro-posals have been submitted for con-sideration by the council. A designbrief accompanying the applicationsaid the proposal “presents anopportunity to bring a viable, sus-tainable use to the building” and willalso help to promote “future invest-ment in Blackpool.”

From an industry perspective,the new pub will doubtless prove alucrative single site venture andmarks a bright spot in an otherwisedull weekend.

Rain ruins bankholiday MondayREPORT

While news of the new name for a potential coin-op goldmine in Blackpool broke,the bank holiday weather served to dampen the spirits of UK holidaymakers.

Danter continued: “No-oneseems to know how they’redoing it, but they need to bestopped as soon as possible.When they were in the arcade,

they basically pretended towin by throwing their hands inthe air and celebrating. Theygot greedy, however, bycoming back to try and stealmore. While the police haven’tyet caught them to myknowledge, their images areon CCTV.” Kimberley’s fatherHenry, who operates TreasureIsland in Stourport, lamented:“It’s just amazing how quicklythey were able to empty thehoppers. We will claim off theinsurance of course, but thereality is that while we’recovered by insurance makinga claim will only push thepremium up.” Hopefully thislatest incident will makemanufacturers re-evaluate thesecurity of their machines andstep up efforts to safeguardoperators from this kind ofattack happening again.

pleased tosay that the genre has becomesomething of a staple in Britain’sadult gaming centres and bingoclubs. Poker games from theProject stable can be found invirtually every AGC in the coun-try with some customers play-ing models which are ten yearsold, factors which refute the fal-lacy that poker only works in

certain sites.”He contin-

ued: “Inorder tocater for thedemand thatexistsamongst thegrowingpoker play-ing commu-nity and tocontinue todeliverchoice and

variety we have pro-duced a range of poker productsto suit all players, all levels of dis-posable leisure spend and allenvironments. We have devel-oped games at various stakescomprising £1/50p/30p/20p inorder to provide a poker experi-ence at price points which areaffordable and which stilldeliver compelling gamingentertainment.”

t flush as it completestrong line-up of pokers

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2383-p03-front_Coinslot NEW 26/08/2014 16:12 Page 2

4 Coinslot August 29 - September 4, 2014

Industry TO COMMENT ON ANY ARTICLE

Email: [email protected]

OBTs have continued to domi-nate many of the conversationsBACTA chief executive John

White has had in recent weeks. He toldCoinslot: “BACTA’s position as agreedat the last National Council appearedon the Daily Mirror website. The article,whilst critical of any plans to expandthe number of FOBTs on the HighStreet, nevertheless pointed out thatour demands were borne of the frustra-tion caused by the government’s fail-ure to listen to the calls for a parity oftreatment in respect of machines foradult, age-controlled, environments.”

This is an argument that White willbe taking to politicians and civil ser-vants over the coming weeks inadvance of the expected autumnannouncement by the government ofthe action they propose to take inrespect of these machines.

Amid the entire FOBT debate, thefocus has sat uncomfortably in the gam-bling disorder domain, leaving verylittle wiggle room for the businessimpact argument which has been over-shadowed and largely lost on the gen-eral public.

White is particularly conscious ofthis agreeing: “Unfortunately, and notunsurprisingly, the media debate tendsto become simplistically focused on thestake and prize and not on the princi-ple. From my perspective on thisdebate it is the principle that is impor-

tant and unarguable. I will report backthrough Management Committee andNational Council on the detail butwould call on all members to let mehave any evidence of how the openingof a bookies nearby has impacted onmachine takes in AGC, FEC designatedareas and if relevant in pubs and clubs.”

White also met with Coral and theRemote Gambling Association earlierthis month, both of which were ‘veryhelpful conversations’. Since becom-ing BACTA CEO, White had his firstmeeting with Commission officials andother trade bodies, to discuss the LCCPconsultation and self-exclusion.

He revealed: “My first impressions ofthe Commission were very positive.

The meeting with the other tradebodies and the Commission focused onself-exclusion. As those of you who havelooked will have seen there is a pro-posal for sector-wide schemes to be inplace by October next year, and for anindustry-wide scheme the year after. Wewill be discussing this further throughthe IGRG but from what I have heardof the issues involved my initial thoughtwas it simply, physically, couldn’thappen that quickly even if it is indeedfeasible. We will be discussing this fur-ther and as always members’ views onthis and any other aspects of the LCCPconsultation will be very gratefullyreceived.”

The White tour has been somewhatbusy over the last fortnight, with meet-ings booked with Moto, the team fromRays of Sunshine, Project Coin, theNational Casino Forum and gaminglegal experts.

White concluded: “Apart from meet-ings I have today also managed to finishoff the draft BACTA response to the con-sultation on the Gambling Commis-sion’s Statement of Principles andLicensing and Compliance documents.They do not mark, as the Commissionhas said, a departure in approach butdo expand, clarify and correct certainparts of the existing documents andreflect the experience of the Commis-sion since the last set of documentswere published.”

Anew industry expo is coming to London in 2015.Trade association BALPPA has revealed that the

UK Attractions sector will benefit from an entirelynew show named the Visitor Attraction Expo, sched-uled for 13-15 January at ExCel London.

BALPPA chief executive Paul Kelly revealed therationale behind the launch: “In addition to repre-senting the interests of owners, managers and devel-opers, the BALPPA membership includes a largenumber of trade suppliers who have for some timebeen requesting our own expo. We believe that sucha show sits well within our strategy of supportingmembers through seminars, education programmesand the provision of networking opportunities.”

The Visitor Attraction Expo will take place along-side EAG International, with a single visitor badgeproviding access to both events. EAG Internationalchairman Martin Burlin welcomed the initiative, stat-ing: “The Visitor Attraction Expo will give the leisurepark, piers, zoos and static attractions sector anannual event which it can call its own, right here inthe UK. We are experiencing increased crossoverbetween the amusements and attractions sectorsso this move reflects what’s happening out there inthe market. I understand that there is strong interestfrom potential exhibitors and believe that EAG Inter-national’s 5,000-plus visitors will help in delivering a

robust start for thisexciting new event.”

BALPPA has con-firmed that theAssociation’s AGMand annual dinnerwill be held duringthe Visitor AttractionExpo, and that a fullschedule of semi-nars and educa-tional events can beexpected, along withexcellent network-ing opportunities.

BALPPA announcesnew VisitorAttraction Expo

TRADE SHOWS

BACTA to take parity argumentto politicians and civil servantsLEGISLATION

Recently-appointed BACTA CEO John White has had another busy week meeting with sectorstakeholders and campaigning on behalf of the coin-op industry. But, it’s the media hype overthe positioning of FOBTs on the UK’s gambling landscape that dominates the nature ofdebates at the moment.

Albert Jones, owner ofGreat Yarmouth Pleas-

ure Beach, has called for aclampdown on ‘boy racers’in the Norfolk seasideresort. Jones felt compelledto speak out after an inci-dent which nearly culmi-nated in a child being runover on a zebra crossing. Hetold local press thatYarmouth could not have a

death on its conscience andwanted to do all he could tostop the Golden Mile beingused as a racetrack.

The issue had come to ahead on August 17 with morethan 100 cars creating a nui-sance, destroying tourismjust when it needed a boost.Worse than the noisemenace, however, was thedangerous driving.

He said: “Something has tobe done before somebody iskilled sooner or later. I hadthat on my conscience onSunday - I would rather losethe business and make sureevery action that could bedone was done to stop achild being killed. It is get-ting worse and it is unfair tothe residents and the holi-daymakers.”

Jones said he had been incontact with police and vis-ited local stations to call formeasures to deal with thetrouble spot. His actionswere triggered by a shakencustomer at the PleasureBeach who told him she hadhad to grab her child by thescruff of the neck after awheel-spinning car careeredinto their path as they stood

at a zebra crossing.He has set about making

his feelings known and saysthe struggling tourism sceneis suffering because of themeetings which intimidatevisitors and make them feelunsafe.

At the Pleasure Beachmore and more people wereasking for token refunds in abid to leave early and escape

what to many was a hostileenvironment, their cars sur-rounded by ‘boy racer’ stylecars and loud music.

Jones explained: “I am justlost that in this day and agewe cannot do something. Ibelieve it is now starting toaffect business. If peoplewant to stroll along theseafront after 6pm they arehaving to steer away. I am not

Operator calls for clampdown on ‘boy racers’OPERATORS

Great Yarmouth Pleasure beach owner Albert Jones has called for a determined crackdown on reckless car drivers which are affectingbusiness after a child was nearly hit on a seafront zebra crossing in the town.

F

2383-p04-05-industry_Coinslot NEW 26/08/2014 13:48 Page 1

INDUSTRY AMUSEMENTS LEISURE B2B COMMENT NEWSWEEK

REPORT The UK bingo sector is enjoyinghealthier times following tax changes. Who arethe key movers driving the sector? 10

FINANCIAL RESULTS

Tatts Group, listed on theAustralian Securities

Exchange, has published itsfull year results, includingthose for its UK operation,Talarius. Talarius operatesgaming machines in highstreet venues and selectedmotorway service areasacross the UK, mainlyunder the Quicksilverbrand.

Talarius was a standoutperformer for the TattsGroup in 2014 with rev-enue up 32.8 per cent toAUD$103.6m, EBITDA up76.6 per cent toAUD$13.6m and EBIT up506.8 per cent toAUD$4.1m.

The strong resultsreflect the like-for-like salesgrowth from Talarius’ coreadult gaming centre busi-ness. This improvementhas been driven by therefurbishment of profitablevenues and the extensionof operating hours at popu-lar sites to meet customerdemand.

In addition, a new dedi-cated training programmeto develop Talarius’ venuemanagers is already deliv-ering positive revenue out-comes which are expectedto continue in 2015.

Initiatives such as thishas seen the operation ofthe business steadilyimprove despite the chal-lenging economic back-ground of the past fewyears.

Peter Harvey, chief oper-ating officer at Talarius, said:“I am delighted to report astrong set of results forTalarius. In 2014 we exe-

cuted our strategy to lay afoundation for long termgrowth and drive the busi-ness forward. We arealready seeing the benefitsof the development initia-tives we implemented toincrease sales, whichincludes the refurbishmentof our venues, increasedinvestment in our staff andmachine estate whilealways maintaining a tightcontrol on costs. Lookingahead, the strong momen-tum has continued into thefirst half which gives usconfidence of continuedgrowth in 2015.”

CRIME

Aprolific offender hasreceived another

prison sentence for bur-gling a Middlesbroughamusement arcade.

Jamie Waters, 28, hasbeen recalled to a four-year prison sentence andjailed for a burglary wherehe stole a woman’s pursefrom a locker room atGilly’s Amusements onLinthorpe Road, Middles-brough.

He took the purse withcards and cash worthmore than £200 and wasseen and quickly arrested.

Waters admitted bur-glary - the 86th offence onhis criminal record. Hewas on licence at the time,which meant he was sentback to a four-year prisonsentence imposed in June2011 for burglaries at twostudent properties.

He is expected to servethe remainder of that jailterm until February nextyear. He was also subjectto a suspended prisonsentence for a non-homeburglary at the time.

Judge Peter Armstrongtold Waters: “Your recordreally is against you, I’mafraid. Forty-three previ-ous appearances for 85offences.”

Referring to sentencingguidelines of up to 51weeks’ imprisonment, headded: “It was an impul-sive act. This goes to thetop end because of yourprevious convictions. Atime comes when longersentences have to bepassed as a deterrent.”

He jailed Waters foreight months, concurrentto the recall period.

‘Prolificoffender’jailed forarcade theft

Talarius full year resultsshow strong growth inrevenue and profits

against them as everyone isentitled to have a hobby. Butsurely there is somewheremore controlled. We havenothing to stop them fromracing. There are no speedbumps and the lighting ispoor. There must be some-

where where they can meetup but not in a built-up areaon Yarmouth seafront nearsome of the best attractions.”

“The residents are tellingme it is 52 weeks of the yearbut what has brought it to ahead is the speeding the

other night. We need to stopa potential fatality. I cannotturn a blind eye. I know whatit is like to lose a child.”

A police spokeswomansaid: “Police actively patrolYarmouth seafront onSunday evenings, whereoperational commitmentsallow, taking action againstmotorists where appropri-ate. We accept this is a long-standing issue and continueto work with all parties tofind possible solutions. Dueto the bank holiday, we willhave additional resources inplace this weekend sup-ported by our roads policingunits, to deal with any issuesor offences robustly.”


isitEngland’s Bank Holiday TripTracker Survey has found that 5.1mBrits (10 per cent of the population)

planned a holiday trip in the UK during theweekend just gone, which was predictedto generate around £2.1bn in tourismspend.

A further 7.6m Brits (15 per cent of thepopulation) said they were considering aBank Holiday getaway in the UK, with athird waiting to see what happens with theweather. A further 29 per cent of those con-sidering a trip said they were delaying adecision based on financial reasons, with20 per cent waiting to see what specialdeals and offers come available and 21 percent stating they prefer to book last minute.

Additionally, 6m people (12 per cent) saidthey had plans for a day trip, with the sea-

side the most popular destination followedby countryside and village destinations,large towns or cities and standalone attrac-tions such as theme parks and stately homes.

Before the onset of the Bank Holidayweekend, Minister for Tourism Helen Grantsaid: “The Bank Holiday weekend is set tobe a bumper one for domestic tourism, gen-erating over £1bn in spend for the UK econ-omy. From city breaks to days out on thecoast, world class music events to culturaltrips, the UK has something for everyoneto enjoy.”

English hospitality businesses were setto enjoy 4m domestic holiday visitors, gen-erating tourism spend of £940m, accord-ing to the survey. VisitEngland said BankHoliday events such as the Notting Hill Car-nival, BBC Good Food Festival, Blenheim

Palace Festival of Transport, Great BritishRhythm and Blues Festival Liverpool’sinternational music festival and the Inter-national Kite Festival would be majorattraction over the weekend.

James Berresford, VisitEngland chiefexecutive, said: “There are 4m Brits plan-ning a holiday trip in England this week-end which is testament to the fantasticproduct on offer in England. The resulting£940m of spend likely to be generateddemonstrates the importance of tourismto the UK economy..”

The VisitEngland survey followsresearch from VoucherCodes.co.uk, whichpredicted that the average Brit wouldspend £207 over the course of the BankHoliday weekend, compared to £94 on anaverage weekend.

With the analogue/digital debate stilla popular topic of discussion in

coin-op circles, it was interesting tohear that NexusEngage, the retail-mar-keting specialist, trialled a fruit machinestyled window to support sales of theMicrosoft Surface 2 tablet in Curry’s PCWorld. Attracting over 1,200 players aday, the fruit machine game has beendesigned to drive engagement andbrand awareness of the Microsoft Sur-face 2 among visitors to Kent’s Bluewa-ter shopping centre. More than 31,000consumers interacted with the windowin its first week.

Players chose a feature on theMicrosoft Surface 2 window by press-ing one of the six buttons under a 70inshigh LED monitor, the screen then auto-matically ran the game. If the usermatched two or more images they wona prize, such as a Microsoft Surface 2,20 per cent off the tablet or a Caffé Nerocoffee. All winners received a voucherthat guided them directly to Currys PCWorld where the coupon wasredeemable.

“The project has been a great suc-cess so far, currently engaging 92 percent of passers,” commented SimonEllson, CEO NexusEngage. “Takingadvantage of redundant retail spaceand repurposing it to create a new con-sumer experience, such as a fun game,can make a brand stand out from itscompetitors on the high street.”

Ally Wickham, surface category lead(consumer) at Microsoft, said: “The fruitmachine game has been popular withshoppers at Bluewater with the gamerunning to maximum numbers eachday. It is a great way for people to inter-act with the Surface 2. We have seenimpressive initial sales uplift as a resultof the campaign and feel confident we’llsee that uplift continue.”

With the coin-op sector constantlyon the look-out for the next ‘killer app’,computing giant Microsoft obviouslyreckons the humble fruit machine canstill cut the mustard when it comes topulling in the crowds.

‘Fruit machine’interfaceproves awinner

PROMOTIONS

Seaside sector predicted tobenefit from Bank HolidayTOURISM

Ahead of the recent Bank Holidayweekend, domestic tourismwas set to soar, with a quarter ofthe British population consideringan overnight trip during the longweekend, according to the latestdata from VisitEngland.

V

JD Wetherspoon’s application withNorth Ayrshire Council concern-

ing a major revamp to Lanes/EscapeAmusements has provoked a mixedreaction among locals.

Hilary Shapiro said: “I don’t under-stand the logic of shutting down oneof the few remaining family friendlysites in Largs and replacing it with yetanother pub. Wetherspoons willundoubtedly put a few others out ofbusiness as they won’t all be able tocompete with their low prices. I don’tsee why they can’t apply for the siteacross the road which would bealmost as big in size and has sat emptyfor years. Leave Lanes alone!”

Angela Hughes stated: “I wasbrought up in Largs and moved toGlasgow when I was 19 to study. WhenI left the town it was still full of charac-ter and it saddens me deeply when Icome back to see my family that it hasgradually lost its charm and appealwith the loss of so many businessesthat had that something different tooffer. The appeal of Largs had alwaysbeen that it was a Victorian townwhere tourists loved to come as it was

quaint and charming. Stop this non-sense, bring back Aubery, the amuse-ment arcade as it was and start makingLargs a town where the beauty andappeal of it is restored, not destroyedfor the sake of profit.”

However, in response to concernsraised about the loss of the bowlingalley development, Susan Shearer said:“Maybe if more people had used Lanesit wouldn’t be being bought over.”

Kev Bell welcomed investmentinto the seafront, and said: “The stateof the old waterfront suggests to methat there is not an abundance of busi-

nesses willing to invest in Largs. I alsoremember the several years Nardinissat derelict before it was redeveloped.I say good luck to Wetherspoons andanyone else willing to invest theirmoney where their mouth is. I willcontinue to vote with my wallet andsupport those not-quite Victorian butindependent pubs and cafes that havealways given Largs its character as wellas providing good service.”

Caroline Le Good Morgan believesit is the wrong kind of establishmentfor the seafront, and said: “Why in theworld can’t someone come up with aplan for the seafront that doesn’tinvolve a bar or a pub? What Largsneeds on the front is somewhere forfamilies and children to go to on a wetday - open year round and with thingsfor young teens too - laser tag, dancerevolution, etc - not another pub.”

The bowling alley is to be removedas part of the application in order toaccommodate the proposed eatingand drinking establishment, and theoutdoor beer terrace area will be mod-ernised under the proposal, accord-ing to local press.

Mixed reaction to proposed Wetherspoon pub in Largs

CHANGE OF STATUS

While JDWetherspoonis a majorsupporter of thesingle sitesector, whennews of amootedtakeover of abowlingalley/amusement arcadebreaks it’s amixed blessingfor coin-opstakeholdersand, it seems,the localresidents.


fter a long battle by residents, TheWhite Hart pub in East Street,Havant, has been Grade-II listed, and

the good news for the coin-op sector is thatit will soon become an AGC/bingo hall.

Described as ‘an exuberant example of alate-Victorian corner pub’ by English Her-itage, the decision means it can never bedemolished. The old-fashioned pub closedits doors on 24 August, and in doing sopaved the way for a brand new bingo halland adult gaming centre.

The owner, Simon Reeves, told localpress that no external changes will be madeto the building and only minor changesinside. Despite concerns by Havant CivicSociety over the building’s future as a bingohall, the listed status still represents a vic-tory for residents.

Two years ago, more than 1,000 peoplesigned a petition to save the building after

Barratt Homes presented proposals todemolish the pub and redevelop East Streetwith a 73-home development.

Although the plans never materialised,local historians set about saving the build-ing. Ann Griffiths, from nearby Langstone,said: “The application to English Heritagewas well researched and it is very goodnews for Havant.”

John Pile, who led the application, added:“This came about because of the threat tothe White Hart of demolition.”

The pub was built in 1889 and designedby Alfred Edwin Stallard, an architectresponsible for several iconic buildings inHavant.

Anita Page, landlady of the pub, wel-comed the listed status, but was sad aboutthe closure. She added: “So many pubs areclosing in Havant.”

Ray Cobbett, from neighbouring

Emsworth, who opposed the bingo hall,said: “I’m afraid the bingo hall is going toarrive whether we like it or not. The onlysubstantial good thing is they can’t knockdown the building.”

Reeves, however, argued that the build-ing could have stayed a pub if more peoplehad used it. He said the bar would remain,with gaming machines installed in the frontarea and a bingo hall replacing the musichall at the back. He added: “We were nevergoing to change the exterior.”

The bingo hall and AGC, which repre-sents a welcome growth area for the coin-op sector, is set to open later this year.

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‘‘In a league of its own’’

WORKING MEN’S CLUBS

AScunthorpe community centrecould be going back to its roots as a

working men’s club. Officials of theFrodingham Community Centre areseeking approval to serve alcoholseven nights a week from 7.30pm until11pm and a bid to host live music untilmidnight on Christmas Eve and NewYear’s Eve.

If the applications are granted, thebuilding in Rowland Road will harkback to its original use as the Froding-ham Sports and Social club - or TheRabbit and Net as it was known to themembers.

The bid for an alcohol licence andlive music follows the closure after 77years of the nearby Coronation WMC.

The 200 former members haveapproached the community centreabout the prospects of running bingo,home games and quizzes at the venue.

CRIME

Independent single site operatorNick Langham of Town And County

has reported a machine theft. He toldCoinslot: “A test machine called East-ern Promise was stolen from TheMeadow Farm Pub in Redditch ataround 7.30am on August 15.”

He explained: “The site was openfor breakfast and as the managerwalked through the pub she noticedtwo men standing around themachine. The machine was out oforder at the time and she thoughtthey might have been engineers. Sheasked the two men what they weredoing and then realised they hadentered with a sack truck and werestealing the machine. She called herhusband but the two men got quiteaggressive. They loaded the machineonto the sack truck and disappeared.The machine was left open as the siteremoves all cash from the machine.”

If anyone has any information,they should get in touch with thepolice - and Nick Langham - whosecontact details are on the Town &County website.

New WMC forScunthorpe?

Town & Countysuffersmachine theft

Pub finally makesway for bingo hall and AGCNEW VENUE

A building which has housed a pub for 125 years is set to close and be reopened later this year as a bingohall and AGC, just days after being listed by English Heritage as one of the great buildings of its era.

GAMING

Coral, which operates licenced betting officesand bingo halls, saw a four per cent increase

in machines gross win in the 12 weeks to July 5.The company reported gross win of £83.7m

for the period. Gross win per machine per weekincreased one per cent to £965. During the quar-ter, the company increased its average numberof machines from 7,082 in the previous year to7,291, while its over-the-counter gross win,increased by nine per cent to £72m.

At its land-based Gala Bingo venues, machinesgross profit went up by three per cent, drivenby a two per cent year-on-year growth inmachines spend per head.

Overall, the group’s turnover was 15 per centahead of last year at £292.7m, while gross profitrose 10 per cent to £208.3m.

Carl Leaver, group CEO, stated: “The groupdelivered another strong performance with

EBITDA ahead in all divi-sions and 20 per cent over-all. We remain pleasedwith the turnaround inthe performance of GalaRetail and have recentlyembarked on a process toexplore the potential saleof this division.”

Coral reportspositive results


Amusements TO COMMENT ON ANY ARTICLE


PIERS

The trust set up with theaim of restoring

Bognor Regis Pier hasbeen awarded a govern-ment grant of £10,000 tohelp it with fundraisingand legal costs.

The Bognor Pier Trustwas given the funding bythe Social InvestmentBusiness on behalf of theDepartment of Communi-ties and Local Govern-ment, under itsCommunity Assets andServices Fund.

Established in Septem-ber, the trust is working

closely with the currentowner with a view to takeover the freehold of thepier to prevent any furtherloss or damage to thestructure and eventuallyrestore and redevelop itas an iconic communityasset.

Nick Stuart-Nicolson,

chairman of the trust,said: “We welcome thislatest grant, which willtransform what we areable to do. Without doubtit has moved this projectforward by a considerableamount.

“By preserving BognorRegis Pier we would once

again create a centrallocation where manygroups in the communitycan gather.

“The Bognor Pier TrustIntends not only to saveand provide a sustainablefuture for this

well-loved, iconic andarchitecturally importantGrade II-listed building,but will also provide thecommunity and visitors toour town with a pleasantfocal point.”

The pier opened in1865, but saw parts col-lapse into the seabetween 1964 and 1967due to storm damage.

Another 200ft section ofthe pier was lost after astorm in 1999, and furtherdamage since meant theend of the pier had to beremoved after it wasdeemed unsafe.

It had hosted the annualBognor Birdman Rally from1978 until 2007, but whensixty feet of the remainingdecking at the end of thepier was removed onsafety grounds, the iconicevent was moved to Wor-thing Pier.

It returned to BognorPier in 2010, but was can-celled this year for safetyreasons.

he visitor and learn-ing arcade at Mar-gate’s Dreamland

amusement park hasmarked a milestone by wel-coming its 20,000th guestsince opening on May 25.

Katie McDonagh, fromErith in Kent, got a surprisewhen she was greeted witha roof-raising cheer and pre-sented with a goody bag asshe walked through thearcade’s doors.

It is currently hostingThe Dreamland Expo: aPast, Present and Futureexhibition, an interactivefamily experience thatcharts the revival of theamusement park and looksahead to its re-opening,

scheduled for Easter 2015.McDonagh said: “I’m

thrilled to be part of such afantastic journey forDreamland. I have been ona mini-break here in Mar-gate and loved everyminute of this excitingexhibition.”

Situated in a vintage-style arcade, the expodescribes Dreamland’s richheritage and plays host to acollection of 1950s and 60sarcade games and pinballmachines, fairground andamusement park artefacts.

Dreamland directorEddie Kemsley com-mented: “We are delightedthat The Dreamland Expo isproving to be such a hit

with locals, as well as visi-tors to Margate.

“From those who used towork at Dreamland to thecurious traveller, the suc-cess of the expo is testa-ment to the fondness forDreamland and we look for-ward to opening the doorsto the re-imagined Dream-land next year.”

The amusement park hasalso announced that it is toreceive some of Black-pool’s classic illuminationsto decorate the site when itrelaunches next year.

The announcement fol-lows on from a researchtrip that The DreamlandTrust and HemingwayDe-sign, the agency helping to

regenerate Dreamland,made to Blackpool Pleas-ure Beach and Blackpoolilluminations last autumn.

Whilst there, they weretaken on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Illumina-tions HQ, archive andworks depot by RichardRyan, head of illuminations,who agreed to donateselected items to Dream-land.

Councillor Graham Cain,Blackpool Council’s cabi-net member for tourismand leisure, said: “TheDreamland restorationplans are a real communityeffort and have attractedgreat support.

“It’s pleasing that Black-

pool will be able to make acontribution to such a his-toric landmark. We wish allthe Dreamland team thevery best with their proj-ect.”

The Dreamland Trustwill now work with thelocal community and vol-unteers to restore and up-cycle these pieces ready forinstallation next spring.

Kemsley added: “We aredelighted that BlackpoolIlluminations - one of themost iconic sights in Britishculture - has donated itemstowards Dreamland aheadof its opening next year.

“We plan to make gooduse of the items in very cre-ative ways.”

FEC

The north Essex coast is setto get a new amusement

arcade after planning permis-sion was granted to convert aformer Harwich nightclub intoa family entertainment centre.

Tendring District Councilhas given owner Mike Gibbonsthe go-ahead to convert thevenue, currently empty, andreinvigorate it with family-ori-ented amusement equipment.

The ground-floor premiseswill now become an unli-censed family entertainmentcentre, with Gibbons reportedto be investing up to £500,000in Category D machines andchildren’s rides.

Gibbons, who opened abingo hall in the same build-ing earlier this year, told localpress: “We are over the moonthat it has been passed. It willbe a really good old fashionedseaside town family enter-tainment centre.”

After an encouragingsummer season at resortsaround the country, the newscan be seen as further evi-dence of the seaside sector’scontinued revival.

The new FEC would pro-vide valuable employment forthe town, which has sufferedeconomically during the pastfew years, including from theclosure of the nightclub.

Seven new jobs will becreated as a result, with fourfull-time and three part-time positions proposed forthe FEC.

Planningpermissiongranted fornew EssexFEC

Bognor Pier Trust awarded government grant

Dreamlandarcade welcomes20,000th visitorAMUSEMENT PARKS

As it prepares to reopen next Easter, the Dreamlandamusement park has seen a surge in visitors to its vintage-stylearcade over the summer.

T

2383-p08-Amusements_Coinslot NEW 26/08/2014 13:13 Page 1

B A C T ARepresenting the British Amusement Industry

Presented byTHE AMUSEMENT& LEISURE SHOW

13 - 15 JANUARY 2015 ExCeL London Exhibition Centre

T: +44 (0) 1582 767 254

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10

B2B

Essential Guide to... The Bingo sector

ue in no small part to the Bingo Asso-ciation’s hugely successful BoostBingo campaign, which helped

secure a reduction in taxation on the sectorfrom 20 per cent to 10 per cent in the MarchBudget, the UK land-based bingo industryis already showings significant signs ofrecovery.

A third of a million bingo customersbacked the campaign celebrated after theChancellor reduced the tax burden onbingo clubs in almost 400 communitiesacross Britain. The upshot is that bingoclubs across England, Scotland and Walescan now invest in new premises, moderni-sation and jobs.

The Boost Bingo campaign gatheredmore than 330,000 petition signatures frombingo players across Britain. More than 50MPs supported the campaign, either in theirconstituencies by visiting their local bingoclub, or on the floor of the House of Com-mons. The campaign reached a climaxwhen the petition was delivered to theChancellor’s residence at Number 11Downing Street, on 26 February. Nearly 200bingo players joined MPs for a celebratoryprocession past the Houses of Parliament.

After the tax cut was announced, MilesBaron, CEO, Bingo Association, stated: “Nowthat we have secured a 10 per cent reduc-tion, operators will be relooking at theirinvestment and modernisation plans tostimulate the industry.”

Since March, several tangible signs of thesector benefiting from the tax cut havearisen. For example, independent operatorMajestic Bingo acquired eight Apollo clubsfrom Top Ten in June and with it announcedsome hefty spending. The deal broughtMajestic’s portfolio of bingo halls in the UKup to 15, making it the UK’s largest inde-pendent bingo operator.

The message that Majestic put out to theindustry was that ‘the growth doesn’t’ stophere’. Managing director Mark Jepp

explained: “We’ve already invested approx-imately £1m on the seven clubs we boughtfrom Seldis Cooper and we’ll spend evenmore than that on upgrading and updatingthe other eight.”

He added: “We believe in the long-termfuture of bingo. We’re happy to run smallerbusinesses and retain their local flavour.We’re an independent company that is pre-pared to invest in the bingo business.”

Jepp, like Bingo Association CEO MilesBaron and Mecca’s head of slots Mo Zabed,believes that what happens on the machinefloor will be a key driver to the future suc-cess of bingo in the UK. That future successwill be heavily influenced by the activitiesof the Rank Group, which currently oper-ates 380 bingo clubs in the UK, includingGala Bingo, Mecca Bingo, Top Ten Bingo,Carlton Clubs, Castle, Club 3000 andBeacon.

Bingo’s biggest player, Rank, has alreadyannounced that it has three new clubsplanned as part of the bingo duty cut com-mitment. It also revealed in its most recentannual results that, overall, its venuesremain its prime revenue generator. Theoperator stated: “Leisure is governed byfairly short term trends meaning that venueevolution is necessary. Successful venuedevelopment will drive revenue,strengthen brands and is a means to createnew brands and businesses.”

The operator also believes that bingovenue development brings an opportunityto trial new formats and brands, whilefocussing on ROI and learning from pastexperience. Interestingly, Rank is set to usedormant casino licences in existing bingoclubs to broaden its product offer, using itsOldbury site as a trial development for2014/15.

Furthermore, the operator, which hasalready embraced the likes of its ownMecca Max units, TiTO and server-basedgaming, sees ‘bring your own device’, and

the use of mobile devices as membershipcards and wallets as future developmentsfor the sector.

When you consider that as recently asthe turn of the year the media was writingoff bingo as, at best, a contracting sectorand, at worst, an archaic pastime for theblue rinse brigade with little or no futureprospects, the sector is ready to rise again,with its machine mix a vital ingredient toits widespread appeal.

SWOT ANALYSIS

Bingo offers genuineopportunities for expansionHaving been synonymous withdoom, gloom and contraction forseveral years, the bingosector was in desperate needfor a shot in the arm prior toMarch’s Budget. Since then,however, the reduction intaxation from 20 per cent to 10per cent has given bingo anopportunity to reinvent itself as amodern leisure activity withpotential for growth.

STRENGTHS

• Bingo clubs exist in nearly 400 communi-ties across Britain, despite so many clo-sures before this year’s Budget

• Marketeers have positioned the pastimeas all-inclusive, social and vibrant

• No limit on Cat C or Ds, while up to eightB3 or B4s or 20 per cent of the totalnumber of gaming machines available foruse on the premises are permitted

WEAKNESSES

• Perceived by some as old-fashioned andirrelevant

• Machines sometimes under-promoted

OPPORTUNITIES

• New technologies such as mobile devices• Synergy with online bingo• Tax cut can stimulate investment in prem-

ises and equipment

THREATS

• Casinos and bookmakers on the ‘hardergambling’ front

• Online, if synergy with land-based isn’tmaximised

SWOT ANALYSIS BINGO

Essential Guideto bingo P10

AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2014

16This week’s

machinecharts

17B2B listingsand industrymarketplace

20Classified

sales, job andbusiness

opps

D

2383-p10-16-Essential_Coinslot NEW 26/08/2014 14:54 Page 1


12

B2B

Essential Guide to ... The Bingo sectorMarket AnalysisOPERATIONS

Prior to the March Budget, bingo wassuffering some serious contraction.

The number of bingo clubs had droppedfrom nearly 600 in 2005 to fewer than 400in January. Though the industry stillemploys 12,500 people, 6,500 jobs werelost in the past decade. Furthermore,visits to bingo clubs were estimated asbeing down from 80m in 2005 to 43m atthe turn of the year.

We don’t need reminding that in 2007the game was hit particularly hard by theSmoke Ban. Since those dark days, how-ever, bingo has begun to fight back.Firstly, canny marketers placed a newemphasis on attracting younger players,and many halls were transformed tocreate a more modern, all-inclusiveatmosphere. Secondly, majors and inde-pendents alike began to work out howonline bingo could be used in a synergistic

way rather than simply seen as a canni-balistic rival.

Thirdly, and not before time, in MarchGeorge Osborne announced a tax cut of10 per cent, thus halving the duty in astroke.

The pre-Budget assertion made by theBingo Association’s chief executive MilesBaron that reducing the tax on bingowould enable clubs to invest in their futureand continue to serve their local areas,has proved to be bang on the money.

To date, more investment has meantmore jobs and, while not a panacea for allthe UK’s community ills, a welcome diver-sion. This has been evidenced by bothmajor and independent operators lookingat how best to invest and maximise theopportunity that the tax cut, and bingo’sreinvented image, has brought.

As far as prevailing opinion is con-

cerned, of all forms of gambling, bingo isthe most socially welcomed, too. Thelocal bingo hall offers people, many ofwhom are elderly, comfort and friendship.Additionally, statistics garnered by aComRes poll this year, show that bingoprovides an important community serviceby bringing people together. The survey ofmore than 2,000 adult respondents alsofound that, although bingo players arepredominately women in their late 40s and50s, support for the game’s future isstrongest in the 18-24 age group.

With this fact in mind, and the reason-ably generous machine entitlement (amaximum of eight machines in categoryB3 or B4 or 20 per cent of the total numberof gaming machines available for use onthe premises and no limits on Cats C or D),there is definitely plenty of scope for reap-ing some serious cashbox rewards.

VIEWPOINT

Twenty-fourteen - opportunities seen

Despite the clichéd anderroneous vision of legions of‘blue rinsers’ attending archaicpremises in ever-decreasingnumbers, bingo is biting backdue to the massive opportunityafforded by the spring tax cut.

forewordalex lee

ith a wealth of experience of the UKbingo market, Mark Jedd is thehelmsman of what may be the coun-

try’s newest chain of bingo operators.Majestic Bingo was created in Jan-uary2014, with the acquisition of seven ailingclubs across central England. In June, theoperation truly went nationwide with thetake-over of an additional eight clubsthroughout England and Wales, formerlyoperated under the Top-Ten banner.

A one time head of amusements at RankGroup and later head of machine opera-tions at Gala Coral Group, Jedd brings toMajestic an extensive knowledge ofmachine gaming within the bingo hall envi-ronment.

With his fresh venture in mind, how doesJedd regard the overall health of the bingosector? “I think bingo has been through itsworst,” he says. “You can talk about thesmoking ban, but it was seven years ago; it’sold news.”

The timing certainly seems fortuitous: “Ithink we’ve had a bit of luck in terms of therecent taxation reduction,” says Jedd, in ref-erence to the halving of bingo duty in thisyear’s annual budget, “and there’s a number

of examples of very creditable independ-ent chains out there who’ve proven thatyou can grow and you can make a verydecent business out of bingo.”

Jedd emphasises the need for under-standing the locality of each venue. “Onesize doesn’t fit all”, he says. “We’re refur-bishing virtually all of the clubs and look-ing at local theming when it comes to thebingo itself, the machines, the food and bev-erage options, every-thing.”

Jedd has spent the better part of hiscareer at the machine-end of the bingo hall,having had success in selection, placementand strategy of gaming suites across hiscareer. As such, he has some valuableinsights into the company’s plannedmachine strategy: “Firstly, I think its impor-tant not to distinguish between ‘bingo-play-ers’ and ‘machine-players’,” he says. “Theseare not mutually exclusive terms. They’reboth customers, and we need to give themas much choice as possible, irrespective ofwhy they’ve walked through the door.”

Whilst this might sound challenging,Jedd is adamant that the old adage holdssway: “It’s all about product, service, andenvironment,” he says. “If you’ve got good

games, trained, knowledgeable staff to pro-vide change and know-how and a comfort-able, well-presented environment,everything falls into place.”

When it comes to machine selection,Jedd presses home the need for diversifica-tion: “There are players accustomed to oldermachines, so its important to have some stal-wart triple seven and triple eight offerings.”To entice newer players, accustomed tohigher sensory entertainment, he recom-mends high-end digital offerings from SG,Astra, PlayNation, and other leading suppli-ers. Jedd also stresses the importance ofoperating the full spectrum of machine cat-egories: “Research shows that players newto gaming are off-put by higher-stakes, sooperating some Cat D 10p machines along-side higher-risk, higher-win options is keyto round out appeal.”

There are some key industry blueprintswhich Jedd accords to: “Things like appeal-ing exteriors and interiors, clear signage,clever layout of machinery.” However, he isemphatic that the success of a hall reliesupon the understanding of its customers.Says Jedd: “It’s about them walking in, andsaying ‘this is the bingo hall for the locality’.”

Majestic Bingo: Awareness oflocality is fundamental for growthUnderstanding local context is the way forward for Majestic Bingo, says managing director Mark Jedd.

W



B2B

13

Market Perspectves

In his role as sales and marketing director for AstraGames, Alan Rogers provides a vast array of

machines to UK bingo venues. So how does heread their current performance?

“The obvious answer is that we would alwayslike to see an improvement, but there is a balanceto be struck,” he said. “When you consider the cur-rent climate, machine performance has held upremarkably well and is continuing to do so.”

Along with the wider post-recession economy,he argues, comes fertile ground for the bingosector: “We’re beginning to see some welcomeshoots of recovery in the industry as a whole andthat’s been reflected in bingo.”

He also welcomes recent legislative changes:“Machine performance is being helped, to someextent, by the relaxation in the bingo tax regime,which is encouraging a more positive approachto investing in the business.”

Astra prides itself on its sensitivity to thedemands of specific clients and their respectiveenvironments. In this respect, bingo is no excep-tion: “We’re constantly striving to develop newgames and product styles which bring somethingentirely different to the bingo genre.” However,regarding product innovation, Rogers recognisesthat a balance needs to be struck between cater-ing to both its modernising and traditional audi-ences: “Digital games have been clearly identifiedas the industry’s way forward, but there is still abig requirement for analogue machines withinbingo halls,” he says. “The aim has to be to developfresh concepts for the next generation of players,without alienating established players who stillderive huge entertainment from traditional, reel-based games.”With the Gambling Commissionlimiting the ratio of B3 machines to 20 per cent ofthe total machine count in any UK bingo hall,

Rogers defers to the operators he supplies onwhether or not this should be amended: “I thinkthe answer to this question lies with the bingooperators themselves. Whether or not that rationeeds revising would depend entirely on the spe-cific requirements of each location.”

MANUFACTURING

A digital/analoguebalance to be struckBingo revenuesare growing, butin modernising,suppliersshouldn’t leaveanalogue machines out in thecold, says AlanRogers of AstraGames.



14

B2B

Essential Guide to ... The Bingo sectorMarket Perspectives Products

Astra Games has two new products ready for the bingosector, in the form of Bullion Bars Streak Arena, and Mega

Slot. While the names might already be familiar within the UK cir-

cuit, these versions have been given a thorough makeover tobring them up to date and bursting with player appeal.

Bullion Bars Streak Arena is recognised as a tried and testedCat C product, but makes its return to the bingo landscapecomplete with the new £100 jackpot. The base game comprises

a classic three-reel format, with holds and nudgesoffered randomly from game to game. Key to itsappeal is the streak feature: randomly, after any reelwin, the player can gain entry to the Bullion BarsStreak - played on a special set of reels on the sharedtop box. On each spin there are three wins available,including the jackpot. The Bullion Bars feature endswhen a losing combination lands on the win line.

The game isplayed out on a

30p stake for a£25 jackpot,

growing to£100 whenthe streakis activated.Includedwith thepurchase ofthe machineare decals

and softwarethat enable easy

conversion to otherstake and jackpot combi-

nations.On the Cat B3 front, Astra has high hopes in the bingo sector

for Mega Slot, a five-reel video based game. Revolving around aclassic and simple style of play, players can ‘stake up’ for morechances of winning the £500 jackpot.

Access to the Mega Slot feature is awarded on a randombasis, but when it occurs, the player number will be displayedon the top screen to indicate which player has reached it. Thetop screen has three reels and five win lines. Prize amounts aredisplayed, including the chance of a ‘mystery win’, the amountof which will be between two specified amounts on the topscreen. The reels will spin automatically and each win is put intoa pot on the top screen. The Mega Slot function ends eitherwhen a no win is achieved on the reels, or when the jackpotamount has been reached.

Alan Rogers, sales and marketing director at Astra Games,commented: “These are two fantastic games that tick all theboxes for the bingo sector. They’re instantly recognisable, funto play and bursting with earning potential.”

ASTRA GAMES

Astra breathesfresh-life into twoestablished titles

Novomatic subsidiary Astra Games revampsBullion Bars and Mega Slot to include excitingbonus features

S: How is on-site bingo faring in wakeof challenges such as online gamingand the national smoking ban?

LK: I think it’s fair to say that the bingo sectorhas struggled over the last few years and thatthe key requirement for customers is to expe-rience value for money entertainment fromtheir leisure spend. There is a fine balancebetween price and prize money; the ‘valuesessions’ that we run are certainly working,but there’s no getting away from the fact thatbingo customers still want big prize boards.Delivering choice is everything, and we havereviewed our prices and prize boards to makesure that we have a session that fits in withevery customer’s pocket and budget at anytime in the month.

CS: What marketing strategies can venueoperators employ to attract a new generationof players? LK: We have channelled more resources intotargeting larger businesses which have a sub-stantial workforce, such as supermar-kets and factories. It’s proved veryeffective. We are also gettingmore and more group book-ings, particularly from hennights. Groupon has been verysuccessful in attracting a newand younger audience to ourclubs.

CS: How do bingo venuesbuild coin-op machines intotheir floor plans to ensurethey generate as much rev-enue as possible?LK: Machine incomein any bingo venueis just as, ifnot

more important, than any other incomestream. As such, our machine planning is at theheart of everything we do: from the mainentrance to the exit door. We take our playerson what we refer to as a ‘Gaming Journey’from the minute they walk in, and ensure wehave sufficient machines to meet demand,even at peak times.

CS: How important is it for venue operators tobe able to update games machine softwareonline? LK: As with all other sectors in the low stakegaming industry, it’s imperative that weembrace new technologies, on the conditionthat they bring a meaningful upside to the cus-tomer experience. That said, we have toremember that the key issue is about enhanc-ing the player’s enjoyment, not about acquir-ing technology for the technology’s sake.Providing players with what they want to playoften means having a large proportion of less

sophisticated but none the less popularreel based products particularly

within our smaller communityvenues.

CS: Has the Gambling Com-mission’s increase of CAT

C machine jackpot to £100had a noticeable effect onbingo coin-op revenue?LK: Absolutely. Trading on£100 Cat C’s, especially

community games, is on theincrease with significant likefor like, year on year growth.Whilst some of this upswing isthe result of cannibalisation

of income from ourolder Cat C

products,the £100jackpotcontinuesto providepositiveresultsthrough-out ourclubs.

OPERATIONS

Coin-op revenuethe defining streamfor bingo halls

Part of the Praesepe Group, Beacon Bingo operates nine bingo-hallsacross the country. Operations director Larry Kehoe shares with us hisinsights on the current health of the sector, and the role coin-op can play indriving future growth.

C



B2B

15

GeWeTe has been manufacturing high qual-ity, secure and reliable cash handling solu-

tions for over 20 years. With over 60,000machines installed world-wide the companyhas vast experience in a wide range of applica-tions and market sectors.

Having set up the UK and Irish office lessthan a year ago, Aristidis Tsikouras, managingdirector, commented: “I am proud to say thathaving Mark Edmundson in the team has helpedus gain a better understanding of the UK mar-kets and Mark has been successful in expand-ing our install base.”

With one of the most extensive range of cashrecycling machines available in the marketGeWeTe has a model to suit all applications,from the Cash Recycler Compact through tothe Maxi Cash Recycler. PC based technologyenables it to offer both CITO and TITO upon

purchase or as an additional feature to add at alater date as a business changes to meet marketconditions.

The company is also working with partnersto provide an electronic purse and member-ship system for various applications, includingbingo and sports betting.

One main feature of the GeWeTe range is theability to have a multi-functional cash handlingsolution in one secure cabinet. Not only do theirmachines provide a standard cash in cash outservice, they can also be a redemption system,staff cash float dispenser and deposit system.

The company’s new design of the modelWGS 200 gives an ideal solution to replace acash desk with one machine in the pusher area,allowing notes and coins to be inserted into theone machine for £1 and 2p coins out. This modelalso has a unique feature: the “FREM Module”

which feeds coins into the hopper asrequired, so that if jams occur due to prizesgetting into the hopper it is a quick andeasy solution to remove the offending itemwithout emptying the whole machine.

The security of GeWeTE cabinets isone of the best in the market and with thevolume of cash increasing in changemachines this has to be a majorpoint to consider when purchas-ing such equipment.

With a range of advanced machines and targeted UK market support, GeWeTe is continuing to grow itsreputation as one of the world’s leading cash handling providers.

Time to change - time to GeWeTeGEWETE



16

B2B

Essential Guide to ... The Bingo sectorProducts Analysis

CATEGORYB3 (£2/£500 Max.)

CATEGORYD (10p/£5 Max.)

CATEGORYB4 (£2/£4000 Max)

AGCsThis LastWeek Week Name / Manufacturer

1 1 Slotto 500 Astra2 2 Magic Lotto Ultra Novomatics3 3 King of Slots Blueprint4 4 Triple 8 Barcrest5 5 Mega Bars Big Hit Project Coin6 6 Rainbow Riches Community Cash Barcrest7 7 Lady Luck Reflex8 8 Triple 7 Barcrest9 9 Abet Astra10 10 Magic Lotto 2 Novomatics

Based on data supplied by a representative number of UK sitesSupplied by RLMS Sales

Members clubsThis LastWeek Week Name / Manufacturer

1 1 Alice Queen of Hearts Reflex2 2 Jackpot 100 Barcrest3 3 DOND Live BFG4 4 Street Casino 2014 Storm5 5 Flamin’ 400 Reflex

Based on data from representative sites. Supplied by sector professional

FEC - familyThis LastWeek Week Name / Manufacturer

1 1 Bullion Bars (3 Player) Astra2 2 Party Time Classic (3 Player) Astra3 3 Party Games (4 Player) Astra4 4 DOND (4 Player) Bellfruit5 5 Adders And Ladders(4 Player) Vivid6 6 Rainbow Riches (3 Player) Empire7 7 Goldrush Stampede (4 Player) Barcrest8 8 Party Time Arena (4 Player) Astra9 9 Party Time (3 Player) Astra10 - Monopoly (4 Player) Mazomma

Based on data from four sites Amusement Equipment Co Ltd

FEC - adultThis LastWeek Week Name / Manufacturer

1 1 Magic Games U/R Novomatic2 2 Rainbow Riches Party Barcrest3 3 Free Play 70 Project4 4 Pure Gold Project5 5 Find The Lady 70 Project6 6 Party Time Arena (4 Player) Astra7 7 Win Wall Celebrity Astra8 - Sevens Up Electrocoin9 9 Win Wall Celebrity Astra10 - Magic Games S/D Novomatic

Taken from a representative number of sites around the UKSupplied by Amusement Equipment Co Ltd

CATEGORYC (£1/£100 Max.)

AGCsThis LastWeek Week Name / Manufacturer

1 - Encore T7 (GP2) SG Gaming2 - Encore T7 (GP3) SG Gaming3 8 Find the Lady Ultimate Project4 - Gold Run Arena Empire5 - Magic Games 3 Novomatic6 - X3000 Multigame Amatic7 1 Magic Games 100 Ultra Novomatic8 - Triple 7 (GP2) SG Gaming9 6 Magic Games 3 (s/d) Novomatic10 - Bullion Bars Platinum Astra

Based on data from a minimum of 10 locations. Supplied by Praesepe

Single siteThis LastWeek Week Name / Manufacturer

1 1 DOND Winfall BFG2 3 DOND Midas Touch BFG3 2 Fiddle A Fortune REF4 4 Hot Shots REF5 5 DOND Powerplay BFG6 7 DOND Lucky Streak BFG7 8 Worminator QPS8 10 DOND Crazy Chair Gold BFG9 6 Best Of British REF10 9 DOND Time To Play BFG

Taken from a representative number of sites around the UKSupplied by national operator

The full bingo hall experience is now available on the high street with WexelGaming’s Blis Linked Bingo. Much larger prizes than in-house bingo, frequent

jackpot games and an ever-expanding user base have seen Blis Linked Bingoflourish in venues that otherwise wouldn’t be able to offer a sustainable bingofacility.

80-number MCB and 90-number ticket linked bingo are both played Mondayto Saturday across the UK at established national and regional independentoperators, which both benefit from offering a unique product and impressivedaily prize amounts. Bringing in bingo customers has also had a benefit to gamingareas, with increased spend and first time players evident at multiple venues.

In the past, bingo has not been accessible to smaller locations due to bothsize and cost, however with Wexel Gaming’s flexible product range any spacecan play host to linked bingo. PlusTab and GTab Lite are the most convenientoptions, offering a low cost and compact installation requiring the absoluteminimum floor space. Both Bingo Plus 19 and the GTab Kiosk offer a more pre-mium look and feel, with large touch screen displays and customised seats,tables and advertisements.

Even with just one player, venues can offer lucrative prize amounts and aunique high street bingo experience, with features and accessibility unmatchedby any other product.

A major setback for operators is the requirement of staff members to callnumbers, check claims and monitor the bingo area in general. Blis Linked Bingorequires staff attention for just a few minutes before the game starts, to connectand verify the communication between venues. After entering the game, play-ers can just breeze through without any staff input, as claims are checked by theremote calling club. Operators can also opt in or out of hosting the linked bingo,which allows smaller venues to offer huge prizes with minimal input.

After being installed in multiple Cashino venues in the UK, they reported thatBlis Linked Bingo has given them a “unique offering which allows players to winlarger bingo prizes.” It has also had a similar impact at Showcase Bingo, givingthem a competitive edge by allowing their players the opportunity to win nearly£5000 a week.

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B2B Listings

LICENCEWHITEHOUSE LOVESMICKEY & MINNIE

Renowned for their extensive line ofDisney-licensed products, White-

house Leisure is catering to theromantics among us with both itsMickey and Minnie Mouse love-heartproducts. The 12 inch, thirty-pieceplush set adds to the established list ofclassic disney characters that White-house supplies. Their newer Disneyfranchises include Finding Nemo, Mon-sters Inc, and Planes, amongst a greatmany others. Whitehouse can also layclaim to other well-known licenses, likethe Simpsons, Family Guy, Hello Kittyand One Direction.

BANK NOTESINNOVATIVE IMPLORESOPERATORS TOUPDATE CASHHANDLING EQUIPMENT

The new issue E10 note enters circulationon 23 September and Innovative Tech-

nology has reminded operators to updatetheir cash handling equipment to accept

the new note.Innovative incorporated the new E10

note, which boasts a range of new securityfeatures, into all of its Euro currency datasetfiles in May to give operators enough time toupdate their ITL validators in the field.

Customer support manager AndyBassam said: “To ease the update processfor customers across Europe we havereleased a new DA3 Smart Update Toolallowing customers to update their valida-tors to accept the E10 note that will enterinto circulation in September.

he team at JNC Sales hasamassed years of experiencein the coin-op industry,

enabling them to respond to themarket with the swiftness andwisdom brought on through yearsacquiring knowledge and expertise.

Sales team member GaryNewman is well known around theindustry, with past roles and Namcoand Harry Levy under his belt and is par-ticularly well versed when it comes topusher, redemption and video titles.Newman specialises in putting dealstogether to suit both parties as he is influ-ential in product buying. Since joining thecompany he has slotted in well at JNCthanks to the vast range of products on

offerand the flexibility to

accept trade-ins and offerpayment terms.

Reece Newman has been part of JNC’sline-up since spring 2012. In that time thecompany reports that he has developed agreat knowledge of fruit machines and

JNC puts faith in industryveterans to drive sales

An experienced gang of industry experts provides instills customerswith a high level of confidence at JNC Sales.

T

2383-p18-19-Listings_Coinslot NEW 26/08/2014 16:40 Page 1

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CATEGORY CWIN FALL FOR ALL

In Deal or No Deal (DOND) Win Fall,RLMS Sales has secured what is pre-

dicted to be among the most successfulmachines of the coming months. TheBell-Fruit product is yet another machinebased on the perennially popular Deal orNo Deal gameshow licence. This Cat CAWP game has already performed well inearly testing.

“We first put thegame out on testtowards the end of2013 and sincethen its perform-ance has beenconsistentlysuperb,” said Bell-Fruit sales andmarketing direc-tor, JohnMcLoughlin.“Unsurprisingly, it

has now becomeBFG’s biggestseller since DONDThe Big One.”Interested opera-tors should contactthe team at RLMSSales to securetheir own cabinet.

has a brilliant understanding of the widerange of stock held by JNC. ReeceNewman is keen to jump on the latestmachine arrivals and distribute them tohis customer base.

Arriving from UDC in 2013, experiencedsales consultant, Dave Columbine hasretained and strengthened his quality cus-tomer base, predominantly on theredemption and video side, but has alsoquickly picked up knowledge regardingpushers and AWPs. Columbine is wellknown within the industry and has quicklyfound himself comfortable amid the fastmoving nature of JNC stock.

Rounding out the sales team is BrianMarks, who has been on staff for severalyears as the company’s export specialist.Marks has customers in many exotic loca-tions and has previously worked with Segain the areas of video and redemption.Speaking many different languages, bol-stered by his bubbly Irish personality, he isable to communicate with almost anyoneand is a regular at overseas exhibitions.

The team will be on hand this Octoberat the Autumn Coin-op Show, on stand84 and at the Euro Attractions Show onstand 8856.

NEWFOR ASTRA’SMAGIC GAMES 100ULTRA

Astra Games has releasednew kits for its Magic

Games 100 Ultra Cat Cmachine.Encased in theFV623 cabinet, and utilisingtwo 19” video screens, the100 Ultra was launched inJanuary of this year. The newkits are now on offer fromCrown Direct, DeithLeisure, and RLMS Sales,and come with four new anddistinct titles: Hot Chance,Mega Joker, Roaring Forties,and Fruit Sensation. Image

GREATEST HITS

Deith Leisure and Crown Direct offera vast range of machines from a deep

and diverse catalogue,but the two companieshave selected a groupof products they believeare the cream of thecrop to highlight for thisweek.

Among them isthe Craic’in FunCat C machinefrom Barcrest,with Harry Levy’sJack in the Boxpusher also makingthe grade. There arealso appearances from both cranemachines and video titles, with GhostSquad Evo from Sega among Crown andDeith’s star selection.

CORRECTION

SOUTH SEA PIER SOLDTO FRENASH

It has come to light that there was anerror in last week’s Coinslot regarding

South Sea Pier, Portsmouth. CrownLeisure operated the arcade for the firm’ssister company Six Piers until the pier wassold to Frenash Limited in May 2010.Since this date, Crown has had no inter-est in the pier.

TO COMMENT ON ANY ARTICLE


2383-p18-19-Listings_Coinslot NEW 27/08/2014 10:18 Page 2

20

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Comment

The ‘£2 a spin’ lobby continues, whilecelebrities and the GBGA has challeng

“

media watchalex lee

FOBTs remain very much in th

commentalex lee

hile it’s difficult toput a positive spinon the latest bank

holiday washout, it wouldseem that, despite therecent low temperatures,rain and wind, the UKcoin-op sector’s dramaticshrinkage over the lastdecade or so looks to havelevelled out a little. Obvi-ously, one can only rely onanecdotal evidence up toa point, but a number offactors signal somethingof a recovery for what hasbeen one of the UK’s mostbeleaguered industries.

For example, we stillhave a number of well-attended and profession-ally-organised tradeshows, both internationaland of a more provincialnature. It won’t haveescaped anyone’s atten-tion that BALPPA is now tohave its own UK-basedevent too and I’m sure thatcoin-op stakeholderswhose line of businessbrings them into contactwith leisure parks andpiers will be up for max-imising any opportunitiesarising from that.

Meanwhile, several mil-lions of pounds continueto be pumped into regen-erating those seasideresorts that were in des-perate need of a boost.While they are unlikely tobe the direct beneficiariesof such funds, the FECsand arcades in the above

areas should benefit frombeing in a modern, vibrant,high-footfall environmentas opposed to a dilapi-dated area trading on pastglories.

On the single site front,pub closures continue butthe ALMR and BBPA havefound high levels of cross-party political supportwhen it comes to convinc-ing the country’s leadersthat the pub and brewingindustries are a vitalsource of entertainment,employment and govern-ment revenue. Thankfully,most of the major pubcosseem to support thedeployment of coin-opentertainment, despitethe business models con-cerned not necessarilybeing perfect from ourside of the fence.

And so long as the unfairplaying field regarding thesiting of FOBTs remains,BACTA has a focal pointissue to get its teeth into,along with the day-to-daywork it gets through onbehalf of its members. Asdiscussed several times inCoinslot lately, all thesector wants is consistent,common-sense legislationrather than, at one shud-dering extreme as seen insome parts of Europe, ablanket ban on gamblingmachines or, on the otherextreme, a head-in-the-sand continuation of theB2 status quo.

Striving forsuccess inan imperfectworld

The Campaign for Fairer Gam-bling’s Adrian Parkinson has

shared his views on FOBTs inThe Guardian. “Ten years ago,when I was working as a seniorexecutive in the betting indus-try, I met John.

“John was married,employed at a Morrison’ssuperstore and would spend hisdays off in the betting shop ban-tering with his mates over thefootball, betting on the horses,playing fruit machines andwagering his money on sport.

“When I caught up with Johnin 2009, he no longer discussedthe football or the horses, nordid he have much time forbanter. He was an outcast frombetting shops across Manches-ter, his wife had left him and hehad moved into a one-bedroomflat on his own. He still had hisjob, though was heavily in debt,and aside from paying his rentmost of his wages were spentfunding an addiction. Not a drug

addiction, but the ‘crackcocaine of gambling’: FOBTs.

“For more than 10 years Ihelped to develop and integrateFOBTs across betting shops inthe UK. But in 2012 I turnedwhistle blower on FOBTsthrough Panorama, and havecontinued campaigning to seethem restricted since.

“The FOBTs I had put in theseshops turned betting shop pun-ters into pathological gamblers,and their losses became part ofthe estimated 23 per cent of rev-enue that is derived from thosewith an addiction. In the last 12years, more than 33,000 ofthese high-risk casino gamblingmachines have gone into shopson Britain’s high streets.

“In April the government pro-claimed a clampdown onFOBTs, and introduced a rangeof measures, including playershaving to identify themselves tostaff when they want to stakefrom £50 to £100. This is an arbi-

trary decision, which seems toimply that those staking under£50 are not at risk of succumb-ing to addiction.

“It also looks as if the govern-ment will soon enable councilsto prevent new betting shopsopening under planning laws.This is not enough. On the fewoccasions when bookmakershave to apply for planning per-mission, their bank balancescombined with an appeals pro-cedure often ensure that a deci-sion against them is reversed.

“But cutting betting shops isnot the answer. The solution, inmy view, is for greater powersto be given to local councils, forthe government to agree asafer, acceptable staking levelfor all machines in high-streetgambling venues and for FOBTbets to be capped at £2 per spin.

Meanwhile, it has come tolight that bingo has a number ofcelebrity fans from the world ofshowbusiness, according to

W

Common sensemust be applied

2383-p22-23-comment_Coinslot NEW 26/08/2014 16:44 Page 1

23Coinslot August 29 - September 4, 2014

ontinues, while bingo is proving a popular pastime among several high-profileA has challenged the new Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014.

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch believes that the UKfaces a big challenge in expandingthe tourism sector and benefitingfrom it in the future. Furthermore, theLabour peer wants to seeimmediate seaside regeneration forseveral coin-op strongholds.“politicsbaroness jones of Whitchurch

quote unquote

”in the public eye



scallywagandvagabond.com.Even Barack Obama has a linkto the game, as his stepmumKezia is apparently a big fan ather local hall in Woking,according to an article in theDaily Mail.

Robbie Williams’ secret loveof bingo was revealed in 2011,when he won a leopard-skinhandbag in a Hollywood bingocompetition (and donated ahefty chunk of cash to BreastCancer Research). The TakeThat star likes to attend char-ity bingo events around theworld and even once posted apicture of Gary Barlow callingbingo at someone’s house.

Bingo was popular asCatherine Zeta Jones grew upin the Welsh valleys and theactress has apparently beenknown to visit the bingo hallswhen she visits her homecountry. Now that she has splitup from Michael Douglas (orhas she?) these visits might be

more regular.Bingo is an activity suitable

for everyone, so it’s no sur-prise that the affable scouserand Royle Family star RickyTomlinson is a fan. He’s evenrecorded ‘The Bingo Song’ in2007 on his love of the gameand stars in his own DVDthemed on Celebrity Bingo.

Commander of the Armiesof the North, General of theFelix regions, loyal servant tothe true emperor MarcusAurelius and fan of little ballsbeing drawn from machines,Russell Crowe is probably thenumber one on this list interms of fame, and was onceeven a bingo caller himself inNew Zealand.

And finally, The GibraltarBetting and Gaming Associa-tion has filed a challenge tonew UK gaming laws in theBritish courts, according topokerfuse.com

The GBGA alleges that the

new Gambling (Licensing andAdvertising) Act 2014 is“unlawful, because it is an ille-gitimate, disproportionate anddiscriminatory interferencewith the right to free movementof services guaranteed by Arti-cle 56 TFEU, and is irrational.”

The process has been filedunder a process whichrequests a judicial review. Thatreview has the power to over-turn laws under certain cir-cumstances.

The process was initiatedtwo months ago with a legalletter to the UK governmentwhich is termed a “Pre-ActionProtocol for Judicial Review.”

“Now, as the UK economy begins to experience the green shootsof recovery, it is time for our industry to make good on thepreparations for growth laid in the tough times.”

UFI IBRAHIM, HOSPITALITY ASSOCIATION

However you measure it, tourism isone of the largest industries in the

UK. According to Deloitte, it con-tributes nearly £100bn to the econ-omy of England alone. One in 12 jobsin the UK is either directly or indi-rectly benefited by tourism. It is theUK’s third highest export earner,behind chemicals and financial serv-ices, and it is a growing sector, withtourism expenditure forecast to grow3 per cent per annum in this decadeand spending by inbound visitorsforecast to grow at an even faster rate.The tourism and hospitality sectorsdeserve a place at the top table ofTreasury and Business Ministers. Theyare delivering for our economy andcould be delivering even more.

The Tourism Council has a big chal-lenge to harness the energy of thestakeholders in the sector who are fullof ideas and initiatives that couldmake even better use of our tourismappeal in future. The sector is alsocoming to terms with a 34 per centcut in real terms to the grants to Vis-itBritain and VisitEngland as well asthe decision to decentralise many ofthe responsibilities to the local enter-prise partnerships which lack theauthority, effectiveness and resourcesof the regional development boardswhich they replaced.

One of the big challenges facingtourism is that of the 31m visitors tothe UK, more than half visit onlyLondon. Not only is this a missedopportunity, it is also symptomatic ofa wider economic worry that all ourwealth and investment is being drawninto the capital leading to an unbal-anced economic recovery.

There is an onus on government todo more to support the tourism sectorto attract visitors to our cities, regionsand coastlines. It requires a cross-department plan to look at the infra-structure needs of specific areas andinvest accordingly. Take, for example,British seaside towns. Historically,

they have been at the heart of ournation’s family holidays, but many arenow in decline. This need not beinevitable. Family holidays are nolonger restricted to the two-weekfamily break at a seaside resort, but thesand, sea and attractions are still thereand could provide a focus for newtypes of tourism and shorter holidaybreaks.

While Brighton, where I live, stillhas its economic challenges, otherresorts are faring far worse. Poor hous-ing stock, high unemployment, anti-social behaviour and lack of moderninfrastructure are holding back theirdevelopment. Take Great Yarmouth asan example. Its town centre has a childdeprivation rate of 49 per cent and itis crying out for regeneration to offerhope to the young people currentlyunemployed there.

Places like Great Yarmouth couldbe providing a renaissance in beachholidays for the new generation ofstaycationers and inbound tourists,but they cannot be left to sort thisalone. Government should be provid-ing the strategy and the catalyst forthe investment.

English Heritage, the National Trustand the Historic Houses Associationhave done a fantastic job, but theycannot be expected to meet all theneeds of this sector, particularly whentheir funding is being cut. We shouldbe harnessing our unique heritage asa key driver to develop our tourismstrategy outside London. Where is thestrategy to revitalise the seasidetowns, our impoverished regions andour heritage?

Everything depends on the nextgeneration of young people who wewant to encourage to develop careersin the tourism and hospitality sectors.Without them, we will have nothingto market to potential visitors. We willnot have the skills to give the warmwelcome which is essential if we aregoing to make our tourism a success.

Regeneration ofcoastal towns is vital“Pinball’s popularity may

have diminished over theyears, but a core group ofgame enthusiasts and dedi-cated manufacturers is notonly keeping it alive but help-ing it to thrive once more.”

SIMON LIDDLE, INTERGAME

“The first full year of theUK’s point of consumptiontax will see the Treasury col-lect a record amount of taxfrom the betting sector.”

WARWICK BARTLETT, GBGC

“For the first time in a whileeveryone is feeling prettypositive in Mecca about theoutlook for the businessbecause of the shot in thearm from the duty reduction.The reduction translates toabout £11m-£12m on anannualised basis.”

HENRY BIRCH, CEO, RANK

Dear SirWe are a small time operator of over 40 years andcan tell you we have been reporting this ‘hopperfiddle’ (reported in last week’s Coinslot) to themain victim B.F.M.

On many occasions we have had money miss-ing from secure machines to be fobbed off with“No it can’t happen” by their service departmentas George Henshaw and his assistants formerly ofB.F.M service (long retired) could confirm.

A person, sometimes two, would arrive at a site(usually by taxi); walk up to a machine with some-thing in their hand, the manager would hearmoney being paid out from the machine but noth-ing going in. The meters read right for percent-ages, but not money.

On reporting this to the manufacturer, we wouldbe fobbed off with: “Oh no, it can’t happen to ourmachines.” I started to suspect that somethingwas being done to the program beforehand or bymy machine supplier who we had really juststarted using.

We switched back to an old supplier and theproblems appeared to stop, apart from the usualcustomer break-ins never seen from the bar sixfeet away. The people who had been involved havebeen seen visiting the sites, taking one look at themachines sited and walking out.

JOHN TILBURN, JAT LEISURE WAKEFIELD

letter to the editor

2383-p22-23-comment_Coinslot NEW 26/08/2014 16:45 Page 2


GAMING ROYALTY TO DESCEND ON WESTLONDON

ICE Europe, theannual event whichsees the congrega-

tion of some of the most sen-ior minds in video-gamingtechnology, takes place nextmonth in Kensington, Lon-don. The two day event willwelcome speakers such asPhil Harrison, corporate vicepresident of Microsoft,Jonathan Morin, creative

director at Ubisoft, and Mar-tin Rae, president of theAcademy of Interactive Artsand Sciences. Featuring a

networking day of go-kart-ing, areas of discussion willfocus on the futureprocesses of game design,

the rise of the Chinese mar-ket and its industrial affects,and the ongoing develop-ment of gaming narratives.2013 saw senior delegatesfrom gaming giants Sonyalso attending the confer-ence, providing an opportu-nity to network withestablished industry figures.“Walk down the hall and youwill see people who havebeen heavy hitters in thegames community for ten or

twenty years”, says MarkCerny, lead architect ofSony’s PlayStation 4, “thecrème de la crème, that’swho’s here”. DICE Europewill run from September 23-24 at the Royal Garden Hotel.

WINDSOR WELCOMESPLAYFAIR

oyal Windsor Race-course will be thevenue for PlayFair,

the UK’s largest trade event

for all those involved in thepurchasing, supply andupkeep of children’s playequipment. Hosted by theAssociation of Play Indus-tries (API), PlayFair will takepart alongside the SportsAmenities LandscapingTrade Exhibition (SALTEX).The wider event will featureover two-hundred separateexhibitors, and the latest inchildren’s play technology.PlayFair takes place from 2-

4 September, and entering,registering, and parking is allfree of charge. Those seek-ing to attend are directed tothe PlayFair website:www.playfairuk.com

Calendar



SEPTEMBER 20142-4Entertainment Arena Expo,Romexpo Fair Ground, Bucharest,Romania www.earena.ro2-4Playfair at SALTEX 2014 RoyalWindsor Racecourse, Windsor, UKwww.playfairuk.com23-25Euro Attractions Show, RAIExhibition Centre, Amsterdam, Nether-lands www.iaapa.org/eas24 Bingo Association Golf Dayand associated dinnerRedditch, Worcestershirewww.bingo-association.co.uk30-2LIW 2014 NEC, Birmingham,UK www.liw.co.uk

OCTOBER7-9Brand Licensing EuropeOlympia, London, UK www.brandli-censing.eu15-16The Autumn Coin Op ShowChelsea Football Club, London, UKwww.coin-opshow.co.uk15-16Kiosk London Expo & Digi-tal Signage London Expo BarbicanCentre, London, UK www.kiosklon-don.co.uk / www.digitalsignagelon-don.co.uk15-17ENADA Rome Rome ExpoCentre, Rome, Italy www.enada.it16-17Surexpo Expo XXI Centre,Warsaw, Poland www.wigor-targi.com30-2G2E 2014 Sands Expo & Con-vention Centre, Las Vegas, USwww.globalgamingexpo.com

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Opinions expressed in this publication shouldnot be regarded as the official view of GBMedia Corporation Ltd, except where stated.Views, opinions and recommendationscontained in this publication are put forwardfor consideration only. No action should betaken in reliance upon any such views,opinions or recommendations. Neither GBMedia Corporation Ltd nor contributorsaccept any responsibility for any lossoccasioned to any person howsoevercaused or arising as a result of or inconsequence of action taken or refrainedfrom in realiance on the contents of thispublication.

Notes for contributors: Coinslotwelcomes the submission of articles forconsideration by the editor with a view topublication. Submission of an article wil lbe held to imply that the article containsoriginal unpublished work which GB MediaCorporation Ltd may lawfully publish. Allsubmissions are made at the owner’s risk.© GB Media Corporation Ltd, 2013All rights strictly reserved. No part of thispublication may be reproduced, stored ina retrieval system, or transmitted in anyform or by any means without the priorwritten permission given, full acknowl-edgement of author, publisher and sourcemust be given.

Daventry to host UK Pinball Party

Ihis weekend will see the fifth annualUK Pinball Party take place at the Dav-entry Court Hotel, Northamptonshire.

This year’s event will see attendees treatedto a luxury three-course buffet gala dinner,along with a keynote address from pin-ballingtitan Barry Oursler. Oursler will discuss hisown career, as well as the current state of pin-ball today.

In another exciting development, the Heigh-way Pinball team will also be on-hand, unveil-

ing their exciting upcoming game: “Full-Throt-tle”. Due for release in November, Full-Throttlewill be available for attendees to play-test andcompete against one another for prizes. Thegame will be available on offer for pre-order toall interested parties.

Other leading pinball vendors to have con-firmed attendance include Pinball Mania, Pin-ball Daze, and 1 STOP Pinball.

The UK Pinball Party runs from Friday 29thto Sunday 31st August.

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