18


B 2 B


Essential Guide to ... Category C Market Analysis


LEGISLATION


‘The lifeblood of the gaming machine market’


Although the government’s indecision on B3 changes may have caused some operators to be reticent when it comes to expanding their coin-op estate, the latest generation of quality Category C product will ensure the sector remains the lifeblood of the gaming machine industry, according to Crown Direct’s Dean Harding.


“


I see some great Category C prod- uct presently being developed. However, the sector is currently


fragile, and this is disappointing because although I hear customers telling us that Cat C is taking good money, when I look at the quality of the product that Astra have delivered, for example, operators have not really seen the return that they would have expected in previous years. I think there are other issues outside of the Category C sector that are affecting this. Some operators are holding onto their capital as they await the new B3 legisla- tion. This goes back to the government’s


MANUFACTURERS Catering to all consumer requirements


Bell-Fruit Games was highly successful when the Category C stake-to-prize ratio was 50p/£35, and this has continued to be the case on £1/£70, says John McLoughlin, group sales and marketing director.


recent years we have seen pubs clos- ing at up to 50 per week, and the figure is still 25 per week today. This, coupled with some retail- ers reducing their rates for new machine injection, cre- ates a sector in which volume levels are reduced. However, Bell-Fruit Group product continues to per- form extremely well both on test and when sited in volume, and in conse- quence you will find our product in


Coinslot MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2011 “The Category C marketplace is difficult and has been so for some time. Over


almost any pub you care to visit. It is also the case that the pub estates that have con- tinued to inject new machines at tradi- tional levels are seeing some of the best machine performance ever and substan- tial year on year growth. So where opera- tors and retailers continue to invest in new product there is still a very positive pic- ture to be painted. It has proved very difficult for compli- ant Cat C machines to compete with legacy machines in arcades, so there are still large numbers of old machines sited. Bell-Fruit recently launched Crazy Fruits Community Party, a triple Cat C game designed for the arcade and bingo sectors, and this is attracting great acclaim wher- ever it is tested, so we hope that this will make some serious


inroads into the low-tech sector of the market. Cat C machines have been fighting against the competition from B3 machines in the AGC and LBO sec- tors for some time and this remains a very unequal battle. Allowing B3


machines a £2 stake will clearly make this yet more difficult and the Cat C sector urgently needs a review and a £100 prize would certainly make for a more level play- ing field


Although a £1 stake is allowed, all the evidence available shows that the average price of play is much lower, averaging out at about 60p overall. Bell-Fruit was highly successful when the stake to prize ratio was 50p/£35 and this has continued to be the case on £1/£70. Our games designers are very close to the market and are very adept at coming up with games that give the players what they want. There is much talk at the moment about


the rise in popularity of digital, video- based games in the pub estates. We at Bell- Fruit Games have been active in the design and development of digital games for longer than anyone else in the business, and we are currently one of the major con- tent providers across a variety of plat- forms. There is certainly a place for digital product but it is also clear that players in pubs remain extremely loyal to reel-based games. I believe the two offerings will have to exist side by side for several years to come as pub retailers will inevitably con- tinue to approve reel-based machines as long as these are seen to out-perform the competition.”


indecision in giving the industry a firm date, and so people are holding onto their purse strings. People would be buying more product


if they knew where they stood with B3. Having said this, although operators will be allowed extra density in their B3 estate, I don’t think this will have a long-term detrimental effect on the Category C sector. This extra density is already taken when people operate split premises. The new legislation will simply make life easier for operators, as it will solve all the confu- sion of having three AGCs in one location. Category C won’t be taking a back seat.


If anything the new legislation will allow the operator to put all his B3 terminals in one, focused high-roller area and put the Cat C machines together again. I see some great Cat C being developed, and this will continue to be the largest density of prod- uct - not just in AGCs, but in bingo, pubs and FECs. Cat C is the lifeblood of the gaming machine market.”


IMPORTS


Luxury-class product


generates long- term returns


Genesis Games continues to inject best-in-class Category C gaming product into the UK market.


Chesham-based Genesis Games is the


official UK and Ireland distributor for Amatic Industries’ gaming products. The company is currently promoting Amatic’s impressive multiplayer cabinet and game compendium across several gaming cate- gories, including B2, B3, B3A, B4 and, of course, C. “We are aiming at the top end of the price structure for machines,” said Gene- sis’ Steve Bierrum. “Fundamentally, our machines are built to last for a long, long time, with operators looking to get a return on investment over four or five years. We know this from our tests in our own loca- tions, and the major success has been in the UK AGC market.”


Distributing gaming machines from a


respected Austrian manufacturer, the product being brought to the UK by Gene- sis is unique in its appearance, and Bier- rum said take-up on the Amatic machines has been very successful. “To say the play- ers like the machine is really an under- statement,” he said. “We have found that the machines generate tremendous player loyalty. The players get a lot of value from their time on the machine and they feel that the games can be trusted.” As with many manufacturers and sup- pliers involved in the UK’s Category C gaming sector, Bierrum noted a “slight deflation” in the market, but affirmed that it was key for operators to continue to invest in best-in-class prod- uct in order to bolster their cashbox takings. “One of my friends in the industry recently completely refur- bished his arcade,” Bierrum stated. “He spent a lot of money on equipment and refurbishing the venue, and over Easter was 30 per cent up year-on-year. Yes, he had more visitors because the weather was good, but he puts a lot of it down to his re-investment.”


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