NEWS
Friends again
Aristocrat and IGT end their patent disputes
Aristocrat Technologies and International Game Technology (IGT) have settled their intellectual-property spat with a cross-licensing agreement.
The deal covers Aristocrat’s patents for Hyperlink and Ante-Bet, and IGT’s for Alcorn.
“Resolution of these disputes acknowledges the strength of each company’s intellectual property,” said Jamie Odell, Aristocrat’s Managing Director and CEO.
The deal covers Aristocrat’s patents for Hyperlink and Ante-Bet, as well as IGT’s for Alcorn “Aristocrat’s IP is a crucial
company asset and the company has taken a proactive approach to aggressively protect and defend IP as a core part of our business strategy. This settlement with IGT will allow us to focus on our intellectual-property efforts against other parties.”
Scientific acquires
Barcrest Slot maker promises VLT, online business
US firm Scientific Games has bought Barcrest, one of the most famous names in British slots and amusement machines. It plans to merge Barcrest with its existing divisions The Global Draw and Games Media, taking them into the Italian and Czech video lottery terminal (VLT) markets, as well as allowing them to build on Barcrest's existing business in supplying game content to online and mobile operators.
It will also give The Global Draw
greater reach into pubs, betting shops, bingo halls and other non- casino venues.
“Over the last 40 years, Barcrest
has created an expansive library of game content and this acquisition will enhance the Scientific Games gaming group portfolio,” said Ian Timmis, CEO of The Global Draw and Games Media.
“By combining our content with
Barcrest’s, delivering it through state- of-the-art networks and offering exceptional operational and service support, we expect to offer our customers significantly enhanced products and services.”
Naughty
Austria European court raps its monopoly policy
Austria’s state gambling monopoly is not acting legally under EU law by excluding foreign casino companies from its licensing process, the European Court of Justice has ruled. Austria had justified the measure on crime-fighting grounds, but the court held that there were other, less trade-restrictive means to that end. And it warned EU member states that if they allow a gambling monopoly to expand without opening the market up to competition, on the grounds that it is the only way to prevent criminal activity, they must be able to prove this. In its ruling on the Austrian monopoly, the court said that “to be consistent with the objective of fighting crime and reducing opportunities for gambling, national legislation establishing a monopoly which allows the holder of the monopoly to follow an expansionist policy must genuinely be based on a finding that the crime and fraud linked to gaming are a problem in the member state concerned, which could be remedied by expanding authorised regulated activities”. Maximising public revenue would not on its own be a justification of allowing the monopoly to stand, the court added.
The latest security tool: your iPhone Need to monitor your security cameras remotely? There’s an app for that...
Gambling via the smartphone is becoming commonplace; managing the gaming floor using handheld devices is also, as our feature this month observes, rapidly transitioning from futuristic ambition to everyday reality. But there’s another area of the casino which can also benefit from the all-pervading app – security. A new iPhone app from Dallmeier, called Mobile Video Center, lets users of its surveillance systems access live feeds and recordings while they’re on the move. Preview images allow the user to quickly select which camera they want to check; individuals can also
designate favourites so that they can easily navigate to frequently-viewed places. Images are automatically processed to provide the best display quality on the iPhone’s screen, with resolution also selectable by the user according to the level of detail that they require. The familiar iPhone touch interface is used to
provide features such as zoom and snapshots, either of live footage or of recordings, as well as a download counter to control the usage – and therefore cost – of 3G Internet connections.
Dallmeier’s Mobile Video Center supports the VideoNetBox, DMS/DLS series, and Smatrix products.
INBRIEF
PROPERTY SWAP Golden Gaming is to acquire Affinity Gaming’s two Terrible’s casino properties in Pahrump, Nevada, as well as a slot route. It is also selling its three locations in Black Hawk, Colorado, to Affinity.
MARYLAND ORDER The new Maryland Live! Casino, opening in June 2012, will have JCM’s iVizion bill validators installed on more than 4750 slots and electronic table games.
GETTING BIG GameAccount Network, the online game developer, has been named as one of the 30 fastest- growing private technology companies in Britain.
MATCH MAKER New slots from World Match include Maximum and Hollywood Film, both with 3D effects.
JACKPOT OKAY The Nevada Gaming Control Board has approved Gaming Support’s BaseSys Navigator jackpot controller.
GREAT CAUSE Britain’s Great Foundation is to be a charitable beneficiary of next January’s International Gaming Awards.
NEVADA-BOUND Quixant now has a Las Vegas office, on East Sunset Road.
COUPON TEST South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas recently finished trialling FutureLogic’s PromoNet promotional couponing system.
JOINING AGEM The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers has six new members. They are Alfastreet, from Slovenia; British firms Eurocoin and JPM International; and US companies Cooper Levenson, Rainmaker, and TransLux.
SPANISH EXAM Gaming Laboratories International’s European arm, GLI Europe, is now authorised to test and certify e-gaming platforms in Spain.
INDIAN TOURNAMENT A September gaming competition at the Casino Royale in Goa, India, saw more than 300 players compete in Roulette, Indian Flush, Baccarat, Blackjack, and Texas Hold ’Em.
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