VLTs
www.euroslot-online.com The Roman Empire
Italy has become Europe’s biggest gaming market, with VLTs the icing on the revenue cake. Other countries can now learn from the model it provides – as well as the challenges it has faced, reports Jon Bruford
casinos, online poker and video lottery terminals (VLTs) all creating staggering profits for licence holders and increased revenue for the government. And, if reports are to be believed, for organised crime. Since the regulation of VLTs in the Italian market
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in 2010 to bring in revenue for the government’s rebuilding efforts following the Abruzzo earthquake, VLTs have been at the forefront of a gaming revolution in the country. Licensees were able to offer prizes up to ¤500,000 Euro to players, and with increased gaming machine security and closely monitored taxation, there was the promise of a winner for all involved. In many ways, this has indeed been the case – but lessons must be learned from Italy if other countries such as Greece and Hungary are to follow the same path. Part of the reason for the success of VLTs in Italy
may lie in the economic difficulties that the country has faced as a result of the banking collapse and worldwide recession. People are looking for a get-
t’s official: Italy is now the number one gaming market in Europe, with a combination of AWPs,
rich-quick, or certainly a get-a bit-of-cash-quick, in times where jobs are scarce; large numbers of young Italians are unemployed.With attractively large jackpots and the backing of the government – not to mention plentiful advertising – VLTs have flourished, with over 42,000 terminals in operation now. Yet it’s not only the number of terminals that
continues to surprise, but the speed of implementation: deploying VLTs is not just a matter of putting machines into venues. The infrastructure requires all of the following: • A game server whose tasks include generating the random numbers at the heart of play, managing wins and payments, and remotely maintaining terminals.
• A library of games software. • Individual gaming machines incorporating banknote readers and TITO printers.
• Inspection units with touchscreens and barcode readers for validating winning tickets.
• Management software for financial reporting, managing loyalty programmes, monitoring possible problem gamblers, calculating tax due, and a host of other tasks.
From zero to 42,000 in 18 months is dazzling
growth and it’s no wonder suppliers want to find new markets. The total number of actual licences for Italy is 58,000, so there is room for expansion, with the current crop mainly supplied by Inspired, Novomatic and Lottomatica, a part of Spielo International. The actual installed figure should hit 58,000 in the next 12 months.
VLTs offer a hard-to-cheat
framework where taxation is simpler
Tax appeal VLTs appeal to governments for a number of
reasons, but mainly because they offer a hard-to- cheat framework where taxation is simpler. The machines rely on a wide area network as part of the regulatory setup, so taxes are reported on the network, and regardless of how much cash is handled (and how it’s handled) at a location, the government is already aware of taxes due. Additionally, for treasuries desperate for cash,
there is much revenue to be earned from the sale of licences to operate VLTs – as soon as legislation is in place, operators will be there with open wallets (and suppliers with open arms), and the government has an immediate injection of money before a single machine is installed. In Italy, however, there are now worries because
of the high estimated number of problem gamblers – reports coming out of the country suggest upwards of 800,000 people might have become addicted, according to a report from Italian journalist Daniele Poto. Quoted in The Guardian recently, Poto said: “Gambling is not in our DNA, we are not like the British. But the state has encouraged it and advertising has done the rest.” Italians are also betting instead of saving, with an average ¤4000 saved by each person every year a
28 APRIL 2012 THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE AMUSEMENT AND STREET GAMING INDUSTRY
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