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NEW GROUP TO EASE BOTTLE-NECK
Snowcat, a new group of B2B companies has emerged and they’re packed with gaming experience and unique skills Estonia - Development
Mitchell Rankin and Peter Moffitt, both long time gaming industry veterans, have pulled together deeply experienced teams of developers and sup- port specialists to deliver solutions to a number of industry partners across the online, lottery and casino realms. Snowcat said that, even in these early days, the group has managed to enter into some substantial strategic alliances with a num- ber of industry ‘names’, with first products already delivered.
IRELAND – AMATIC AND GENESIS’ 15 YEARS SUCCESS AMATIC Industries has built up a very strong base in Ireland with its partner Genesis Games. Genesis Games is responsi- ble for sales and service in the UK and Ireland. The strength and mutual respect is highlighted by the fact that Genesis Games sells only AMATIC gaming products.
Steve and Hans Bierrum, owners of Genesis Games, note that there are over 100 multi-player roulettes from AMATIC Industries in the market already alongside the large numbers of AMATIC slot machines. The Grand Jeu Double is the flag- ship of AMATIC Industries with its ten-player positions, dual wheels and four large screens fully integrated into it. The top- of-the range design and components ensure that this auto- matic roulette works 24/7. Furthermore, the sophisticated Casino Online System enables operators to monitor and manage the performance of the Grand Jeu Double.
ITALY – NEW GAMING AND ADVERTISING TAXATION The Italian Parliament is currently considering a new set of financial legislation in a second reading. If adopted, the legis- lation will give the government twelve months to reorganise the regulations and levels of gambling taxation. As requested by many stakeholders, the draft also includes a new taxation regime to replace the currently high taxes on turnover.
LITHUANIA - NEW DRAFT ONLINE GAMING LAW Lithuania has informed the European Commission of a new draft law that will regulate online gaming. According to the new draft law, local and foreign operators will be required to set up a branch of their company in Lithuania and be holders of a gambling operator license in order to be eligible to apply for an online gaming permit.
Additionally, the draft law also sets out the technical require- ments for remote gambling devices and software, as well as measures to be taken against illegal gambling operators. The notification comes a few weeks after Lithuania received a letter of formal notice from the European Commission requesting clarification of the compatibility of Lithuania's online gambling legislation and EU law.
SPAIN - NEW DRAFT DECREE FOR EXTREMADURA Spain has notified the European Commission of a new draft decree regarding the regulation of betting in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura. The decree regulates the place- ment of bets, the framework for authorisations, obligations of betting organisers and operators, and the establishments and premises where betting can be carried out. The decree seeks to cover on-site gambling within the Autonomous Community of Extremadura and create a framework that is favourable to the establishment of betting in the region.
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“We really hit the ground running” they continued. “We’ve been able to take over some significant product-level projects and have already helped get our partners to market faster and without dis- ruption to their existing development teams, roadmaps and schedules by being focussed, expe- rienced and integrated – our collaboration model is far more seamless to our partners than them trying to use traditional outsourcing or contracting methods.”
Snowcat IP OU is the centre of both licensed and in-house concepts and ideas and other intellectu- al property. Snowcat Games OU is the game development and integration arm as well as an authorised representative of a number of other game studios and suppliers. Snowcat Systems OU
is delivering online, server-based and lottery- style gaming products for a number of jurisdic- tions and deployment platforms, with Snowcat Operations OU providing B2B remote technical support and Help Desk abilities.
All development and project processes and proce- dures are Agile-based, but modified to blend in with other methodologies used by some of Snowcat’s B2B partners. “Being flexible and adap- tive are cornerstones of Agile, but these abilities also help us work with others who have not yet evolved into a full Agile environment, for various reasons,” said the team.
Snowcat expects shortly to be able to announce a number of significant B2B partnerships and proj- ects though, at the present time, confidentiality agreements prevent the current list of partners from being identified. In the meantime, the new Snowcat Group is busy delivering results to an often-bottlenecked product stream.
Greece Three Greek casinos are fighting to keep their licences, after the Hellenic Gaming Commission recommended that they be revoked for outstanding debts to the Greek State. According to the President of the Commission, casinos in Corfu, Xianthi and Syros Island should lose their licenses unless they pay off the debts. The casinos together owe up to €10m in outstanding royalty payments to the Greek State.
New casinos on the cards for Sicily’s Palermo and Taormina
SICILY According to the Sicilian towns of Palermo and Taormina, European cities with casinos generate six- figure incomes from taxes as compared to non-gaming cities, with estimates that allowing casino gaming in Sicily would create an additional two tourists to the Italian island.
The popular seaside resort of Palermo is already a candidate to host one of the two casinos expected to receive a green light following a positive vote by the Regional Parliament (ARS) and which now awaits submission to the National House and Senate.
President of the Seventh District
of the City of Palermo, Peter Gottuso, said: "This represents a great result for the city and goes in the direction requested by me, because I have always believed that Sicily, being the southern part of Europe, must propose ini- tiatives to attract wealthy and foreign investors. The approval of the law goes in this direction, that is, in order to promote and increase tourism that I have always considered to be one of the growth engines for socio- economic and employment of our territory. "
The Regional Authorities believe that the new casinos will bring investment in infrastructure, new jobs and new economic
resources for the towns and for the regions as a whole. If the Senate consents in Rome, then ARS will then identify the loca- tions of the two casinos in the territories of Taormina and Palermo; the methods of man- agement of casinos and subject to administrative concessions: seek to organise a public tender; plan the duration of the adminis- trative concessions, the 'indica- tion of the types of authorised games and closing days and hours of opening to the public.”
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