G3-247 Report GERMANY
German alliance and defiance
The IMA 2014 exhibition in Dusseldorf brought the German domestic gaming industry together to show a unified front in the face of what some have dubbed ‘a Doomsday scenario’ for the street gaming sector by 2017.
01 The introduction of the Glücksspielstaatsvertrag (Interstate Gambling Treaty) in July 2012 hailed major changes to the industry. The individual states became responsible for AWP gaming and not the federal government. Multi-concessions (large arcades) are set to be banned from 2017 onwards. Next to no new arcades were permitted in 2013. The market is now longer in growth mode but is consolidating. The industry is fighting the political backlash and it cannot be said at this moment what this outcome will be. State arcade laws have been enacted. Most arcades cannot open 24/7 any more. In Berlin, for example, arcades must close for eight hours during the night.
4 0
Having been postponed in 2013, this year’s IMA was much awaited. A total of 150 exhibitors from 17 different nations presented their innovations in halls 8a and 8b at the exhibition centre in Düsseldorf, Germany. The IMA covered a total of 20,000sq.m. and took place over four days, between January 14-17.
The focus has spread at this show. The key prod- ucts revolved around AWPs for the German arcade market. Further segments included sports betting, iGaming, vending, services, IT, consulting and marketing. Even though the title ‘vending’ is stated within the IMA itself (IMA = International Trade Show for Amusement and Vending Machines, Sports Betting and Sport Games), none
of the major vending manufacturers were present and vending machines were very much in the minority.
As in previous years, the Gauselmann Group domi- nated one hall and the Löwen Entertainment Group dominated the other. The presence of Bally Wulff was noticeably larger this year. Sports betting was the second most important segment after AWPs with an array of companies exhibiting. Cash han- dling products, seating, components and spares played an important role. There was an increased number of companies exhibiting security solutions as more and more German states are forcing arcades to close during the night. Previously arcades were open 24 hours a day. These enforced
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