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UK – BOJE NEW HEAD OF ARISTOCRAT EMEA Experienced gaming industry execu- tive, James Boje, has been appointed to the post of Managing Director for Aristocrat’s Europe, Middle East and Africa region, subject to receipt of the necessary regulatory approvals.
Mr. Boje takes up his post immediately, reporting directly to Maureen Sweeny, Aristocrat Chief Commercial Officer. Mrs Sweeny said, “I am delighted to welcome James to Aristocrat in this important leadership position. He has a proven track record of driving strategic growth initiatives and balancing commercial and customer requirements whilst maintaining a strong focus on people and a high performance culture with- in the business.”
HUNGARY – NEW CASINO OPENS IN DEBRECEN Hungarian operator Aranybónusz 2000 Kft has just opened the Grand Casino at the Debrecen Plaza shopping center, located in eastern Hungary at a cost of HUF 750m.
The property has opened with 240 slot machines and four table games. Aranybónusz 2000 Kft, which won the conces- sion for ten years, has an option to extend it for another five years. The operator has also won the tender for another casi- no in Nyiregyhaza, also in Eastern Hungary. The Debrecen Grand Casino has a workforce of 80 people.
The new gambling act in Hungary has allowed the issue of 11 licenses: five in Budapest and Pest County, three in eastern Hungary and three in the western Hungary. Aranybónusz’s two casino licences were among the seven concession con- tracts granted by the National Economy Ministry in May 2014. The remaining five were awarded to Las Vegas Casino.
NOVOMATIC ISRAELI LOTTERY DEAL
NOVOMATIC signs seven year contract with Israeli National Lottery, MIFAL HAPAIS, for the provision of VLTs Israel - Lotteries
NOVOMATIC, one of the largest integrated gaming groups in the world, has signed a seven year contract with Mifal Hapais, the Israeli National Lottery, for the provision of its state-of-the-art video lottery system.
The system includes a central system, 150 retailer terminals and 500 of its newest generation video lottery terminals. NOVOMATIC will also provide customized games, together with maintenance and support services for the entire duration of the con-
tract.The contract has been concluded after a thor- ough procurement process and allows Mifal Hapais
the option to renew it for up to an additional thirteen years. NOVOMATIC expects to generate around 23 million Euros of revenue over the initial period.
“We are very proud to welcome our new customer Mifal Hapais to the NOVOMATIC Group. It is a posi- tive proof of the market’s need for more competition amongst the top tier providers, in order to bring innovation and value to this growing market”, said Thomas Graf, CTO of NOVOMATIC AG. “We are very pleased to have concluded this contract with NOVO- MATIC. Their commitment to us as a client is a lesson in excellent service, and their complete solution is a lesson in innovation. We are looking forward to many years of success, which will allow Mifal Hapais to increase the contribution for our good causes”, said Eli Dadon, CEO of Mifal Hapais.“This is one of the first steps on our route to success in the WLA lottery market. We intend to take many more”, added Mr. Graf.
Greek court rules OPAP monopoly is entirely compliant
UK – GROWTH LEADS TO OFFICE MOVE FOR NMI NMi Gaming has relocated its UK division to larger premises in Bangor, North Wales. Following a period of rapid expan- sion, the new office has become necessary to accommodate an ever increasing head count at the UK division.
Located at Parc Menai in Bangor, North Wales, NMi UK’s new office is more than double the size of their previous base. Andrew Rosewarne, Managing Director for NMi UK explains: "Increasing demand on an international level for our services has led to the requirement for the UK team to expand into larger facilities. The move is a true reflection of our success as a customer driven organisation; the unit's head count has doubled year on year since 2009."
"The new office gives us the opportunity to further improve our services and is suitably equipped to support a growing team and accommodate future business development,” stated Mr. Rosewarne. “It is a crucial step in the progression of our strategies to drive NMi Gaming forward and continue delivery of an exceptional customer experience."
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GREECE A Greek court has ruled that the monopoly held by OPAP is com- pletely compliant with EU legis- lation and that the country’s reforms in terms of online gam- bling are also completely com- pliant. The court said that OPAP’s aims to protect Greek players from illegal online opera- tors was central to its ruling.
Operators such as William Hill, Sportingbet and Stanleybet had claimed that Greece was in breach of EU laws that promote freedom of services
The Remote Gambling Association has consistently stated that the only viable long term market for online gambling in Greece is one that is open to multiple licensees who can pro- vide the value, choice and range of products that are demanded
by consumers. This is the only way to ensure customers get the protection of a Greek licensing system and the Government can benefit from taxation paid by licensed operators.
When the Greek authorities par- tially opened up the online gam- bling market in 2012 they allowed 24 EU-licensed gam- bling companies to provide online sports betting legally. It is estimated that they will pay almost €50m GGR tax to the Greek State in 2014. Greek cus- tomers therefore already have a range of operators to bet with and have been protected through a robust licensing regime. Now the Greek authorities, in a move designed to shore up the privati- sation of OPAP, are intending to close down the 24 operators and create an online sports betting monopoly for OPAP.
Czech Republic The Czech Finance Ministry wants to invite foreign online betting firms to operate with amendments proposed to bring more of the online spend by Czechs back into the country. Czechs spent around US$6.3bn in 2012 with five domestic bookies dominating the domestic market, including Prague-listed Fortuna Entertainment Group. Current legislation dictates that bookies must have bricks and mortar shops in Czech to operate online. Deputy Finance Minister Ondrej Zavodsky said: “Users currently bet abroad, which several foreign companies make easier by introducing sites in Czech. We estimate the state misses out on more than 1 billion crowns a year in this segment.”
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