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BULGARIA – SASCHA BLODAU NEW CASINO TECHNOLOGY CFO European manufacturer of casino equipment for land-based and online gaming, Casino Technology, has attracted to its senior management team a senior figure in the European gaming industry. Sascha Blodau was recently appointed as a CFO of the company to facilitate the corporate strategy of global consolidation and growth.
As a long-term Managing Director of Bally Wulff Games & Entertainment GmbH in Germany, Mr. Blodau has a signifi- cant experience in positioning and strengthening the corpo- rate financial structure, establishing capital investment, and managing investor relationships in the gaming business. He was one of the main driving forces behind the acquisition of the Germany-based manufacturer Bally Wulff by Schmidt Group in 2007.
GREECE – INTRALOT’S ANTONOPOULOS RETIRES Intralot has announced the retirement of Constantinos Antonopoulos from the position of the Group CEO, while he remains Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors. Group Chairman and Intralot Founder, Socrates Kokkalis, said: “I would like to thank Mr. Antonopoulos for his commitment to the Intracom and Intralot Group’s vision over three decades and his contribution towards creating a pioneering techno- logical group with international recognition. The decision of Mr. Antonopoulos was accepted while he remains a valuable personal advisor and Member of the Company Board.
DRAGONARA OPPOSES RIVAL PLAN
Syont has launched its latest VLT at the recent Slovkia Gaming show, adding multiple screens to its cabinets Czech Republic - VLTs
Dragonara Gaming, the operator of the Dragonara Casino on the Mediterranean island of Malta, has filed a protest in local courts regarding the deci- sion to award a casino concession to Eden Leisure. Last month Eden Leisure announced a €31m investment in hotels, conferenceing and casinos as part of an overhaul of the Bay Arena in Malta. Central to the development is the completion of a casino integrated into the InterContinental Malta, which is due to close for three months from the beginning of February next year for the redevel- opment work to commence.
It is understood that a European casino operator has been recruited to manage operations of the casino. However, Dragonara Gaming’s complaint centres around its allegation that the licence ten- der for the casino was “reverse engineered” and the selection process was littered with adminis- trative flaws.
Dragonara claims that although the administrative shortcoming alone were reason enough to block the process, “the selection process was also char- acterised by an abuse of power, because it was designed and led in a way to achieve a goal which the law euphemistically describes as “inappropri- ate.” The aim, Dragonara explained “was that of awarding the concession to Eden, whatever the
offers.” It added that the process was “reverse engineered” and the decision was taken before the process commenced. In October, Eden Leisure Group requested that a court refuse the applica- tion for a warrant of prohibitory injunction requested by Dragonara Gaming Ltd against the Privatisation Unit. Dragonara Gaming applied for the injunction in October, alleging flaws in the process which resulted in the proposal submitted by Eden Leisure Group being selected as the pre- ferred bid for a new casino concession.
According to local news, Dragonara Gaming, which have a 10-year concession on the Dragonara Casino in St Julian’s, were also selected for a second concession. The company is contest- ing the decision by the PU’s evaluation committee, saying that the original expression of interest was for one casino concession, and that its offer for an up-front cash offer was three times that offered by Eden Leisure.
EveryMatrix opens new regional offices in Malta and Mexico
RUSSIA - SUZO-HAPP EXHIBITS AT SOCHI SHOW The strong investment in local exhibitions was yet again demonstrated by the EMEA team of Suzo-Happ that exhibit- ed at the Russian Gaming Week, which took place November 5-6 in Sochi, Russia. Sochi is one of the gambling zones chose by the Russian parliament that will provide gaming entertainment in the future.
“Although there is a restricted gaming market currently in Russia, we were willing to invest in this show as we are here today to look to possible future business potential. Our main goal has been to gain contacts in the Russian market and naturally inform the local entrepreneurs of the great solu- tions Suzo-Happ can offer and the excellent service to match,” explained Harald Wagemaker, Executive Vice President Sales & Marketing of Gaming and Casino EMEA, Suzo-Happ.
Suzo-Happ is the world’s largest provider of solutions and products in the gaming market for spare parts and compo- nents. Increasingly, Suzo-Happ is offering customer-specific solutions, adding yet more value to the industry.
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UK EveryMatrix has announce the opening of its new offices in both Malta and Mexico. Following on from the launch of its Manila office last year spearheaded by Ian Sherrington, EveryMatrix contin- ues to expand its product offering in South America and Malta.
Latin America is an emerging mar- ket that EveryMatrix is currently exploring and felt it was the best time to proactively invest in a rep- resentative based in Mexico allowing EveryMatrix to explore opportunities and quickly gain presence in the region. As part of EveryMatrix’s intention to explore the region, the company exhibited its range of services at the SAGSE exhibition in Buenos Aires amongst growing interest in online gaming in the market.
Malta has always been a hub of activity and opportunity for the iGaming industry and having
already a legal team out there, it was apparent that EveryMatrix needed to expand into this region by recruiting a sales representa- tive out there. Having successful- ly exhibited at the newly estab- lished SiGMA event and again at the long established MiGS event in Malta, EveryMatrix is confident that it can fulfil the opportunities currently presenting themselves in the market.
Ebbe Groes, Chief Executive of EveryMatrix, commented: “We are excited to be able to open these new offices and explore these ter- ritories as we can see a visible demand for our products in these regions and are confident that we can deliver what these clients seek. The company has been growing at exponential speed with new offices in Manila and Ukraine being opened in 2013 and we are confident that we are responsive to the industry demands across the globe.”
Holland The Novomatic Group of Companies has acquired local distribution company, Elam, as part of continued expansion plans in The Netherlands. The acquisition of Elam Group, follows that of Dutch companies: Eurocoin Gaming, JVH gaming products, JVH Exploitatie, Pierre de Jonge and Loontjens Automaten. Italy A 97 per cent majority of shareholders of GTECH have approved the Italian lottery group's takeover of IGT. GTECH and IGT will be combined into a newly formed holding company, Georgia Worldwide, with corporate headquarters in Britain. The new entity will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, while both GTECH's and IGT's shares will be delisted from Milan's and New York's stock markets respectively.
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