expansion underway in the Italian gaming market through the introduction of over 56,500 video lottery terminals (VLTs).
A Hit in Italy During the summer of 2010, the Hit Group’s
Supervisory board confirmed the idea of launching a new subsidiary company in Italy that would have “the task of (co)managing the various video lottery gaming halls in Italy and attracting new customers to the Hit world,” stated Drago Podobnik, President of the Management Board of Hit. With the second wave of licenses expected to come up for bidding in April or May 2011, this will create an opportunity for Hit to establish a footprint in this market. Alternatively, it was noted during 2010 that Hit would also consider partnering with existing license holders willing to share the management of their VLT ‘mini-casinos’. However, “regardless of how superb a VLT may
be, it can never replicate the experience of a live table game. The same is also true for online poker; online cannot replicate the atmosphere of live casino gaming – yet. And that may always be the case. I mean, take ice cream for example; that’s been around for centuries and yet no one makes ice cream quite like the Italians. In this same manner, there is something uniquely special about live poker; or indeed live tables in general,” commented Mr. Costantini. “This is also increasingly true of slot machines as
they seek to offer a more ‘community’ experience for players. We are adding community slots to all of our floors so we can deliver more depth and breadth of entertainment to our customers. This is why the Hit Group has become one of the most innovative European providers of entertainment,” continued Costantini. Hit Group recognises that both the Italian VLT
explosion and the continued growth of online gaming are threats to its core operations; but threats are also opportunities. This is why Hit Group is seeking to expand into the Italian VLT ‘mini-casino’ market and 2010 saw it launch
Hitstars.it offering online poker, casino games, sports betting and more to its Italian customer base.
A Hit in Austria? Currently in Austria the sole license for the 12
landbased casinos is operated by Casinos Austria. This is expected to change in 2012 under the new gaming law when the licenses to operate six of these 12 casinos will be renewed, with this tender process open to other bidders. The other six licenses will be available in 2015. In addition to the existing licenses, the new gaming law will see three
Draft 2010 Financials: Hit Group Hit d.d. Gross revenues €245.0m
€149.2m Number of visitors 1,969,000 1,302,800 Gross gaming revenues are approximately split
75% slots and 25% live tables. Currently Hit Group operates 4,130 slots and 234 tables. During 2010, 300 of the latest generation of slots were installed across Hit’s casinos in Slovenia. The best performing tables are Punto Banco, American
casino life magazine 9
new casinos being added to this market, with Vienna expected to get one or maybe two of these licenses.
A Hit at Home As previously noted, the Hit Group is composed
of the parent company Hit, d.d., established in Nova Gorica, and nine subsidiary companies, five of which are located in Slovenia, with the other four in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. The Hit company shareholding is 60% controlled by government owned funds and local councils, and 40% by private entities. The Group currently operates eight gaming and
entertainment centres, one casino, two slot halls, and 12 hotels with several conference and wellness facilities.
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