Insight ITALY UPDATE
the united Games front
Merkur Gaming and Merkur Casino have come together in the Italian video lottery terminals gaming marketplace to offer greater synergies
Merkur Gaming continued its task of drawing all its operating and gaming functions under one umbrella at the ENADA Rome exhibition, announcing that Roberto Ronchi is now head of both sides of the business, having previously been solely in charge of operations in Italy. “There is an obvious synergy in the combination of Merkur Gaming’s activities and those of the Gauselmann Group’s operations in Italy,” explained Mr. Ronchi in Rome. “We now have a presence in all territories with over 80 shops and 200 bar locations complementing the sales infrastructure we have created in this market. We now have technicians spread across the entire country, with a central headquarters and warehouse in Milan.”
In a ultimately games driven market, Mr. Ronchi is clear that locations solely filled with Merkur Gaming products would have to offer something for every single customer, which is an unlikely outcome. "We know that mini-casino locations must offer a range of games and machines, both from Merkur Gaming and our competitors," stated Mr. Ronchi. "As an operator, you have to offer the best performing games, from whoever they are sourced. You can't be a monopolist, you have to offer the right mix of games.”
The strategy behind the combination of Merkur Gaming and its Merkur Casino operations division is straightforward, to bring the two functions closer together
December 2011 Page 50 (RIght)
Roberto Ronchi, Amministratore
Delegato, Merkur Gaming.
“We are seeing new customers
visiting our mini- casino locations.
We have created a series of elegant,
upmarket locations that have proved very attractive to female players.
Italian women are becoming increasingly
comfortable seeing themselves playing in these
environments and are generating a high level of the
play. It's one of the reasons why we have seen such high growth for
VLTs, while Comma 6a has now stabilised.”
the process to authorise and open a new mini-casino location in
italy takes six months to one year.
for the benefit of the whole. Testing machines in their own locations has always been a winning strategy, especially in Europe, where subtle regional differences have a major impact on revenues. In the relatively early days of the Italian VLT sector, this kind of information has been crucial to success. “The impact of VLT machines on the Italian street market has been dramatic,” explained Mr. Ronchi. “Large locations have seen Comma 6a revenues fall by 40-50 per cent, whereas bars, where you
cannot site VLTs, have remained constant. In fact, in certain locations where we have sited multi-game Comma 6a machines, we have seen significant uplifts in revenues as players appreciate the more sophisticated machines."
Mr. Ronchi believes that the mini-casino VLT market and that of the bar Comma 6a market will remain separate and at the same time complement each other. “We are seeing new customers visiting our mini-casino locations,” described Mr. Ronchi. We have created a series of elegant, upmarket locations that have proved very attractive to female players. Italian women are becoming increasingly comfortable seeing themselves playing in these environments and are generating a high level of the play. It's one of the reasons why we have seen such high growth for VLTs, while Comma 6a has now stabilised.”
The launch of Merkur Gaming's Cash Fruit in the VLT market is a significant product as it’s very much an AWP style
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76