This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Update ITALY VLT MARKET


platforms, however, details have yet to be fully revealed.


As befits the Italian gaming market, rumours continue to fly around regarding a VLT Light machine, which appears to have replaced rumours regarding the mooted Comma 6a Plus machines. Last year in Rimini the talk about Comma 6a Plus was part of a discussion surrounding the future evolution of the Comma 6a machine's stakes and prizes in relation to the introduction of VLTs. Comma 6a Plus was a trial by manufacturers to push for a new law that would ensure that AWPs remained competitive with VLTs, with a raising of stakes/prizes (maximum win €100) and the acceptance of bills over coins. There were also discussions surrounding the creation of a 'hot streak' in which the maximum payout was made in five steps of €100 that led to a legal maximum payout of €500.


Backing the right solution While the players may be different, VLTs and Comma 6a machines have proved more compatible. Most of the locations in Italy now include both types of machines installed together. The machines appear to be complementing each other, though in these early days of deployment, the advantages could be ascribed to a lack of variety in the VLT offer. None of the VLT locations at the time of the Rimini show in March had installed machines from more than one supplier, with Comma 6a machines providing a welcome source of variety in the location. Operators have still yet to resolve the problem of cross- ticketing, whereby a player can remove a ticket from one supplier's machine and have it recognised when they insert it into a competitor's machine.


The AAMS is currently looking at a trans- ticketing solution to deal with the problem in cooperation with the concessionaires. Right now the only practical solution is provided by change companies such as Italy's VNE, whose machines are capable of accepting tickets from each system, paying out to card,


concessionaires The revenue share in operation in the VLT market in Italy will see 50 per cent of the cashbox retained by the operator, 15 per cent for the supplier of the leased VLT system/product, and the remaining 35 per cent for the concessionaire. Instances in which suppliers have aided concessionaires in the purchase of VLT licences, the remit split between supplier and concessionaire is thought to be closer to 25/25.


ticket or cash. The issue faced by AAMS as part of a trans-ticketing solution is that as the player withdraws their ticket, the system must very quickly update the system of the rival company with information regarding the value of that ticket before it is inserted into the next device. The questions are: can the systems communicate in this way, at a speed that makes it invisible to the player; and where is the information stored and held - locally or remotely? Operators and concessionaires at the Rimini show stated that they have already received from AAMS technical specifications which will govern the cross ticket system. The solution is said to solve the problem of ticket in / ticket out within the same room with different 'live'


The AAMS is


currently exploring a cross-ticketing solution to deal


with the problem of multiple operating systems in


cooperation with the


concessionaires.


However, the trialling of Comma 6a Plus coincided with a particularly tumultuous period in Italian politics at the tail-end of 2010 (though it's hard in Italy to pick out a baseline with which to establish what is 'normal'), and it proved impossible to progress with the changes as laws and regulations at that time were blocked. Another reason for the lack of impetus behind Comma 6a Plus has been the dual role played by concessionaires as operators of both types of machines. Concessionaires on the whole have been dis-interested in modifying the existing 400,000 Comma 6a machine estate with a machine that will provide greater competition with their VLT products, for which they have paid hefty licence fees.


The spectre of an updated street machine hasn't disappeared entirely though, with suggestions that the proposal is being modified to that of a mini-VLT product that would be a bar-top single-site video lottery terminal connected to the same network as their larger counterparts. Locations operators have warmed to this idea, especially if the existing VLT licence would be sufficient to operate VLT Light machines, though the expectation is that the government will want its pound of licensing flesh one way or the other. If a proposal was to be adopted, the speed of adoption could follow that of the passage for Comma 6 through to 6a, which took three years. If Italy did decide to adopt a mini-VLT model it would need to do so at the EU level with a public tender likely to take at least nine months. Whatever happens in regards to this possible new sector, it's unlikely that we'll see VLT Light machines before 2014.


cutting-edge play mechanics keep players engaged Your


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  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92