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Update ITALY VLT MARKET


the ever lasting BulB One of the prime reasons that operators are reluctant to consider relinquishing Comma 6a to the bin marked 'obsolete' can be seen in the tax figures released by the Italian government. More than half of the €5bn earned in tax by the gaming industry in Italy was contributed by Comma 6a machines in 2010. Comma 6a machines provide more taxation revenue for the Italian state than its tax on cars.


One game for the Comma 6a market that has surprised both operators and suppliers is ATRONIC’s Sphinx. Adapted for both the Comma 6b and 6a sector, Sphinx is currently the number one game in both categories in Italy. The success has surprised suppliers who have thought to concentrate solely on the VLT sector, whereby the Comma 6a sector was previously thought too high cost with low return. Locations offering both Sphinx in Comma 6a and 6b formats provide players from different segments a similar casino-esque experience, with the Class III game successfully translating into both formats. Speaking to suppliers at the ENADA Spring show, they were either considering supplying both markets with their library of casino titles, or ruing their decision to concentrate only on the VLT sector, as their machines and systems languish in approval limbo.


Another Comma 6a product benefiting from the introduction of VLTs is the multi- player roulette. In its Comma 6a guise (a VLT equivalent would demand a prohibitively high tax per terminal) the automated roulette is finding a new lease of life in the larger mini-casino locations. Visually they're an attractive and complementary addition to the mini- casino concept and with the additional space characterised by the new locations, multi-players are finding new homes in the expanding sector in Italy.


The progress of poker within the VLT market will be an intriguing development to follow. Poker is a game deeply entrenched in the Italian psyche. Banned from Comma 6 and 6a following the enormous glut of illegal poker machines in the market pre-legislation (an estimated million machines) - poker still cannot be accommodated within 6a, but is now Comma 6b legal - allowing exactly the same game played in the Class III casino sector to be available in the VLT hall.


A further recent development announced at the Rimini show concerns prospects for Italy's struggling bingo sector as competition with the new gaming halls


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continues to negatively impact revenues in bingo. New legislation has been drafted that's designed to help bingo halls compete with VLT locations. The drop in bingo hall revenues has led to calls to install at least 15 video lottery terminals in each bingo site. The proposals are currently being considered, though it is not known at this time if these machines would comprise part of the 56,000 allocation or would be additional pieces.


One of the laws that the AAMS is looking to repeal is the need to site an amusement machine with every installation of two Comma 6a machines. The provision was a legacy of the government's past drive to define the previous Comma 6 generation of machines as 'purely for amusement,' having followed years of illegal video poker gambling in Italy. The siting of Sega shooting/driving games in halls dedicated to gaming is now seen as unnecessary and inappropriate, wherein it's now undesirable to attract players to locations designed for gambling that also include videogaming in the same space.


living in harMony Comma 6b and 6a machines are comfortably co-habiting not only in the previously Comma 6a-only locations, but in new sites as well. Machine income in


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a virtuous iMPact


Of the 12,000 VLTs in the market today across all operators, the strength of incomes has had a virtuous impact not just on the growth of the VLT sector, but on Comma 6a revenues too. While Comma 6a machines sales are down, incomes are strong, as are the sales of kits and boards for existing machines. The consensus of opinion is that VLTs are bringing new players into venues, which is creating a halo effect that most operators think will continue for the remainder of 2011. It was originally thought that those in the first phase of the 56,000 VLT deployment would start to cannibalise the Comma 6a market, but that's not proved to be the case. Instead, the concessionaires have seen different players, among them many female players, attracted to VLT gaming as it offers the variety of roulette, poker and jackpot players that had not be offered in the past with Comma 6a.


Comma 6b and 6a machines are comfortably co-


habiting not only in the previously


Comma 6a-only locations, but in new sites as well.


mixed halls has seen incomes in the first 1-2 months fall for the Comma 6a machines by around 30 per cent. However, after three months locations have seen a steady return to near past performance for the Comma 6a machines of around 90 per cent of their previous cashboxes. The figures have ensured that Comma 6a games continue to justify their place in both existing and future locations as overall 'coin-in' (a term that is increasingly becoming defunct with the use of notes and tickets), has increased per location.


Operators also report that they are seeing taking your casino mobile le


bringing the casino to the players and the players to the casino


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