Review IGT
MAKING THE RIGHT CALL
IGT sought to add value to its partners’ gaming floors with a storming presentation at ICE
When IGT acquired Progressive Gaming four years ago, the company inherited PGI's CasinoLink customers, operators using the casino management system originally designed by EndX. As IGT's Matt Hui described at the ICE Totally Gaming show, the system IGT is demonstrating to customers in 2013 is the result of years of investment in this original system, which enables operators to increase revenue on their floor with compelling rich bonuses that work on the CasinoLink platform. There’s no redundancy here. “Our aim is to develop a compelling experience for the player and improve revenues and efficiencies for the operator,” stated Mr. Hui at ICE. “We are offering options that can be completely customisable from player to player, offering different services and value propositions to players based on their level of spend, which gives them a unique and compelling experience.”
Speaking to IGT's Sabby Gill at the ICE show, he explained that the seamless integration of key features has become the focus of the company’s systems development, with IGT building on the base CasinoLink product modules that offer incredible functionality for the operator and player. “Working with CasinoLink customers such as Holland Casino, who have a very clear vision of what they want, helps us to develop key features in the right direction,” stated Mr. Gill. “Operators made an major investment in these systems and want to see continued investment to remain at the forefront of the technology. They see the convergence of online markets, interactive and land-based and want a product that can bring all these elements together. At the same time we have to ensure that the product we develop isn’t too customised. We have developed a roadmap with Holland Casinos for example, but the functionality and features must be applicable for all our customers."
Systems are such a core, essentially part of a casino’s operation that changes and updates must be robustly managed and typically should add practical advances to the functionality of such an important and integral element of today's casino operations. “Anyone can run out an EGM, but a casino management system is a whole different ball-game,” stated Mr. Gill. “System sales rarely present themselves,
March 2013 PAGE 52
IGT’s DIRK GEERE pictured at the ICE
with the new Tully’s Treasure Hunt.
“IGT has the luxury of the best game content library in
the business. If an operator buys a cabinet with a particular set of
games, they know that we have a
library of additional themes; content that we can make
available within the life-cycle of
operation, without having to reinvest, redesign or redeploy
equipment on the
floor. We offer new games, new conversions to
extend the game life cycle of the
cabinet, appealing to different
demographics to
enable operators to continually optimise their floor. In that
sense, ROI and TCO are the key focuses for us at an
exhibition such as ICE - not machine sales."
SABBY GILL, Regional Vice
President, South Latin America &
Caribbean, Europe, Middle East &
Africa (EMEA), IGT.
but with the wide installed base of CasinoLink we have a strong customer platform with which to invest in the product and develop upon the core a series of functionalities that build upon our partnerships with operators. Advances such as the GameScreen, which keeps attention focused on the main screen and delivers App-based additional bonusing, beverage on demand functionality etc. These are the must-have functions that we're building into CasinoLink and that our partners want as part of our ‘value sell.’ We are partnering with our customers to deliver real value on their floor. Exhibitions such as ICE used to be about price, about discounts and about the transaction, but when you're in that role you’re not part of the trusted advisor relationship.”
Mr. Gill is very clear that IGT should bring real value to its customers and work with them in partnership, as opposed to viewing singular buyer/seller transactions. “If you look at a show such as ICE, everyone has some sort of promotion, show discounts, as many people procure products directly at the exhibition,” outlined Mr. Gill. “Our view, overall, is that you can't look at exhibitions as your primary promotional activity in the year. The position we are investing our time and energies into creating is that of trusted advisor, which means that we
have our sales executives taking a different tack. We ask what is it that a customer wants to see? We make a decision based on their ‘bread and butter,’ their revenue gearing product. Which is to say that we're not looking at cost, but how much value are you buying? Everything we do is focused on the value of our product.”
To achieve its value orientated proposition, IGT looks at two main operator incentives, which boils down to two acronyms, ROI (Return On Investment) and TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). “We look at exactly what our customers get from our content, as they buy that product and place it on their floor,” stated Mr. Gill. “How quickly do they realise a return on that product and once they've bought that product, how do you continue to upgrade and offer new games without necessarily buying a new machine? IGT has the luxury of the best game content library in the business. If an operator buys a cabinet with a particular set of games, they know that we have a library of additional themes; content that we can make available within the life-cycle of operation, without having to reinvest, redesign or redeploy equipment on the floor. We offer new games, new conversions to extend the game life cycle of the cabinet, appealing to different demographics to enable operators to continually optimise their floor. In that
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