Thomas Graf, Zane Mersich, Harald Neumann and Danny Gladstone at ICE
regulatory process that both companies must endure. Ainsworth had 193 licences in the US and is, according to Mr. Gladstone, relying on Novomatic’s competent compliance department who are helping progress AGT through the process. Right now there are only eight States left to go and both companies hope for completion around June 30th or just before.
most comprehensive product range in the industry, we are active in every regulated jurisdiction, and we have a very bright future ahead of us.”
Tis year’s Novomatic stand was split into five distinct areas; casino and system products; interactive spearheaded by Greentube; lotteries and sports-betting; VLT and AWP products for international markets; and finally Novomatic UK, which was proudly showing off its new Batman Dark Knight licence. New to the stand this year was the recently acquired Ainsworth Game Technology team, headed by Danny Gladstone, and another new acquisition in the video bingo sector, Otium.
Taking to the stage, Mr. Gladstone gave an update on the progress made between AGT and Novomatic since the two came together last year. “It’s a very exciting time for AGT,” described Mr. Gladstone. “If you could pick to have anyone as your major shareholder, it would be Novomatic. We are a perfect fit and some of the developments taking place in the next 12 months will show exactly how we’re a perfect match. Tere are very few crossovers in the business and we have complementary game development skills both in land-based and online, and now have access to additional distribution channels in Europe through the Novomatic Group of Companies.”
One of the major hurdles to the coming together of Novomatic and AGT is the complicated
As part of the heads of agreement, Novomatic has agreed to take 2,000 Ainsworth machines and distribute them across Europe in kit forms, and in online, both social and real-money, to Greentube across North American casinos and in Europe the company is progressing the integration of AGT’s gaming assets. “We are also moving swiftly in terms of shared game development,” stated Mr. Gladstone. “At Ainsworth we have completed six Novomatic game assets and have them ready for release in Australia in the next couple of months, and later in the US in the second half of next year. Te cooperation between AGT and Novomatic has been nothing short of wonderful.”
Next it was the turn of Zane Mersich, CEO of Novomatic UK, who described 2016 as a very big year, with the acquisition of Talarius making the company the biggest operator of High Street gaming in the UK, with 14,000 machines, 255 locations and around 1,100 staff working across those sites. “It’s a milestone for Novomatic UK and something that we’ve been aiming towards for a long time,” stated Mr. Mersich. “Last year was also very important as we restructured the UK business, bringing together some of the businesses in the UK, most notably Luxury Leisure and Talarius, which is now run by Tom Ellison. We have brought together PlayNation and Gamestec, which is the machines operating business in the retail UK pub sector that is run by Peter Davis. Te last segment are the businesses Bell Fruit and Astra Games, which are run by Chris Butler. Tis is part of a leaning down of our structure – we don’t believe in adding too many layers of management – resulting in a much more focused business.”
Mr Mersich touched on a headline financial during his presentation, with Novomatic UK’s turnover now in excess of £300m, with much more to come as the company continues to follow its dual strategy, the key core competency of the group, and one that makes Novomatic unique, in that it is both manufacturer and operator of gaming equipment. “Our customers are hugely important to us,” underlined Mr. Mersich, “and they like the fact that we get the product right in our own locations before we market them to the broader industry. Implementing this end-to- end business took time, a number of years, but we are at the point whereby we can see real value being delivered.”
Novomatic UK is also involved in the interactive gaming business in the UK, where the company runs a live dealer casino, broadcasting 24/7 across the world in regulated markets, with the company continuing to be very focused on new media. In terms of product for the UK market, the Batman franchise is a new addition to Novomatic’s portfolio in the UK, while in Europe the company has exciting brands to offer customers including Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, (the one with Robert Downey Jnr.). “In summary, I think the UK is a very exciting place to do business,” stated Mr. Mersich. “It is one of the oldest, most established markets in the world and we are very proud to be part of the market in the UK and we will continue to invest in our business both organically and acquisitively in the years to come.”
Te final part of the presentation saw Tomas Graf give an overview of the key products heading to international markets in 2017 and deliver a number of key facts about Novomatic’s exhibit in London. Te stand in London housed more than 300 gaming terminals (speaking to the electrical engineers prior to the show opening, we were told that the Novomatic stand at ICE required double the power to its booth than that required for the entire EAG show which took place in January in ExCeL).
NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE /
247.COM P57
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 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107