Petition Against Closures Gains Momentum
At the end of January, the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament will pass state law amending the gaming law (LGlüG) and making 2,500 people unemployed
Te petition launched by the vending machine industry in mid- January gained over 1,500 signatures in just 48 hours
GERMANY OPERATIONS
A petition launched by the organisation Die Deutsche Automatenwirtschaft eV and the Automaten-Verband Rheinland-Pfalz eV in Germany against a planned state law amending the state gaming law on July 1, which threatens to close over half the state-licensed gambling halls, gained over 1,500 signatures in just 48 hours after go-live.
Te petition launched by the vending machine industry mid-January has met with broad support. Addressed to the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament, the slot machine industry is demanding a modern, quality-oriented state gambling law.
At the end of January, the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament will pass the state law amending the state gaming law (LGlüG) and making 2,500 people unemployed. Because the draft law provides for minimum distances between state-licensed gaming halls among themselves and between children's and youth facilities of 500m, means the closure of more than half the gambling halls in the country.
New esports hub emerges as Ukraine recognises sport
Ukraine
Te Ukrainian Esports Federation (UESF) has launched the first ever Ukrainian Esports Cup in partnership with electronics company Eldorado, which sees players from all over the country battle it out in a five- stage championship.
Te launch of the first nationwide Ukrainian Esports Cup follows the Ukrainian state’s recent recognition of esports as an official sport. Te competition, held January 18- March 28, corresponds with the CS:GO season. Participants can enter the championship alone or in a team of up to five players, and the 12 teams which qualify for the final Super League stages will compete for a prize pool of UAH250,000 (€7,000).
Together with its partners,
UESF will promote a number of competitions and giveaways. First off strategic partners Parimatch and ExpertPC, the well-known Ukrainian gaming PC manufacturer, will offer two people the chance to win a powerful gaming PC.
Ivan Danishevsky commented: “Te first Ukrainian Esports Cup is a thrilling moment for esports in this country, representing a major step towards Ukraine becoming an esports hub of the future.
“We can’t wait for the inaugural tournament, which will deliver both pulsating entertainment and a chance for esports talent to breakthrough. We are confident that this is the beginning of what will become the pinnacle of the Ukrainian calendar in the years to come.”
Georg Stecker, spokesman for the umbrella organisation Die Deutsche Automatenwirtschaft eV (DAW), said: “Hundreds of second or third generation family- run vending machine companies are faced with the ruin of their economic existence and with them their employees and their families.
“Commercial slot machine gaming must no longer be regulated with a folding rule. Tat is absurd in the digital age. We need modern regulation. Regulation based on qualitative criteria that strengthens youth and player protection and maintains proper operations, also in Rhineland-Palatinate,” said Mr. Stecker.
Wolfgang Götz, First Chairman of the Automaten-Verband Rheinland-Pfalz eV (AVRP), added: “I can not understand why the state government is threatening to destroy entrepreneurs in the midst of the Corona crisis and is driving people into unemployment. Te fact that the petition has found so many signatories within a very short time shows that I am not alone in this."
UK
Malaysian operator Genting is permanently closing its Genting Casino in Southport, in the north west of England, with 38 staff members facing redundancy. Genting said the closure was 'simply unavoidable' due to the lack of business as a result of the COVID-closures. It has already closed casinos in Margate, Torquay and Bristol and has reduced its workforce in London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Blackpool and Birmingham.
A Genting spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we have started a consultation process with all of our staff at Genting Casino Southport, with 38 employees being put at risk of redundancy. As we all know, the coronavirus pandemic has created unprecedented challenges right across the leisure industry and whilst we have worked tirelessly over the past 10 months to sustain the business as best as possible, permanent club closures have, unfortunately, been simply unavoidable."
UK – Czech gaming giant Sazka Group has appointed Justin King, former chief executive of supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, to a new advisory board to support its bid for the fourth UK National Lottery licence.
ALAND – Stakelogic’s full suite of slot games is to be integrated with Paf, allowing players to access the developer’s slots for the first time, including titles Book of Adventure, Book of Cleopatra, Volcano Deluxe, and Runner Runner Megaways.
BULGARIA – EGT marked its best result in the competition “Top 300 Business Leaders in Bulgaria, 2019” ranking 7th among the most successful 300 enterprises from all industries in the country and took for another year the “True Leader” accolade. The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) for 2019 is around 212m levs, which is 23 per cent more compared to 2018.
UK – Synot Games has received a supplier licence from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). Synot’s entire portfolio has been certified, including Books of Secrets, Respin Joker, Fruit Awards, 243 Mexicana, Monkey Slots, and Joker 50 Deluxe. All titles are now available for licensed operators in the UK market. “This is a huge step for us as a company. The UKGC is known to have strict regulations to comply with, so having the licence granted to us represents a significant step which we took one day before Christmas,” commented Ivan Kodaj, CEO at Synot. “We are now able to integrate our slot offer with online casino operators in the UK and make them available to their players for the very first time. With that, our sales team took the new year by a storm.”
AUSTRIA – EveryMatrix inks new casino aggregation deal with established supplier Amatic. The new partnership will see Amatic’s casino content being distributed to CasinoEngine’s extensive network of Tier-1 operators. Amund Stensland, CasinoEngine COO at EveryMatrix, says: “We are delighted to partner up with Amatic. CasinoEngine operators are already asking about their games, and we cannot wait to start distributing the content around the world.”
UK - SUZOHAPP appoints SUZOHAPP has appointed Tim Kennedy, current Director of Sales for the UK, to the position of Vice President of Sales for Europe. In his new role, Kennedy will use his
extensive industry experience and strong customer relationships to expand SUZOHAPP’s reach, grow its share of the European gaming, amusement and sports betting markets and introduce new products.
NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA P13 EMEA
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