2373-p38-39-Comment_Coinslot NEW 17/06/2014 13:45 Page 2
Coinslot June 20 - June 26, 2014
“It sounds as though Park Avenue was a high quality event with some amazing new products and a high calibre of visitor. I couldn’t make it, so when I asked Joyce to be my representative, I actually only meant in a chatting and drinking wine kind of way.”
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STEPH NORBURY, COIN-OP COMMUNITY
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“US-based family dining and entertainment company Chuck E. Cheese’s expects virtual tickets to become an increasingly larger part of the redemption market in the next 10 years.”
Euromat discusses future of European gambling markets
SIMON LIDDLE, INTERGAME
“Domestic tourism could give the UK’s economy a £15bn boost in 2014, as the number of Britons taking a holiday at home has more than doubled in three years.” MELODIE MICHEL, BIG HOSPITALITY
“ENADA (the Italian coin-op trade show) is an indispensable expo for the sector and which I obviously hope will grow in the future, as it is a real driving force for our businesses.” CORRADO LUCA BIANCA, NATIONAL SECRETARY, SAPAR
eek’s look at industry-related stories brings contrasting fortunes for the east coast, the coast and an old bingo hall in Dundee.
lade. The district council’s cabinet member for the coast Angie Fitch-Tillet said: “It is something for the community to be proud of. The clear-ups have involved volunteer litter pickers as well as council staff and contractors in a team effort.” After the worst storm surge for 30 years in December smashed seafronts, she just wanted to get the proms cleaned up and holes filled in to make them safe. “Winning the awards is a big boost to promoting our tourism,” added Fitch-Tillett. The awards are handed out by the Keep Britain Tidy group, whose coastal awards co-ordinator Lynsey Atherton said: “It is incredible that sites have been cleared up ready to welcome the visitors.” Extra checks were done after the December damage to ensure resorts initially judged checked last summer had bounced back. North Norfolk’s four was on a par with Poole, Torbay, Bournemouth, Tendring along
euromat politics year’s Euromat general assembly reiterated the call Tforhis effective regulation of the
ackpool supercasino bid
museums on the promenade. Mundesley - Sandy shores have made the seaside village a popular bathing spot since Victorian times, with cafes, bars and putting on the clifftop above. Sea Palling - Remoter than the main resorts, but a real favourite with families seeking a quieter location among the dunes, and with sands boosted by offshore reefs. Southwold Pier - A sandy beach, overlooked by colourful beach huts and close to Southwold’s many cafés, shops, pubs and restaurants as well as the town’s thriving pier and boating lake. Lowestoft South Claremont Pier - A swathe of fine sandy beach that is popular with families and close to the attractions of this typical seaside resort, including a Victorian putting green, amusements and the Claremont Pier. Determined efforts all along the coast have repaired smashed proms to restore facilities needed to win the acco-
The European Gaming and Amusement Federation, Euromat, gathered in Bucharest, Romania, on May 31 to hold its annual general meeting and discuss the direction of both terrestrial and online gambling.
with the Isle of Wight - which topped the overall table with four Blue Flags and 13 seaside awards. And finally, the derelict bingo hall, once the Rialto cinema, in Dundee, could soon be demolished to make way for 12 flats if a planning application by Ramsay’s Properties is successful, according to the Courier. Site owner Ramsay McBain said: “I’m Lochee (in west Dundee) born and bred so it is good to do something for my home town, as it were. I remember when the Rialto was a bingo hall. It was a local institution.” The Rialto Cinema opened in 1928 and was the first in the city to show “talkies”. It closed in 1962 and was converted to a bingo hall.
gambling sector - in other words, regulation that would ensure a level playing field across the industry and successfully tackle illegal gambling. Against the backdrop of the rapid rise of online gambling, land-based gambling operators cannot compete when European governments continue to introduce regulations that create preferential frameworks for the online sector both in terms of regulatory requirements and taxation leaving the land-based sector at an unfair and unjustified disadvantage. Annette Kok, president of Euromat, stressed the fact that: “European governments need to understand that we (the landbased sector) need a fair taxation regime and certain flexibility to adapt our products to the increasingly fast changing need of our customers.” Looking back on the past year, Euromat engaged with the EU institutions in Brussels, ensuring that Euromat’s call for a level-playing field was included as the EU looks more carefully into the regulation of online gambling. At the same time the Federation continues to provide assistance to national members. A unified voice of support was given to the Hungarian sector where national legislation eradicated the gaming machine industry outside casinos overnight. Euromat continues to monitor ongoing legislative processes across the
EU, and raise awareness with the relevant national authorities - in particular when online operators are benefitting from preferential treatment. Euromat members were also joined on this occasion by two distinguished guest speakers. Member of the European Parliament Cristian Bu oi (Romania) gave an overview of the European Parliament’s views on gambling and highlighted the need for a level playing field for all gambling activities across the EU. The President of the newly created National Office for Gambling in Romania (ONJN),Odeta Nestor, discussed further on the issue of regulating online gambling and her plans for the ONJN. The meeting was also attended by one of the ONJN’s directors, Marius Pantea, reflecting the good collaboration that Euromat and its Romanian member associations, ROMSLOT and AOPJNR, have with the national regulator. The Federation released its annual industry figures, which served to underscore the difficult period the industry is facing due, in part to the rise of online gambling and the EUwide recession. The figures show that between 2010 and 2011 turnover across the EU fell by 3 per cent to €20,820,406,000. This year’s meeting also saw the re-election of Annette Kok (Netherlands) as president, Helmut Kafka (Austria) as first vice-president, and Roberto Dongiovanni (Belgium) as treasurer of the federation.