November 2014 Infinity Gaming Magazine

Exclusive excerpts from latest book from Liz Karter

“Woods Talk” new feature inside

A look into 2015 for the gaming industry

InfinityGaming

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

www.gaming-awards.com | ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

FEATURE

Per Eriksson exclusive interview inside

1

contents InfinityGaming

EDITOR’S LETTER

Interview with Per Eriksson.................................06-10 President & CEO of NetEnt

Online Poker Operator Quits Nevada..............12-13 Nevada online revenues dwindle and operator leaves

Caesars prepares for January bakruptcy........14-15 Reports in US say casino giant readies for Chapter 11

“Woods Talk”..............................................................16-19

06

PER ERIKSSON

JJ Woods speaks to Sajan Nair

Liz Karter Book..........................................................22-25 The concluding part of Liz Kater’s superb new book

The Year of the Sportsbook.................................26-29 Christina Thakor-Rankin latest excelletn article

Communication & Customer Service..............30-31 Alex W Pariente latest blog article

14

WOODS TALK

New boos named at BetVictor...........................34-35 All change at the Gibraltar based online company

Marty Baird latest excellent article...................38-40 Customer Service or money down the toilet

Japan Casinos delayed..........................................42-43 Government set aside casino bill

Pansy Ho.....................................................................46-47 On the effect of investigation on Macau revenues

39

PADDY POWER BABIES

GTECH green light for IGT....................................48-49 InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

Lottery giant to complete purchase of IGT

02 2

TCSJohnHuxley boss leaves company............50-51 Cath Burns leaves casino equipment manufacturer

Infinity Gaming........................................................

How and where can you read the magazine?

54

TERMS & CONDITIONS

EDITOR’S LETTER Lana Thompson - Chief Editor

by

EDITORS NOTES

InfinityGaming

Welcome to the November edition of the Infinity Gaming Magazine.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Christina Thakor-Rankin Martin R. Baird Alex W Pariente Andrew Tottenham JJ Woods Professor Nelson Rose

I do not know about you but can you believe the year has flown by and we are hurtling towards December and right into the festive season very soon. However do not worry we have the latest edition of the Infinity Gaming Magazine to keep you busy in these dark nights ahead.

In a couple of week have the Gaming App Awards in London on the 8th December, it is going to be a great day and want to wish all the finalists the very best of luck. Response to the App Awards has been amazing and it looks like the event will be a permanent fixture on the gaming calendar.

We have a superb edition for you with the amazing Per Eriksson as our lead interview this month. You will have to read the interview but Per’s hero is no surprise at all.

Along with Per we have our superb line-up of writers this month from Tina and her look ahead to 2015 and Sports betting to Alex and tips on keeping customers. We are

very lucky to have such a wonderful group of writers covering all aspects of both land based and online gaming.

Enjoy the magazine and next month we will be announcing the winners of the App Awards and finalists of the 8th International Gaming Awards, a busy month indeed!

Must read - final part of exclusive read from new problem gambling book by Liz Karter and great blog from Alex W Pariente Our wonderful contributing writers as always have done some great work.

We would like to thank industry experts Martin R. Baird, JJ Woods and Christina Thakor-Rankin for contributing their opinion to Infinity Gaming Magazine edition.

CONTACT US Clever Duck Media Newmarket 20 Centrix@Keys Keys Park Road Staffordshire WS12 2HA UK Tel: +44(0)1543 478 889 claire@cleverduckmedia.com PRODUCTION Clever Duck Media Newmarket 20 Centrix@Keys Keys Park Road Staffordshire WS12 2HA UK

Enjoy!

PUBLISHING Infinity Gaming Magazine is operated by © Clever Duck Media Ltd ® Company Reg. No. 687 1018 (Registered in England)

Lana x

ADVERTISING: Sponsorship Opportunities Colin@cleverduckmedia.com

Opinion Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in all external articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Infinity Gaming Magazine Any content provided by our feature writers or authors are of their opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.

JOIN US

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

Business Partnerships Svetlana@gaming-awards.com

3

The International

GAMING APP AWARDS FINALS

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

BOOK YO

4

OUR TICKETS LONDON - 8TH DECEMBER 2014 BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

JUMEIRAH CARLTON HOTEL - LONDON

5

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Exclusive Interview with Per Eriksson President & CEO of NetEnt

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

Infinity Gaming Magazine spoke to Per Eriksson the CEO of Net Entertainment about the phenomenal success the company has enjoyed over the last 12 months and exactly what the future holds.

6

Q

: Per thank you for talking to us today, to start the interview can we ask you to tell our international readers exactly what NetEnt does and their business sector?

PE: NetEnt is a premium B2B supplier of digitally distributed casino systems and games, used by many of the industry’s most successful operators. NetEnt also delivers a complete gaming system, CasinoModule™, featuring over 200 best-of-breed games and a powerful Back

Office. Our games are frequently awarded for their high quality and entertainment value.

NetEnt, listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm, was born from the heritage of one of Scandinavia’s leading offline casino operators, in 1996, and is one of the original pioneers of online gaming. To stay ahead of competition, NetEnt invests heavily in its people and products to bring unrivalled commitment, passion and innovation to the world of digital gaming.

PE: My three years at NetEnt have been really exiting. We are a fast growing company that serves in a market that is constantly changing and evolving. There are so many opportunities that await, and that gives us so much positive energy. There have been many highs during these years but the one that really stands out is the signing of the tier one operators in the UK. Regarding the lows, there aren’t any really, but it is a bit frustrating to see how slow the regulations around the world are going.

Q: Previously to NetEnt you were involved with Dell and Siemens did that prepare you for the Gaming Industry, are there any similarities between the two businesses?

PE: : I see a lot of similarities between the two businesses and my experiences from the previous companies have been very useful when tackling the Gaming Industry. What I’ve come to realize and what makes this job so fulfilling is that the online gaming industry is growing in the same fantastic pace that the IT-industry did 1520 years ago. I know we have an exciting ride ahead of us.

great idea of bringing gaming to the people, in their own homes, via an online casino.

PE: NetEnt was founded back in 1996 by Pontus Lindwall. He had a background in the casino industry as his father was one of the founders of Cherry Casino. With the rise of internet, Lindwall hatched the

Q: You have been with NetEnt for nearly three years, how has your tenure been with the company, what has been the highs and lows?

PE: Yes, in a way I guess you can say so, as I have been at SiemensNixdorf, Dell and Dustin prior to coming to NetEnt.

Q: What has been the biggest challenge in your career to date Per?

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

Q: How did NetEnt start, who are the founders and what was the spark to ignite the success of the company?

Q: Has the technology sector always been in your blood?

7

PE: I have a proven track record of building effective team’s at large corporates who act in fast growing environments. But I wouldn’t really say this is a challenge since this is something I’m really passionate about.

Q: NetEnt has seen phenomenal success recently in growth, what is the secret?

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

PE: During 2012 and 2013 we made several investments, for example licensing our games in Italy, the new Live Casino product and new customers in UK, which have started to generate revenue. It always takes time to reach full capacity and we are expecting the revenues of these investments to continue increasing during the rest of the year and onwards.

Another key factor to our success has been the strong development with our customers with many new agreements signed.

However the most important success factor is the great culture and people within NetEnt and the fact that we are investing a lot of time and resources in their professional development and innovation skills while having fun at work.

Q: Where do you see mobile going for the company in the future?

8

PE: The rise of mobile and tablet gaming has been incredible. As the devices become more affordable, the screens become larger and their functionality improved, players are able to enjoy a better gaming experience. Therefore mobile has been one of our core focuses the last few years and one of our most successful projects. The limitless demand for mobile games is a great indication to where mobile is headed and this year we’ve launched more

mobile games than before.

In July, earlier this year, our mobile platform Touch™ was upgraded enabling those using Windows phones and tablets to play our games. It also gives all players the option to play our games in either portrait or landscape mode.

Q: What is the share of mobile currently for NetEnt in revenues and how do you see the company

revenues increasing in the market in the future?

PE: I believe that we will see continuous growth on mobile, in our last financial report for the third quarter in 2014 we saw mobile represent a revenue share of 16,5 percent, a 3,5 percent increase compared to the previous quarter. Our portfolio of mobile games is increasing continuously and we can see how some of

the same type of devices and the smartphone penetration is changing the behaviours of players. You can actually play whenever and wherever, and that means new opportunities for the industry.

But I do not see Apple becoming a competitor; I’d rather like to see them as the enabler.

Q: Only a few years ago analysts said that online and land based are fierce competitors, that is not the situation now, why has the change occurred?

Q: Do you think mobile gaming will surpass online PC gaming in the mid-term and what needs to be improved before that happens?

PE: We are growing our desktop business even though mobile is growing significantly faster. Yet, our mobile (including tablets) penetra-

tion is now 16,5 percent so we still have a ways to go before surpassing desktop. There will come a day when desktop starts to stagnate and mobile will then take over. But this will take some time, and desktops will not simply disappear. Its significance will remain.

Q:You recently said on a Bloomberg interview that Apple has helped online gaming increase its revenues, how has that happened and do you ever see Apple become a competitor?

PE: : With the first Iphone and Ipad Apple opened up the mobile market, offering a totally new and enhanced player experience. Today we have several followers offering

Q: The US market was back in 2005 the biggest grossing revenue sector for online gaming, what is NetEnt doing in that market right now?

(Continued overleaf )

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

our older desktop games are experiencing a revival and becoming even more popular on mobile than ever on desktop. Different games have different player preferences due to how important screen size and audio is to the specific game design.

Even though mobile is growing faster, desktop will never lose its significance.

PE: Convergence of digital and land-based is following the overall trend in society. We can also see that we like to have our digital life connected to our real life. I believe that the most successful casino operators will be the ones who manage to create a strong relationship to their customers, combining digital and land based.

Digital has the advantages of being mobile; everywhere and anywhere you want, while land based casinos are able to create an enriched experience, based on all 5-senses, gaining closer relationship with the customer. By combining the best from the two worlds, the operators have the opportunity to increase customer loyalty by extending the customer relation, increase retention and have more frequent visits by each player in their casino.

9

all she is a loving mother and sets a perfect example for our daughters who are growing up in a modern society where gender equality is still not established. Especially in the gaming industry.

PE: NetEnt has been evaluating the developments in North America and we believe that the timing is right to intensify the preparations for an entry in both the U.S. and Canada.

Initially NetEnt is focusing on applying for a license in New Jersey U.S., followed by additional states as the regulatory landscape evolves. The objective is to launch NetEnt’s products in the U.S. during the second half of 2015.

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

Q: The success of NetEnt this has been amazing is that games design, sales or what is it that has propelled the company so far?

10

PE: I think it is a mix of everything, but I would specifically like to highlight the people at NetEnt. We have a unique company culture where we promote self-driven employees, who are encouraged to think innovatively when it comes to product development and process improvements but also to follow through on their ideas.

Q: How do you see 2015 for the company can it again increase its business by 400% over the year?

PE: : We have delivered some as-

tonishing results this year and as we move forward we aim to continue delivering positive numbers.

Q: Why is Sweden such a powerhouse in the online gambling sector? is it the technology skills there or is it another secret?

PE: I don’t think there is any secret but a number of reasons that together makes Sweden a “powerhouse.” Sweden has historically adapted early on to new technology, there is a high internet penetration but it also has a culture of non-hierarchical organizations which is probably a prerequisite for a creative industry, like the gaming industry, to propel.

Q: Before we let you go Per, can we ask you who is your hero? It does not have to be gaming related but who inspired you when you were younger?

PE: My wife is my hero. She is patient and hardworking, but most of

Q: : Finally NetEnt have received so much success in the awards world over the last couple of year, including Innovator of the Year at the 7th International Gaming Awards, is it the Company’s strong competitive edge that drives them to compete in award ceremonies or is it just a chance to relax and enjoy the last 12 months of hard work?

PE: Both, but I believe that our competition is the most important driver. We are all very proud of the products and solutions that we develop. I know that all NetEnter’s work really hard to deliver higher quality in all they do and every new game is like a new baby. Competing with others and test how our solutions compare to theirs is really awarding, especially when you win.

Something we do quite often! I’m

truly proud of what the people at NetEnt achieve, both when it comes to our games but also in many other areas that are vital for the Company’s and our customer’s success.

The Savoy Hotel London - 2nd February 2015 TICKETS ON SALE NOW

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

THE 8TH INTERNATIONAL

11

12

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

WORLD NEWS

Online poker operator quits Nevada

U

ltimate Gaming has announced it is pulling its online poker site from Nevada immediately, this follows the same decision two months ago in New Jersey for the company, which now means Ultimate Poker is now longer available anywhere for poker players.

In a news release the company cited sluggish revenues and the limited player pools in both Nevada and New Jersey along with the fact that no state compacts have been arranged yet.

“As has been the case in other

jurisdictions, online poker revenues in Nevada have fallen far short of original projections,” Ultimate Gaming Chairman Tom Breitling said in the release. “Moreover, the stateby-state approach to online gaming has created an extremely cost-prohibitive and challenging operating environment. These factors have combined to make the path to profitability very difficult and uncertain.

Consequently, we have decided to cease operations.”

Following the announcement the Nevada poker site will close immediately after following regulatory requirements.

Breitling said the company is “working closely” with state gambling regulators to ensure a “smooth transition” for customers. All customers with deposits and balances will be refunded.

Now there is only two online poker sites left in Nevada, WSOP and South Point’s Real Gaming.

Nevada online poker revenues have been hugely disappointing for operators with September, bringing in just $693,000 for the state — its worst month on record.

Pilot Games reaches App Awards

Finalists were selected from a large group of nominees by a distinguished panel of judges comprised of gaming software founders and executive officers. “Competition for this award was strong” says Colin Thompson, Co-Founder, Gaming App Awards. “We are pleased to recognize Pilot Games as a Finalist in this category of industry innova-

tors and leaders”.

“We’re really excited to be recognized by this honor” says Jon Weaver, Pilot Games Founder. “The Pilot team is proud to represent our local charity partners in London next month”.

22,000 industry executives each month. Clever Duck Media support international charities with our lead charity Care International whom at present are helping to fight Ebola in West Africa. Over the years CDM has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds in support of charity.

The Gaming App Awards is managed by Clever Duck Media (CDM) along with the International Gaming Awards, Women in Gaming Awards and publishers of the Infinity Gaming Magazine reaching over

The 2014 Gaming App Awards ceremony will take place on December 8, 2014. The awards ceremony will be held in the Grand Ballroom of the stunning five star Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in London.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

T

he Gaming App Awards is pleased to announce that Saint Paul, MN based Pilot Games has been selected as one of 7 finalists for Innovative App of the Year. Pilot Games is a developer of charity gambling apps that help support local charities across Minnesota. To learn more about Pilot Games and their Charity Gaming Partners, go to pilotgames.com.

13

14

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

EUROPEAN GAMING NEWS

Caesars readies for January bankruptcy

Caesars Palace (Ballagio)

The 68,000 workers at Caesars in Las Vegas’s operations at Caesars Palace, Paris, the Flamingo and LINQ believe they will feel the brunt of cost cutting as the company looks at ways to reduce cost as part of the business enters chapter 11.

Problems started for Caesars when in 2008 the Apollo Global Management & TPG Capital took the casino operator private and at the same

time loading it with $30.7 billion in debt from the buy-out. Caesars since 2009 has never returned a profit in any year and is still struggling with over $23 billion in debt.

Caesars stated in an Aug. 11 filing that it did not expect to have sufficient cash flow from operations to be able to repay its indebtedness and would have to restructure its debt, Bloomberg reported.

“This latest and important step further reflects our commitment to working constructively with creditors to de-leverage Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. and create a path toward a sustainable capital structure for Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. that is in the best

interest of all stakeholders,” Caesars Chief Executive Officer Gary Loveman said in a statement.

The company received its second default notice this month from its debt holders and is currently working behind the scenes to ensure payment to its major investors before entering chapter 11 says Bloomberg.

Caesars Entertainment operates 39 properties in the United States and 13 overseas, generating revenues of $8.56 billion in 2013, however the company failed in securing a gaming license in Macau where all of the companies competitors now operate, losing the gambling operator billions each year in revenues.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

C

aesars Entertainment Workers in Las Vegas are preparing themselves for possible job losses and hourly working reductions as the struggling casino giant prepares to enter Bankruptcy in early January according to reports in Bloomberg.

15

WOODS TALK

“Woods Talk” In this new section entitled “Woods Talk” our contributing writer and now intrepid reporter JJ Woods will be speaking to some of the leading figures in the gaming industry. In his second interview JJ speaks with Sajan Nair, Co-Founder & Executive Director of Dusane Infotech.

ABOUT JJ Woods JJ Woods Director of Operations founded and set up Atlantic Casino Consultants to deal specifically with the Irish Market and the impending Casino Legislation. He was born in Ireland but left in the Seventies to live in London and for a career in Banking that lasted nearly four years after which he joined the Casino Industry in London where he trained and has over the last 30 years been involved in the setting up, design, management, and opening of Casinos around the world. JJ is also an Author on Gaming and has written for several magazines, spoken at gaming conferences and has appeared on TV and Radio discussing Gaming issues and can be contacted through his website... www.atlanticcasinoconsultants.com

Exclusive Interview with Sajan Nair Co-Founder and Executive Director of Dusane Infotech

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

C

16

asinos are constantly changing the facilities they offer to increase their attraction as not only a place for gambling but more like a full entertainment facility. Social acceptance of casinos has been increased in recent years. Growing international tourism is another significant factor which Casinos worldwide have benefited from to generate more revenues. All these factors lead to the establishment of new casinos across the globe and hence also increase the number of deployments of software solutions and systems.

Basic requirements of a casino are to manage its large databases, storing data in those databases, analysis of that data on requirement, and a safe and secure environment in which it is stored. Casino revenue generating abilities depend more on customer retention as well as new customer acquisition. That is why casinos require knowing all the information about their visitors and these management systems, and analytical tools are es-

sential to compete in today’s market.

Today IT solutions and systems have become an integral part of all the industries. Casinos are not an exemption. Number of deployments of management systems, databases, analytical tools, and security and surveillance solution and systems are directly proportionate with number of casinos. As the number of casinos rises, numbers of deployments will also increase.

Usual management systems will start at the Front door (Reception) and manage the following areas: Player Club , Tables, Slots, Cage/Vault, Staff Administration ,Reporting, Up to the minute revenue results , in fact every aspect of the Casino Business.

Some reports are suggesting that this sector of the Business is worth in the region of 4 to 5 billion dollars over the next 5 years.

SN: Dusane is a technology consulting and development company with focus on providing solutions and products in the gaming, media and transaction solution domains.

Dusane Infotech was formed in the Year 2006 and is part of the Valuable Group of companies, a major media distribution company. We are head quartered in Mumbai, India with a staff strength of about 95 fulltime employees, comprising of mainly technology experts, developers, Testers, Team Leads and Support Staff.

Dusane Infotech has focused on building cutting edge technology solutions for gaming industry.

We have now implementations in 17 countries across 4 continents in Online Lottery, Spots Betting, Virtual Racing, Keno and Progressive Jackpot games for Casinos.

We recently launched our Centró Casino Management System for developing markets in Africa and South East Asia.

Apart from gaming, we offer solutions of Media Distribution, Hospitality Solutions, Video Rental Systems and Digital Signage Solutions all of which have certain implementation in Casinos and Casino Resorts.

Q: How competitive is the market?

SN: From the perspective of being a relatively small and recent player, not based out of any of the major gaming markets like USA, Europe, Australia, it certainly is a challenge to be visible and to be accepted as a serious competition to the larger

players offering Casino Management solutions. Entities which couple CMS as an added offering to their Slot machines/Table offerings have an upper hand, especially considering that they have been around for a while and also rely on repeat business too.

While it is thus quite competitive, our Centró CMS offering is more service oriented which makes us very attractive. Flexible and aggressive commercial models combined with an extensive post-implementa-

tion support mechanism and provision of “live & breathe” resources onsite for an extended period to help the Casino derive quick and complete benefit from our CMS is the advantage we offer to an discerning Casino client wanting to procure a new system or replace an existing one. Our CMS solution was built with active inputs from Casino Operations Managers and Consultants. Our engineers spent close to 3 months working on Casino floor to understand the operations and come up with the right solution for the needs.

Our service oriented approach allows our customer to use our technical expertise to remould and customize the standard CMS to

adopt to their style of working. We offer 90 days free customization and also give cloud hosted CMS which makes our solution quite compelling.

We are a technology solutions company and not a casino hardware supplier. So this brings a new perspective to the way we implement any system in a casino.

Q: It is widely known that India has the expertise and the certainly the manpower when it comes to software solutions, what are the direct advantages for Dusane Infotech as your company is based there?

SN: : As the home to some of the best technology experts the world can produce, being an Indian entity is certainly an advantage. The Centro CMS we have has been designed and developed by an Indian team as a Project with functional details and processes being provided by an international client. The ability of the team to quickly grasp the requirement and put forth a scalable and robust CMS solution for use across markets has been quite appreciated.

Access to very capable and experienced technology resources at a reasonable cost is certainly a plus for us. India has been the hub for provision of gaming content, technology support and product development for a lot of global players and relevant resources, well versed in latest technologies and platforms are available quite easily.

Our own core team has been working together for about 15 years in different avatars, even before the formal creation of Dusane Infotech. The two Co-Founders of the

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

Q: Can you tell us about Dusane Infotech and the services it offers to the Casino Industry?

17

WOODS TALK

Company are themselves technology experts in gaming.

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

Q: Considering Slot management is a major part of any Casino Management system , How compatible is the system with all the different brand names ? bearing in mind we are now seeing Slot manufacturers developing their own systems.

18

SN: The Centro CMS is normally compatible with Slot machines of all OEMs with the precondition that the Machines need to be compliant with SAS 5.0 or higher protocol.

Centro CMS is quite independent of the Manufacturer of the Slots. If the Slots are not SAS 5.0 complaint, we could still study the protocol they are running and build a custom data exchange mechanism. This may be possible on a case-to-case basis.

We also see slot communication moving into G2S protocol. This obviously will take some time for adoption of this new protocol, but once it reaches a critical mass, we will be ready with our solution to

integrate this protocol.

Typically, the systems being developed by the Slot manufacturers themselves are designed keeping their own equipment in mind and may not be fully compatible with competitive brands. It is usually very prudent to prescribe to a neutral vendor like Dusane Infotech for a CMS solution, especially if the Casino in question has Slots from different manufacturers.

Q: Your company supplies management systems Worldwide , where do you see new emerging markets ?

SN: With deployments across four continents, our focus based on trends and potential seen is with West and Southern Africa, East Africa and in few South East Asian Countries.

Latin America could be the next frontier for us as an Indian origin Company offering gaming and media solutions. We could see some new regulatory frameworks falling in place in South Asia i.e. India, Sri Lanka and Nepal in the next

couple of years. This could open up new opportunities for us in these countries Q: What Gaming shows, exhibitions do you feel are the most important to demonstrate your product?

SN: For the Centro CMS and even for our Sports betting offerings, we see a lot of value in being present and demonstrating our products at ICE (London) and G2E (Macau).

We are now also studying the potential of regional Events too in Asia and Africa, so as to increase our visibility and reach out to more potential clients at Events of repute.

Q: The Anti Money Laundering directives are now enforced in several Countries, Does this legislation increase interest in your product from operators who have to comply with a proper entry system and the storing of data?

SN: Support of AML initiatives and directives is an optional functional

Exclusive interview with Sajan Nair - in “Woods Talk” -ity in our system Player Club system. The Casino’s in developed economies as well as newly regulated markets are seeking solutions which does Player Identification and Monitoring. The Player Club reporting allows the Casino to create AML regulatory reports. The reports are customizable and is offered as part of our free custom development offerings.

Q: Regarding acquiring a Casino management system, What are typical contracts for these systems after the system is designed to suit the needs of the operator and installed ?

staff or company belief that the Loyalty /Bonus system now covers that area hence they do not have to engage with the customer as much ?

Q: In the past before Loyalty points , bonus systems etc were introduced Casinos relied wholly on their staff to enhance the customer experience, Do you think customer relations may have dropped because of the

SN: In the emerging markets, most Casinos’ income is derived from the high rollers and regular customer base, who might be forming only 10 to 20% of the customer base. An automated Loyalty Bonus system may attract the balance 80% to spend more so as to reach a higher

tier/grade and thus get better perks and facilities.

However, Casinos have to maintain focus on Junkets and Agents who bring in the High rollers and Group of high spending players. A Loyalty Bonus system cannot substitute for the required emotional and service oriented human connect with such players and groups.

We feel that an effective Junket/ Commissioning Management Module in the CMS system is the need of the hour and something we are therefore working towards developing.

(This interview was conducted on the 15th of November 2014 exclusively for Infinity Gaming Magazine by : JJ Woods / Casino Gaming Consultant.)

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

SN: CMS Vendors have been moving away from a fixed cost upfront license fee model, to a monthly model based on number of tables/slots. With our cloud based offering, we too are in a position to provide a monthly fee model.

19

20

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

GAMING AWARDS NEWS

Revel to get $200 million development & Showboat bought by college

More news coming out of New Jersey is concerning another shuttered casino hotel, the Showboat closed down in August this year but the Richard Stockton College has announced it has signed a letter of intent to buy the shuttered resort from Caesars for as of yet un-dis-

Revel, which opened in 2012 at a cost of $2.4 billion, never turned a profit and closed down for good in September this year.

However the new owners who also owns the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and the Atlantis Paradise Island casino in the Bahamas say they want to re-open the resort sometime in 2015. closed amount.

It is still not clear how the Revel will operate and the focus of its business will be the casino or hotel, but workers in New Jersey are hoping that many who lost their jobs there only a few months ago may have a chance to return.

Details of the plan haven’t been revealed since the college is “merely at the letter-of-intent stage and bound by a confidentiality agreement,” President Herman Saatkamp said in a statement released by the college.

However, the president did indicate that the college wants to repurpose the former casino as a branch site for Stockton.

“Our intent is to engage in a project that enhances Stockton’s educational growth, offerings and costcontainment while at the same time brings new educational opportunities to Atlantic City,” he said.

“The transformation and revitalization of Atlantic City requires the addition of a diverse set of reasons for people to come visit,” chairman and CEO of Caesars Entertainment Gary Loveman said in a statement. “I believe the construction of a Stockton campus there will help to diversify the economy of the City, which is critical to its future well-being.”

The college’s current campus is located in Galloway Township, a short drive from Atlantic City.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

T

he Revel Casino and hotel which was bought at auction

by Brookfield Asset Management for $110 million say they want to invest another $200 million in the resort prior to it re-opening sometime in 2015.

21

WORLD EXCLUSIVE

WORLD EXCLUSIVE Part 3 Working with Women’s Groups for

Problem Gambling

By Liz Karter In a world exclusive the Infinity Gaming Magazine has gained permission to publish excerpts from the superb must read book for anyone involved in Social Responsibility & Problem Gambling. By agreement with Liz Karter the author and publisher Routledge. Here is the final third part of the featured book from Liz Karter.

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

W

22

hen I first began to practice in the area of problem gambling in 2001 a strategy for relapse prevention that would be offered by my colleagues and myself would be to avoid walking past the favourite bookmakers or the arcade (now ‘adult gaming centre’, as they are referred to in the UK) and to rebuild a social life that had perhaps until then included friends who gambled.

The idea of course was to make efforts to avoid as far as possible any images, sights and sounds that might lead to temptation or trigger cravings to gamble. One thing peculiar to gambling, more than addiction to drugs or alcohol, and that I believe is one of the reasons recovery from gambling addiction is

notoriously hard, is that so much of what is addictive exists in the mind.

It is about connection to images on a screen, which then become so ingrained as the addiction takes hold that they exist on the video screen in the mind of the woman obsessed by them, a constant reminder and invitation to her alternative reality that sucks her into the game and out of the reality she is struggling to cope with. Many women have shared with me and with Women’s Group that they are haunted by the images and sounds associated with their gambling, even when not actively engaged in playing. During early recovery from gambling, so much as a sound reminiscent to that of a slot machine or a TV advertisement for a gambling game can

be enough to trigger the familiar and feared longing for the soothing effects that she knows she would experience whilst playing, even though she rationally knows it will be followed by regret and remorse and days of inner battling her cravings to stay and play. Since the Gambling Act 2007, the gambling industry has been able to freely advertise their products provided that they are deemed not to be targeting the vulnerable.

According to Ofcom the number of gambling-related advertisements on UK television has multiplied by six since deregulation (Gambling Compliance, 2013). In 2012 the figures were:

Women in recovery from gambling addiction are extremely vulnerable to relapse, and the prevalence of advertising on television and of pop ups on computers and Smartphones and on occasion dropping into their mailbox –emailed invitations to come back and play, which in some cases might include a gift of cash in their gambling account –all make it impossible to avoid opportunities to gamble if one is going to engage in the modern and ever more technological world. In saying this, I do not wish it to be heard as pointing a finger of accusation at the gambling industry for behaving in a way that is irresponsible or deliberately wishing to create problem gamblers.

For the vast majority of those of us who gamble, it will remain a healthy source of entertainment and escapism, as Patrick Basham puts forward in his book Gambling: A Healthy Bet (Basham & Luik, 2011) There is, I believe, no statistical evidence to suggest that an increase in advertising has created an increase in women with gambling addiction

and anecdotally I have no evidence to suggest that might be so. As I put forward throughout this book and emphasise in Chapter 1, the evidence of my clinical practice is that gambling addiction in women is a mental health problem and a social problem. What I do hear and see to be the facts of advertising on the woman in recovery from gambling addiction is that the images sights and sounds can frequently be painful reminders of that which she is rationally wanting to recover

Liz Karter from, to ‘get over’, but at times she will still long for. An analogy that we might all be able to relate to, to some degree, is trying to ‘get over’ a painful breakup, to recover from a broken heart. Recovery from gambling addiction is a similar sensation of having something that feels still very much a part of you wrenched away. The sickening, hollow feeling of being unable to believe that it would be possible to tolerate any greater emotional pain and psychological torture at missing and craving for the longed for love, and being unable to imagine

that you will ever recover from those feelings. I imagine that most of us reading this will be able to empathise in some way with those feelings and, if so, then we can empathise a little with what it feels like for the woman in recovery from gambling addiction.

By the time Women’s Group closes at one year, if the process has worked well and they have worked hard to look in the metaphorical mirror at their gambling addiction in relation to themselves and their lives, the vast majority of women will be beyond wanting practical strategies to stop or control their gambling.

Relapse prevention is covered constantly by the very process as it is of course the essence of Women’s Group as a woman works toward her healthier intrapersonal and interpersonal relationship and so eventually ending her relationship with gambling addiction.

Women’s Group for Problem Gambling is, as we have seen, a place to bring the whole of one, as a holistic approach is, in the findings of my practice, a very effective treatment model.

Many women who have attended Women’s Group over the years, just like Paula and Helen, have had experience of their self being divided up for treatment –being treated for their addiction here, for their depression there, their anxiety elsewhere – and it has not proved successful for them, as to effectively treat the addiction their gambling needed to be seen as self –medication for the depression and anxiety, and their depression and anxiety as a symptom of underlying issues, perhaps in awareness or lying

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

• Almost 14 million gambling advertisements ran in the UK compared with 234,000 in 2007 • Bingo has the most TV advertisements at 532,000 • Online casino and poker ran 411,000 advertisements • Lottery and scratchcards ran 355,000 advertisements • Almost 30 per cent of all TV gambling advertisements were for online casino and poker

23

WORLD EXCLUSIVE

Working with Women’s Groups for

Problem Gambling

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

b

24

uried away where it was hoped they would never see the light of day.

To summarise, gambling addiction to a woman is a true dependency.

Despite the destruction it will ultimately bring upon her inner and outer world, her relationship with self and others, she has got herself caught in a trap; when she first began gambling for escapism, absorption in the gambling activity did help her to feel more psychologically in control and therefore of course emotionally so. At some point, unaffordable amounts of time spent gambling meant that she paid no attention to the problems she was trying to avoid and so they at best remained as intolerable as she perceived them to be when she became vulnerable to addiction to block them out, and at worst have become magnified into even bigger and more terrifying monsters. Unaffordable amounts of money spent triggered a cycle of loss chasing, each new loss feeling more painful

By Liz Karter

and depressing. She is likely to have a mountain of debt, credit cards, payday loans, money borrowed or perhaps stolen from friends and family. Hanging onto that tiny hope that she might just have the money to pay back that payday loan on time, but knowing deep within her that that will not happen and that any money won will just enable her to stay and play. By now, each day the world seems more like a battle ground.

The in action quality of Women’s Group is a vital component to keep.

It is a microcosm of thinking, feeling, relationship and living a life in action. The healing and long term recovery lie in using Women’s Group as a space to identify, through self reflection and reflection in the mirrors held up by others in Women’s group, the situational, psychological and emotional triggers for gambling addiction which lie in relationship with oneself, with others in Women’s Group and so with others in the outside world. Always with the inten-

tion that all of this rich information, this rediscovered joy, facing her fears of the rich ‘jam sandwich’ of truly intimate relating and authentic expression of herself should be put into practice outside of Women’s Group for Problem Gambling. That is the best way to ensure that she will reach a position of needing neither gambling addiction nor Women’s Group to avoid her fears of truly living a life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Liz Karter is a specialist in treating gambling addiction in women. She established and still facilitates the UK’s first women’s groups for problem gambling and is founder of the Level Ground addiction treatment practice. She is the author of one previous book, Women and Problem Gambling.

Working with Women’s Groups for

Problem Gambling

TREATING GAMBLING THROUGH RELATIONSHIP

Liz Karter Why do so many women with gambling addiction relapse?

Lifelong recovery requires much more than to just stop gambling. Women’s groups provide long-term benefits and support and have proven to be highly successful in promoting recovery from gambling addiction. By following the story of a real women’s group for problem gambling over the course of a year, Liz Karter explains how, for women, both the cause of and the cure for gambling addiction lies in relationship.

Karter shows clearly how learning to face and cope with real life situations and relationships is essential to maintain recovery. She shares the themes which run through each women’s group, such as fear of trusting others, and the guilt, shame and risk associated with being truly seen and heard. Women’s Groups for Problem Gambling shows that with a combination of specialist intervention, women’s group support, courage and compassion, women can learn to stop running from their addiction and instead find joy and support in building relationships and communities.

This highly accessible book provides a unique opportunity to gain a very personal insight into the group process, both for therapists and clinicians and for women wishing to better understand their addiction.

August 2014 162pp Pb: 978-0-415-85962-2: £24.99 £19.99 Hb: 978-0-415-85961-5: £90.00 £72.00

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Liz Karter is a specialist in treating gambling addiction in women. She established and still facilitates the UK’s first women’s groups for problem gambling and is founder of the Level Ground addiction treatment practice.

She is the author of one previous book, Women and Problem Gambling.

20% discount with this flyer. Order online using discount code ADA14* *This 20% discount is only available to individuals purchasing through our website, until 31st December 2015, and cannot be combined with any other offer or discount.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

For more information, please visit: www.routledge.com/9780415859622

25

www.routledge.com

FEATURE ARTICLE

2015 – The Year of the Sportsbook

By Christina Thakor-Rankin Our feature writer Christina Thakor-Rankin looks at the year ahead and who will be hot along with the battle for supremacy in the online software supplier world.

A

s the end of the year starts to creep up on us, we begin our annual analysis and pulling together top ten countdowns charting the winners and losers, and the best and the ‘could have done betters’ of the year.

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

The last 12 months have provided some stunning headlines featuring some of the sectors biggest names – not entirely unusual in a World Cup year which closed with some seismic shifts in the regulatory landscape. Now that the uncertainties surrounding IGT, Poker Stars, UK regulation, et al have been resolved, can we expect a quieter and less dramatic year ahead?

26

There is already much talk of what 2015 will hold. In a shameless attempt to get my two penn’o’rth before everyone else, here is my take on what we might expect and the Companies I think may be the ones to watch in 2015.

Firstly, mobile will take on even greater importance going forward.

This is already becoming most consumers’ primary device of choice outside of the gaming sector. As technology evolves to support this platform even more in this direction, those customers who do still use their laptops and PCs will inevitably start to decline and the expectation will be that a good

gaming operator is one who is able to provide a great, if not greater mobile experience than on traditional web.

The ongoing evolution of push technology means that the mobile will start to overtake other more traditional ways of marketing, com-

municating and engaging customers resulting in instant real time call to actions – taking customers from a fragmented, tap/slide to view message, tap to open full message, tap the call to action prompt, tap to log-in, tap to bet, to a smooth, ‘slide-tap-tap’ using a combination of push and fingerprint log-in technology.

Mobile could also become a key factor in the engagement of land based customers and a lynch-pin of any successful multi-channel strategy. We have yet to see its true potential but an obvious vehicle for pulling on and offline together will be the cleaver application of augmented reality.

Being able to overlay the real world as viewed through a smart phone with marketing messages and promotional information is a marketers dream. Imagine a world where simply pointing a phone at the cityscape and saying ‘show me the nearest betting office’ brings up a list of brands, maps and directions.

Imagine pointing a phone at a betting front office, or casino or bingo hall and a message box appearing on screen showing exactly what promotions and products you can expect inside – despite any regulations prohibiting shop-window marketing.

It has been mooted that over the next few years mobile will be responsible for between 80 to 90% of sector growth across both on and offline and based on the above it is easy to see why?

For me the companies to watch in this area are Sky who for obvious reasons dominate the ‘media’ space and have already started to do clever things with mobile across a number of different areas, Paddy Power, who have already used augmented reality and a £10 note to turn the Queen into a vuvuzela toting England fan, and in continuing to apply their own brand of mischief, take the fear out of new technology making it engaging and therefore acceptable to customers, and William Hill, who have openly used the terms technology, driver, multi-channel and strategy all in the same breathe.

There is potentially also a secondary battle to be had between these three. The current thinking seems to be that if New Jersey somehow does manage to legitimise sports betting, William Hill sits in pole position to become the biggest

sports betting operator in the US, leveraging its established presence in Nevada. This is most likely true, but in a country where sport seems to go hand in hand with TV advertising, and comedy out-takes and You’ve been Framed style shows continue to be popular, it would surely be folly to rule out the potential power of a tongue in cheek advertising campaign featuring shameful muffed punts and pooch kicks, or ignore the fact that the Sky network and the Fox network share strong common links.

network and Amaya via Poker Stars, and lesser so Full Tilt. Both have an impressive casino and games portfolio supplied by a number of industry leading software providers, including high value branded content. Both have made a big show of announcing their UK license status whilst also holding multiple licenses in other territories. Both are keen to advance their land and multi-channel server based gaming ambitions - a strategy which one assumes will culminate in a battle of the stands at ICE.

All of this will just be the back-drop to what I believe may well turn out to be one of the biggest head to heads ever witnessed in the gaming sector – Amaya v Playtech.

Most interestingly they have both made their intention to move into the sports betting market very clear.

Playtech identifying it as one of their key objectives for the coming year, and Amaya confirming that it was on target to launch its sports book in 2015 - the US restrictions on sports betting forcing a shift in focus to Europe and the rest of the world – traditionally, Playtech’s natural stomping ground. Playtech has thus far hit a wall in the US, but if New Jersey succeeds will surely

Two evenly matched giants – both incredibly ambitious, aggressive and with funds and resources to go the full 9 rounds.

Between them they now practically control the poker market - Playtech via its industry wide i-poker

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

This being combined with real time messaging and GPS tracking and a message advising the customer that the match kicks off in 2 minutes but they still have time to get their bet on as their nearest branch of BetsR-Us, which is doing enhanced odds today, is just 200 yards away.

27

from acquiring it. Whichever way it goes, the two critical points to hold onto are sports betting and Europe.

B

e pulling out all the stops to find an entry point.

Cue Bwin Party – a brand synonymous with sports betting not just in Europe but internationally and which also has a foothold in the US. Already the rumour mill is in overdrive with both Amaya and Playtech being mooted as possible interested parties. Bwin, more so than Party, would be a key strategic acquisition for either - not least that it would give one a temporary but important edge over the other.

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

For Playtech it also potentially gives a route into the US – something which has thus far eluded them - for

28

Amaya a quick route to an established market and customer base outside of the US. Of course there are the on-going rumours surrounding Playtech and Ladbrokes, and whether that would be a better route for Playtech, giving them potentially an established sports operator, exchange and retail – and by default ‘the full set’ of gaming products and platforms, and a toehold in Australia and the US – but this is just speculation.

In fact, on paper the acquisition of Ladbrokes would give Playtech much more than the acquisition of Bwin. That said, a Playtech acquisition of Bwin would prevent Amaya

Two Goliaths fighting it out in the world’s most competitive and lucrative sports markets is going to have a huge impact on the whole sector – forcing everyone else to fight for survival - necessity being the mother of invention and innovation, just to avoid becoming collateral damage.

This will result in innovation, exploitation of mobile and multi-channel opportunities, hopefully featuring some of the Companies mentioned above.

For me 2015 will be the year of the Sportsbook and the ones to watch, in no particular order, will be Amaya, Playtech, Paddy Power, Sky and William Hill.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Christina Thakor-Rankin is Principal Consultant at 1710Gaming working with start-ups, investors, operators regulators, and industry groups internationally, covering all aspects of the gaming and gambling cycle - from initial research, licence and operational go-live, to new markets and opportunities, to customer engagement and experience. She has over 20 years industry experience and has previously held roles at William Hill, Blue Square, Tote (Sport) and Virgin Games managing multiple business disciplines, functions and teams.

29

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

FEATURE ARTICLE

COMMUNICATION AND CUSTOMER SERVICE CHALLENGES GENERATIONS BRING ALONG

Alex W Pariente is an International executive with more than 20 years of leadership performance and career development in the Entertainment and Hospitality Industry.

Through the course of his career he has participated in the opening of 5 Star Resorts in Latin America, Europe and USA and built strategic alliances and cross marketing initiatives with Airlines, luxury brands and Media.

By Alex W Pariente Alex Pariente looks at the future of gambling and the most important element of it, the customer. As ever customer needs change and with future generations

E

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

very time you talk to a colleague from the industry about how the working life is nowadays you get pretty much the same answer over and over: business development, pressure for results, tight deadlines, aligning your talents, catching up with technology to effectively understand, target, develop and retain your multicultural and socio diverse customer base, etc.

30

Personal life time allocation is also a challenge in itself thanks, in part, to our technology and to the ever increasing professional life demands.

So those who always juggled everything with ease find themselves mastering it a higher speeds now.

Communication and motivation skills—something executives are required to be good at now—become

a crucial survival resource in both our professional and private life.

With the increasing generational differences, business owners need to develop strategies that target specific demographics more consciously. The goal is to understand what is relevant to each generation and to communicate this in a manner that resonates most.

Eric Petersen, Director of New Media for Caesars Entertainment said, “The way…to improve and continue to be a leader in the gaming space is to listen to what our loyal customers and new customers are saying about us.”

This is even more critical because of the shift in the way the world communicates. In the past, for every unhappy customer, there

was a potential to lose give or take about nine customers if they shared their experience with someone, “baptizing” a new one was a much slower and tedious process. Now the Internet and its social media environment have amplified customer communication and expose us in a way never seen before. We exist and operate in an overwhelmingly social culture where everything is shared through a multitude of different channels on real time.

How we communicate with a generation that is consistently connected is more relevant than ever.

It is ultimately about how quickly and how effectively we respond.

That said, the only way to respond effectively is to have a finger on the pulse of your environment.

This communication does not simply

The Alex W Pariente Blog - Exclusive to Infinity

We are often so focus in trying to understand, anticipate, retain and grow our customer base that at times we forget to look inside our own organization where the same multicultural and socio diverse group of individuals coexist. So understanding the generational differences and catering to their own specific interest and developmental aspirations is key to the success of our organization.

quent communication on company events, individual and department direction, and big-picture company strategy, make all the difference in employee happiness.” – Anthony Smith, CEO and founder of Insightly.

Employees, just like customers, are acutely aware when a company is “out of touch” so it is important that communication be meaningful. The days of lengthy staff memos should be drawing to a close because employees no longer like to be “talked at,” they like to be a part of a consistent conversation. As with invest-

We are well aware about what moved the needle for the more mature and senior team members (Boomers and Gen X generation) and we now learned from research conducted over the past years what is relevant to this new generation of talent called Millennials. Being connected, respected and having a keen sense of purpose is what drives their interest.

Work and home life are not nearly as divided as they were years ago.

Our team members consider the time spent working, not as hours to be clocked, but as an investment so they see themselves in occasion as entrepreneurs within our own organization. This alone might be one of the conflictive areas of how each generation of talent sees and respects the other.

“Benefits such as clear and fre-

ments, employees produce better results when they are intellectually stimulated and see the potential for great return in the form of career development.

“Companies should consider surveying their own workforce to gauge their satisfaction levels. Insights from employees themselves can point employers in the right direction for shaping a more positive… work environment…By partnering

with employees to improve their satisfaction levels, employers will reap business benefits today and tomorrow.” – Sandy Mazur, president of Spherion.

So with all the above said, it’s very clear that aligning our team members to embrace and share our company vision and values is not something we leave up to our HR guys, but rather we must find a way to “be” one of them at all times.

Reacting to challenges touching our team members and customers is not about speeding up the response time but rather in the delivering by every team member every single opportunity on the expectations employees and customers have from the company and how we touch them in a meaningful way either by caring deeply about them or delivering a unique experience.

At the end of the day it all comes down to how solid your company is on the delivery of their vision and values day in and day out, if management lives according to it team members will embrace it and make it their own.

When that happens you’ve changed the game since customers will believe who the brand/company you represent is (not trying to be), so provide it your service standard is excellent you will not have to panic about how quick you react but how great your anticipation is so you reverse the process and create more apostles around your brand.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

and exclusively apply to customers staying and or playing at your casino. This applies to the individuals essential to running your operation and delivering the kind of service and commitment to excellence necessary for success, your own team.

31

GREAT PLACE TO PLAY GREAT PLACE TO WORK

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

If you have a passion for excellence, there could well be a place for you on The Rational Group team. The Rational Group employs industry-leading practices in customer service, product development, payment security, game integrity and player fund protection, and also holds more online poker licenses than any other e-gaming company. We apply the same high standards to looking after our people: The Rational Group is currently ranked the 14th best large company to work at in the UK by the Great Place to Work Institute.

32

The Rational Group operates gaming and related businesses and brands including PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and the European Poker Tour. These brands collectively form the largest poker business in the world comprising online poker games and tournaments, live poker competitions and poker programming created for television and online audiences.

NO AGENCIES – DIRECT APPLICATIONS ONLY For full details of our vacancies and details on how to apply, please visit www.rationalgroup.com/about-us/careers Rational Services Ltd, Douglas Bay Complex, King Edward Road, Onchan, IM3 1DZ

GAMING NEWS

Echo Entertainment report increased profits In its statement the company now says full year earnings will be better than expected at between $245 million and $260 million, which represent a rise of between 23% and 31& on the same period in 2013.

Chief executive Matt Bekier said the company was reaping the benefits of its big spending to upgrade its casinos, particularly The Star.

E

cho Entertainment who are fighting Crown Entertainment for the right to another casino license in Sydney has reported increased earnings for the 17 weeks to 27th October.

The operator which has in its casinos – The Star in Sydney, Jupiters on the Gold Coast and Brisbane’s Treasury said that revenues were stronger than expected with a 27% rise and the Star Casino performing best of all with VIP revenues up 78% from the same period last year.

“The work we are putting into customer segmentation, loyalty and customer service continues to gain traction and is allowing us to generate returns on the investments we have made in recent years,” he said in a statement.

“We have exciting programs under development and look forward to an active trading period over the upcoming festive season.”

Crown & Echo confirm applications tendered for Brisbane confirmed they have formally lodged their bids for the new casino license available in Brisbane.

The casino operators who are bitterly feuding over the right to the license made separate statements to the Australian Securities Exchange confirming their applications were tendered in time and meet all the necessary criteria. However neither company would disclose anything about their bids saying that the state government is preventing them from doing so.

Crown chairman James Packer said he was “fully committed to building something truly spectacular for the people of Brisbane, Queensland and the world”.

“When I walked around Queen’s Wharf last year, I could see the incredible tourism opportunity the site offered,” Mr Packer said. “We look forward to further participating in the Queensland government’s process.”

Mr Packer will be hoping that Crown’s application wins the fight over Echo as it did in 2013 over in Sydney where they were granted the first ever license in the city which previously Echo Entertainment had a monopoly with its flagship casino The Star.

On that occasion Crown secured the second license with a $1.5 billion bid to develop a luxury hotel and casino which will open in 2019 and contest directly with Echo Entertainment for customers.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

Both Echo Entertainment and Crown Resorts have

33

34

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

US GAMING NEWS

Andreas Meinrad appointed CEO of BetVictor William Hill ready to offer sports betting in NJ

The operator said Meinrad will assume the role on the 1st February 2015, previously Meinrad has held senior management positions at bwin.party sports betting operator Bwin, which he joined in 2008.

Commenting on his appointment, Meinrad said he was extremely excited to be joining BetVictor.

“It is a great brand with a very good reputation among its users and with a fantastic opportunity for growth in the future given the investment and strategic vision of the owner,” he explained. “I am sure that my experience in the sector as well as outside of the industry, coupled with my passion for sports and betting, will help us fulfil the untapped potential of the business.”

It marks the end of an era at BetVictor with both Michael Carlton the CEO who worked for the company for 10 years leaving in May along with Chairman & Founder Victor Chandler following a company restructure by Michael Tabor who has taken full ownership of the company now.

“Since acquiring BetVictor in May, we have been looking for a world class executive to lead the business,” Tabor said. “Andreas is an outstanding operator with a proven track record of success who will bring a wealth of global brand experience to BetVictor.”

Bookmakers in Britain are set to announce new

reforms in order to tackle the furor over Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) today. The new measures that are being self-imposed hope to stave off actual government action against FOBTs that many UK media and activists are calling the “crack cocaine” of gambling.

So the £2.3 billion annual revenue industry of all bookmaking retail outlets will announce that they will enforce a break for all customers playing for more than 30 minutes or a cash total spend of £250, as a cooling off period before letting them play again.

The changes, which bookmakers promise to introduce these new measures by 30th January 2015, which will mean a break of anyone playing over the set limits by 30 seconds before they can place another bet on the FOBT. The protections are being rolled out in response to a public and political outcry over fixed-odds gaming terminals (FoBTs) this year. The machines have come under heavy fire from the Labour party in particular, prompting concerns in the betting industry that it could become a political football in the run up to the General Election.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

A

ndreas Meinrad has been named as the new CEO of Gibraltar based online betting firm BetVictor, the announcement was made official to all employees this week, Meinrad was formally the Chief Commercial Officer for bwin.party.

35

8th IGA Gaming Awards

ry 2nd Februa n Tickets o BOOK YOUR PLACE

The Oscars of the Global Gambling Industry

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

The International Gaming Awards recognises and celebrates the very best from the land based & online gambling industry from all parts of the globe.

Join us for the 8th annual awards ceremony

36

• Prestigous Industry Awards • Global Creremony for the entire industry • Supporting International Charities

Visit the IGA website for more details - www.gaming-awards.com Newmarket Suite 20, Centrix@Keys, Keys Park Road, Staffs, WS12 2HA, UK Tel 01543 478 889 Email media@cleverduckmedia.com Website www.gaming-awards.com

GAMING NEWS

OLG launch online gambling preview to players

OLG spokesman Tony Bitoni said players will be able to try their hand at a variety of video slot games, blackjack, baccarat and roulette.

Along with traditional casino games customers will also be allowed to pruchase lottery tickets through the site. However not all games will be live straight away with poker only being allowed for single players only, but the OLG that will change to player tournaments and cash games in the near future.

There will also be coming soon after launch sports games and bingo said Bitoni

“(You) can’t play with other people around the country,” Bitoni said.

“The peer-to-peer poker will come online in the next phase.”

Eligible members of the OLG’s Winner’s Circle Reward program will be invited to preview and play the site as part of a phased-in approach, Bitoni said.

“You can’t play on it right now but that’s coming in the coming weeks,” Bitoni said.

Players will have to register to verify their identity and age, and payments will be made through credit cards.

Online gamblers can set limits on their gaming, including how much they’re prepared to lose with a seven day “cooling off” period before that amount can be increased.

Problem gamblers will be given the

option to exclude themselves from playing the online games.

“Responsible gambling is for us a priority, and it is definitely a priority on PlayOLG,” Bitoni said. “You can tell us how long you want to play.”

Estimates by the OLG say that half a million Ontarians play illegal online casino games spending between $400 million to $500 million a year “And what we’re offering is a controlled, trust-worthy alternative to these grey market sites,” he said.

“When we did our market research, trust was one of the big things that people told us about, that they really wanted in these sites.”

It has been a long wait for Ontarians to play online gambling as the OLG originally said that they would have online gambling by 2012 but delays and technical issues pushed that date back.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

O

nline gambling is just a few weeks away for Ontarians after the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) sent out invitations to 53,000 of its most loyal customers to take a look at what is coming in the next couple of weeks when the website is actually launched.

37

ARTICLE

Casino Customer Service Training vs. Money Down the Drain

By Martin R. Baird Our feature writer Martin Baird in his November article discusses the option between marketing and customer service spend and which works best to attract customers.

I

was at a gaming conference and an industry marketing consultant talked about a publicly traded gaming company that spends 37 percent of its revenue on marketing. I know of a property in a very competitive market that spends more than $1 million a month on marketing.

Why all this spending? Casinos say they need to be seen to keep guests coming through the door so they can grow. Their message simply must be seen, heard and read absolutely everywhere – TV, radio, outdoor displays, direct mail, print ads, the Internet, etc.

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

I understand this concept. Unfortunately, much of this money is going right down the toilet. Gaming properties are throwing away precious revenue. The same property that spends millions on marketing balks at

38

investing one or two percent of that marketing budget on training its people. Or on putting together a meaningful reward and recognition program for employees to encourage them to give their guests an outstanding gaming experience. They just can’t find the money.

There’s a better way. How about devoting a sizeable chunk of money to retaining existing guests and spending less on trying to bring new ones in? How about focusing on giving guests a reason to become repeat customers and worrying less about newcomers?

There’s a marketing adage that says it’s 10 times more expensive to get a new customer than it is to keep an existing one. There’s a lot of truth to that. So it makes good fiscal sense to invest in employee guest service training and a reward and recognition program to reinforce that training so your people are doing everything they can to keep guests happy. Great guest service is critical to success.

If you could reduce your marketing expense and increase play, wouldn’t you be more profitable?

If your guests had a better time while they’re at your property, wouldn’t that lead to increased play? Marketing and quality guest service each serve their own purpose and they can work hand in hand. Marketing’s responsibility is to generate trial. However, while it can set the expectations, it can’t control the guest’s experience. If your marketing shows happy, smiling dealers and spectacular food, that is what guests will expect. Now each person who works at the property must be trained to deliver that and more.

ARTICLE

The human tendency to be self-centered makes it a challenge to improve guest service. Employees have to start thinking less about themselves and more about the needs of others. That makes guest service training a priority because the people working at your property must see the guest as the most important person in your business. Ray Kroc, the famous founder of McDonald’s, put the customer on a pedestal. He knew that for McDonald’s to succeed, it needed to focus on the customer more than the burgers, milk shakes and fries. He was right.

The same is true in gaming. If more attention is placed on the guest, the property will be more successful.

Here are a few things to think about as you roll out training and reward and recognition programs.

If you want an employee to smile while assisting a guest – or demonstrate any other kind of service-oriented behavior – it helps if they understand why they should do that. It also helps if they know how this new guest service behavior affects them directly.

Knowing that management wants them to smile is not enough to create change. People need to know how it affects them so they will consider making the behavioral switch. Employees need to know how improving guest service affects their wallet, not the company’s bottom line. After all, people are more interested in themselves than others.

If you can’t accomplish that, then you’re just flushing marketing dollars down the toilet.

Martin R. Baird Bio Martin R. Baird is chief executive officer of Robinson & Associates, Inc., a Boise, Idaho-based consulting firm to the global

Or Read on App Store growth and profitability. Robinson & Associates is the world

gaming industry that is dedicated to helping casinos improve their guest service so they can compete and generate future leader in casino guest experience measurement, management and improvement. For more information, visit the company’s Web sites at http://casinocustomerservice.com and www.advocatedevelopmentsystem.com or contact the company at 208-991-2037. Robinson & Associates is a member of the Casino Management Association and an associate member of the National Indian Gaming Association.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

So if marketing is spending all this money on getting new people to visit your property, what is human resources investing to help your people have the skills they need to give guests great service? Employees aren’t born with the amazing guest service gene. New behaviors must be encouraged and that takes training and setting standards.

So how do you get marketing and human resources to work together so that one of them doesn’t spend its gigantic budget bringing in new guests only to have them quickly leave because they didn’t win and get the level of service they expected? It takes a team approach. Both sides need to work together. Just getting new customers isn’t enough.

You need to generate trial and then get them to stay because of the wonderful service they receive.

39

40

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

WORLD NEWS

Bwin.party in takeover talks

O

nline gambling giant bwin. party digital entertainment has confirmed in an official statement that is has entered into preliminary discussions with unnamed parties on possible business combinations which could lead to a takeover of the company.

Following weeks of media speculation that the online firm has been approached by Amaya Gaming which in June paid $4.9 billion for

online operator PokerStars is looking now at bwin.party the public listed company has confirmed that they are in discussion but no company has been named.

The company noted that all such discussions remain at a preliminary stage, and there can be “no certainty” they will lead to any offer.

Shares in the company soared 16% on the news.

Andreas Meinrad appointed CEO of BetVictor

The operator said Meinrad will assume the role on the 1st February 2015, previously Meinrad has held senior management positions at bwin.party sports betting operator Bwin, which he joined in 2008.

Commenting on his appointment, Meinrad said he was extremely excited to be joining BetVictor.

Macau could face 13% revenue drop in 2015 Research company JL Warren Capital says that Macau Casinos could see a 13% drop in revenues for 2015 compared to this year. The news is not particularly encouraging for operators in the world’s largest gambling hub who have suffered declining revenues over the last 5 months.

JL Warren point to the weaker economic growth in mainland China and the corruption campaign continuing to weigh down a recovery in the Macau casino industry. The firm says that daily revenues in Macau are now steady at $102.67 million on average, which would indicate at 13% decline on revenues for 2015.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

A

ndreas Meinrad has been named as the new CEO of Gibraltar based online betting firm BetVictor, the announcement was made official to all employees this week, Meinrad was formally the Chief Commercial Officer for bwin.party.

“It is a great brand with a very good reputation among its users and with a fantastic opportunity for growth in the future given the investment and strategic vision of the owner,” he explained. “I am sure that my experience in the sector as well as outside of the industry, coupled with my passion for sports and betting, will help us fulfil the untapped potential of the business.”

It marks the end of an era at BeyVictor with both Michael Carlton the CEO who worked for the company for 10 years leaving in May along with Chairman & Founder Victor Chandler following a company restructure by Michael Tabor who has taken full ownership of the company now.

“Since acquiring BetVictor in May, we have been looking for a world class executive to lead the business,” Tabor said. “Andreas is an outstanding operator with a proven track record of success who will bring a wealth of global brand experience to BetVictor.”

41

42

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

GAMING NEWS

Japan casino bill now set aside

According to reports in Japan newspapers quoting sources close to the government who are supporting casino resorts, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is struggling to hold on to any majority support for the casino bill following months of political scandals and the coalition government fracturing to the point where any consensus is unlikely to happen.

The source is quoted as saying that the casino bill will now be set aside to at the earliest beginning of 2015

and maybe not even then. The current parliamentary session ends on the 30th November and the source says; “That if they can’t pass it now, I doubt whether they’ll ever be able to pass it.”

The news will be a major blow to international casino operators that saw Japan as possibly the second largest gambling hub after Macau, but with the lack of support for the bill amongst parliamentarians now, any casino bill in the future is unlikely to happen as the major

driving force was the 2020 Olympic Games.

Shinzo Abe

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

J

apan is now almost certain NOT to have casinos before the 2020 Olympic Games, says sources close to the bill in pushing it through parliament and there are now questions if it ever will be passed into law to permit casino resorts in Japan.

43

44

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

GAMING NEWS

Macau records worst ever monthly decline

T

he warning signs were there and so they proved correct as Macau the world’s largest gambling hub recorded its worst ever monthly revenue performance on record. Analysts were predicting a fall of 20% to 23% for the month of October and sadly revenues fell on the higher side of that forecast.

Macau recorded a drop of 23.2% from the same period in 2013 with revenues of $3.5 billion.

The decline was the biggest since the city started recording the data in 2005. October also represents the fifth consecutive month of revenue decline for the casino industry there.

Total revenues fell 11.7% in Septem-

ber, 6.1% in August, 3.6% in July and 3.7% in June.

Much of the problems stem from the Chinese government’s crack-down on corruption on mainland China, pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong and no new casino developments being built in Macau until 2015 at the earliest.

use, it also has been granted back in 2008 a medium style casino license, the same as Milton Keynes and Stratford in London.

S

wansea councillors are considering the option of banning any new casinos to be developed in the city because of the effects on low income families.

The city has four casino licenses available and only one currently in

However council leaders want to put a block on that license being issued which would allow for up to 80 slot machines with large jackpots along with increased amount of gaming tables.

The largest casino in Wales which

was opened by Aspers back in 2007 in Swansea costing £13 million to build closed its doors in 2012 because of the lack of business. So any move by the council leaders to block new casinos from opening up for the next three years is unlikely to impact on casino operators, indeed no application for the medium style casino license has ever been made and there has been no applications made for a smaller license for several years.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

Swansea council to block new casinos

45

46

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

GAMING NEWS

Pansy Ho “No link between Macau revenues & corruption investigation

M

acau’s richest woman and Co-Chairperson of MGM Macau says that she sees no correlation between China’s current campaign against high level corruption and Macau’s recent revenues drops.

In an article from the Australian newspaper where Ms Ho was speaking at the Global Cafe business forum prior to the G20 government economy meeting the daughter of Macau gaming legend Stanley Ho said, “When we started to see a slowing down of the continuous growth, it really means we have seen the possibility now of a more healthy and steady kind of business environment.”

She continued by saying, “We don’t want to see a very spiky kind of cycle. I think that helps us to prevent a bubble which we might have been leading to over the past year or two.”

Playtech founder buys up Camden Market Camden Market attracts some 100,000 visitors each weekend, the Times says that the billionaire entrepreneur is preparing for the flotation of Camden Market on the stock exchange now that he is the single owner of the venue.

T

edi Sagi the founder of Playtech has spent £500 million to secure the single ownership of Camden Market according

to the Sunday Times. Last month Sagi bought Camden Lock from investment company Brockton Capital and spent £400m to purchase

The article is also mentioning that industry gaming veteran Charles Butler is being appointed to lead the development and help steer into a listed company.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

Camden Stables earlier this year.

47

48

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

WORLD NEWS

Caesars fined for enticing self-excluded gamblers

The state Division of Gaming Enforcement fined Caesars Interactive Entertainment for emailing promotional material to more than 250 people who had already placed

themselves on the self-exclusion list to avoid any further involvement in online gambling.

It is the first time since online gambling started in New Jersey back in November 2013 that an online operator has been fined for such a breach of the rules.

When players decide to self-exclude

GTECH receive approval for IGT

S

hareholders at GTECH have approved the Italian lottery group’s takeover of International Game Technology (IGT), a deal aimed at creating a global gaming company to be listed on Wall Street.

The new entity will have more than $6 billion in pro-forma revenues, GTECH said in July when it announced the $4.7 billion acquisition of the Las Vegas-based group.

GTECH and IGT will be combined into a newly formed holding company named Georgia Worldwide plc headquartered in Britain.

71.4% of shareholders attended the meeting in Rome with only

3% voting against the deal to acquire IGT, the deal can only be stopped should more than 20% of shareholders oppose the deal and currently have 15 days to do so now the vote has been held.

GTECH has said it will pay 19.174 euros each for any shares it has to buy back from any shareholders who wish to exercise their withdraw of the shares because of their opposition. That offer represents a higher price than currently available on the shares which stands at 18.19 euros.

The deal is expected to be completed by the second quarter of next year.

themselves from the states online gambling activities they can do so for one or five years and in that time they are not allowed to gamble online or enter a land based casino.

It is also against the rules for casino operators to entice those players back. Should a gambler who is selfexcluded manage to enter or play online casino they are subject to losing any winnings gained.

IGT Q3 results up revenues down

International Game Technology (IGT) announced their third quarter results beating analyst’s expectations even though revenues dipped in the quarter. The slot machine giant which is being acquired

by GTECH for $6.4 billion said that profits for the quarter were $70.9 million compared to $64.5 million in the same period in 2013.

However revenues were down 15% to $536.5 million in the quarter, for all fiscal 2014, IGT said its total revenue has declined 12% to $2.1 billion.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

C

aesars interactive have been fined $10,000 for emailing customers who had self-excluded themselves in an attempt to lure them back to online gambling.

49

50

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

GAMING NEWS

Cath Burns to leave TCSJohnHuxley

T

CS JOHNHUXLEY has announced that Cath Burns, Group CEO will leave the organisation on 21st November 2014.

Assuming the responsibilities will be Tristan Sjöberg, Executive Chairman.

This provides a natural progression for TCSJOHNHUXLEY as a family owned and run business and a strong platform to move forward.

turn provide strategic growth for the future. Our aim is to continue investing and building on this, position-

ing the company for growth and a strong future.”

Cath Burns took over the reigns two and half years ago at a difficult time and has since overhauled the business by realigning, refocusing and preparing the company for the next stage of its growth.

Tristan Sjöberg comments, ”The Board and I wish to thank Cath for the excellent contribution she has made to the business. Under her leadership TCSJOHNHUXLEY has developed innovative products and services with committed product roadmaps, which protect our customers investment in us and in

T

he Chinese Presidents visit to Macau in December has the casino industry there concerned that his presence will impact even more on the current decline in VIP gamblers to the World’s largest gambling hub.

President Xi Jinping’s visit is to mark the 15-year anniversary of Macau’s return to Chinese territory rule, however as China mainland and the President himself continues to crack down on corruption within government and businesses also the numbers of VIP’s coming to Macau while the President is there will certainly be lower than ever.

However Lawrence Ho the Co-CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment said

in a recent conference call to investors that the President could bring a gift in the shape of allowing Chinese gamblers to visit the former Portuguese enclave 24 hours a day, by allowing visit visa’s to be issued at any time of day or night.

Certainly for Macau and the casino industry there who have suffered huge falls in revenues over the last five months anything the Chinese President offers will be welcomed.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

Chinese President visit to Macau worries VIPs

51

52

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

EUROPEAN GAMING NEWS

Gala merge its online divisions

Following the announcement of the changes Managing Director of the Coral Interactive division John O’Reilly has decided to step down from his role but has agreed to remain with the company in a consultancy position for the next 12 months.

COO of Gala Coral Andy Hornby will now assume leadership of the merged divisions along with his remit of his responsibility of Coral Retail.

Carl Leaver, group CEO of Gala Coral commented: “have seen huge progress in our online businesses

over the last few years. Now is the right time to bring together our collective knowledge & experience to ensure that our brands continue to develop strongly, while at the same time putting multi-channel at the heart of what we do.

the map in the online market. Since then, with the support of a fantastic management team, we have created a valuable & fast growing business. With Coral’s online business now established it is a good time for me to hand over the reins & return to the UK”.

“John is an impressive leader who has been instrumental in reviving Coral’s fortunes online.

He will be missed as a key member of our senior executive team, but I am delighted not to be losing him completely. The combination of talent in the restructured Interactive management team puts us in great shape for the next phase of our growth.”

O’Reilly said of his decision to step down: “I joined Gala Coral Group in 2011 to put Coral back on

Andy Hornby

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

I

t has been announced that Gala Interactive and Coral Interactive will now been merged under one name and management team. The owning company Gala Coral Group said that the combined businesses will work closely with the companies retail business in order to take advantage of continued multi-channel growth.

53

54

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

INFORMATION

The iGaming Post News site The iGaming Post is an online, international, daily newspaper for the gaming industry. It strives to cover all the latest headlines, delivering them seamlessly through smartphones, laptops and tablets all day, every day. The iGaming Post prides itself in reaching out to global readers, from online poker players to the industry executives.

To find out how your company can advertise contact our sales team

Social Media Between The Infinity Gaming Magazine, The iGaming Post and the International Gaming Awards our network of followers on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin account for over 10,000 industry professionals and customers interested in the gambling industry.

To find out how your company can advertise contact our sales team

The App Store iOS & Android

Subscribe to the iGaming Post & The Infinity Gaming Magazine for FREE reaching more than 10,000 global industry readers. Advertising in the magazine and news site can help your business get seen by the decision makers that count. With the iOS and Android App our publications reach a potential 500 million readership.

To find out more about advertising contact: media@cleverduckmedia.com

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014

Just search for us in the App stores “infinity gaming magazine”

55

56

InfinityGaming • ISSUE NOVEMBER 2014