Gaming Industry News (GIN) 10 Oct 2010

01.10.2010, Gaming Industry News is the weekly e-news service from ICE Totally Gaming, sent to a 30,000-plus database of professional buyers and influences in over 190 global jurisdictions. GIN is a free news service provided by Clarion Events: to appear in it send your stories to gin@sjc.co.uk.

BACTA hit by high profile resignation TRADE ASSOCIATION BACTA, the trade association representing the British gaming and amusement machine industry, has been hit by the resignation of Praesepe plc, one of its highest profile member companies. The UK's fastest growing low stake high volume gaming group, Praesepe confirmed its decision on Tuesday 28 September, in the process ending chief executive Nick Harding's 25-year association which included a two year period as BACTA national president. The Group, comprising 83 Adult Gaming Centres, six bingo clubs, four Family Entertainment Centres and an online bingo site, has said that it will be securing representation through the Gaming Committee of Business In Sport and Leisure (BISL) as well as exploring the potential to establish an independent forum for AGC operators. Industry observers have cited Praesepe's disagreement with BACTA officials over recent policy decisions as the reason behind its resignation. BACTA president Neil Chinn said he regretted the loss of members arguing that effective lobbying is not achieved through fragmentation.

Gaming industry made to wait for B3 review LEGISLATION The UK gaming industry may have to wait through to Spring 2011 before it's able to implement any changes to regulations impacting B3 machines. Details emerging from government officials suggest that any proposed changes to the B3 stake and the volume of B3 machines allowed within premises may well include a 12-week period of consultation and a notification of changes to Europe. Trade association BACTA said it was disappointed at the 12-week consultation adding that job losses result with every week of delay.

Victor Chandler enlists PA Sport support BETTING Bookmaker Victor Chandler has signed a two-year deal with Press Association Sport to provide event creation and settlement feeds for horseracing including the delivery of editorial services to the VC blog site. A combination of breaking news stories and bespoke betting news are incorporated with the latest betting odds in client communications.

London stages first Women in Gaming event AWARDS The inaugural Women in Gaming (WIG) Networking event took place in Kensington, London, on 24 September 2010. Organisers Clever Duck Media reported more than 100 delegates in attendance. Honours went to Daniela Attard - Betfair, Sara Jolly - PartyGaming, Nicky Senyard - Income Access, Onika Russell - Ladbrokes, Tracey Collins - Grosvenor Casinos (Rank), Daniela Caserotto - Unibet, Stephanie Cheung - Melco Crown Entertainment and Darlyne Sullivan - Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, with Storm International's Michael Boettcher hailed as Man Championing Women in Business.

Buzz Sports brings ZonePlay to ICE LAUNCH ZonePlay, an innovative sports entertainment concept pioneered by Buzz Sports, will be unveiled for the first time at January's ICE show. A form of 'what happens next' betting in real-time, ZonePlay operates across a wide and ever expanding range of live sporting events, offering unlimited betting opportunities on outcomes such as where the ball finishes next, how many or how a point will be scored, will there be a goal free-kick, touchdown, try or wicket. Formed in late 2008, Buzz Sports believe their products have the capability to be integrated into any retail betting environment with available content adaptive to cater for local markets worldwide.

Pub closures to continue through to 2015, states report PUBS A report commissioned by the Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) and undertaken by research firm CGA Strategy, claims pub closures will continue through to 2015 with an estimated 5pc decline in UK outlets. Closures will be traditional wet-led venues with launches coming from café bar-style outlets which attract older consumers and provide a changing food and drink offering throughout the day and evening. Another piece of WSTA commissioned research conducted by YouGov claims 34pc of adult respondents said they would be cutting down on drinking away from home over the next 12 months with 46pc reducing the number of occasions they ate out.

Buckingham appoints KPMG to explore options BINGO Buckingham Bingo, which has a total of 11 clubs, has appointed KPMG with the brief to explore all options for the company which was purchased by venture capital company Alchemy for £90m in 2005 only to be handed to bankers Barclays three years later. Despite being hit by a mixture of legislation and recession, Buckingham attracts over 1.7m players through its doors a year. Options being explored include another sale of the business.

Sceptre announces encouraging figures RESULTS Sceptre Leisure, which operates 21,300 machines, has posted annual results for the year ending 30 April 2010 which show revenue growth of nine per cent to £42.8m, pre-tax profits up by 37pc to £1.9m and earnings per share up by 37pc to 4.1p. Net assets increased to £13.2m (+123pc) and net debt reduced from £19.5m to £15.9m. Chairman Douglas Yates said the company was well placed to take advantage of market consolidation and had the funds ready to grow either organically, through contract wins or via acquisition.

Ticket out now dominates Games Media estate LOW STAKE GAMING Digital gaming supplier Games Media has announced that over 50 per cent of its estate now uses Ticket Out machine technology, replacing traditional coin payout with a printed ticket from the machine which the player redeems for cash at the bar. The Scientific Games Corporation-owned company began deploying Ticket Out technology across its VAWP and SWP machines 12 months ago and during initial trials some venues reported uplifts of up to 35 per cent in machine income.

Bingo on course to be the new TV, claims research ONLINE BINGO A new survey conducted by WhichBingo.co.uk claims that 65pc of online bingo players spend at least 12 hours playing bingo each week or the equivalent of 26 days a year. The figures narrow bingo's gap on television which on average consumes over 17 hours of leisure time per week for adults in Britain. According to the research, bingo has taken over from poker as the UK's most popular gambling activity.

Stormy times for coastal economies RECESSION The vulnerability of coastal resort economies has been put into sharp focus following the publication of a report which showed that four out of the five British towns with the highest number of bankruptcies per head of population were either coastal resorts or former ports. The report, which was conducted by accountants Wilkins Kennedy, cited Hull (51 insolvencies per 10,000 adults), Blackpool (49), Plymouth (46) and Eastbourne (44) as amongst the worst hit locations. The report argues Staycations have not come to the rescue of many of the UK's coastal economies.

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