Speaking at the World Gaming Executive Summit held earlier in the week, Novomatic CEO Franz Wohlfahrt told attendees that while there has been a potential threat to casinos, he sees "no threat" from online gaming to the European AWP market. An interesting point, especially as the street market seem

Speaking at the World Gaming Executive Summit held earlier in the week, Novomatic CEO Franz Wohlfahrt told attendees that while there has been a potential threat to casinos, he sees “no threat” from online gaming to the European AWP market.

An interesting point, especially as the street market seems to be threatened by everything and anything else these days, whether it’s a smoking ban, legislation, the recession…it has been attacked at all angles and is only just seeing some signs of recovery in some markets.

Spain in particular has suffered at the hands of the recession, the UK continues to see pubs close on a weekly basis and as much as the industry tries, video AWP hasn’t exactly set the market alight! The one area of growth is in Italy, but even there… it is the VLT that is dominating with its high pay outs meaning the AWP could soon slip into non-existance.

Attracting mainly men between the ages of 20 and 30, perhaps online gaming pulls in a different crowd to the humble AWP…providing players with casino style games, sports betting and so on, which is why Wohlfahrt sees no threat.

However it would do the industry no harm to look at bingo as a warning…Countless bingo halls have closed over the past couple of years, partly due to smoking bans but also down to the increase in popularity of online bingo. Marketed at those very women who would turn up week-in, week-out to enjoy a social experience while winning a bit of money, bingo sites have very much taken over as the dominant force, particularly in the UK. Women of all ages can play and chat with others all from the comfort of their own home where they can smoke, drink, eat and play what they like, when they like….perhaps the street market isn’t quite so safe after all.

Any thoughts?

Helen Fletcher