The Novomatic group is a true gaming giant. From its base in Austria, its reach extends throughout the world, encompassing both equipment production and operations in a diverse range of gaming jurisdictions and sectors. In 1996, Austrian Gaming Industries was established as a subsidiary of Novomatic following the consolidation of the company’s R&D department, production division, international distribution organisations and marketing department. The company quickly established itself as the flagship manufacturing division within the group and has undoubtedly become one of the world leaders in gaming.
The Novomatic group is a true gaming giant. From its base in Austria, its reach extends throughout the world, encompassing both equipment production and operations in a diverse range of gaming jurisdictions and sectors. In 1996, Austrian Gaming Industries was established as a subsidiary of Novomatic following the consolidation of the company’s R&D department, production division, international distribution organisations and marketing department. The company quickly established itself as the flagship manufacturing division within the group and has undoubtedly become one of the world leaders in gaming.
Heading up AGI is Jens Halle, who, having joined the gaming industry in 1988 with German games producer TH Bergmann before serving as European managing director at Bally Technologies, made the “biggest and best” step of his career by accepting an invitation to join Novomatic in 1999.
“It was obvious that the world of gaming was changing and it was made very clear to me by Novomatic’s president, Johann Graf, that his company would be at the forefront of leading that change,” he tells InterGaming. “In fact, it was one of those discussions that brought about our company slogan: ‘Novomatic leads, others follow’.”
Under Halle’s leadership, AGI has become one of the biggest players in the international gaming market, with a presence in countless regulated jurisdictions around the world. With a myriad of subsidiary companies dotted across the globe, pulling all this together under the Novomatic banner is no mean feat. So what are the challenges of operating on such a large scale?
This interview can be read in full in the February 2012 issue of InterGaming magazine.
