Asia has long been a happy hunting ground for GPI and the company was in at the start of the Macau boom.
"This is a great market for us, not only because we have so many products on site, but also because Asia has been positive in implementing RFID," the company’s Kirsten Clark told InterGaming at G2E Asia. "There are such a lot of large casinos with massive volumes of chips that RFID is completely logical for them."
GPI recently opened an office in Macau, so the company now has support on the ground. It also recently acquired the chip inventory system from IGT and has now developed a new version, 2.0. "The best thing about this new version is that it is open source, which means that it can work with any casino management system. It’s a big step forward in the technology."
She added that the company spends a lot of time talking to operators in the Asian market. "We have developed solid relationships with the key players and we see nothing but good things down the road. We are doing particularly well at the moment in Singapore and Malaysia."
The stand at G2E Asia covered the whole range of RFID products and add-ons. "Because we understand that implementing RFID is costly, we have come up with a variety of components to give the operator maximum choice," said Clark.
A recent development is the company’s portable reader, which is already in the new Galaxy resort in Macau. "This is a good solution when a casino has hundreds of tables." Prominent on the stand was an RFID-enabled, dual-level chip tray.
"What we have tried to do is offer operators a ‘menu’ of RFID products from which they can choose the ones they want," added Clark. "It is all about flexibility and giving the customer more choice." GPI had a much bigger stand than usual at this year’s show, reflecting its importance in the market. "The show has been very busy for us," she said.
Emphasising its focus on security, GPI recently acquired a mould-making company, a move which enables it to produce more intricate moulds. "The more intricate the mould, the more difficult it is for counterfeiters," said Clark.
