The Australian industry now needs to repair its public image - that was the consensus of opinion in the aisles of the Australasian Gaming Expo as it opened its doors to the industry in Sydney on Tuesday.
It was generally accepted that the proposed introduction of a mandatory pre-commitment (MPC) by players to curb their spending on machines was a ‘dead duck’. That was brought about by the technological impracticality of the proposed trials in the Australian Capital Territory around Canberra.
Before that can be organised, there would be a general election and, barring another hung Parliament with the anti-gaming minorities holding unwarranted power, the issue would become voluntary instead of mandatory.
“In the past couple of years we have had no fewer than 35 front pages of bad publicity on this issue,” noted Nigel Turner, head of marketing at IGT Australia. “We now need to address that situation and work to build a better image for the industry.”
It was a view shared by many in the hall as the three-day show opened at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour. The show held about 180 exhibitors, which organiser Ross Ferrar, CEO of the Gaming Technologies Association, said was actually better than last year. “The show is about the same size, but last year we had a few gaps on the floor; this year there’s none.”
All of the big names in gaming in Australia and New Zealand were represented with major stands, including Ainsworth Game Technology, Aristocrat, Aruze, Bally, IGT, Shuffle Master, Konami and Ebet/WMS.
They were serving a market with comparatively few casinos, just 13 in Australia itself and six in New Zealand. But there was representation from across Oceania, with casinos represented from Singapore and New Caledonia, among other locations.
The principal market is the members’ clubs, which number around 2,000 in Australia, and half of the country’s 200,000 slots are concentrated in those locations, where the profits are all ploughed back into the club and into the provision of facilities for its members.
Josh Landis, manager, policy and government at Clubs Australia, confirmed the levels of luxury which some clubs are able to provide for members. “I recently looked at one which has a swimming pool, a gym, the southern hemisphere’s largest single-floor bowling centre with 34 lanes and is about to open a dance studio. And that is mostly financed by 400 slots.”
He said that if there had been one positive outcome of the political focus on the gaming machine industry in Australia in recent times, it was that the clubs industry had got its act together in terms of public relations. “The industry is now much more proficient at portraying its many positive aspects and is now working with government departments on many community-related issues, including the crux of the recent gaming machine proposals – the perception of problem gambling.”
The third sector of the market in Australia is the pubs or hotels, where about half of the country’s slots are housed. This is generally regarded as the secondary market, although it enjoys strong revenues. Up to 30 machines per location may be permitted.
