The Global Draw was founded in 1997 and was first company to introduce server-based gaming to the British betting shop market.

Today it has more than 15,000 gaming machines installed and operating in the UK and Ireland, mainland Europe, Latin America and emerging gaming markets in south-east Asia.

The company has continued to develop its gaming offer, responding swiftly to changes in legislation and fully utilising the industry experience of its management team to protect its market leading position.

Recognised as the UK’s fastest growing private company in 2003 and 2005, The Global Draw is now using the business model perfected in the UK betting industry to facilitate expansion overseas.

Since 2006 The Global Draw, along with sister company Games Media, has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scientific Games Corporation, the leading supplier of lottery systems and products globally, something that has allowed the company to really drive its international business.

The company is famous for pioneering the introduction of fixed odds betting terminals in the British betting market during the late 1990s. "We have since secured agreements to place gaming machines with some of the biggest names in the market, including William Hill, Gala Coral and the Tote, plus a number of successful independent bookmakers," said Neil Moir, director of international business development.

"These companies now regularly cite machine income as being equal to and sometimes greater than traditional horse race betting."

In 2007, following legislative changes brought about by the new Gaming Act, The Global Draw was the first machines provider to convert its UK betting shop terminals to dual screen, dual purpose units to offer both B2 and B3 content.

This immediately offered customers more choice and has since paved the way for continued growth in the sector. "In 2008 we commenced trials in a number of different international markets," said Moir.

There are a total of 230 employees based in both Vienna, Austria, and London, UK. The key company personnel, apart from Neil Moir are chairman and CEO Steve Frater, managing director Phil Horne, commercial director Jeff Nash and key accounts director Steve Sharp.

The Global Draw produces three gaming terminals, which are all controlled by a central EPOS unit. The Silverball is a single touchscreen terminal first designed for the UK betting shop market and now used internationally. The Nevada is a dual touchscreen terminal, now installed in betting shops and adult gaming centres throughout the UK. The Apex is a dual-screen casino terminal, used internationally.

Global Plus is a central screen game solution showing scheduled content such as bingo, poker and greyhound racing which customers can bet on throughout the day.

"We also develop content for all our products, including games such as the ever popular blackjack and roulette," said Moir. "Partnerships with a number of leading games developers ensure best of breed reel-based slot games such as Crown Gems and Pyramids of Giza are also provided for greater player choice.

"The quality and variety of our game content and the ease with which this can be transferred to machines thanks to our fully integrated and networked operating system is one thing that sets us apart from our competitors.

"Another is the quality of our service and customer relationships, coupled with extensive industry experience and a genuine understanding of all spectrums of the betting and wider gaming market from our management team, plus the quality of our cabinets in terms of design, player attraction and long-term reliability."

The Global Draw has an ongoing programme of game development. Its latest offerings were on show at IGE in London in January and will shortly go on general release. These titles include Reels of Fortune (B2), Sevens and Bells (B3), Multi Bingo and a new Four-Ball Roulette game for UK customers, plus additional reel-based slot games for international customers.

As far as international development is concerned, the current business split is approximately 80 per cent domestic and 20 per cent international. "There is no doubt that growth for us this year will come from expansion into emerging markets overseas," said Moir. "However we are just as committed to gaining new business in the UK betting, adult gaming centre and bingo markets."

Moir is also confident that the company can ride out the current economic downturn. "Like any industry, we are not immune to the challenging economic climate, but nevertheless feel well prepared to cope with it.

"How we design, market and promote our products is becoming increasingly important to maintain long-term interest in gaming. Operators must appeal to a broad spectrum of consumers and deliver a memorable playing experience at all levels.

"Access to capital expenditure could restrict growth in many companies, but fortunately for The Global Draw we have strong support from Scientific Games and a wealth of gaming experience to draw upon."
Looking to the future, Moir naturally wants to see increasing uptake of machine usage. "We know this is possible so long as content remains engaging and innovative with broad player appeal.

"We also see the industry working hard to present a united front in terms of responsible gaming. We must demonstrate to onlookers that we can and will effectively self regulate in addition to supporting the existing regulatory requirements in whichever jurisdiction we operate."

Server-based gaming was pioneered by UK betting shops, which have enjoyed considerable success in recent years as a result. "Other sectors in the UK gaming industry are now also beginning to see the benefits, for example bingo, AGCs, pubs and casinos," said Moir.

"We have recently established a link with Thurston UK to introduce SBG to specially sourced AGC venues over the coming months. This is a significant step forward for the sector that will bring it into line with the technological abilities readily available in betting shops. It greatly increases the choice and playing experience for customers and allows operators access to a new income stream.

"In the UK pub market where SBG is relatively new, our sister company Games Media is leading the market and proving that digital gaming machines are outperforming their analogue counterparts n order to maximise the opportunity of the recently announced stake and prize increase for Category C machines, more and more pubs will surely look to move to an SBG solution."

He concluded: "The future looks very exciting for The Global Draw. We have a strong base to grow from with support from Scientific Games and a plan to expand both inside and outside of the UK. We have recently strengthened our management team and I am confident that The Global Draw will continue to grow under their expert direction."