Germany’s Gauselmann Group has underlined its commitment to the UK street market by taking a substantial stake in Sceptre Leisure, one of the largest operators of Category C (AWP) machines in the country.
The combination of the Gauselmann Group, Sceptre and Videobet – a subsidiary of online gaming giant Playtech - have now agreed to combine their technological talents to bring the highest calibre of products to the Category C sector in the UK.
Gauselmann Group – Germany’s biggest manufacturer and operator of machines and a substantial international operator of adult gaming centres – has not revealed the size of its holding in Sceptre, but InterGame understands that Gauselmann is now one of the largest minority shareholders in Sceptre.
The official statement from Gauselmann Group is as follows: “Today the Gauselmann Group announced that it had acquired a number of shares in Sceptre Leisure. A spokesman for the group said that the company was keen to continue its support for the UK independent operating sector and had over the last year engaged with Sceptre, the IOA and other independent operating companies to supply its Genie video product to the industry and had also invested into the reel-based AWP market through its UK subsidiary company Blueprint.
"A spokesman for the Group said that it remained committed to the UK market and had made investments during the last year through both the acquisition of Praesepe and its investment in Blueprint Gaming. The opportunity to acquire a number of shares in Sceptre was seen to be totally in line with its desire to see a strong independent sector in the UK with whom it could engage and continue to strengthen the partnership supply agreements it had already put into place with several companies."
An initial order for Genie video-based multi-game machines has seen the first 600 installations take place in the UK over the past five months.
