The statistics from the German coin machine industry revealing total sales and income from the country’s 242,000 AWP machines are being held back by the trade associations.
Normally, the statistics are announced on the eve of the annual IMA trade show in Düsseldorf on January 14-17. InterGame was informed by the VDAI trade association, which looks after the interests of the machine manufacturers and suppliers, that the statistics would not be released “until later in the year.”
This is seen by some observers as a tactical move, as currently operators are thought to be thriving under the liberal regulations released in 2006 and to which the industry is now completely re-equipped.
The German industry is facing severe political attacks from the 16 semi-autonomous Bundesländer, or states, which have powers over the way in which the country’s 10,000 arcades operate.
For an in-depth analysis of the German AWP market, pick up a copy of our Germany Special Issue that accompanies the January issue of InterGame.
