It may still be in its infancy but the 2008 Entertainment Arena Expo, held in Bucharest, Romania, last week, attracted an increased amount of international interest, and has tripled in size, compared to last year's show.
Although lacking in visitors on the first day, business seemed to pick up for many exhibitors on the second day with the show dominated by video slots and roulettes, both automatic and live tables - reflecting the strong presence of these machines within the market.
The Romanian gaming market is still relatively young and 20 years ago there really was little to no gaming presence in the country. The market has really started to develop and attract the attention of international players in the past five years and companies such as Aristocrat, CTC, Kajot, Videobet, Apex Gaming, Nowogames, Synot and MEI to name a few were present at this year’s show.
Webak Austria is one international player that has a substantial amount of experience within the market and was one of the first to enter Romania under the Webak Games brand over 17 years ago.
When asked about the players in Romania, general manager for Webak Games Romania, Iosif Bodosi, told InterGame: "Players’ standards are developing and changing all the time in Romania but it is the simple games that perform well and Ball Scatter has been our most successful game in the market - complicated games do not do so well."
Bodosi went on to say that there are three types of players in Romania: the very rich players who play for amusement, regular players who tend to bet a fixed amount each time and on a regular basis and then players who gamble a lot of money.
There was also a strong presence of domestic manufacturers such as Baum Games, which showcased its Dracula themed slot machine for the first time. Company owner Gabriela Manu (pictured) told InterGame: "We are very happy that this show is happening for a second time and that Romania now has its own show. The market is a very interesting one but the legislation needs to be brought in line with other European Union countries."
Overall the show was well organised and professional, however the lack of visitors was a concern with many putting it down to the wrong time of year within the exhibition calendar, as many gaming companies close down during the summer months and the temperatures are just too hot.
The question then of course would be - when to hold the show with September and October full to brimming point with exhibitions - some suggested that November could be a suitable month, when the weather is cooler and people’s schedules are clearer.
There is no doubt that there is a great amount of interest in Romania at the moment and with this in mind the Entertainment Arena Expo, is definitely worth keeping an eye on.
