The big German amusement and gaming trade show, IMA, has been called off.
The show was due to be held in Düsseldorf, January 15-18, 2013, but the show owners, the manufacturers’ trade association VDAI, took the decision last Thursday to skip a year in view of the current political situation in Germany. No official statement has been made as we published this update today, but a press release is expected within the next few days. However, senior figures within the German industry confirmed to InterGame today that the show is cancelled for 2013.
The political reasons behind the decision, apparently, are down to two vital areas.
The German federal law on gaming machines, which dictates the stakes and prizes and many other aspects of the industry, including how many machines will be permitted per arcade licence, will be updated this year. This is known as the Spielverordnung or ‘game ordinance’. It also covers machines in pubs and bars. The German Ministry of Trade and Commerce is known to be planning changes for the existing ordinance which will be released in a few months’ time.
Meanwhile, the German gaming machine industry has had a long battle with the 16 German Bundesländer or states, the provinces which have their own interpretations on other aspects of machine gaming, such as the regulations which apply to the 6,000 arcades in Germany. Many of them are multi-licences, with more than one arcade in each building as by law each arcade may only house 12 gaming machines.
Some of the Länder have already instituted their own regulations cutting out the multi-licences and imposing tough opening and closing times on the arcade industry. These regulations are due to come into effect in 2016 onwards, depending on when the regulation was passed by each Länder, giving a five-year deadline for the changes. The 16 Länder have banded together to issue a Glücksspielstaatsvertrag or interstate treaty, which will be signed on July 1, this year, which will give an overview but details will still be subject to the whims of individual states.
It is because of this air of uncertainty that the VDAI has decided to call off the show for 2013 to give the industry time to evaluate the changes as they come in. It is fully intended to run an IMA show in 2014.
