Inspired Gaming may have cut its ties with the UK pub sector but it is still well and truly focused on its position within the UK leisure industry, as Helen Fletcher found out when she spoke with Adam Hodges, head of UK leisure
Adam Hodges has been involved in the UK leisure industry for 23 years, which includes an 11-year stint at Ladbrokes, then joining Inspired Gaming in 1996 where he remains up until this day. During this time Hodges has seen a number of significant changes occur in both the UK industry and at Inspired Gaming.
For the industry as a whole, and the sports betting sector in particular, the introduction of AWPs into betting shops in 1996 was a huge moment, bringing AWP manufacturers a much-needed new avenue and it also paved the way for the future opportunities you see occurring today such as the presence of Category B2 and B3 machines in betting shops. For Hodges this move also had a positive impact on the betting industry as a whole as it boosted its presence within the gaming industry.
Legislation changes
The other two major changes to have an effect on the UK industry are, without doubt, the introduction of the Gambling Act, which saw the removal of Section 16 and 21 machines, and the smoking ban, which has had negative repercussions on certain parts of the industry, such as the already struggling pub sector.
"Like other sectors of the gaming and amusement industry in the UK, the leisure sector has definitely seen business slow down," said Hodges. "But it has less to do with the smoking ban and more to do with the general economic climate. The smoking ban doesn’t really have as large an effect on sites such as holiday parks, motorway services and bowling alleys as customers have never been allowed to get into the habit of smoking while they play in these types of environments."
There are businesses within the leisure industry such as bowling alleys and airports that have found amusement income difficult, but again not necessarily directly in relation to the smoking ban, but more to do with a drop in footfall.
"People are definitely feeling the pressure and leisure spend is getting less of a priority and is being cut right down," said Hodges. "In bowling the arcade machines are seen as a secondary spend. Airports have also really felt the pressure of a drop in passengers walking through and have had a tough few months recently."
Light at the end of tunnel
However, it is not all doom and gloom, even though some might think this article is painting such a picture; locations such as holiday parks it would seem are one area that is almost recession resistant. "The sector is obviously not recession proof," said Hodges. "But it certainly stands up better than any other sector - probably because people will always find spending money for their holiday.
"We are also finding that more and more motorway services are bringing adult gaming centres into the mix, operating Category B3 machines which are performing exceptionally well."
Hodges also noted that the UK leisure market is following the worldwide trend of an increased popularity of redemption machines. "Players are becoming more driven towards these type of machines," he said. "Probably because the prize options are improving so much."
One type of machine that is losing out, in the popularity stakes with operators, to this increased interest in redemption machines is the video arcade game. According to Hodges this is mainly related to the increased success of the home market coupled with the fact that it is difficult to continue investing in video games as innovation is limited therefore development is in shooting or driving games, which still are the main income generators.
"I don’t think video games will ever disappear though," he said. "They will stay relatively stable within the industry but operators, like ourselves, will buy more of one model rather than smaller numbers of numerous lines as there are less to go at."
Commenting on the company’s withdrawal from the UK pub market and what this now means for the leisure sector and the company’s future, Hodges said: "The move has allowed the company to restructure and focus its efforts and invest in the areas that are currently performing well.
"We will continue to be the leader in the UK leisure industry market covering holiday parks, motorway services, airports and other areas and will continue to grow our business so we continue to grow our share of the market."
