Running games rooms in North America is suffering badly from the economic downturn.
Talking to one US-based operator recently, InterGame found that he was only maintaining his income levels at 2007 levels by maximising the benefits of a debit card loyalty programme.
Jeff Apfel at Pizza Putt, the largest games room in Vermont, based at South Burlington, with 110 mixed redemption and video games, said that his Sacoa Playcard system was something he ‘could not afford to be without.’
He added: “We are probably flat in our games revenue this year compared with last year (2008 compared with 2007). We have many friends in the industry who are down over 30 per cent - most of them are using tokens. Some operators using machines on coin-op are down almost 50 per cent from what we hear.”
