Playing the reel of fortune

The new generation of gaming machines is breathing

new life into the market

How one operator is putting entertainment at the top of its agenda

London brewer/retailer Fuller's is raising the level of entertainment on offer via two initiatives. The first, codenamed Reels in Motion, looks at the part machines can play.

Fuller's retail marketing manager Elton Mouna explains: "Although the last three quarters have been quite good for us, machine income is gradually getting smaller for AWPs for two reasons. One is that the prize money offered by AWPs can't compete with that offered by fixed-odds betting terminals. Secondly, there is the changing direction of our business with food playing an increasing role, which we don't want to jeopardise; generally, machines and food-led pubs don't mix."

Under the Reels-in-Motion initiative, all of Fuller's managers are working together with machine suppliers to develop a strategy for the future. Mouna comments: "There are some innovations coming that look promising, such as moving from analogue to digital technology. We are also looking at new reporting systems, such as regular electronic updates."

The other initiative being pursued is poker. Fuller's has teamed up with Red Tooth and will be introducing poker at selected outlets. Mouna says: "Our policy on poker is solely about the fun of playing. The prize is the glory of outsmarting fellow customers and people just love it."

Red Tooth director Steve Saul says around 270 pubs across the country have signed up to play and the launch date was last Sunday. For £20 per week, Red Tooth will supply two casino-quality tables, chips and cards together with a DVD explaining how to play Texas Hold 'em poker and promotional material. The company, which also supplies quizzes to around 2,500 pubs, will be running a telephone helpline to answer any questions over the rules of the game.

Initially, customers at a pub will compete among themselves in a league. Saul says there are plans to expand the competition into regional finals every quarter.

Unlike some poker game companies, Saul says Red Tooth has no links with on-line betting companies. "The pub is our client and we are in it to build business in the pub and nowhere else."

Under current legislation, poker can only be played for pleasure not prizes. Even if the Government's proposal to allow a pub to offer a maximum prize of £100 becomes law, Saul thinks more people will continue to play for pleasure. He remarks: "Playing poker in a pub is a social activity that you don't get playing on the internet by yourself."

LATEST WAVE OF AWP TECHNOLOGY BRINGS THEM UP TO DATE

Inspired Gaming Group has introduced The Player - a new generation of AWP that uses the firm's Open Server-Based Gambling (OSBG) technology, which has been used successfully in other gaming sectors such as casinos, bingo halls and betting shops.

OSBG provides the ability to remotely download new games and monitor machine income, plus report play data and faults in real time. Feedback from the gaming terminals will improve the ability to innovate new games and provide a better player experience, says Inspired, which is the parent company of Leisure Link.

The company plans to roll out 25,000 new terminals to pub companies over the next three years and is investing £10m to upgrade its existing broadband infrastructure. Laurel Pub Company is already committed to installing the video AWPs to over 300 of its managed houses.

At present, The Player features four games: poker, roulette, bingo and reel of fortune. More are planned for the future.

Co-chief executive officer of Inspired, Norman Crowley, says: "Incomes in the pub AWP sector have been in decline due to lack of innovation from suppliers, while incomes in other gaming sectors have prospered thanks to the power of OSBG. The fruit machine industry has not introduced any material innovation in the past 20 years. While music has gone from vinyl to CD to mp3, and TV from six channels to hundreds, the humble AWP has remained virtually static and waits in hope that the triennial review of stakes and prizes will solve all its income problems."

Fellow machine manufacturer Gamestec has also introduced a new AWP concept, FiVE Gaming. It was launched last July and the Leeds-based company reports that results are "extremely encouraging so far" and the video-based concept is "attracting a whole league of new players".

FiVE Gaming's current content includes the successful Deal or No Deal and Bullseye games. The company is developing a selection of new games - including Cluedo, Pink Panther, American Poker and Coronation Street - and they will be released within the coming months. All of the games will incorporate the new stake and prize levels. Gamestec remains confident that it is only a matter of time before soft products such as FiVE Gaming form a major feature of the UK pub sector because they allow for more creative game design and player interactivity.

A question of skill

The SWP (skills with prize) market is dominated by Leisure Link's itbox and Gamestec's Gamesnet FiVE concepts. Both use networked systems that can remotely download new games, as well as monitor machine performance.

Gamestec reports that a number of new developments and games will be launched in the coming months. Among these is a new version of Deal or No Deal. Gamestec has high hopes for the new game as the current version has "performed exceptionally well and has continued to sit at the top of the gaming charts since its release last spring".

Another big branded game, which is currently being rolled out across Gamestec sites, is the new FHM quiz game. It is based on the best-selling men's magazine and features a selection of some of the most popular FHM girls. FHM has a readership of over 3.5m and is aimed at 18 to 34-year-olds, which Gamestec says fits perfectly with its core target audience.

Leisure Link's itbox features more than 30 "challenging and exciting" games, competitions and tournaments. Games such as Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, Battleships, and The Crystal Maze are included, as well as big cash-prize tournaments

To keep customers interested, new contents are added to itbox every six weeks.