Connect to dream machines

Ensure a good payout by installing amusement machines that give punters a more interactive experience

Revenue from amusement with prize (AWP) machines, aka fruit machines, has been in decline for a number of years, even before the smoking ban further curtailed takings.

One of the prime reasons for the initial slump was that the jackpot payout of £25 was deemed by many would-be players not to be high enough. Although the jackpot was raised over a year ago to £35, the number of new machines or those converted to the higher payout remains relatively modest.

Plus, AWPs are competing with fixed odds betting terminals found in betting shops, which offer the biggest cash prizes.

In the majority of high streets, it is usually

just a few minutes' stroll from a pub to the

nearest betting shop, further contributing to the declining popularity of AWPs.

Peter Butler, managing director (MD) of machine supplier Claremont Automatics, says: "I think there are a number of reasons why AWPs are performing so direly.

"Generally, the pub trade is on its knees and going through a rough time. The smoking ban has compounded matters and there is tremendous competition from betting shops."

Butler thinks that AWP manufacturers have been slow to move from analogue to digital machines, which provide more entertainment and better video graphics for players.

This was exactly the point made by Norman Crowley, co-chief executive officer of Inspired Gaming Group, when subsidiary company Leisure Link launched its new video machine, the Player, just over a year ago. The Player uses broadband linked to a server.

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 open server-based gambling.

"The fruit-machine industry has not in-

troduced any material innovation in the

past 20 years. While music has gone from

vinyl to CD to mp3, and TV from five channels to hundreds, the humble AWP has remained static and waits in hope that the triennial

review of stakes and prizes will solve all its

income problems."

Fellow manufacturer Gamestec also says that "video gaming is the future for AWPs". Its product, Touch Casino, is branded as "offering AWP players a better playing experience".

In spite of being a vast improvement over analogue AWPs, there appears to be a slow uptake in demand for the new machines, according to Butler. "It is still only early days, but of the 2,000 AWPs we operate, only 15 are digital and we've been stuck on that figure since the middle of last year."

Tips on machine choice

Claremont Automatics managing director Peter Butler gives his top tips for coin-operated machines.

"It's easiest to run a pool table. As long as tables look clean and smart, with cues in good condition and all the balls, you should have no problems attracting customers.

"The next thing to consider is the jukebox. Licensees must move to digital. It's the way forward as the choice of music is enormous - it earns more than a traditional CD machine.

"If you are looking at SWPs, they are going digital, with a wide range of features. Their longevity is pretty good because new games can be downloaded automatically.

"With AWPs, it is a bit more difficult and you do need to look at them all the time to make sure they are earning you money.

"For larger sites, I recommend digital machines with a good-quality cabinet if you can regularly change the games."

Quizzes on a roll

If the future looks gloomy for AWPs, Claremont Automatics MD Peter Butler is enthusiastic about skill with prize (SWP) machines such as quiz machines that play games such as Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? and Trivial Pursuit.

One of the reasons for their success is that manufacturers are regularly tapping into the current trends in TV quiz shows and adapting the format for inclusion in their machines. Another reason is that SWPs are a far more social way for groups of people to interact, which means they tend to play longer, whereas AWPs tend to be used by lone customers.

"There are fairly good SWP products on the market and we get relatively good results from them," says Butler. His firm supplies Games Warehouse's Paragon machines, which contain "a huge number of games, with three or four new games digitally downloaded every year to maintain player interest".

Gamestec's offering is Gamesnet, which is a multi-choice SWP with the latest in touch-screen technology, whereas Leisure Link is promoting the

IT box with 35 different games.