Machines & Gaming: Inspired appointment

How are your fruit machines performing? The chances are you're not going to know until somebody comes round to collect the cash, and that's the way it's always been for pubs. Machine income is often an important part of the business. But licensees have little or no influence on them beyond switching them on at opening time.

Now, though, they have a man on the other side of the fence, a pubs man whose plan is to make sure publicans and pub operators themselves have a big say in the development of gaming machines.

Paul Marsh took on the new role of director of strategy (pubs and bars) at Inspired Gaming, the industry's leading machine operator, last August, and has since been overseeing a restructure of the company that aims to bring it closer to the needs of the pub sector.

"It's a wonderful job title," he says. "I'm looking to develop a dedicated resource here for pubs, a better focus and a clear strategy. The trade has not had ownership of that square of carpet where the machine goes. I want to get an awareness of machines into the pub."

Marsh began to develop his vision when he was deputy operations director at Wizard Inns earlier this century, where he won the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers' Operations Manager of the Year Award before going on to work for Laurel and, most recently, London Town.

He introduced Inspired's internet-based SWP ITBox into Wizard, and the pubs were used as test sites for the new technology.

"I've a huge interest in machines, especially new developments," he says - and top of his list at the moment is, of course, the long-awaited digital AWP.

Marsh has been driving the roll-out of Inspired's machine, branded The Player, several hundred of which are now in pubs on various estates including Enterprise Inns, Spirit Group, Admiral Taverns, Marston's, JD Wetherspoon and Barracuda.

He's aiming to reach a critical mass at which the potential of digital AWPs becomes clear.

"We've already seen uplifts in take of 10 per cent-plus in some sites and had cashboxes of more than £1,000," he says. "But there are improvements to be made. We've got to get licensees and pub operators to treat these new machines differently.

"They have to trust in the product and they must understand it properly."

So there has been more to the roll-out than simply dropping a machine in the corner of the bar. The pub is first audited and installation agreed with the operator, and then there is a 12-week transition period in which a specially trained Inspired engineer 'babysits' to make sure the machine is performing. There is also training for the licensees.

"It's important to talk to the manager to explain how it works so they can talk to customers about the new machines," says Marsh."Then the next job is to get the best content for that site and make sure that at each pub the machines are performing at their best.

"I have no doubt that digital will change the whole face of the industry, but it's important we get the right machines in the right places. "There's a danger in thinking one glove fits all. It has to be site-specific."

The flexible content of a digital AWP means content can not only be varied from pub to pub but on one site it can change through the week or through the day.

Marsh envisages, for instance, that a machine might have games for the core player between 9pm and 11pm but try to attract casual players with different content during the day. "We can even elongate game speed and give new players more value," he explains.

"It's only when we are able to try something like that that we will see the true performance of these machines."