It is clear that the state revenues from gambling will only increase…
Exclusive interview for Casino Life & Business Magazine with Marius Stoi, General Director of DGL PRO.
How do you assess the new regulations in gambling from the fiscal point of view?
As we are already used to, taxes cannot decrease. At the same time, a new taxed activity appeared, the online gambling. Also, the companies producing or trading games or supply services in the field of gambling will pay a license fee in order to be able to perform such activities. It is clear that the state revenues from gambling will only increase.
What influence does all this have on the logistics?
From my point of view, the most affected zone on the logistic side is the slot machines area. There are two regulations we have to meet. One is dividing the slot machines in two categories, the limited risk ones and the unlimited risk ones. If the limited risk ones are practically the slots which have been and are still functioning, the unlimited risk ones must have software modifications done. Another important regulation is the implementation of monitoring systems for all slot machines, systems which can be accessed by the ONJN. This is a complicated operation from the logistics point of view, which must be implemented within a very tight deadline, by the end of 2015.
How do you think the market will be affected by the new gambling law?
Meeting the new regulations will mean a quite big financial and logistic effort. Some companies will probably associate in order to be able to face the new regulations, so the total number of companies will most likely decrease. I think that in the slot machines area as well their number will decrease in the first stage.
How will the new legislative frame influence the activity of the company you run?
Basically, any legislative change involving technical aspects is beneficial to us because it gives us something to work on, if I can say so. So, we will have work to do.
What stage are you in with the implementation of the new software requirements of the law on gaming machines?
I can say we are in a very advanced stage. We are actually waiting for the application norms to be able to make the finishing touches.
What investments do these changes involve?
I can say that in the last couple of years all the company resources were directed strictly to research and development. We wanted to create a development platform which we could use for at least five years from now on and on which we could make the modifications quickly and quite easily.
What other changes are you going to make to observe the provisions of the new law?
The company will maintain the direction it had so far, research, development, production and, furthermore, we want to support the operators, giving them the possibility to rent the equipment. We know that all legal changes mean rather high financial efforts, and by this we want to help them overcome them more easily.
What do you think will be the effects of the changes concerning the online gambling on the dedicated market?
I don’t think there will any additional effects. The online activities existed so far as well, just that they weren’t taxed.
Do you intend to expand your business in this field as well?
Not on the operating side, because we are not operators. On the development side, for online games platform, yes, if the opportunity arises, we won’t miss it.
How did your company’s activity evolve last year? What was your turnover in 2014, as compared to 2013?
The company’s evolution was weaker than last year, or the year before that. Due to the fact that everybody was expecting the legal changes, the operators’ investments in equipment were stopped as well. Considering the fact that we do not make consumer goods, but niche equipment, the company’s turnover decreased by half in 2014 as compared to 2013.
What are your estimates for this year, concerning the company’s financial results?
Considering the fact that we will have the norms for implementing the law by the end on July the latest, gambling operators will have to invest in the second half of the year in order to align to the new regulations by the end of the year. So, we have high hopes.
What products have you released lately and what are your plans in this direction?
As I said above, we rely on the new platform CLUB MASTER. This is a dual screen platform on which we developed new games mixes as well, besides the classic ones. The platform can be used both for the limited winning games as well as for the unlimited winning ones. It has SAS protocol, ID003, CCTalk.
Another direction we focused on is the games monitoring system. We are in advanced talks with GTECH, IGT, as it renamed itself, one of the biggest companies groups in the field of gambling. This group has an over 20 years’ experience in creating monitoring, jackpot, player tracking, bonus, TITO systems. Its systems are installed in over 400 casinos in 50 countries. Their new system version 5.0 SYSTEM2go could be a solution for the Romanian market and I would like to give a little more details on that matter.
SYSTEM2go is a solution for the non-system markets, the price sensitive markets, as well as for the non-SAS EGMs arcade markets.
It is especially dedicated to casino groups, who are looking for a networked system ensuring operations control and bringing every day the operations results to the head office, in a standardized form immediately useable for group reporting.
SYSTEM2go is packaged into 4 editions to adapt to different market demands.
– The AWP edition brings ticketing cashless features to the non-SAS EGMs market. This is achieved thanks to the capability to use the peripherals connections (coin acceptor, hopper, bill validator) of those EGMs that don’t support any host protocol. At the heart of this connectivity is the PHUB device, which has been designed especially for AWPs.
The ADVANTAGE and GOLD editions are based on our proven floor network platform, which brings rich networked features to the EGM floors:
– The ADVANTAGE edition provides real-time Accounting and a full range of Jackpot features (progressives and mysteries).
– The GOLD edition adds Ticketing on top of ADVANTAGE
Last but not least, the PLATINUM VIEW edition is based on our new state-of-the-art CRYSTAL.lite floor network platform, bringing a 4.3” bright color touch screen Player Display at the EGM.
– The PLATINUM edition adds Player Loyalty features on top and offers two variants for cashless: either ticketing as in the GOLD edition or card cashless.
– The Player Display makes those features extremely easy to use for the player, and also allows multimedia display possibilities at the EGM.
General benefits
Native multi-site solution
– No need for further consolidation, group data is available at the fingertips
Group management access to the central system with an internet browser
– Configure each site’s floor, as well as managed meters and transactions
– Site and group detailed control and reporting
Executive group activity report available on smartphones
– Get your group revenues in the morning even before coming to the office!
All GTECH Gaming Systems’ business expertise in Slot Accounting
– A solution focusing on the essentials
State of the art technology
– Microsoft .Net, SQL Server
MS Office compatible
– Exports to Excel
System as a Service – Central System hosted in GTECH premises
– Running on redundant mirrored Web servers
– Database backup on tapes, with best practice process
Security of the system and the information
– Fully controlled and very restricted user access rights on each site
Product and IT support available by email through the application
Casino Online Floor Network benefits
Meter readings performed by the online platform
– No more need to read the meters and enter them manually in the system
– No more risk of human error on the meter values
Hand payments events captured
– All the data is already captured. The user just needs to validate them.
– Security and reliability of slots hand pays and refills confirmed by the EGM.
EGM alarms captured
– The whole history of alarms and events is kept
– Stop investigating issues in blind mode – See what actually happens
“bullet proof” online platform
– Compatible with all most used EGM protocols
– High reliability
AWPs Online Floor Network benefits
The PHUB, a connectivity solution dedicated to AWP machines
– Compatible with most of the AWP brands and models
– Handles ticket printer and ticket scanner instead of the EGM
Cage and Tables Inventories benefits
Ability to enter both Cage and tables inventories
– Secure inventory entering
– Flexible configuration of inventory content
– Simple and standardized Cage and Tables activity reporting
Jackpots benefits
Ability to operate local system progressive jackpot
– No need for third party hardware jackpot controller
– Offer attractive jackpot wins to the players
Ability to operate local mystery jackpot
– Create excitement with mystery jackpots
Jackpot payments events captured
– The jackpot amount is automatically available to the user for validation.
A proven Jackpots solution
– SYSTEM2go Jackpots solution uses the proven GALAXIS core Jackpot Engine.
Promote the jackpots on the floor
– SYSTEM2go Jackpots edition includes a multimedia display solution to advertize the jackpots values on wide screens including specific hit animations to create excitement on your floor
Ticketing benefits
Ability to operate a cashless site
– Tickets are a very convenient cashless solution, for all players
Flexibility for the players
– Ability to redeem the tickets immediately or later (up to several days later)
Speeds up game play
– Ability to use a ticket on any EGM, no matter the denomination
Cost saving
– Saves operational costs eliminating coins.
Secured operation
– The Ticketing system controls all tickets issuance and redemption. It ensures each ticket’s unicity.
Card Cashless benefits
Green Cashless solution
– No additional cashless media. Just uses the Player loyalty cards for player’s identification.
Reduce hardware investment
– Save cost of ticket printers!
Secured cashless
– Players money is securely stored in players accounts. No expiration.
– Even when a card is lost, the cashless account is still there
Simple game play
– Ability to cashout instantaneously when leaving the EGM
– Automatically downloading credits when arriving at another EGM.
Maximize slot machines availability
– No machine locked because of missing paper in the printer
Operational costs saving
– Saves operational costs eliminating coins.
– No additional physical counting such as tickets.
Secured operations
– all account transactions at the EGMs and at the workstations are securely encrypted
– Usage of Player PIN code for critical transactions
Player Tracking benefits
Barred players management
– Ability to manage both government and operator barred players
Complete Player information management
– Storage of all player details, including the Player picture and the ID document with an image of it
Player Activity Tracking
– Player sessions at the EGMs are automatically recorded
Full Player Tracking
– Ability to record all Player’s activity, even at the tables and at the bar.
– Players visits are also tracked at the Reception, for further analysis
Loyalty Points
– Points are automatically awarded for all Player activity at the EGM and any other recorded expense
Automated Comps
– Ability to issue Vouchers and Tombola tickets at the reception with configurable criteria
A choice of points redemption methods
– Points redemption is possible in multiple ways, such as Points to Credits, Gifts and Manual redemption
PLATINUM View Player Display benefits
Key Player features directly at the EGM on the floor
– Information on Loyalty account and Cashless account at the EGM
– Conversion of points into credits at the EGM, not going to the cash desk
Promotions displayed to the player while at the EGM
– Multimedia animations possible for marketing promotions and more
– Different animations to anonymous players and identified ones
– Current Jackpot values display
Customizable layout
State of the art components
– Powerful small size embedded computer
– Robust and compact form
– Bright 4.3’’ color touch screen
– Multi-track magnetic card reader with colorful frame light
– High speed floor connection
– Player Display seamless integration into each gaming machine
