coinslot 2410 digital

Price: £2.50

March 6 – March 12, 2015 • No. 2410 • www.coinslot.co.uk

AMUSEMENTS

8

Industry news 4Seaside amusements 10Irish Gaming Show 13B2B Listings 17Latest machine charts 18Classified ads and opps 20Comment & Analysis 22Newsweek 24

COINSLOT

“If the half term is any-thing to go by then Ibelieve summer will bequite a boost. It’s longoverdue - in previousyears we have had thefootfall but not thespend per head.”

The majority of Cashino cus-tomers visit at least once perweek, prefer simple Bar X styleproducts over branded games,are unlikely to play slot machinesonline, spend at least one hour onsite per visit and have a pro-nounced willingness to recom-mend the brand to friends, familyor work colleagues.

The findings are part of anextensive face-to-face marketresearch survey conductedamongst 433 respondents at 30Cashino venues spread through-out the country. The independ-ent research was undertaken byStorecheckers, who boast Timp-sons, Pets at Home, Madame Tus-sauds and Manchester Unitedamongst their client base.

Following a similar exerciseconducted 12 months previously,the Storechecker research find-ings enable the company to plotchanges in the responses and toidentify trends in the way indi-viduals perceive their customerjourney. The Net Promoter Score(NPS), a universally adopted cus-tomer service metric used byflagship organisations includingAmazon, Apple, eBay and Lego,measures the willingness ofrespondents to recommend thebrand based on the experienceof their last visit. The findingsshow that Cashino’s NPS jumped10 percent year-on-year reaching32 percent. According to theresearch Cashino’s NPS scorecompares favourably with anumber of flagship businessesthat have many years’ experienceof this metric.

The importance of customerservice in high street gaming hasbeen put into sharp relief, withthe top three words used byrespondents to describe theirvenue coming in as Friendly (16percent of respondents), Fun (8percent) and Clean (4 percent).Significantly, Gambling was onlyreferred to by 1 percent of thesample. Cashino staff secured a

Cashino achievepositive Net ProAGC

Independent marketresearch has revealedthat Cashino customersare keen to spread theword about their positiveexperiences.

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INDUSTRY

Killer Queen: guaranteedto blow your mind?

ESSENTIAL GUIDE

Budget: Industry thinkingoutside of the box

March 6 - March 12, 2015 • No. 2410 • www.coinslot.co.uk8

4

he Gala Coral Group hasunveiled its financialresults for Q1 2015 and the

numbers make positive readingfor the casino and bingo operator,marking double digit gains on lastyear’s figures.

Overall EBITDA was up by 11 per-cent to £6.8m, with the online armof Gala Coral’s business making anotable contribution. Gross profitrose by 5 percent to £267.4m, withonly the British and Italian sports bet-ting divisions failing to make gains.

Gala’s retail bingo operationsformed a notable part of the com-pany’s success, with sites benefit-ing from increasingspend-per-head as well as a cut inbingo duty. Profits at these sitesamount to an EBIDTA total of£4.8m and a gross profit of£63.7m. This was an increase inEBIDTA of 66 percent over firstquarter 2014, which the companyattributes to an increase in cus-tomer experience investment andthe continuation of its ‘everydaylow pricing’ policy.

Individual customers have beenspending more, as a rise in spend-per-head at retail bingo operationsby 13 percent clearly indicates. Thiswas thanks, in part, to strongmachine performance, whereincome underwent a 9 percentuptick. Gala Coral credit this largelyto an increase in the quality of con-tent on B3 machines.

These sites did, however, see adrop in low value paper players,implying that the company is more

commonly relying on regular cus-tomers who not only play bingo, butalso reliably make use of gamingmachines and other facilities.

Gala Coral has continued a muchpublicised sale of the real estate heldby its Propco subsidiary and theadjustment of payable rents, pre-venting its previously prohibitiveexpense from halting the com-pany’s 11 percent gain.

“The Group has continued toleverage the investments it hasmade in its key drivers of growth:online, multichannel and Italy,” saidCarl Leaver, Gala Coral Group CEO.“This was despite some very poorfootball margins in both the UK and

Italy. We continued to see verystrong growth in our online division,with actives 49 percent ahead inCoral.co.uk and 39 percent ahead inEurobet.it, driven by successful mar-keting campaigns.

“Coral Connect continues todrive sign-ups to Coral.co.uk in ourshops. Connect customers arecheaper to acquire and significantlymore valuable than single-channelcustomers, demonstrating thevalue of our multichannel platform.On the regulatory front we havecontinued to work constructivelywith government and the regulator.However, the forthcoming electionbrings a degree of uncertainty.”

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Double digit growthcements Gala Coral statusBINGO

Gala Bingo owner, GalaCoral, has announcedstrong Q1 results, withretail bingo joining thecompany’s onlinebusiness in driving an 11percent increase. It maybe a healthy rise in themarketplace, but whattests will the newgovernment bring on theregulatory front?

95 percent satisfaction rating fortheir friendliness, helpfulnessand efficiency with the quality ofthe overall customer service, hit-ting a highly respectable 94 per-cent.

Cashino also comparedfavourably against other gamingvenues. Segmenting the sampleinto those stating that theyplayed at other gaming establish-ments (45 percent of the overallsample) 74 percent said that theirCashino experience comparedwell or very well, a figure whichis 4 percent up on last year’sresearch.

Nick Harding, CEO of parentcompany Praesepe, said: “It’simportant to measure how weare performing in the eyes of ourcustomers, particularly when wehave an estate which stretchesthe length and the breadth of thecountry. I’m particularly pleasedat our Net Promoter Score, which

has improved year-on-year andwhich now stands at a positive 32percent. I’m told that one highlyrecognisable consumer brand onthe high street registered a minus9 percent NPS when they beganthis process. There are a lot of pos-itives that we can take out of thisresearch, but our approach is notto dwell on these but instead toconcentrate on those areas andon the venues where the per-formance is not as strong as Iwould like to see. We haveaddressed many of the site spe-cific issues and have been sharingthe feedback on machine per-formance and features with ourcolleagues in the manufacturingsector. I want everyone con-nected with Cashino to use theresearch to keep us on our toes aswe pursue our ultimate goal ofdelivering the best possible jour-ney for our customers through-out the Cashino estate.”

ieves increase inPromoter Score

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4 Coinslot March 6 - March 12, 2015

Industry TO COMMENT ON ANY ARTICLE

Email: [email protected]

In his 2014 Budget, theChancellor of the

Exchequer announced theintroduction of a new rateof Machine Games Duty(MGD). From 1 March2015 there will be threeMGD rates: the lower rateof 5 per cent; the standardrate of 20 per cent; and thenew higher rate of 25 per-cent.

This new higher ratewill only apply tomachines where it cancost more than £5 to play agame. In practical termsthis means that the 25 percent rate will only apply toCategory B2 gamingmachines that are typicallyfound in betting shops andcasinos.

The MGD online returnservice and the MGD 6(paper return) is beingchanged to allow cus-tomers to account for thehigher rate of duty. In thenext few weeks HMRC willpublish more advice aboutthe changes on its website.

MachineGamesDuty:introductionof a newhigher rate

TAXATION

Ahead of theincoming alteration toMGD, HMRC hasissued a statementconfirming thechanges which cameinto effect at thebeginning of March.

Amusements trade bodyBALPPA has released the pre-

liminary results from a new surveycarried out by its family entertain-ment centre subgroup. Responseswere collected towards the end of2014, in the hopes of gatheringsome hard data that would teaseout the major trends of the year.

The headline figure is a positiveone - of the FECs surveyed, 65 per-cent reported an increase inturnover during the year, whencompared with 2013. An encour-

aging 55 percent also said thatyear-on-year income had alsobeen up during 2013 itself, adding

extra weight to a continued uptick.Looking at the deeper factors

behind this financial surge,BALPPA’s inquiries discoveredthat 44 percent of respondentshad seen a revenue increase fromadmissions, 56 percent from foodand beverage sales, while 50 per-cent reported that income fromparties had risen.

The statistics were announcedby Janice Dunphy (pictured), chairof BALPPA’s FEC subgroup. “Whatwe are seeing is people are invest-

ing more in their food and bever-age and offering better quality andthat is paying off,” she said.

Location appeared to play amajor factor in determining anFEC’s success during 2014, withthose venues location in towncentres and farms seeing anincrease in turnover, while those inleisure parks reported flat figures.The real stars of the year wereFECs based in industrial units,where 71 percent of operators sawan increase in annual turnover.

Turnover sources for FEC sector, reveals 2014 surveyFEC

hat could be themost politicallycharged budget in

recent memory is fastapproaching, with Chancel-lor George Osborne due tounveil his claret briefcase on18 March, less than twomonths before the generalelection. For the coin-opindustry and many overlap-ping sectors there are vitallyimportant issues that keyplayers claim must featurefront and centre in the gov-ernment’s plans.

“As a manufacturing com-pany, we would hope to seea budget which doesn’tstifle, in any way, the fragilesigns of an upturn for theoverall economy,” explainedReflex Gaming’s QuentinStott, “so corporation taxrates, income tax rates andnational insurance contribu-tions should be loweredwhere possible.”

But it’s not just on thefiscal side where Stott seeschange as necessary; he hasalso called for the mountingbureaucracy required tooperate a successful com-pany to be curtailed. “Thehuge amount of red tape

required to run a businessshould also be looked to bereduced,” he said. “For exam-ple, the proposal of holidayrates to include standardovertime rates and theimpending pension contri-butions changes are all anextra burden for businesses.”

These savings at the man-ufacturing end of the indus-try may well be passed on tothe high street operator, butfor many AGC owners, thereal hope is that businessrates will come in for somemuch needed attention. AlexRead of Portman AssetFinance tackled this pointhead on. “The high street hasjust been decimated andadult gaming centre opera-tors in the city centre arepaying these extortionaterates to the local council,which is making it very hardfor them to be viable.” Hisviews are echoed by Stottwho has suggested that “areduction in business ratesfor the high street - some-thing the whole retail sectoris calling for - would be agreat help.”

At the operational end ofthe equation, Reflex are also

hoping to see MGD loweredand some statement on thestatus of a new review ofstakes and prizes. Talkingironically in the week whenMGD saw a rise in the upperrate bracket, Stott thinks thegovernment needs to thinkclever when it comes to thetaxation strategy. “We needthe government to recog-nise that a triennial review isof utmost important to thesofter end of the gamblingspectrum,” said Stott, “andthere should be no delaysfrom policy makers as we’veseen in recent times.”

“For our wider industrysector, MGD should also bereduced,” he added.“Machine Gaming Duty is at20 percent of machineincome, compared with 15percent betting duty and 10percent bingo duty. AGCsare most similar to bingohalls and tax should also be10 percent.”

Stepping into the leisurearena, the pub industry alsoprovides a vital stream of rev-enue for many coin-op busi-nesses, none more so thatjukebox music providersSoundnet. “We are support-

ing the pub industry in theircall for a third cut in beerduty in the Budget this year,”explained Toby Hoyt. “Boththe BBPA and CAMRA arecampaigning for this, andprevious cuts have saved atleast 1,047 pubs from clos-ing down in the last twoyears. There are nearly900,000 jobs supported byUK pubs and over 40 percent of those working in thepub industry are under 25year of age. Many people gettheir first work experiencein pubs.”

For a business whosestock in trade is music,there’s also a spiritual side tosafeguarding the future ofBritish pubs. “With reportsof up to 29 pubs a week stillclosing in the UK, this is aserious issue for our indus-try as well as for the countryand our culture as a whole,”argued Hoyte. “As thenumber one provider ofmusic to the UK’s pub juke-boxes, Soundnet supportspubs not only as an impor-tant market, but also as aplace of inspiration and aspace to perform, for manymusic artists.”

Budget 2015:More taxincentives, lessred tape topsindustry wish list BUDGET 2015

Leading figures fromcoin-op and financereveal their hopes forthe upcomingbudget, as thegovernment preparesto outline its finalfiscal forecast justweeks before thegeneral election.

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INDUSTRY AMUSEMENTS LEISURE B2B COMMENT NEWSWEEK

TECHNOLOGY Killer Queen istaking video gaming to a new level inthe States. What could it offer theUK? 14

laynation hasagreed a deal withthe UK’s third

largest bingo provider,Majestic Bingo, to providemachines to 100 percent ofits sites across the UK. Thisdeal continues the stridesmade by Playnation inrecent months to grow itsserver-based gaming busi-ness alongside the com-pany’s core familyentertainment centres.

Under the terms of theagreement, Playnation willsupply server-based gamesto the entire Majestic Estate

for a four year period. Thisis first time Playnation hasentered the bingo sectorand marks the continuedgrowth of internet-connectmachines in this area, fol-lowing a similar deal inkedrecently between Meccaand SG Gaming.

“We’re thrilled to beworking with MajesticBingo,” said Playnation’sdirector of nationalaccounts, Stuart Green (pic-tured, left), “along withadding further to the suc-cess and growth of ourserver-based games offering.The new partnership meanswe can continue to developand enhance our, and Majes-tic Bingo’s, customer offer-ing, providing the bestexperience possible.”

The machines will alsobe TiTo compatible, keep-ing Majestic on the cuttingedge of gaming products inthe UK marketplace. “We’redelighted to have Playna-tion as our partner as welaunch our first server-

based games TiTo product,a key part of our on-goingstrategy and driver withinour business,” confirmedMark Jepp (picture, right),managing director ofMajestic Bingo. “We’re look-ing forward to workingtogether as we expand ourbusiness, not just in SBG butwith further products andinitiatives going forward.”

The deal will add signifi-cantly to Playnation’s cur-rent B3 portfolio as theysupply Majestic’s fifteenbingo halls. The company,which formed in 2013, cur-rently oversees machines inover 1,500 locations, includ-ing holiday parks, bowlingalleys, airports, pubs andmotorway services stations.Its clients include Butlins,Haven, Pardon and Wel-come Break. While that mixis heavily biased towardsFEC products, Playnationand is expected to have over1000 server-based productsactive by the end of the firstquarter 2015.

Majestic and Playnationseal server-based contractB3

Majestic Bingohalls are to be fullystocked with server-based B3 productsfor the next fouryears, following a tie-up with majoroperator Playnation.

P

MANUFACTURING

British manufacturing isgoing from strength to

strength: so suggests arecent survey conductedby the EEF.

The research, con-ducted by the manufactur-ing trade-body inconjunction with interna-tional law firm DLA Pipe,collated feedback from 400businesses. The resultantfindings suggest that theUK’s manufacturing outputwill grow by 1.7 percent thisyear, with a sector GDPforecast of 2.8 per cent.

Significantly, the surveyalso indicated a sizeableincrease in export orders,particularly from Europeancustomers.

“Any concerns thatmanufacturing activitymight wobble at the startof 2015 have beenquashed with our latestsurvey showing that themain output, orders,employment and invest-ment indicators allremained above theirlong-term average overthe past three months,”stated the EEF’s chiefeconomist Lee Hopley.

“Particularly promisingare signs of a return togrowth in new exportorders, vital for balancedgrowth in the UK.”

The EEF attributesfalling oil-prices as havingcontributed to the creationof clement business condi-tions for British manufac-turers. But Matthew Deithof Harry Levy Amusementstells a slightly differentstory. “From our perspec-tive, it’s been the transportcompanies themselves

who’ve reaped the mostrewards of transit costs,”said the commercial direc-tor. Deith intends toexpand Harry Levy’sexport activity extensivelyover the next 18 months.

“The pound’s expensiveat the moment, whichmight dampen interna-tional sales for other manu-facturers,” he continued.“We’re fortunate in that wehave a niche product, sowe’re optimistic regardinggrowth in that area.”

UKmanufacturerssee exportupturn

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The latest performancefigures released by

Project confirm consis-tently high levels of playappeal across all eightgames in the company’ssuccessful B3 com-pendium, Fortune Hunter500. Analysis of the datashows that the top fourgames, half of the com-pendium offering, accountfor 63% of play with the dif-ferential between gamenumber 1 and number 8game in the compendiumrepresenting a multiple of3.75, a figure which ismuch lower than the over-whelming majority of com-pendium offerings.

Explaining the signifi-cance of the figures, Proj-ect managing directorTony Boulton said: “A lot ofcompendiums on the

market offer one leadproduct and an assort-ment of what I woulddescribe as ‘vanillagames’, which serve nocommercial purpose andsimply make up the num-bers. Our strategy hasbeen to avoid thisapproach and provideplayers with a real varietyof games, all of which haveappeal. Whilst there isalways going to be aleague table of popularity,a strong compendiumshould deliver across theoffering. The fact that thetop half of the FortuneHunter 500 compendiumrepresents 63% of playand the low multiplebetween top and 8th, con-firms this stand out featureand I believe, explains thesuccess of the product.”

Fortune Hunter 500 is

also garnering appeal on anumber of other fronts,with operators attractedby the inclusion of theindustry standard TiTo pro-tocol as well as Project’sMi Games Online initiative,which provides access to a

further six new gamesevery 12 months for acharge of £35/week. Oper-ators with existing CasinoKings also receive a freeFortune Hunter 500upgrade when they com-plete a Mi Games contract.

he smoking ban isoften heralded asthe death knell for

traditional pubs, in additionto providing a major imped-iment to the gamingmachines they traditionallyhosted. Delivering a ray ofhope is recently releasedresearch, which hasrevealed that the majorityof the general public wouldsupport the introduction ofdedicated smoking roomsinto pubs.

Gamestec commercialdirector, Peter Daviesbelieves it could make a tan-gible difference. “It’s a factof life that the smoking banhit pubs, arcades and bingohalls very hard when it wasfirst introduced which hadan inevitable impact oncoin-op,” he said. “It’s taken

some considerable time forthe sector to show any realsigns of recovery from thatposition. If smoking were tobe re-introduced to pubs, ina controlled way with spe-cific smoking rooms, itstands to reason that wecould see more our lapsedcustomers returning to playour games.”

These new internalsmoking rooms might wellprovide ideal spots forgames to be sited. In theory,smoking rooms would beconsidered as idealmachine positions,” saidDavies, “but there is a bal-ance to be struck. Not allmachine players are smok-ers and vice versa. Muchdepends on the overallambience of a location andits clientele.”

With smoking gone andthe traditional image of apub retreating, manyvenues have shiftedtowards providing food anda more family-orientedatmosphere. Some haveargued that if smoking wereto make a return, it wouldredress the imbalance inmarketplace, but Davies isnot so convinced. “This isreally a question for the pub

retailers to answer, but thereality of the situation is thatthe move towards food-ledpubs was underway longbefore the introduction ofthe smoking ban in publicplaces. It’s hard to conceive,therefore, that a shift in atti-tudes towards controlledsmoking areas in pubswould alter that.”

Gamestec are progress-ing along different lines and

are experiencing some suc-cess in adapting to the newparadigm. “More positivelythere is less perceived hos-tility towards machineswhere food-led pubs areconcerned,” said Davies.“Retailers clearly under-stand and welcome the con-tribution that innovativecoin-op products can maketo the overall offer of alltheir locations.”

“It stands to reason”that a smoking returnis good for coin-op

The theoretical returnof smoking to pubshas got tongueswagging about theprospects of a newgaming machineresurgence.Gamestec’s PeterDavies offers a noteof cautious optimism.

PUBS

Fortune Hunter figuresconfirm strength in depthCATEGORY B3 Last week saw Dundee’s

bingo-players scoop over£200,000 in National BingoGame Association (NBGA)prize money - making it theUK’s luckiest bingo city.

The association’s figuresshowed the Scottish cityenjoyed 21 ‘house’ wins,amounting to a total net prizesum of £205,833, with onelucky winner banking£25,000 alone.

“We are delighted toannounce this year’s luckytown results, which show-case where £13,264,412 inprize money has been won inthe last 12 months,” statedNGBA chief executive MilesBaron. “There are some realsurprises with last year’s win-ners moving up and downthe rankings.”

2013 saw Blackpool topthe annual chart, but the sea-side resort finds itself in fifthplace in the latest figures.

Instead, Stockton-on-Tees wasshown to be the 2014 Englishfront-runner, achievingsecond place in the UK rank-ings overall, with £173,306 intotal prize-winnings. Fleshingout the rest of the top ten wasBolton, Oldbury, Leicester,Manchester, Glasgow, Birm-ingham and Stirling.

Baron was keen to high-light some of the benefitswhich accompanied anNBGA prize win.

“For many winners, theirprizes have been life chang-ing,” he claimed. “Stories fromour winners have rangedfrom buying houses andgoing on their first family hol-iday, to starting a new careerand retiring.”

Dundee hailed as UK’sluckiest bingo town

BINGO

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RESEARCH

Business analystsResearch and Markets

has announced the releaseof its first UK Betting &Gaming Market Report,focusing largely on thetrends observed during2014 in betting shops andbingo halls.

The report takes in theleading trends and issuesover the past five years andpurports to offer an accu-rate prediction of themarket place up to 2018.“While various trends areimpacting these differentsectors, overall householdexpenditure on betting andgaming witnessed stronggrowth of 8.3% in 2013alone,” notes the report.

Bingo also comes under

close individual scrutiny,with the report arguingthat, “bingo halls have beenfaced with falling visitornumbers owing to particu-larly hot summers encour-aging visitors to engage inoutdoor leisure activitiesinstead.” The group’s find-ings also predict that theindustry will continue toface legislative threats, butdoes note that gamingmachines are becomingincreasingly innovative.

Research firm releasein-depth gaming report

FEC

An arcade made famousby the BBC comedy

series Gavin and Staceyhas announced that itswell-worn electronic bingogame, which featuredprominently in the show, isto be replaced. The opera-tor of Island Arcade, onWales’ Barry Island, hastold the local press thatthe ageing machine simplyisn’t generating the profitit once did.

Co-owner AndrewPhillips and his partnerHarry Phillips had previ-ously operated bingoacross seven differentvenues, with the famousIsland Arcade version thelast to be shuttered. “Weare taking it out becauseit’s no longer popular,”explained Andrew Philips.“It used to be a 40 playergame and it used to get

full, but it’s had a declinein the last four to fiveyears. A lot of people usedto save up their points.The most popular was theGeorge Foreman grill at3,850 points and TVs.”

The electronic machinereplaced an earlier bottletop bingo that stood in thesame location, with fourgenerations of the familyhaving called numbers onthe site down the years.

The prizes that madethe game so popular,however, are not on the

way out. Phillips willreplace the bingo withmodern redemptionmachines. “It is sad, butwe have got to move withthe times,” he explained.“People want to win tick-ets and we are a familyentertainment centre. Weare going to look towardsthe family more and thefamily want redemptionmachines. It was olderpeople and predominantlywomen who played bingo.Even the regulars stoppedcoming.”

Famous bingo game submitsto redemption march

Members of the IrishAmusement Trades

Association (IATA) gatheredlast week for their annualgeneral meeting in Dublinjust a week ahead of the IrishGaming Show.

Those in attendance atthe meeting heard presidentJim Rickard express his dis-appointment at the appar-ent delay in the long awaitedGambling Control Bill.

The forthcoming bill,which is set to replace cur-rent gaming legislationdating back to the 1950s, hasbeen a mainstay of IATA’scampaigning work over thepast decade. Members hopeit will overturn Ireland’s rep-

utation as a legal grey zoneand pave the way for largerinternational companies toenter the Irish market.

Rickard stated that the billhad been due for publicationin 2015 but appears to havebeen long fingered again. Heemphasised that both he andhis fellow officers weredoing all they could to per-suade the government tospeed up the process anddeliver the new legislationbefore the end of this Dail,which will be over by April2016 at the latest.

John Roche, general secre-tary of the association, joinedwith the president in express-ing his dismay that since the

middle of last year the pro-posed legislation had hit aroadblock in the Departmentof Justice. However, he said,IATA would continue its cam-paign in the hope of somepositive political develop-ments in the near future.

Roche also gave a fullreport on the year’s activities,highlighting the involvementof the Association with theGambling Care Foundationwhich he sees as an essentialservice to protect those whohave a tendency to overgam-ble in arcades and othergaming establishments.

The meeting wasreported to be well attended,and members present com-plimented the officers of theassociation on their workover the past twelve months.Each of the officers, includ-ing president and long-stand-ing IATA campaigner JimRickard, were voted back intooffice for a successive year.

IATA bemoan GamblingBill delays at AGM TRADE ASSOCIATION

Jim Rickard, IATA president, spoke out atthe association’s AGM about hisdisappointment in governmental ‘longfingering’ of new gaming legislation.

2410-p06-07-indstury_Coinslot NEW 03/03/2015 16:02 Page 2


Amusements TO COMMENT ON ANY ARTICLE


Pier sections to reopen

East Lindsey Dis-trict Councillorshave delayed adecision onwhether to allow anew development including a Pre-mier Inn hotel on land next to Skeg-ness Pier. An extraordinary meetingon the site’s future will now be heldon March 9.

Pier Field decisiondelayed

A report by Lloyds Bank has listedClacton and Margate amongst thetop 10 new property hotspots in theUK. House sales in Margate were up

46 per centlast year,while Clactonsaw a rise of44 per cent.

Resorts amongstproperty hotspots

The cam-paign to re-storeSaltdeanLido has been granted £4.7m bythe Heritage Lottery Fund. Themoney will help reopen the historicGrade II-listed building, which is cur-rently on English Heritage’s At RiskRegister, and regenerate the resort.

Saltdean Lido cashgranted Parts of Portsmouth’s

South Parade Piercould soon reopenaccording toowner TommyWare. The mainfaçade and awningwalkway in front of thepier’s amusement arcade couldreopen in a fortnight, once workto make the structure safe iscompleted.

AMUSEMENT PARK

The owner of a popularamusements centre in

Clacton has revealed heis exploring a number ofways to enhance theattraction, one of whichcould be a new waterpark.

William Peak, owner ofClacton Pavilion, whichalready features anamusement arcade,rides, ten pin bowling anda restaurant, wants Ten-dring District Council togrant an exclusivityclause on land it ownsaround the seafront.

If approved, it wouldprevent any future tenantsfrom using it for a waterpark for five years.

Peak said he could notprovide any further detailsof his plans for the attrac-tion while council talksand the planning processwas ongoing.

He told the East AnglianDaily Times: “We are fur-ther developing the Clac-

ton Pavilion site, and forcertain attractions that willbe going on we will needthe commercial comfort toknow that we can makethe investment withoutduplication of some ofthose we are putting in.

“We have got variousideas, but we are not pinpointing any particularone.

“All coastal towns arelooking for new things,and if they want people toinvest you need the com-fort to do so financiallyand a period of time thatyou can have a chance toinvest and know for somany years you are notgoing to get the samething happening 100 yardsdown the road.”

Council officers haverecommended cabinetmembers back the exclu-sivity clause to help pro-mote sustainableeconomic growth in Clac-ton, particularly along theresort’s seafront, and helpencourage tourism.

easide amusementsoperators haveexpressed cautious

optimism after experienc-ing encouraging businessresults over the Februaryhalf-term holiday.

Footfall around the coastwas either on par or up onlast year, but more impor-tantly, spend per head hascontinued its slight climbupwards.

In Southend, GrahamRawlinson, the owner ofFantasia Leisure, said theweek had been upbeat, withcustomers appearing a lothappier than before.

He commented:“Whether that was down tothe good whether orbecause they had a bit moremoney in their pocketsgiven factors like the fall inpetrol prices, it’s hard to say.”

Alan Frost, Fantasia’smanager, reported that notonly had the arcade’s clien-tele been spending, but theyhad been happy to spend aswell, and said this couldhave been due to changesthat had been made to itsequipment offering.

He explained: “We havegone a little bit retro andbrought some refurbishedolder pieces in, like shovers,pushers and 2p gamesrather than more expensivegames.

“It appears to haveworked. It has created amore family-oriented envi-ronment, where people feelable to leave their kids withsome money and know theywon’t be back in a matter ofminutes asking for more.

“If the half term is any-thing to go by then I believesummer will be quite aboost. It’s long overdue - inprevious years we have hadthe footfall but not thespend per head.”

Even though MichaelCole didn’t have his Joylandamusement park open, dueto being in the middle of itsmaintenance programme,he was still encouragedwith the performance ofthe site’s American diner-style restaurant.

He commented: “Althoughthe weather wasn’t as goodas the same period last year,we were fractionally up.

“In terms of the restau-rant, we’ve had a lot morecompetition open up in thetown - a Frankie & Bennie’sand a couple of BrewersFayre restaurants - so we aremore than happy that westill more than held our ownwith last year’s turnover.

Cole said that last year he

saw customers start to opentheir wallets a little bit wider,and that compared to five orsix years ago, spend perhead at Joyland had proba-bly gone up by around six orseven per cent.

He continued: “We havenoticed that more so in therestaurant over the lastthree or four years. Whetherthis is because we are get-ting a different type of cus-tomer coming to Yarmouth,or whether the customersthat come here have gotmore money now, is difficultto know.”

Paul Cook, senior man-ager of Enterprise Amuse-ments, which operates fourarcades in Paignton, said thehalf-term week had been onpar with expectations

“Our expectations aren’toverly high - we just like tosee some upward move-ment in footfall come theseperiods. We are glad to seethat numbers do increasecome half-term holidays - ifthey didn’t we would beworried.”

Although he didn’t see asolid rise in spend per headon 2014, Cook has noticedincrease in the number ofpeople playing redemptionmachines.

“That has been a trendover the last 12-18 months,so we have positioned our-selves to cater for thisdemand by increasing thenumber of redemptionmachines,” he added

“We are only just gettingthe results from machinetake over half-term, but Iexpect to see the upturn infootfall reflected in them,especially for the newredemption pieces we havebrought in this year.”

Clacton Pavilionowner exploringfurther diversification

Operatorsquietlyoptimisticafter positivehalf-term

FEC

With the February half-term showingsigns that customer confidence is slowlyreturning, amusements operators arecautiously confident of a good seasonahead.

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ub landlords are rais-ing their glasses thisweek as the govern-

ment shelves plans to intro-duce locally-set licensingfees. The proposed schemewould have seen the devo-lution of charges levied bylocal authorities. Fees thatare primarily collected torecoup costs incurredthrough administering thelicensing system.

In advance of makingalterations to the LicensingAct 2003, the governmentset out to contact bothcouncils and publicans. Thefeedback received revealedthat a majority of pub land-lords opposed the changes,with fee-payers of all stripesstrongly against the con-

cept of locally-set fees.The licensing authori-

ties themselves were saidto be “more content withthe proposals” and largelyagreed with the govern-ment that the NationalNon-Domestic Rating Mul-tiplier should be aban-doned and replaced with asystem that revolvesaround a pub’s closing time- dubbed the ‘late terminalhour’ mechanism.

The decision to haltthese plans has beenwarmly welcome by theBBPA. “This is great news -in not moving ahead withlocally set fees, the govern-ment deserves our thanksfor listening to our con-cerns,” said its chief execu-

tive, Brigid Simmonds.“Such a change would havedamaged small communitypubs, which the govern-ment is rightly keen to sup-port. Pubs do not enjoy anysubsidy; they pay hugelyinto the public coffersthrough the taxationsystem, through beer andother alcohol duties, busi-ness rates, and a host ofother taxes, which is whywe are campaigning formore business ratesreforms for pubs and a thirdbeer duty freeze in theMarch Budget.”

Although the govern-ment has made no formaldeclaration of its intent,there are hints within itsconsultation report that the

issue could be reopened infuture. The Coalition’s deci-sion to halt its plans appearsto have rested primarily onthe lack of data provided bylicensing authorities, ratherthan the largely negativesurvey response fromlicence holders. Only 20 of250 licensing authoritieswere able to complete asurvey of their costs foreach fee-paying process, alow number which was mir-rored in an earlier requestfor information duringwhich only 17 authoritiesresponded.

Without concrete dataon exactly how much thelicensing process is cost-ing local government, West-minster is unable to make

an informed decision onthe status of licensing fees.“Additionally,” notes thereport, “the limitedresponse from local gov-ernment implies that notall licensing authoritieshave the necessary capac-ity to estimate their costs,which is a pre-requisite forsetting fees.”

It also notes, however,that Westminster is, “nowinviting local govern-ment…to provide repre-sentative and up-to-dateevidence of licensingauthorities’ costs in deliver-ing licensing functions, andtheir capacity to measurethem.” Indicating that thewar against locally set feesmay be far from complete.

Pubs toaststall in locallicensingplanLEGISLATION

As the government backs down on its threatto introduce locally administrated licensingfees, the fine print of its consultationindicates that this yet may be one battle in along war.

Private leisure centreto be demolished

Punch Taverns has appointedDuncan Garrood as its next chiefexecutive. Garrood boasts prior

experience as presi-dent of food atfranchise operatorMH Alshaya, andas commercial di-rector of UK airport

operator BAA plc.

Punch Tavernsannounce new CEO

Development plans areunderway to build a newleisure park in Scun-thorpe. Restaurant ty-coon Raja Adil has

snapped up a 2.5 acre swathe of va-cant land near the town’s Glanford Parkstadium, and has promised “a high levelof investment” and “plenty of jobs”.Construction work is expected to com-mence in the coming months.

Scunthorpe Leisurepark in the offing

Dumfries and Gal-loway Council havesaid the structural de-fects of Dumfries’ DG One leisurecentre “beggar belief”. Opened in2008 as south-west Scotland’s pre-mier leisure complex, and closed inOctober 2014, after persistent prob-lems regarding its structural integrity.The concil’s Alex Haswell claimedthe estimated cost of requisite re-pairs could climb to £10m.

Closed and costly

Forest of Dean council have or-dered that a millionaire accoun-tant’s private leisure complex -which he had constructed in hisgarden - should be demol-ished, citing planning re-strictions. Boasting abowling alley, cinemaroom and casino, Gra-ham Wildin built the centrefor his five grand-children.

P

There’s a war brewing onthe Brighton coast, as

two soaring tourist attrac-tions, the temporaryBrighton Wheel and the yetto be completed i360 tower,begin a slanging match overwhether the ferris wheel willbe permitted to remain onthe seafront.

Chiefs from the i360 campargue that during negotia-tions, the council hadassured them that the Wheelwould make way for the£35m viewing platform. Nowthe Wheel’s owners areclaiming that they have noobligation to depart beforethe i360 opens later this year.They suggest that the highflyers could co-exist, withenough tourists visitingBrighton and Hove to accom-modate both attractions.

The issue may be moot,as the Wheel’s continuedexistence depends on therenewal of a lease during2015, with a councilspokesman telling theBrighton Argus that,“everyone understood atthe time the wheel’s pres-ence to be temporary.”

A battle forBrighton’s skies

TOURISM

2410-p10-Leisure_Coinslot NEW 03/03/2015 14:35 Page 1

Business11Coinslot March 6 - March 12, 2015

TO COMMENT ON ANY ARTICLE


alarius has been in acelebratory mood oflate, thanks to half

year financials whichrevealed robust growth. Theupward trending figureshave been particularlypleasing for the company’smanagement, coming asthey do in the wake of a pro-gram of venue upgrades andmachine investment.Although the strengtheningeconomy can take some ofthe credit, it seems clear thatthese high level projectshave been paying dividends.

“We have invested signifi-cantly in our machine estateover the last twenty fourmonths, and are currentlyexperiencing success withinvestment in machines thatare generally doing wellacross the country, similar toother operators,” said PeterHarvey, chief operating offi-cer. “This includes robustsales growth in our CategoryC £100 jackpots and com-munity games, as well as ournew B3 machines - bothstand-alone and serverbased.”

This program of invest-ment extends not just tonew purchases, but alsoensures that Talarius’s exist-ing stock is well maintained.“As exciting as it is to intro-duce new machines to ourvenues, it is also importantto keep the rest of our estatefunctioning properly,” con-firmed Harvey. “Last year werolled out a new electronicservice system to all of ourvenues to reduce machinedowntime and increase theoperational efficiency of thebusiness. Through a livedatabase which acts as a cen-tral hub for all engineers andvenue managers, the systemprovides real time updatesas engineers are immedi-ately informed of anymachine faults logged byvenue managers. Thisenables our team of high cal-ibre engineers to managetheir time more effectivelyand service the needs of thecompany in a far more effi-cient manner than was pre-viously possible.”

This also hints at the com-pany’s investment in people,which it believes is one ofthe key factors in its recentsuccess. The program hasbegun at venue managerlevel, with the help of a triedand trusted provider. “In thelast year, we have been tri-alling and implementing‘Management 1st’, a man-agement training pro-gramme produced byPeople 1st, the charityorganisation set up to driveperformance throughpeople across the retail,leisure and hospitality sec-tors,” explained Harvey.

In addition to growingthe ability of his employees,Harvey believes that the

sheer surprise at learning awhole new set of skills hasbeen beneficial to the Talar-ius workforce. “Learning isnot and should not berestricted to the young,” heargues. “Everyone can andshould always be learningsomething new. Life moveson and customer expecta-

tions certainly never sit still,and this is why continuedinvestment in staff trainingand development is criticalfor our colleagues across thebusiness.”

The effects of undergoingthe course have been tangi-ble. “This training has moti-vated and empowered our

managers,” said Harvey,“many of whom have beenworking in our venues formore than 25 years and maypreviously have felt thatthere was nothing more tolearn. It has enhanced theway our venues are run andthe experiences had by ourcustomers, and following

Investmentsold and newAGC

On the back of an encouraging set of halfyearly accounts, Talarius COO PeterHarvey talks to Coinslot about the keyinitiatives which have helped to boost thecompany’s profits in recent months. In thefirst of a two part interview, he turns hisfocus on two key drivers: machineinvestment and staff training.

British MME’s go toe-to-toe with Germany

The profit of the UK’slargest betting shop oper-ator fell by more than£3m in 2014, despite anincrease in machine-game revenue.William Hill, which operates 2,362retail outlets nationwide, made£196.3m last year, down from the2013 result of £196.3m. The con-traction was ascribed to an increasein cost of sales as well as a lowerrate of over-the-counter wagering.

Profit falls at William Hill

The chief executive of Merlin En-tertainments has been critical ofwhat he views as recent “anti-busi-ness rhetoric” from political quarters.Nick Varney attributed these senti-

ments to “a lack of un-derstanding across allthe parties and a lifeas career politicians.”

Varney of ‘anti-business’ rhetoric

Senior businessmanurges UK to remain in EU

The UK’s medium-sizedmanufacturing andservices companies aremore than holding theirown against their Germanequivalents - according to an HSBCstudy. The research found that in2014 the British MME sector grewto constitute 17.2 per cent of all do-mestic economic activity, comparedto 16.3 per cent in Germany.

T

The European president of car man-ufacturer Ford has claimed that it is‘critical’ for the UK to remain a partof the EU. Jim Farley told the BBCthat the company “re-ally hopes” that werea referendum to takeplace, the Britishpeople would vote infavour of retaining itsEU member status.

2410-p11-Business_Coinslot NEW 03/03/2015 17:03 Page 1


Politics TO COMMENT ON ANY ARTICLE


St David’s Day packagefails to impress

New economic planoutlined by Scottishgovernment

Member of Parliamentfor Torbay AdrianSanders has joined thecall for a cut in UKtourism VAT from 20 to 5 percent. “A reduction of VAT on traveland tourism would make a huge dif-ference to Torbay, resulting in anextra 336 jobs and an additional£10.6m to the local economy,” heremarked.

Sanders backsVAT slash

A survey of over 500 pollsters, aca-demics and political journalists hasforecast that the Conservative andLabour parties will level-peg in theupcoming coming general elec-tion. The research suggests the To-ries will take the largest share of thevote (32.6 per cent),but will win 278seats, compared toLabour’s 282.

PSA poll predictspolitical deadlock

David Cameron and Nick Cleggunveiled the coalition govern-ment’s latest proposals on Welshdevolution. Amongst the ‘StDavid’s Day command-paper’measures were policies grantingWales greater control of its energypolicy, but Welsh nationalist partyPlaid Cymru dis-missed the docu-ment as “third-rate”.

Amusements operatorscould be forced to

absorb costly new guestprotection measures, if reg-ulations being prepared bythe European Union comesinto effect. The sector wouldbe affected by alterations tothe Package Travel Direc-tive, legislation that man-dates companies offeringpackage holiday trips to pro-vide, among other require-ments, financial protectionand repatriation provisions.

The key issue for theamusements sector iswhether or not holiday andtheme parks will be con-sidered to offer packagedeals if they sell accom-modation or other prod-ucts to customers who arealready on site.

If the changes that havebeen proposed by Brusselscome into effect, theresponsibility for regulatingtravel firms will also movefrom the country of sale tothat in which the company

is headquartered. The EU’sCompetitiveness Council isto begin a second readingin February.

Elsewhere in Europe, agathering of high leveltourism legislators tookplace in Strasbourg in anattempt to define an actionplan for EU tourism regula-tion during 2015. The meet-ing, which took place at theend of January at the Euro-pean Parliament, wasorganised by the TourismTaskforce (TTF), whichforms part of the commit-tee on Transport andTourism (TRAN).

Although the TFF has notreleased a specific plan ofattack for the future of Euro-pean tourism regulation, it isunderstood that the focus ofits gathering was to simplifythe regulatory framework,encourage tourism digitali-sation and improve work-ers’ skills. The group alsoagreed to meet on a monthlybasis to foster discussionsof tourism issues outsidethe official TRAN agenda.

Uncertainty over EUamusements regulationsREGULATION

he south westernseaside sector mayshortly find itself

with a more weighty voiceon the political stage, ascounty councils fromacross Devon and Somersetconsider uniting to form acombined authority. Thesetwo local authorities havewritten to the Departmentfor the Communities andLocal Government toexpress a desire to unify,with chiefs looking toacquire “more credence inLondon” for issues thataffect towns such as Ply-mouth, Torquay, Mineheadand Weston-Super-Mare.

Both councils form partof the South West LocalEnterprise Partnership(LEP), which also includesunitary authorities, Ply-mouth City Council and

Torbay Council. While plansfor the combined authoritycurrently only include thetwo county councils, repre-sentatives are on record asstating that they hope tocombine all bodies coveredby the LEP into one consoli-dated force. Devon’sCounty Councillor JohnHart was quoted by theLocal Government Chroni-cle as stating that he antici-pated that a meetingbetween the four groupswould take place in the nearfuture. In particular, the twocounty councils haveexpressed a desire to wieldgreater control over skillsand jobs in the region.

Trading within one of theaffected unitary authorities,one operator privately dis-closed his support for aprospective merging of

local governing bodies.“Smaller unitary councilstend to lack the financialclout of larger bodies andstruggle to survive on theirown.” he explained. “Any-thing that sees a rectifica-tion of that has my backing.”

That said, the same oper-ator was sceptical of anytangible business benefit,were the proposed mergersto go ahead.

“I’d be hesitant to claimthat the issues facing ouroperation are down tosouth-western regionalspecifics,” he continued.“The decline in the Britishseaside sector is a nationalissue and that’s our greatestday-to-day challenge. Callme a cynic, but I don’t placemuch faith in local govern-ment turning that aroundanytime soon.”

South Westseasidecouncils to unify

COUNCILS

Unification betweenSomerset andDevon countycouncils may wellbe on the cards, withgreater regional cloutin Westminster thedesired goal. But, asone operator in theregion asks, can itbring tangiblebusiness benefits?

T

Scotland’s first ministerNicola Sturgeon hasspoken of a renewedfocus upon productivity, amidst theunveiling of the Scottish govern-ment’s latest economic strategy.“The gap with the rest of the UK hasreduced significantly, but we are stillsome 13% below Sweden and 20%below Germany,” she stated.

2410-p12-Politics_Coinslot NEW 03/03/2015 15:03 Page 1

Coinslot MARCH 6 - MARCH 12, 2015

14

B2B

Essential Guide to...

quiet revolution has been takingplace within video-gaming. A steadymarch of franchised titles produced

by megalith studios are increasingly losingmarket-share to small, ‘indie’ developers,who prize game-design and depth of playover visuals and budget.

And how about this for a concept: anindie arcade title.

Enter Killer Queen: a ten-player retrostrategy title from New York City game-designers Josh DeBonis and Nik Mikros.Garnering praise and recommendationfrom none other than the New York Times,Killer Queen takes pride of place in arcadesacross the country, as well as in the officesof a number of leading tech companies.

“We originally debuted Killer Queen asa field-game - with people running around -in London,” explains DeBonis. “That was themoment when we both realised there wassomething really special about this game:and that we should carry it forward as avideo game venture together.”

Between both designers, there wasnever a definitive moment to design a titlespecifically for the arcade market.

“NYU’s Game Centre commissioned usto make a cabinet, but initially we’d nevereven imagined Killer Queen would even

be a video-game, let alone an arcade game,”DeBonis continues. “The whole thing justhappened organically, one step at a time.”

Killer Queen’s gameplay centres aroundtwo teams of five flying insects, who wageeconomic and military war against theother. Each team plays on their own cabi-net, with one player in each squad takingthe role of the queen. The others inter-changeably assume worker or soldier rolesas the flow of the game dictates.

DeBonis claims that in shaping the cabi-net, a physicalisation of the game’smechanics began to emerge.

“We wanted to have ten players playingreliably on one machine - that’s an experi-ence you can’t get with a console,” he tellsus. “Also - we wanted control over howpeople were positioned and standing witheach other: we wanted the teams to betogether and the queen as the leader in thecentre of them.”

Whilst the game’s dual-cabinet design isgreedy in terms of space, choice of place-ment allows operators to further tailor thefeel of the game. Back-to-back creates ahead-on, confrontational experience,whilst adjacency is a little more friendly.

In terms of artwork - the graphics areretro: fans of 1982’s Joust (from whichKiller Queen draws inspiration) couldeasily draw visual parallels. But it’s in therichness and replay value of the gameplayitself that really marks Killer Queen outfrom the crowd, and to which DeBonisattributes gathering sales momentum.

“Killer Queen does take longer tolearn than most arcade games - buttoday’s players are pretty sophisticatedin terms of game literacy,” he remarks. “Ithink they’re after something with a littlebit more depth.”

Queen of the arcade?

Operators areconstantly on thelook-out for aproduct with thatspecial appeal: apublic offering unlikeanything attainableat home. In creatingKiller Queen, twoNew Yorkers (quiteby accident) maywell have come upwith the arcade’snext secret weapon.

Irish Gaming Show2015 ReportNext Week

MARCH 6 - MARCH 12, 2015

16B2B Listings

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19Classified

sales,businessopps and

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24Diary

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VIDEO ARCADE

... today’splayers are

prettysophisticatedin terms of

gameliteracy. I thinkthey’re aftersomethingwith a little bit moredepth...

“

Arcade Innovations

A

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CS: What kind of markets do youforesee Killer Queen proving

popular in? JD: We’re doing very well in the usualarcade and bar/cade markets - I thinkplayers are looking for somethingdifferent, and Killer Queen offers that.The game also seems really popular withkids: I’ve heard parents commenting howgreat it is that their children aresocialising over it. Video-games are oftenfrowned upon as being this solitaryexperience, but in demonstrations toyounger audiences feedback we often getis how great it is that kids are bonding,teaching each other how to play andstrategising. Finally, half of our cabinetsare actually in tech companies. Thatseems to be a really strong market for us -and it’s something I never would’veanticipated. These places have the spacefor it firstly - it’s a big game, so that’s arequisite. They have the budget for it, butit’s also a great team-building tool.

CS: Do you plan to release the game onconsole or on other online channels? JD: We’re constantly asked this. I’m notsaying that’s totally out of question, butit’s kind of missing the point - as thegame’s about trying to bring peopletogether. I think some of the bestmoments I’ve had is going to an arcade,Killer Queen being there, and people

saying “these guys are my friends, I metthem here at this arcade, playing thisgame.” That’s the best - I couldn’t behappier than seeing that kind of stuff.

CS: How viable do you believe KillerQueen to be as a mass-market arcadeproduct? JD: In terms of manufacturing anddistribution - we’ve come a long wayfrom just Nik and I stumbling through!We have a manufacturer based inWisconsin, and we make cabinets as wetake in orders. In terms of commercialappeal: if you look at the current crosssection of most video-arcade machines:they tend to be racers and shootersoffering unique hardware you can’t get athome, be it a big light gun, a bike, thatkind of thing. With Killer Queen, whilst itdoesn’t offer that specialist hardware, youcan’t get ten people playing the samevideo game in your home. What marksarcade titles out from other video-gamesis that they’re titles that can only beplayed in a particular physical space.

CS: When can we expect Killer Queenon European shores? JD: We really want to make aninternational move. We’re small andslow-moving, and if we find the rightdistributor - we’ll definitely make ithappen.

Josh DeBonis: thegame’s about trying tobring people together

US games designer Josh DeBonnis talks exclusively to Coinslotabout gameplay innovation and transcending the transatlantic.

PERSPECTIVE

2410-p14-15-Essential_Coinslot NEW 03/03/2015 13:14 Page 2

16

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With an innovative designblending redemption, videoand table-gaming elements,Harpoon Lagoon from SegaAmusements has playerscatch fish rendered on its 47inch LCD screen in return forticket currency. Sega toutHarpoon Lagoon, manufac-tured by ICE, as the perfectcentrepiece to any amuse-ment arcade.

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AWPLATEST MACHINESREADY TO ROLLOUT

Some of the most anticipated new coin-op machines are expected to hit the

pub sector in the near future, thanks inpart to operator AMS, which has takendelivery of a range of new machines itexpects to site in the coming weeks. TheBlackbeard’s Bounty AWP from 24/7 andthe new Deal orNo Deal VIP fromBell-FruitGames. Bothmachines havereceived fullretailer approvalsand are expectedto continue thesuccess enjoyedin recent times by both manufac-turers.

REFURBISHEDMACHINE VARIETY ISTHE AZTEC SECRET

Aztec CoinEquipment

has announcedthat it currentlyholds hundreds ofrefurbished ex-stock, withmachines to coverevery arcade andamusement even-tuality. Their stockincludes plenty ofgaming machines,but also a numberof products thatprove popular across the board. Theseinclude the Icon 2 jukeboxes from NSMand a limited edition Hobbit pinball table,based on the successful franchise ofmotion pictures. Aztec’s range of fruit

machines includes some of the most pop-ular titles from the last few years, includingReflex Gaming’s Alice in Wonderland.

CATEGORY B3IRISH LUCK NEVERWARES THIN

Blueprint Gaming’s theLuck O’ the Irish contin-

ues to be one the com-pany’s greatestsuccesses, attracting play-ers like few other games. Itis available in its originalincarnation, in a dedicatedreel-based cabinet andalso in digital format. TheB3 digital compendium,King of Slots, features anumber of titles, includingLuck O’ the Irish, which cannow be seen in high definition detail on thenew 1080p Aurora cabinet.

REDEMPTIONLUCKY DELIVERY FORRLMS

RLMS Sales are currently taking ordersfor the latest redemption title from

Empire Games. The new Lucky Laddersmachine is based on the classic Adders &Ladders concept and uses a boardgame-style setup to keep playersengaged. The machine pays out an oper-ator adjustable 500/800 tickets and sitsinside the WOW cabinet, which takesadvantage of Pluto 6 technology.

Novomatic group member Empire Games isnow taking orders on Odd Bods, a new 10pper-play redemption machine with operator se-lectable ticket output. In Odd Bods, playersspin the body-part reels to create a matchingfigure. The game is available in red, white andblue cabinetsalong withseasonaldecals.

Odd ones out

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AMUSEMENTSTHE WISDOM OF THESILVER SCREEN

Fans of Tom Hanks will remember fondlythe mechanical fortune teller from the

film Big, which transforms a young boyinto a grown man who keeps his youthfulmind. Operators looking to add a touch ofmovie magic to their venues can now pur-chase their very own edition of The GreatZoltar.

The machines are available on a sales,share or rental basis from HaremLeisure, which has the exclusive rights tothe machines in the UK.

TABLE FOOTBALLSAM NETS A WINNER

Table football tables from the classic tothe outlandish are on offer courtesy of

SAM Leisure. Combinations from solidwooden cabinets to shiny metal playersform part of a varied range designed tocapture visitors’ attention across a range

of venues.SAM is also well known for its air

hockey tables, including the Yukon Flametables which are designed to surviveharsh outdoor conditions.

JUKEBOXSHOPPERS TAKE AJUKEBOX BREAK

Sound Leisure recently wowed thecrowds at Frenchgate Shopping

Centre with a combination of new tech-nology and old design, as one of its clas-sic jukeboxes tookup residence in theshopping outlet.Positioned next toa popular videogames retailer, themachine attractedcrowds of visitorswho were able toseek out whattrack was numberone in the charts inthe week theywere born.

BINGOINNOVATIVE ANDECONOMICAL

Wexel’s PlusTab product takes advan-tage of the company’s powerful BLIS

system, and provides a wide range of thelatest bingo and slots content in tabletform. With a 10 inch touch screen,custom adverts andlogo engraving,PlusTab provides theperfect answer toAGC and bingoproviders seeking agaming solution freefrom the demands forpower and floor-space.

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CATEGORYD (10p/£5 Max.)

CATEGORYB4 (£2/£4000 Max)

AGCsThis LastWeek Week Name / Manufacturer

1 1 Fortune Hunter Project2 2 Triple 8 Barcrest3 3 Wish Upon a Slot Blueprint4 4 Magic Lotto Ultra Novomatics5 5 Slotto 500 Astra6 6 King of Slots Blueprint7 7 Mega Bars Big Hit Project8 8 Triple 7 Barcrest9 9 Rainbow Riches Community Cash Barcrest10 10 Lady Luck Reflex

Based on data supplied by a representative number of UK sitesSupplied by RLMS Sales

Members clubsThis LastWeek Week Name / Manufacturer

1 1 Hot Shots Reflex2 2 Fiddle a Fortune Reflex3 3 DOND Box 23 BFG4 4 Street Casino 2015 Storm5 5 Jackpot 100 Barcrest

Based on data from representative sites. Supplied by sector professional

FEC - familyThis LastWeek Week Name / Manufacturer

1 - House Of Fortune (3 Player) Astra2 1 Bullion Bars (3 Player) Astra3 3 Party Games (4 Player) Astra4 - DOND Plasma (3 Player) Bellfruit5 5 Adders And Ladders (4 Player) Vivid6 6 Rainbow Riches (3 Player) Empire7 7 Goldrush Stampede (4 Player) Barcrest8 8 Party Time Arena (4 Player) Astra9 9 Party Time (3 Player) Astra10 - Bullion Bars Astra

Based on data from four sites Amusement Equipment Co Ltd

FEC - adultThis LastWeek Week Name / Manufacturer

1 1 Magic Games U/R Novomatic2 2 Pure Gold Astra3 3 Free Play 70 Project4 4 Rainbow Riches Party Barcrest5 5 Find The Lady 70 Project6 6 Party Time Arena (4 Player) Astra7 7 Win Wall Astra8 8 Sevens Up Electrocoin9 9 Party Games (4 Player) Astra10 - Party Time (3 Player) Astra

Taken from a representative number of sites around the UKSupplied by Amusement Equipment Co Ltd

CATEGORYC (£1/£100 Max.)

AGCsThis LastWeek Week Name / Manufacturer

1 - Encore T7 (GP2) SG Gaming2 7 Triple 7 (GP3) SG Gaming3 4 Magic Games 3 Novomatic4 1 Magic Games 100 Ultra Novomatic5 - Encore T7 (GP3) SG Gaming6 5 Triple 7 (GP2) SG Gaming7 8 X3000 Multi Game Amatic8 - Pure Gold Astra9 2 Find the Lady Ultimate Project10 - Bar X 7 Electrocoin

Based on data from a minimum of 10 locations. Supplied by Praesepe

FILMCHARTS

KELLY CLARKSON:HEARTBEAT SONG

UK Box Office ChartThis LastWeek Week Name

1 1 Fifty Shades of Grey2 2 Big Hero 63 3 Shaun the Sheep Movie4 4 Kingsman: The Secret Service5 - The Wedding Ringer6 - Project Almanac7 6 Peppa Pig: The Golden Boots8 8 The Theory of Everything9 5 Jupiter Ascending10 7 American Sniper

THE WEDDING RINGER

ROYAL BLOOD: ROYALBLOOD

MUSICCHARTS

UK Jukebox ChartHighest Earning Tracks on Sound Leisure jukeboxesThis LastWeek Week

1 1 Uptown Funk Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars2 2 Love Me Like You Do Ellie Goulding3 5 FourFiveSeconds Rihanna, Kanye West & Paul McCartney4 4 Take Me To Church Hozier5 3 Thinking Out Loud Ed Sheeran6 6 Wish You Were Mine Philip George7 8 Gravity DJ Fresh feat. Ella Eyre8 7 Real Love Clean Bandit & Jess Glynne9 10 The Nights Avicii10 9 Up Olly Murs feat. Demi Lovato

http://www.soundnet.net/

www.soundnet.net

AlbumsThis Last

Week Week

1 2 In The Lonely Hour Sam Smith2 3 X Ed Sheeran3 18 Royal Blood Royal Blood4 6 Wanted on Voyage George Ezra5 8 1989 Taylor Swift6 - Physical Graffiti Led Zeppelin7 - Fan Of A Fan The Album Chris Brown & Tyga 8 33 A Perfect Contradiction Paloma Faith9 11 Liquid Spirit Gregory Porter 10 7 Hozier Hozier

DownloadsThis Last

Week Week

1 1 Love Me Like You Do Ellie Goulding2 2 FourFive Seconds Rihanna/Kanye West/McCartney3 3 Take Me To Church Hozier4 13 What I Did For Love David Guetta ft Emeli Sande 5 - Heartbeat Song Kelly Clarkson 6 4 Earned It Weeknd7 5 Uptown Funk Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars8 12 Hold Back The River James Bay9 6 Gravity DJ Fresh ft Ella Eyre 10 8 Sugar Maroon 5

Single siteThis LastWeek Week Name / Manufacturer

1 1 Queen We Are The Champions BFG2 2 DOND Next Level BFG3 3 DOND Winfall BFG4 4 DOND Double Up BFG5 5 DOND Box 23 BFG6 6 DOND Powerplay BFG7 - Hit the Dracpot REF8 7 Worminator QPS9 - Lets Get Kraken BPG10 9 DOND The Big One BFG

Taken from a representative number of sites around the UKSupplied by national operator

2410-p18-analysis_Coinslot NEW 03/03/2015 11:31 Page 1

19

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CLUB MACHINESHOT SHOTS (NEW) ............................................................ £1,945LETS GET JACKPOTTED (NEW) ..................................... £1,875DOND BOX 23 (NEW) ......................................................... POACASH AHOY .......................................................................... £1,095RONNIE O’SULLIVAN .............................................................£395COPS PLATINUM......................................................................£395MONTE CARLO OR BUST ....................................................£345COPS GOLD ..............................................................................£295STARS WARS ..............................................................................£245ITALIAN JOB ..............................................................................£195BOBBY DAZZLER .....................................................................£150CLUEDO .....................................................................................£150

CASINO LOW TECHRANDOM GOLD DOUBLE UP £100 .................................£795POUNDSTRETCHER £100.....................................................£795RANDOM GOLD £100 ..........................................................£795FIND THE LADY ........................................................................£395RAINBOW RICHES CAT C/D ...............................................£395ELVIS CAT C/D ..........................................................................£395OXO CLASSIC ...........................................................................£350MIDAS TOUCH ..........................................................................£295DOND CASINO .......................................................................£295ROLL X .......................................................................................£295JOKER POKER 20P £10 ...........................................................£295CASINO MAGIC 7’S.................................................................£295CASINO RED HOT ROLL ......................................................£295CASINO MONOPOLY ............................................................£195

VIDEOSFAST & FURIOUS DRIFT TWIN ........................................ £2,995OUTRUN 2 TWIN ................................................................ £2,695FORD RACING TWIN ........................................................ £1,895TIME CRISIS 3 DELUXE ....................................................... £1,295TIME CRISIS TWIN STD ...................................................... £1,295

NOVELTY/REDEMPTIONDUCKY SPLASH.................................................................... £1,695CYBER TICKETS .................................................................... £1,495SPIDER STOMPIN .....................................................................£595FAST TRACK STACKER ...........................................................£495POWER SURGE .........................................................................£295

BOXERSI BOXER .......................................................................................£895JAKAR BOXER MATRIX ..........................................................£695PRO BOXER................................................................................£395

£100 JACKPOT AWPSSHOWTIME ................................................................................ POATREBLE TOP ............................................................................... POAHORN OF PLENTY .................................................................. POABEST OF BRITISH .................................................................. £1,375TRIPLE DOND INC LICENCE .......................................... £1,145KARATE QUID (INC LICENCE) ....................................... £1,295MONOPOLY MILLIONAIRES ROW INC LICENCE .. £1,095JACKPOT ISLAND ................................................................ £1,095HAPPY HOUR INC LICENCE ...............................................£995DOND TAKE A CHANCE INC LICENCE ..........................£995DOND BANKERS OFFER ......................................................£695MONOPOLY TAKE OVER ......................................................£695JAIL BREAK .................................................................................£645DOND LIVE ................................................................................£645

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Comment

media watchjoseph ewens

Humans battle A.I. fo

This week, IEEE Spectrumreveals that a new artificial

intelligence created by Googlehas developed the ability to learnand master classic arcadegames. “This work is the first timethat anyone has built a single gen-eral-learning system that canlearn directly from experience tomaster a wide range of challeng-ing task—in this case, a set ofAtari games—and perform at orbetter than human level at thosegames,” says one of the AI’s cre-ators Demis Hassabis, who worksat Google DeepMind in London.Hassabis and colleagues detailedtheir findings in in this week’sissue of the journal Nature.

In an artificial neural network,components known as artificialneurons are fed data, and worktogether to solve a problem suchas reading handwriting or recog-nizing speech. The network canthen alter the pattern of connec-tions among those neurons tochange the way they interact, and

the network tries solving theproblem again. Over time, the net-work learns which patterns arebest at computing solutions.

“What we’ve done is developedan algorithm that learns from theground up. It takes perceptualexperiences and learns how to dothings directly from those percep-tual experiences from first princi-ples. The advantage of thesekinds of systems is that they canlearn and adapt to unexpectedthings, and the programmers andsystem designers don’t have toknow the solution themselves inorder for the machine to masterthat task.”

The new software agent, calleda deep Q-network (DQN), wastested on 49 classic Atari 2600games, including Space Invaders,Ms. Pac-Man, Pong, Asteroids,Centipede, Q*bert, and Breakout.The agent was only fed the scoresand data from an 84 by 84 pixelscreen—unlike some other gen-eral game-playing AIs, the DQN

ax concessions, cut red tape andless onerous business rates. Simples. If ever there was a time for a busi-

ness friendly budget, now’s that time. Cynicism aside, next week’s Budget will

undoubtedly deliver sweeteners for all sec-tors of the business community and, cyni-cism aside once again, chancellor Osbornehas become pretty savvy at knowing whenand what to deliver.

But whether we get our desired shifts inMGD; less red tape; VAT cuts for the touristsector et al, well, we shouldn’t get ourhopes up: successive governments haverarely delivered on their promises. At this

particular juncture, it would take a bravechancellor to party with the amusementssector by handing out significant conces-sions in the Budget.

But we need to remember that theBudget is just the foreplay; the general elec-tion is where the real action takes place.

If we are going to get anything like whatwe need - and that is those all importanttax concessions, less red tape and a Trien-nial Review that operates fairly and justly,then we must lobby like &*@’ to ensurethat our votes go to the person who willturn those shortcomings into legislaton forour futures.


Boy, George, do you really want to hurt us?

What, asks Chris Webster, can the Chancellor deliver in his upcoming Budget thatwill win the heart and soul - and votes - of the amusements industry?

T

The time has come to seize the day

With the economy on the rebound, the future of coin-op looks to be brighter thanit’s been for many years. Discuss. Joe Ewens tackles the question.

ould we finally be at a turningpoint? Lines on the graphs are spik-ing skywards, percentage points

are ticking up and generally speaking,there’s a little more positivity - and cash -to go around. The overall UK economy hasbeen slowly improving over the past 12months and it seems clear from variousquarters that these good vibes have fil-tered down to the gaming and amusementindustries.

In recent weeks Talarius’s numbershave been up and Gala’s figures havesoared, so the big boys are definitely

seeing some benefit. But the smaller scalelifeblood of the industry is also making haywhile the sun shines. Think of the coastaloperators, who are now gratefully gearingup for the vital Easter season with a stronghalf term in their back pocket.

Oil prices hitting rock bottom have con-tinued to play a part. It’s leaving playerswith more disposable income and meansthat suppliers with engineers and salesstaff on the road can keep their costsdown. With some judicious investmentinto the future we could well be on thecusp of a major shift.

C

t’s already been said, and sometimesnot very kindly, that the failure ofthe Irish government to address the

needs of the gaming industry beggarsbelief. The fact that the new Gambling Con-trol Bill is still a good 12-18 months away istoo demoralising for words.

Working to legislation that will soon be60 years old may be astonishing in itself,particularly given the unrecognisablechanges in the sector, but it’s the opportu-nities and benefits that the sector and the

country has missed out on that make youlook on in sheer amazement.

The current impasse would be okay ifyou’d dozed off in 1956, overslept andwoke up 59 years later. But this is an indus-try that’s been forced to sleep walk its wayto 2015 through what can only bedescribed as ludicrous legislation setagainst the backdrop of the current times.

The alarm bell has been ringing for along time now, it really needs a govern-ment to wake up to a brand new dawn.

Slow motion

Ireland doesn’t seem to be making speedy progress towards new legislation. So howlong, asks Ken Scott, can a government hold off the need for change?

I

2410-p22-23-Comment_Coinslot NEW 03/03/2015 17:06 Page 1

23Coinslot March 6 - March 12, 2015

Computers have begun playing themselves, but humans show they are stillthe masters of the arcade, while the stars simply shine down on everyone.

Irish AmusementsTrade Associationsecretary John Rocheexplains the growingneed for newmembers and theimportance of having a strongpolitical voice.

“politicsjohn roche

quote unquote

”A.I. for arcade supremacy



did not know the rules of thegames it played beforehand.

The system ran on a singleGPU-equipped desktop com-puter and trained for about twoweeks per game. The DQN per-formed at a level comparable tothat of a professional humangames tester, achieving morethan 75 percent of what thehuman tester scored on 29games. The agent also outper-formed the best existing rein-forcement learning agents on 43games.

The nature of the games atwhich the DQN excelled werehighly varied in nature, includingside-scrolling shooters, 3-D car-racing, and boxing. “This systemis able to generalise to anysequential decision-making deci-sion,” says Koray Kavukcuoglu atGoogle DeepMind.

The games where the DQN didnot do well reflect the limitationsof the agent. “Currently, thesystem learns essentially by

pressing keys randomly and thenfiguring out when this leads tohigh scores,” Google Deep-Mind’s Vlad Mnih. However, sucha button-mashing strategy oftendoes not work in games requir-ing more sophisticated explo-ration or long-term planning.

The New York Daily News hasalso highlighted a viral video of aJapanese man who has mas-tered the art of hitting the topscore on arcade basketballgames. A video showing a man’sunorthodox, underhand shootingstyle — more like a flip — usingboth hands on a pop-a-shotmachine went viral again lastweek.

The man on the far leftmachine — in his shorts andtucked-in polo shirt — casuallyflicks the balls into the arcadehoop, seamlessly alternatingbetween his right and left handsin a juggling-like motion. Afterseemingly breaking themachine’s scoring system, he

starts chucking the ball off thewall off of the next hoop — andscoring — before tiring of hisarcade dominance.

And Finally, the WestmorelandGazette has quite literally shedlight on some unusual develop-ments involving Praesepe. Quot-ing authorities at the EddingtonAstronomical Society of Kendal,apparently, if you look at Jupiterat the moment you’ll noticesomething to its right, like amisty cloud several times thesize of the Moon. This is actuallyone of the most famous starclusters in the sky - Praesepe.Known in informed circles as theBeehive, due to its resemblanceto a swarm of bees, the paperreassures its readers that theyare not at risk from any stings, asthe cluster is almost 600 lightyears away’, which means thelight entering star gazers’ eyesset off from Praesepe in the year1438 - that’s what you call beingahead of your time!

There are rarely quietmoments for campaign-

ers in the trade, but certainevents require lobbyists toengage even more activelywith those in power. Whenthe Irish AmusementsTrade Association (IATA)met last week at its annualgeneral meeting in Dublin,officers seemed poised totake a forthright position -especially regarding theupcoming Gambling Con-trol Bill.

“With the difficultiessurrounding the proposednew legislation everyonein the business should be amember of IATA,” said JohnRoche, the general secre-tary of the association.“There is currently a seri-ous sense of concern,mostly due to the delay inthe government indicatinga date for publication.”

One of the association’skey priorities for the next12 months is therefore tocompound and increase amembership that has beensteadily growing over thepast few years.

Roche explained:“There is plenty of spacefor cooperation betweenthe various sectors in thegambling industry in Ire-

land, and there is plenty ofroom for further collabo-ration. At the moment, forinstance, all sectors sittogether on the GamblingCare Foundationtogether.”

Some of the issues Ire-land is facing will also res-onate with those in the UK,with coastal economiesand FOBTS also featuringon IATA’s agenda. FOBTsare not currently allowedin Licensed Betting Officesin Ireland and, under pro-posed legislation, will betotally banned across thecountry.

Although there hasbeen an increase in thenumber of overseastourists visiting Ireland inrecent years, a falteringdomestic economy hasmeant that the hospitalityand tourism industry is stillsuffering. However, Rocheis taking a pragmaticapproach.

“With regard to seasidelocations, we all recognisethe need for furtherinvestment,” he com-mented. “But we are alsorealistic enough to knowthat the overall economicposition in the countrywill dictate this.”

IATAmobilisesforces for thecoming year

“The huge amount of red tape required to run a business shouldalso be looked to be reduced. For example, the proposal of holidayrates to include standard overtime rates and the impending pen-sion contributions changes are all an extra burden for businesses.”

REFLEX GAMING’S QUENTIN STOTT ON THE FORTHCOMING BUDGET

“If smoking were to be re-introduced to pubs, in a controlled waywith specific smoking rooms, it stands to reason that we could seemore our lapsed customers returning to play our games.”

PETER DAVIES OF GAMESTEC ON THE FINDINGS OF A RECENT SMOKINGSURVEY

“All coastal towns are looking for new things, and if they wantpeople to invest you need the comfort to do so financially and aperiod of time that you can have a chance to invest and know for somany years you are not going to get the same thing happening 100yards down the road.”

WILLIAM PEAK OF CLACTON PAVILION ON THE NEED TO PROTECTINVESTMENTS

“The decline in the British seaside sector is a national issue andthat’s our greatest day-to-day challenge. Call me a cynic, but I don’tplace much faith in local government turning that around anytimesoon.”

SOUTH WEST OPERATOR ON PROPOSAL TO MERGE COUNCILS

2410-p22-23-Comment_Coinslot NEW 03/03/2015 17:06 Page 2

24 Coinslot March 6 - Mach 12, 2015

EUROMAT SUMMIT DATESCONFIRMED

illing itself as the onlyindustry event dedi-cated to the land-

based gaming sector, theEuropean Gaming andAmusement Federation(EUROMAT) Summit willtackle the major issuesaffecting the gamblingindustry on the continent,which employs over 250,000people. This year’s summitpromises to tackle the majorindustry, commercial andregulatory trends of themoment and hopes to set thepolicy and business agendafor the next years. The eventis to be held on 28 May, 2015in Amsterdam, Netherlands,

with the specific venue yet tobe announced.

SHOWING THE WAY FORWARD

he annual celebra-tion of what’s newand exciting in the

world of signage is onceagain lined up for the Ger-man city of Cologne, as thetown gears up for Europe’sonly dedicated event for thevisual communicationsindustry. European SignExpo 2014 brings with it the

usual mix of networking andproduct displays, promisingto showcase the latesttechnologies and softwarein architectural signage,channel lettering, illumi-nated displays and digitalsignage. This year the event

is being held alongside theFESPA 2015, Europe’sbiggest event for the wideformat print industry. Thecohabiting shows will sharespace in the Koelnmesseexpo centre in Cologne, Ger-many from 18-22 May, 2015.

Calendar



MARCH 20156-7RAAPA Expo 2015 Pavilion 75,

VTTs, Moscow, Russia

www.raapa.ru

10-12Digital Signage Expo

Las Vegas Convention Center, Las

Vegas, USA www.digitalsignage-

expo.net

18-20China Attractions Expo

China National Convention Centre,

Beijing, China

18-19 FADJA Peru Westin Lima

Hotel & Convention Centre Lima Peru

www.fadja.com.pe

18-20Enada Spring Rimini Fiera

Rimini Italy www.enadaprimavera.it

24-26Amusement Expo 2015

Las Vegas Convention Centre, Las

Vegas, USA

25TiLEzone London

London Transport Museum, London,

UK www.tileweb.org

TBC FER Interazar 2015 Madrid

Spain www.ferinterazar.com

APRIL 2015

14-16 DEAL2015 Dubai World

Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE

www.dealmiddleeastshow.com

EDITORIALEdition Editor:Joseph Ewens Email: [email protected]: 01273 699 900Contributing Editor:Chris WebsterContributors:Imogen Goodman, Nick Norton Editorial Director:Ken Scott Email: [email protected]: 01273 699 900ADVERTISING SALESKathryn NorrisEmail: [email protected]: 01257 277400Fax: 01257 271329SUBSCRIPTIONSAnn SullivanTel: 01257 277400DIGITAL VERSIONMarc LawtonEmail: [email protected]: 01257 277400PRODUCTIONDesigner: Gina LloydEmail: [email protected] Production &Pre-Press:Dave RoderickEmail: [email protected]: John SullivanGB Media Corporation LtdOak House,1st Floor, Suite 4, High Street, Chorley, PR7 1DW

Tel: 01257 277400Fax: 01257 271329 Email: [email protected] and Production:3rd Floor, 20 New Road,Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1UF Tel: 01273 699 900Advertising andSubscriptions:Coinslot International, Oak House, 1st Floor, Suite 4, High Street, Chorley, PR7 1DWTel: 01257 277400Fax: 01257 271329

Opinions expressed in this publication shouldnot be regarded as the official view of GBMedia Corporation Ltd, except where stated.Views, opinions and recommendationscontained in this publication are put forwardfor consideration only. No action should betaken in reliance upon any such views,opinions or recommendations. Neither GBMedia Corporation Ltd nor contributorsaccept any responsibil ity for any lossoccasioned to any person howsoever causedor arising as a result of or in consequence ofaction taken or refrained from in realiance onthe contents of this publication.

Notes for contributors: Coinslotwelcomes the submission of articles forconsideration by the editor with a view topublication. Submission of an article wil l beheld to imply that the article containsoriginal unpublished work which GB MediaCorporation Ltd may lawfully publish. Allsubmissions are made at the owner’s risk.

© GB Media Corporation Ltd, 2015All rights strictly reserved. No part of thispublication may be reproduced, stored ina retrieval system, or transmitted in anyform or by any means without the priorwritten permission given, full acknowledge-ment of author, publisher and source mustbe given.

BALPPA heads to Westminster ALPPA membersseeking politicaldiscourse should

look to the trade body’sannual ParliamentaryLuncheon event, due totake place Monday 9 March.

Competition to registerattendance may well befierce, as changes within thefacilities of the parliamen-tary function rooms havelimited maximum atten-dance numbers to 40, with20 seats allocated for sittingMPs.

“We are sorry to be

unable to open up the invi-tation to everyone as wehave done in previous yearsbut hope you understandour position in terms of the

restrictions that have beenplaced upon the event,”claimed a statement onbehalf of the organisation.

Whilst the officers of

BALPPA’s managementcommittee have alreadybeen allocated their respec-tive places, due to the

capacity restrictions invita-tions are to be issued to thebody’s wider membershipin order of priority, basedupon prior attendance tothe event.

On its website, BALPPAwas keen to reassure thosemembers unable to snatch aspot. “We will send out aguest list to everyone in duecourse,” it claimed. “We aresure that those membersattending the event will bepleased to raise any specificissues you may have asappropriate.”

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