NOVOMATIC has a very strong presence
in Latin America. How important is this market for the company?
Latin
America is extremely important for NOVOMATIC. We are well established
throughout the region and market leader in several countries. We have employed
our dual strategy as both an operator and manufacturer in Latin America and
were, for example, the second company to begin operating in Peru more than 23
years ago. We continue to build in Latin America and service the entire region
from our offices in Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Panama, Peru, Mexico, Argentina
and Costa Rica.
NOVOMATIC recently attended FADJA in
Colombia and SAGSE in Panama. What is your evaluation of your presence at the
recent trade shows?
We
are regular exhibitors at the Latin American trade shows and played a predominant
role at both FADJA and SAGSE Panama this year. Novomatic Gaming Colombia led
FADJA for us and brought some new products to the show for the first time,
including the GAMINATOR® Scorpion, which is making its mark in the
international casino space. Panama is a major market for us and our local
subsidiary Novo Panamá created a large exhibit of gaming machines at SAGSE
Panama. Again, the GAMINATOR® Scorpion made its show debut, as did the
dual-screen GENESIS II cabinet. At both shows, we also presented some
top-performers in Latin America such as the DOMINATOR®, IMPERATOR™ S3 and
V.I.P. Lounge™ cabinets.
Let’s talk out Brazil. What
historical relationship and past experiences has NOVOMATIC with the Brazilian
market?
Gaming
has been outlawed in Brazil for many years, and NOVOMATIC has never had any
direct relation to the country. We do, however, have past operational
experience through partners in Paraguay where many patrons from Brazil have
visited the facilities over the years. This has allowed us to establish a
general understanding of player preferences, one of which is a strong tendency
toward bingo-style games. Last year we added video bingo company Otium to the
NOVOMATIC Group that would spearhead our video bingo product efforts in a
regulated Brazilian bingo market.
While two bills are being discussed
waiting for a regulation of the gaming industry, what expectations has
NOVOMATIC thinking on a possible legislation?
It’s
in the hands of the Brazilian lawmakers. It has taken a long time to get to
this stage, and the regulation is being carefully thought out and planned. The
two bills you mentioned are running almost parallel at the moment and we are
hopeful that the legislative process will make some significant strides later
this year. What is being considered is wide ranging and includes casino gaming,
VLTs, bingo, lotteries and sports betting, as well as online gaming. NOVOMATIC
has expertise in each of these fields.
How do you analyse a potential
Brazilian gaming market? How attractive would it be for NOVOMATIC?
Brazil
could be a potentially huge and exciting new gaming market and, as with many of
our competitors, we are eagerly awaiting the legislation. Estimates have shown
the market could be worth around US$55bn, equivalent to about 1 % of the country’s
GDP, which is about $17bn USD and therefore extremely attractive. Once a legal
market exists, we would evaluate the regulation, and only then really be able
to assess the potential for NOVOMATIC in the market. We would need to ensure
the market is properly regulated, a stable environment exists for investment
and it is economically viable before any plans are put in place.
NOVOMATIC has a wide catalogue of
products and technologies with proven success in different Latin American
markets. What do you consider that the company can offer to a future Brazilian
market?
It
again depends on the form the regulation will take, but our wide product base
allows us to cater to a multitude of potential market sectors in Brazil. We
have long-standing experience in Latin America, have seen market and political
shifts and understand how to adapt our products to different regulatory
frameworks. Our video bingo company Otium offers some innovative bingo products
and we also offer Brazilian-style bingo games via our online division
Greentube. Besides bingo, our casino, lotteries and sports betting divisions
have experience in Latin America that will help us create the best offerings
for a future Brazilian market.
Source: Exclusive GMB
