GMB - Once again you are participating at ICE. What will the company showcase this year in London to the market?
Drew Pawlak - This year at ICE we are focusing on our AGS Interactive business, which consists of real-money gaming platforms and game titles, as well as our social gaming B2B and B2C offerings.
At ICE, we will provide live demonstrations of our AxSys Games Marketplace game aggregation platform and our soon-to-be available game titles from AGS, which include online versions of AGS’ proven land-performers like Golden Wins™ Jade Wins™, and Longhorn Jackpots™. We will also highlight our large portfolio of game titles from our partner network of third-party suppliers, which include 1x2 gaming, 2 By 2 Gaming, Ainsworth, Asylum Labs, Bulletproof Games, Gaming Realms, High 5 Games, MetaGU, Reflex Gaming, Revolver Gaming, Skillzz Gaming, Storm Gaming Technology, No Limit City, and Oryx Gaming.
At the show, we will also showcase our ConnexSys Social White-Label Casino solution, a turnkey, free-play B2C mobile app solution for land-based casinos that blends the casino brand with AGS’ library of player-favorite games to deliver a mobile gaming experience for players.
What themes or topics do you imagine will be the most relevant in this edition of this traditional expo?
Attendance at ICE is expected to be equivalent to G2E, and could even surpass G2E attendance this year. The show continues to grow and be one of the foremost conferences for the global B2B gaming industry. This year we expect sports betting will be a hot topic, as well as eSports, big data, cybersecurity, and new markets for both online and land-based gaming.
The online gaming sector seems not to slow down its growth before the physical ... Do you consider this trend will deeper in 2019? Why?
Yes, we expect online gaming to continue its growth in 2019, with mobile gaming leading the way. More than 50 percent of the revenue from online gaming comes from mobile devices, and the desire by players to take their gaming experience on-the-go has never been stronger.
In general, as online casino gaming matures, players are getting more and more comfortable with the experience and in general, feel much more secure about playing online, and at the same time, increased competition means that online casino operators are much more focused on attracting and retaining players which creates a better play experience with richer rewards. It’s an exciting time for this segment of our industry.
What balance does the company make of 2018?
2018 was an exciting year for AGS and set us up well for a strong 2019. In our most recently reported quarter of 2018 (Q3), we announced record quarterly revenue, record net income, and a record number of EGM units sold. We saw continuing demand for our Orion Portrait cabinet and growing momentum for our new Orion Slant, significant progress in new markets like Canada, and our tables segment posted its best quarter to date. Going into 2019, we think AGS is still very underrepresented in many markets both domestically and internationally, which presents significant long-term growth opportunities for us.
Can you anticipate some plans, projects or product development in the folder for 2019?
In 2019 we’ll be launching our Alora video bingo cabinet and library of games in the Philippines and Mexico, with an intention of bringing the product to Brazil when the market opens.
In North America, we’ll launch our new Orion Upright cabinet in the second half of the year, along with a library of classic AGS titles as well as new games designed specifically for that cabinet.
We’ll continue to focus on growing our table games business and expect to see momentum building following the recent soft-launch of our new Dex S card shuffler, and we expect to see lots of excitement building for our AGS Interactive division as we get ready to launch our AGS-developed real-money game content through our AxSys Games Marketplace game aggregation platform.
In the first half of 2019 we hope to close on our plans to acquire Integrity Gaming, and capitalize on Integrity’s 2,700-unit installed base in Oklahoma and Texas to bolster our recurring revenue footprint.
What role does Latin America play for you?
Latin Americ offers strong potential for AGS. We already have a thriving business in Mexico which we will continue to grow through placement of our high-performing ICON and Orion EGM cabinets and popular game titles, as well as our new Alora video-bingo cabinet, and diligent management of our installed base in partnership with our customers with a focus on maximizing game performance.
We are also looking to expand into other Latin America markets, such as Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Our growth in Latin America will be measured and focused, but we think our products will perform well in those markets.
What products / services are most successful in the region?
In Mexico we still have a lot of legacy Cadillac Jack product that continues to perform well and be very popular with players; operators are reticent to even think about removing it from theirs floors. We have started to introduce our ICON and Orion Portrait platforms and games into the market with strong early success, and this year we look forward to bringing our Orion Slant platform and our Alora video bingo cabinet and games to Mexico. We have a robust team of geographically diverse sales executives and commercial ambassadors in Mexico that enable us to stay very knowledgeable about and connected to that market, which we feel is a strong competitive advantage.
How do you see the processes of legalization and regulation in Brazil specifically? Especially after the recent legalization of sporting bets.
We were excited to see that Brazil’s senate approved the lottery bill that authorized both online and land-based sports betting. We view this as a hopeful and positive sign in the video bingo legalization and regulation process.
The casinos seem to be the next step in the legalization of gaming in Brazil. Do you consider that it would be correct to open the gaming market gradually or do it in a broad way with all the gaming modes at the same time?
We would just like to see some forward movement towards legalization of gaming in Brazil, specifically the passage of video bingo. We are excited about the potential of this market and are confident that AGS has both the expertise, market knowledge, and the products to support video bingo in Brazil once fully legalized.
Source: Exclusive GMB
