Tuesday, January 31, 2012

news.casinolife

news.casinolife

Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) Celebrate Four Years of Working with NYCE to Bring Gaming Regulation to Mexico

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 01:14 PM PST

MEXICO CITY and LAKEWOOD, N.J. (30 January 2012) – Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) and the Normalizacion y Certificacion Electronica (NYCE) are celebrating four years of working closely together in a business alliance to help bring testing standards to Mexico.

Since 2008, GLI and NYCE have established an accreditation scheme which is recognized in Mexico, and together GLI and NYCE established technical standards, known as the NMX Gaming Standards. Today, the companies' relationship is as strong as ever.

"For nearly four years, GLI and NYCE have worked diligently to bring gaming standards to Mexico, and both organizations are extremely proud of our work thus far. We have made tremendous strides, and now, GLI together with NYCE, will be responsible for and shall continue to ensure that all gaming devices are tested and certified in accordance with the newly established Mexican requirements we worked so hard to bring to fruition," said Karen Sierra-Hughes, GLI Development Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Salvador Sánchez of NYCE said, "GLI and NYCE have been working very hard to create an environment in Mexico that is secure and fair for everyone – operators, regulators, and players. The work we have done in testing standards so far is extremely significant, and we are very happy to mark four years of working together, and look forward to continuing our relationship for years to come."

NYCE, which is a certification body, and GLI, which is recognized as both a testing laboratory and a certification body by ISO standards 17025 and Guide 65, will maintain the certification program for gaming devices as demanded by the Mexican government.

About NYCE: Mexico City-based NYCE is a non-profit corporation with a membership of 43 Mexican companies and verifies and certifies compliance of both Mexican Standards (technical regulations) and non-mandatory Mexican Standards for telecommunications, electronics and information technologies. NYCE also drafts and issues non-mandatory Mexican Standards in these areas and certifies quality systems based on ISO 9000, among other verifications and certifications, for many sectors. For more information, visit www.nyce.org.mx.

About GLI: For more than 20 years, Gaming Laboratories International, LLC has been the world leader in providing independent testing, inspection and certification services to the gaming industry. With 19 laboratory locations located across Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Europe, North America and South America, GLI is the only global organization of its kind to hold U.S. and international accreditations for compliance with ISO/IEC 17025, 17020 and Guide 65 standards for technical competence in the Gaming industry. GLI offers independent third party evaluation and certification of Gaming technology, devices and systems in addition to providing network and information security assessments. For more information, visit www.gaminglabs.com.

 

Austrian Lotteries celebrated its 25-year anniversary with record revenues of 2.9 billion euro and has set its sights on international expansion

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 11:17 AM PST

2011 was a successful business year for Austrian Lotteries from many points of view. In September, it was time to celebrate 25 years of Lotto "6 aus 45" and of course the company's 25th anniversary.

At the beginning of October, having participated in a Europe-wide, transparent tender process, the company was awarded the lottery license for Austria for a further 15 year period until 30 September 2027.

Results for the anniversary year are yet another reason for celebration: Austrian Lotteries reported record revenues of 2.899 billion euro, which compared with figures for 2010 represents an increase of 9.7 per cent.

The positive mood can be detected throughout the company's various sectors. Fresh impetus was provided in the classic gaming sector with the relaunch of Lotto "6 aus 45" at the end of 2010 and the introduction of a second draw in the Euro Millionen lottery in May 2011.

With its wide-ranging product portfolio, expertise both in product development and in the design of sales channels as well as the company's technical and technological know how, Austrian Lotteries enjoys an excellent reputation both at home and abroad. Currently, the company is strongly focused on the search for international expansion opportunities.

It is anticipated in the industry that particularly in Europe the first tender procedures will be launched within the foreseeable future.

IGT Takes Top Honors with International Gaming Award’s Best Slot Manufacturer of the Year

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 11:13 AM PST

(LAS VEGAS – Jan. 30, 2012) – International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) announced today it took top honors at the International Gaming Awards (IGA), winning Best Slot Manufacturer of the Year.

"IGT is excited to be named Best Slot Manufacturer of the Year at the International Gaming Awards," said Craig Churchill, IGT senior vice president International. "We are deeply honored to be acknowledged with this award and take great pride in the entire IGT team."

With more than 30 years in the business, IGT has been a pioneer in the gaming industry and continues to deliver new, entertaining and disruptive player experiences. As Slot Manufacturer of the Year, IGT continued to innovate and develop the best in gaming with pop-culture brands that have ruled casino floors across the globe. The Company's leadership and product development has helped shape the industry and further advanced the products and games available in the market today.

Gaming continues to become increasingly systems-centric, as operators utilize network functionality to manage game performance and adapt to player preferences. Recently, the Company launched the IGT Cloud, a breakthrough casino management solution that empowers operators to optimize their operations and casino floors.

About IGT International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) is a global leader in the design, development and manufacture of gaming machines and systems products, as well as online and mobile gaming solutions for regulated markets. More information about IGT is available at www.IGT.com, or follow IGT on Twitter at @IGTNews or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IGT.

 

Casinos Austria reports significant growth

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 07:54 AM PST

Casinos Austria can look back on a highly satisfactory business year 2011. Overall revenue from the twelve Austrian casinos totalled 270 million euro, representing an increase of 4.3 per cent compared to 2010. There was also a slight rise in the annual number of visitors with a total of 2,361,997 guests in 2011.

Gaming innovations, co-operations with leading national and international brands as well as a full programme of events are aimed at attracting increasing numbers of guests from Austria and abroad and offering them a warm welcome at any one of the twelve Casinos Austria casinos located throughout the country.

Highlights planned for 2012 include:

• the launch of Blackjack Exchange – a new variation of the classic casino game of Blackjack. The game allows a player who bets simultaneously on two boxes to swop cards between the two boxes

• a special leap year promotion scheduled around the 29 February with thousands of chances to win 1 million Euro

• the extension of the classic Casinos Austria Poker Tour, culminating in the Poker EM 2012 to be held in autumn at Grand Casino Baden

• numerous events, ranging from conferences and seminars to ball nights and the Miss Austria Competition, which will be held in November in Casino Baden

MICROGAMING LAUNCHES LIVE DEALER DIAMOND EDITION

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 07:50 AM PST

ISLE OF MAN – Microgaming (www.microgaming.com) is launching a state of the art 'Diamond Edition' of its existing Live Dealer games, offering gamers a new and improved casino experience.

On top of the High Definition video streaming offered by the Live Dealer games facility, the Diamond Edition offers redefined graphics that give the player a heightened sense of being in a casino, while providing more statistics than ever before to aid their chances of winning big money.

The new Diamond Edition also offers unique multi-player Roulette, where players have the opportunity to see other players' bets on the table in real time. This has come in response to a surge in the number of gamers enjoying Microgaming's multi-player offerings, with a large number of gamers on the Live Games platform taking the opportunity to bet against other players.

Microgaming's existing Live Dealer Games service offers stand-alone multi-window games, a multi-language facility allowing for the localisation of Casinos, and Live Games where cards have been shuffled and dealt in real-time.

Microgaming Live Games Spokesperson commented: "The Diamond Edition was partly conceived because of the trend we have noticed towards playing multi-player games, and we were keen to ensure that players have even greater opportunity to take advantage of this function, this time through Roulette. Already, 16 Microgaming customers are using the Live Games product after just one year in the market, meaning that our first-rate technology and comprehensive live experience is being used by thousands of gamers worldwide."

Royal Vegas spokesperson commented: "We are excited to launch Microgaming's new multi-player Roulette which gives our players a unique and social gaming experience.  The bet on table functionality is innovative and we know that the Live Dealer Diamond Edition will be a huge hit with our players."

 

Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries (Österreichische Lotterien) group of companies on course for expansion

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 07:48 AM PST

The Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries group of companies has reported record revenues for the 2011 business year. Preliminary figures indicate that the group of companies generated annual revenue of 3.4 billion euro. This represents an increase of 6.7 per cent compared to 2010, which was largely prompted by success in the home market of Austria, and specifically through increase revenue from Austrian Lotteries (plus 9.7 per cent to 2.899 billion euro) and the twelve Austrian casinos (plus 4.3 per cent to 270 million euro). win2day reported a significant increase of 5 per cent to 1.125 billion euro (excluding Poker). Casinos Austria International also reported an increase in revenue of 6.4 per cent to 231.19 million euro.

For the first time at this year's ICE international gaming show in London the group of companies showcased all of its business units on one exhibition stand. This was in line with the plans for broad-ranging internationalization throughout the group of companies, which were put in place by the management team led by Director General Dr. Karl Stoss. "While the classic casino business in Europe continues to find itself in a consolidation phase, we see real growth potential in the areas of online gaming, Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) and sports betting as well as in classic lottery gaming, and this is of course growth potential we can use for our group of companies", explains Stoss.

The level of interest is high, relevant knowhow is available in abundance and initial steps have already been taken: following the successful bid for the casino license to operate Grand Casino Brussels, the group's online subsidiary win2day is now also preparing to launch its services in Belgium. The license application is due to be submitted and an appropriate gaming portfolio is currently being prepared. Austrian Lotteries are also currently exploring several options for new markets in Europe while any further moves await concrete calls for tender.

This is also the case for both WINWIN and Better Game Solutions (BGS), as part of the sports betting subsidiary tipp3, which operates very successfully in the Austrian market.