Bellfruit and Gamestec - SOLD
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bennytheclam
- Junior Member
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- Location: cheshire
Bellfruit and Gamestec - SOLD
Novomatic (Huge Austrian company who own Astra) have just aquired Bellfruit and Gamestec ... the whole buisness is going to change over the next 12 months , formal announcement to be made later this week !
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johncluedo
- Senior Member
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- Location: england
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trayhop123
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johncluedo
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GaryChandler
- Senior Member
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- Location: Hampshire
Austrian gaming giant Novomatic has purchased the UK's largest gaming machines operator Gamestec, plus Bell-Fruit Games, RLMS and Mazooma.
The Office of Fair Trading in the UK will investigate the deal, which is expected to be cleared in around six to eight weeks. The transaction is not believed to include Leisure Connections or On Board Leisure.
This bold move by Novomatic is likely to create a seismic shift in the UK coin-op market, particularly for those with an interest in reel-based AWPs. Following the recent announcement that Barcrest is forsaking the reel-based sector, Bell-Fruit is the last remaining major manufacturer and the supplier of the market-leading Deal Or No Deal family of AWPs.
"It will be very interesting to see what happens next," says an industry source. "Either Bell-Fruit will supply Gamestec alone, or it will continue to supply the whole industry. However, it is clear that Gamestec will ultimately have a preferential purchasing position for its products. Where will this leave the independent operators?"
It is also interesting to consider the position of Sceptre Leisure, another leading UK operator, which has followed a very ambitious expansion plan in recent years and which is supplied by Novomatic's arch-rival Gauselmann for digital product. Would a lack of reel-based AWPs from the UK force Sceptre to look at importing reel-based machines from the German giant?
An alternative view is that Novomatic could simply stop the supply of reel-based product altogether and take a similar stance to Barcrest's new owner Scientific Games and push digital product into the UK. However, given the level of existing demand this seems an unlikely decision in the short term.
One thing is for certain, the other operators in the UK market are going to have to look for new suppliers for reel-based product in order to remain competitive. If smaller manufacturers are to be tempted to compete in the Category C arena with reel products it seems likely that the current exhaustive and expensive system of machine testing needs to be overhauled so that innovation can be encouraged.
"This could be great news for the industry if those not involved in this deal position themselves in anticipation of the changes that are likely to happen. Those who just wait and see are likely to lose out," concluded our source.
First published on Coin-op Community.
The Office of Fair Trading in the UK will investigate the deal, which is expected to be cleared in around six to eight weeks. The transaction is not believed to include Leisure Connections or On Board Leisure.
This bold move by Novomatic is likely to create a seismic shift in the UK coin-op market, particularly for those with an interest in reel-based AWPs. Following the recent announcement that Barcrest is forsaking the reel-based sector, Bell-Fruit is the last remaining major manufacturer and the supplier of the market-leading Deal Or No Deal family of AWPs.
"It will be very interesting to see what happens next," says an industry source. "Either Bell-Fruit will supply Gamestec alone, or it will continue to supply the whole industry. However, it is clear that Gamestec will ultimately have a preferential purchasing position for its products. Where will this leave the independent operators?"
It is also interesting to consider the position of Sceptre Leisure, another leading UK operator, which has followed a very ambitious expansion plan in recent years and which is supplied by Novomatic's arch-rival Gauselmann for digital product. Would a lack of reel-based AWPs from the UK force Sceptre to look at importing reel-based machines from the German giant?
An alternative view is that Novomatic could simply stop the supply of reel-based product altogether and take a similar stance to Barcrest's new owner Scientific Games and push digital product into the UK. However, given the level of existing demand this seems an unlikely decision in the short term.
One thing is for certain, the other operators in the UK market are going to have to look for new suppliers for reel-based product in order to remain competitive. If smaller manufacturers are to be tempted to compete in the Category C arena with reel products it seems likely that the current exhaustive and expensive system of machine testing needs to be overhauled so that innovation can be encouraged.
"This could be great news for the industry if those not involved in this deal position themselves in anticipation of the changes that are likely to happen. Those who just wait and see are likely to lose out," concluded our source.
First published on Coin-op Community.
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The Dark Horse
- Senior Member
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- Joined: Fri May 20, 2011 6:01 am
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Scary to think a company like Novomatic no doubt have the sort of money available to chuck several of those digital units in each pub. It'll be like £70 FOBTs in every pub!
I just don't understand though. Juice and the like have been around several years and not really taken off, so why all of a sudden are companies such as Scientific Games and Novomatic trying to convince punters digital is the future! They're trying to turn the pubs into bookies / casinos!
I just don't understand though. Juice and the like have been around several years and not really taken off, so why all of a sudden are companies such as Scientific Games and Novomatic trying to convince punters digital is the future! They're trying to turn the pubs into bookies / casinos!
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redlinesman
- Senior Member
- Posts: 542
- Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 11:24 pm
- Location: Paris
It's the breakthrough that was supposed to happen 5 years ago but it's beeen a slow moving process. The gamestec digital cabinets have performed well so the industry has probably reacted to the evidence initiating a green light for a new age for AWP's.
With the major players in the industry now going digital, this could well spell the end of what we do, on the scale we do it. Problems can be fixed easily with these new digitals and as this new digital age is thrust upon on us on a major scale, things will advance quickly. Floors and weaknesses in programs can quickly be eradicated, but more importantly a contact of mine in the industry has said new testing procedures are ready to be implemented meaning programs will rarely have weaknesses and will be virtually be impossible to manipulate as with the endless releases we have seen over the last 10/15 years. This is not to say you won't be able to play anything for profit as the nature of a AWP does allow this, but player manipulation will in theory be more or less wiped out. On the whole, terrible news and there's no get out clause, many players will be doing something different in 24 months - no doubt about it especially some of the good earners and people with other options, they won't be hanging about because it just won't be worth it
With the major players in the industry now going digital, this could well spell the end of what we do, on the scale we do it. Problems can be fixed easily with these new digitals and as this new digital age is thrust upon on us on a major scale, things will advance quickly. Floors and weaknesses in programs can quickly be eradicated, but more importantly a contact of mine in the industry has said new testing procedures are ready to be implemented meaning programs will rarely have weaknesses and will be virtually be impossible to manipulate as with the endless releases we have seen over the last 10/15 years. This is not to say you won't be able to play anything for profit as the nature of a AWP does allow this, but player manipulation will in theory be more or less wiped out. On the whole, terrible news and there's no get out clause, many players will be doing something different in 24 months - no doubt about it especially some of the good earners and people with other options, they won't be hanging about because it just won't be worth it