At the end of September, ATRONIC and SPIELO merged to form a new entity called SPIELO International. Walter Bugno, CEO, SPIELO International, talks about the change and the company’s future plans
ATRONIC and SPIELO are attending the 2011 Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas under a new, unified corporate identity that encompasses both organisations, dubbed SPIELO International. The sister companies, overseen by Italian gaming giant Lottomatica, have been moving toward functional integration over the past two years. G2E 2011 marks the organisation’s formal “coming out” as a fully integrated entity that shares a single focus on exceptional content and customer intimacy.
SPIELO International will be showing a combination of compelling new games, foundational products, and tested, marketavailable solutions at Booth #1265 at the Sands Convention Center from 4th to 6th October.
ATRONIC’s and SPIELO’s commercial casino line-up includes exciting linked, progressive, and community games, as well as player-tested cabinets, proven core game titles, hot new family brands, and flexible systems solutions.
Inside Asian Gaming questioned Walter Bugno, CEO, SPIELO International, about what the newly-integrated SPIELO International has in store for players and customers.
IAG: What was the rational for the integration of ATRONIC and SPIELO to create SPIELO International?
ATRONIC and SPIELO have been operating as sister companies under the Lottomatica Group for a couple of years now, and until recently had been working as individual entities, devoting their respective resources and skills to divergent goals.
SPIELO’s core business has been in the international distributed VLT market. GTECH acquired SPIELO in 2004, and later, in 2008, GTECH completed its acquisition of ATRONIC to expand its commercial casino offerings.
Meanwhile, back in 2006, GTECH had been acquired by Lottomatica Group. So Lottomatica first inherited SPIELO, and then ATRONIC, through GTECH. In 2009, SPIELO and ATRONIC both became direct subsidiaries of Lottomatica.
Over the last two years, ATRONIC and SPIELO had been undergoing operational integration. While each company served different market segments, they had much in common in terms of product development and services. So they began sharing technology and combining game libraries while striving to meet different objectives and serve separate markets. This operational integration marked the first phase of our move toward improving our products and processes, and ensuring that our games are tailored specifically to the needs of our customers and their players.
Today, with our integration complete, we are working together toward a common objective of bringing compelling games and top-performing products to our customers.
We are excited about the completed integration and the benefits it brings to our customers. SPIELO International now has a dedicated workforce based in 17 countries. We’ve got millions of hours of gaming expertise and hundreds of proven games for our customers and their players.
What will customers experience and see following the change, and what can they expect in future?
We have shifted both our focus and our investment to becoming a developer and provider of great content. By combining our resources, innovation, and best practices, and by reducing inefficiencies, we will be providing great games more frequently, have a better understanding of operators’ and players’ needs, increase innovation, and improve speed-to-market and delivery times.
As well, because technology is an enabler of gaming success, rather than the driver, we want our technology to be up-to-date and relevant instead of leading-edge and costly. When our customers see the great games we have to offer, we want them to recognize that our technology can compete with anyone else’s, but that our games are clearly superior to everyone else’s. Our true competitive differentiator will be the quality and performance of our games.
We are now in the unique position of serving multiple gaming segments across many gaming channels as a single global entity, so we can offer more competitive pricing and deliver greater value to our customers.
Can you tell us a bit about the standalone Roulette feature on the new OXYGEN™ cabinet? It seems to be doing quite well in Asia.
Master ROULETTE™ is currently performing very well at its first installations in Macau. This game is available in single and double zero versions, and offers the most comfortable and flexible bet handling, as well as a standard mode for casual players and an expert mode with racetrack layout, neighbour and French bets, plus detailed statistics. Superior 3D animation brings the ball and wheel to life on the top screen.
Your diversity™ multi-game product is proving a hit, and allows players to select different volatility levels. Have Asian players been keen on the selectable volatility feature, and have they generally been going for higher volatility on their games?
Asian players have been responding very enthusiastically to diversity™, our new multi-game product, featuring brand-new as well as top-ranking ATRONIC games. ‘diversity’ allows players to select their preferred game types with different volatility levels, and is the only multi-game on the market featuring proven, topper-forming standalone progressive games. The customised game experience is what makes this product so compelling to Asian players; they can truly tailor their game experience to their individual preferences. We have expanded our offering for diversity, with the introduction of the new Amazing Amber, Pure Purple, and Gambling Green game suites. Combined with Royal Red and Brilliant Blue, operators have a broad range of game suites to fit their players’ desires.
Do you think the CRYSTAL.net™ floor network system will do well in Asia?
Based on its success in diverse international markets, we believe Asian operators will be really pleased with the increased revenue, ease of operations and savings that CRYSTAL.net™ provides. CRYSTAL.net gives their casino floor more efficiency, flexibility, entertainment, and power, so they can spend more time on strategic initiatives and less on downtime and operating costs. It’s built on recognized industry standards with proven hardware, and it’s known throughout the gaming industry for its robustness and flexibility.
What other products are currently working well for SPIELO International in Asia? Does this tell you anything about the Asia market?
Our DOGGIE CASH™ multi-level progressive link has proven very popular with Asian players. DOGGIE CASH features the cute dogs from the internationally recognized brand, the Artlist Collection’s “THE DOG”. On top of four supporting game titles, this exciting multi-level progressive features two bonus rounds: the Mystery Dog Bonus and the DOGGIE CASH bonus. Asian players seem to respond very well to the cute dog characters, bright colours and appealing animations.
We have also experienced a great response to our game portfolio offered on the new OXYGEN cabinet. OXYGEN contains the new sensys EP™ platform, which is powerful and robust, yet easy to service. With its Game to System® (G2S®) compatible hardware, OXYGEN is network-gaming ready, and supports all major casino systems and player tracking modules. OXYGEN’s comprehensive game library means operators can offer every player a mix of games and products that suit the needs of the dynamic Asian gaming market.
What does Atronic/SPIELO have planned for the Asia market over the next few months?
We are launching several new game suites for our ‘diversity’ multigame—Amazing Amber, Pure Purple, and ambling Green, all featuring a variety of 10 games grouped into categories that can be selected by players via touch screen.
We are also expanding our linked gaming portfolio with the introduction of the HOT&WiLD™ multi-level progressive, offering four jackpots, exciting game features, and lots of bonus action. The OXYGEN cabinet’s top wide screen shows the jackpot meter so players can follow the rising mercury during HOT&WiLD bonus games. HOT&WiLD is offered in single-game or multi-game setup.
We also have many exciting new developments in store on the casino systems side. myGuest™ is a new iPhone app used by slot attendants and marketing teams on the floor to identify loyalty club players and consult their individual profiles. myGuest provides detailed information about the player’s gaming activities in real time, allowing staff to instantly make informed and personalized decisions, such as awarding the player with promotional credits on his or her slot machine, or ordering him or her a complimentary drink.
FloorMaster™ is an advanced slot floor monitoring application for touch screens with a full-colour interactive map of the slot floor. It’s intuitive to use and provides an instant snapshot of Key Performance Indicators such as popularity, profitability and floor efficiency for quick and effective decision making. FloorMaster is flexible and can also be used on a tablet PC so operators can take it with them around the floor, increasing their ability to influence activity in the house.
