SPIELO International™ continues to expand across East and Southeast Asia on the growing appeal of its innovative and flexible GALAXIS™ and SYSTEM2go™ solutions
The latest installations, consisting of the full range of GALAXIS functionalities at three prime locations in the Philippines, continue the company’s expansion in the island nation. Significantly, one of these—at the luxury Midas Hotel and Casino in Manila—is the company’s first system installation in Asia to deploy both the GALAXIS SLOTS and TABLES management suites, covering tables machine games at one of the Philippines and capital’s premier gaming venues.
“The Philippines is just a huge opportunity,” says SPIELO International’s Sales Director Fivos Polymniou, “and the great thing about the Philippines is, of course, that next year, when you start looking at the resort casinos being developed, we’re in a position to challenge the traditional list of competitors.”
GALAXIS encompasses a complete set of tools for managing slots and/or systems and enhancing the ability of operators to attract, do analysis, and reward players accordingly. Its manifold strengths derive from the fact that it is both modular and comprehensive.
“With our systems, everything is modular so casinos can just plug and play,” explains Chiang Lai Fatt, General Manager-Asia Pacific Casino Systems for SPIELO International, based in Kuala Lumpur. “And we allow the customers to choose the modules they want, which many of the major systems do not allow. I don’t think other companies will just sell you the hardware. Or if you need only our slot portions, we will just put in the slot portions. If you need only jackpots, we can do that, too.”
GALAXIS’ modules are connected across the gaming floor via SPIELO International’s advanced CRYSTAL.net™ network, which includes a touchscreen interface at the game for more powerful communications and advertising. There is an array of cashless options: qpon cash™ for ticket in/ticket-out, chip cash™ for smart card, and an innovative server-based solution called cash wallet™.
“Jackpots are also one of our key strengths in systems,” says Mr Chiang. “Our jackpots system can actually run all the jackpots—progressive, mystery—without the need for an external controller. Some customers use a system, but they still need an external controller to run the jackpot. Our system can generate all of it, which in the end saves the customer money.” He stresses the flexibility that is a hallmark of SPIELO International’s approach to systems technology.
The Midas installation was accompanied by two full-scale GALAXIS installations at VIP Club slot halls in Subic Bay, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila, and just north of the capital in Bulacan. Encompassing about 120 EGMs at each location, the installations presented SPIELO International with its first opportunity in Asia to showcase cash wallet. A smart, affordable, and “greener” cashless payment method, cash wallet provides the convenience and security of a smart card with the safety and cost-effectiveness of server-based storage, which can reduce operators’ costs by as much as 90% compared with a smart card. Players simply insert their mag-stripe card into the machine using a secure PIN. Players who prefer anonymity can also register to create a cash wallet account.
Mr. Chiang also has overseen systems installations at the Sheraton Walker Hill Casino in Seoul and at two slot clubs in Ho Chi Minh City, at the New World and Rex hotels. The immediate future will also see systems deployed in the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam.
While over the longer term, he sees the significance of systems becoming greater. “In Vietnam there are still a lot of clubs that are without proper systems. And in Singapore all those private clubs are looking into systems. Player-tracking is a key,” he says. “These clubs don’t even track their players, and now they feel they need to use it more. In the Philippines, there are still a lot of venues running without systems.”
It’s about “different systems for different markets,” he says, which places SPIELO International and its flexible, customizable approach in a unique position.
“With GALAXIS, we have a full-blown system for big-scale operations. We also have a simpler system with SYSTEM2go that is Web-based, which can cater to any size of multi-site outlets with less than 10, or up to more than a hundred machines, and which is very easy to install as well.”
