What novelties have you presented at the show?

AG: We had lots of gaming novelties to show at Entertainment Arena Expo, exciting content, hardware and solutions as well as highly market-specific promotional offers. One of our main concerns over these past few years has been to offer agreements and solutions that supported our industry partners during these difficult times. Now that we really see an upswing across the industry, it’s our turn to deliver innovation and player excitement and make it available to the market in attractive and affordable ways. Hence, our focus at this show was definitely on compelling product news and packages.

LB: The biggest novelty was certainly the world premiere of the new DIAMOND X™ 1.55J cabinet. Visitors in Bucharest witnessed the first-ever public staging of this exciting new gaming machine in J-Curve upright screen format that perfectly complements its multi-screen sister DIAMOND X™ 2.32. Both cabinets were presented with the latest progressive game mixes: XTENSION LINK™ for the 1.55J and Superia CASH CONNECTION™ Volume 2 for the 2.32.

These were not the only premieres. We also presented the new V.I.P. Eagle II 3.32 cabinet and the next generation of the so-called “Black Edition”, a cabinet that has become extremely popular in the region, BLACK EDITION II, shown with the best-selling Impera-Line HD™ Edition 7.

Some visitors of our in-house events were already familiar with the new NOVO LINE™ Interactive Concurve Edition 6. Now this new game mix for the single screen upright cabinets was also shown in Bucharest. Among the 15 titles are six brand new launches with integrated stand-alone jackpots. Analogously, for the multi-screen segment, we presented the new NOVO LINE™ Interactive Edition X3 – with 40 games, including 13 new releases.

Not to forget: the NOVO LINE CASH CONNECTION™ Edition 3 and IMPERA LINK™, both are internationally very successful products that also hit a sweet spot with Romanian operators and their guests.

For the electronic table games segment, FAZI presented the new TITAN Roulette. And for the sports betting sector, the TIP & CASH team presented tailored partnership offers for operators seeking to enter this exciting sector.

What has been your experience at the recent edition?

AG: Our impression was pretty much the same that our international colleagues reported from various shows and events abroad: a general sentiment of high spirits and new beginnings. Operators showed very keen interest in our product news and the various specific offers. It was a pleasure to be able to be back after two years and to have the chance to see our clients and partners in Romania’s most important gaming event of the year. 

What has been the feedback from visitors?

LB: Just plain excellent. This year’s Entertainment Arena was a very special edition: We had the great pleasure to welcome our new ADMIRAL and AdmiralBet brand ambassador for the region, local superstar and tennis grand master Ilie Nastase live at the show – and he really drew a crowd. It was just marvellous to see how much the people in our country love him. 

On the products side, of course, the best feedback you can receive is keen customer interest, which we definitely had. In the center of the attention were the DIAMOND X™ 2.32 and DIAMOND X™ 1.55J, everybody wants to have them on their gaming floors, as they are promising in terms of game mixes and linked progressive jackpots. 

As mentioned before, we had prepared a wide range of specific offers and benefits for the local market, such as purchase in up to 36 instalments, the extended “Buy Back” option or the "Return & Discount Rent" option – and as it turned out, these presented our customers with highly attractive choices. 

How do you see the Eastern European games of chance market with regard to the products that the firm commercializes?

AG: Having in consideration that we are operating in a mature market, it’s a competitive environment. We have the support and the NOVOMATIC know-how from our colleagues from Austria, therefore our sales strategy is based on our clients’ needs. The product portfolio is vast and we are up to date with the latest gaming equipment and, on top of that, we also have an attractive commercial offer.