"The plan for Merkur Gaming in 2018 is to continue our expansion"

How do you see this year’s show?

Today, on the second day of ICE 2018, we can already see that there has been an increase in both visitors and a specific interest from the clients and more generally from the people who came to visit the show. We made some changes this year to the Merkur Gaming booth, basically taking away some equipment, not because we wanted to have less equipment but because we need more room to allow people to move around the booth and see everything. So far, this has worked exceptionally well. As always, we know both statistically and by observation that ICE is the biggest and best show in the world of gaming. It is important that we are here in a prominent position and ready to receive our clients and to receive our friends from the industry. So far, everything is working out fantastically well.

What are you introducing at ICE 2018?

As always, at major trade shows, we want to introduce the newest and best innovations from Merkur Gaming. In this instance, that specifically means the areas that we have designated to be the showcase for our games’ suits. They include Asian-theme games, Egyptian games and the ever popular Fruit games that are all on display in a dedicated area on our booth’s lower level.  As well as that, this is not just a show for Merkur Gaming, it is a show for the entire Gauselmann Group. Meaning that we have many other associate companies here, as well as Merkur Gaming, for example GeWeTe, who are a payment and cash-handling specialist, and also our i-gaming division, Edict plus our important sports betting colleagues from Cashpoint and XTip. Besides those, Blueprint Gaming, our specialists in the UK market, and our Spanish colleagues from Dosniha Gaming are with us so the whole exposition of the Gauselmann Group here is together, as we like to say, under one sun: the Merkur sun.

What are the company plans for 2018?

The plans for Merkur Gaming in 2018 are to continue our expansion, specifically in Latin America and our market entry into the United States, and internationally, to continue our expansion though our home markets in Europe and further afield. As always, we set ourselves the target to continue on our chosen path to be more successful and to be wider known and wider represented throughout the world of gaming.

How do you see the European market and what is the positioning of the company?

Gauselmann Group is a German-based company so Europe is, as I have said, our natural home market.The expansion that we have made during2017, which continues now in 2018, specifically relates to Eastern Europe; to areas for example such as the BEGE Show, Sofia, Bulgaria, that was a regional show not just for Bulgaria but for the whole Eastern European market. That was amazingly successful, we had a very strong presence there in 2017, and that is continuing today. We have already seen on the first two days of ICE many visitors from across Europe, from many different markets, many different representatives, languages, and styles of gaming, but all coming to see what we have to offer at Merkur Gaming.

In terms of the European region, that is a series of interconnected, mature markets where the knowledge of and the appetite for gaming from the people that matter most, the players, is at its highest. Basically, in Europe you will find gaming in some form or another, and wherever there are legally regulated markets and opportunities, there also you will find Merkur Gaming.

What other shows will you be present at this year?

From here in London, two things will happen: first, at the close of ICE 2018, our dedicated exhibition team already willbegin working for next year’s ICE! Actively, our teams will be engaged in all major trade shows wherever they occur, specifically we go from here in London to NIGA, in US, which this year will be based in Las Vegas, Nevada, something entirely new, and then we will go to Juegos Miami, that is an important meeting point for all Latin American customers and colleagues. We then attend to all the other major trade shows throughout Latin America leading up to SAGSE in Buenos Aires. This year SAGSE changes its date and takes place a couple of weeks before G2E in Las Vegas, which is an unusual situation, hopefully for this year only. Our main regional focus, show-wise, for the latter part of 2018 is of course G2E and we expect to making some key announcements and product launches in Las Vegas.

What about the new generation of players?

Advances in technology attract a new type of player and a new generation. The company adapts to the need to maintain the players’ attention. The answer to your question really comes down to three words: game, game, game. How do we achieve that? We achieve that by having one of the most advanced technically, financially and personnel well-resourced Research & Development in the global gaming industry. We work constantly to create, design, produce and ultimately sell the latest and greatest in gaming technology. And it is true to say that in the gaming industry of the 21^st century anybody that stands still is actually going backwards, because technology moves so fast . Merkur Gaming moves not only fast but keeps ahead of the gaming in terms of technology advances.

How do you see the future of the industry globally?

What is popular in one country may be not always popular in another. What is new and exciting in one area may not be as instantly exciting in another area. The appetite for gaming and the players’ knowledge and sophistication in gaming never stops. The singer Neil Young once wrote a song called Rust Never Sleeps. Well, at Merkur Gaming, first of all we do not allow Rust to develop in the first place and we certainly never sleep because we are always using all our Research and Development to create new products that are exciting, entertaining and enthralling. The future of the gaming industry globally is onward and upward.