“Safeguarding our guests and employees within our gaming operations is the number one priority in the organisation right now”, said Ryszard Presch, Member of the Board of NOVOMATIC AG. “During the past weeks, we’ve had plenty of time to prepare a comprehensive catalogue of safety measures and protocols for the day, when we would be able to welcome players again in our venues.”

The reopening plan for the gaming operations is strictly aligned with the various national governments’ reopening roadmaps as well as regional recommendations. While in some countries the goal to “flatten the curve” has already been achieved and, with the loosening of the economic restrictions, life gradually returns to something resembling normality, in other countries with a stronger pandemic impact, governments are still cautious. Accordingly, the reopening schedule for the gaming venues strongly depends on the respective national – and in some cases regional – COVID-19 policy.    

The NOVOMATIC catalogue of safeguarding measures for the gaming venues was developed by a multi-national committee of casino and arcade experts, strictly aligned to the recommendations of public health professionals. It is first and foremost based on extensive staff training to guarantee a high acceptance of all measures among employees and enable them to efficiently communicate the importance of adhering to safety requirements to guests while maintaining a welcoming atmosphere in the venues. Apart from the provision of personal protective equipment for guests, rigorous disinfection protocols for gaming equipment and fixtures were introduced. Physical spacers or extra space between individual seating positions, plexiglass panels at receptions and other desk positions plus a floor traffic management for critical areas further help to limit the physical interaction between staff and guests as well as among guests.

In the NOVOMATIC Group’s key markets of Germany, Italy and Spain, amongst others, as well as in the Balkans region, many arcades and casinos have successfully resumed operations following the relaxation of measures during the past weeks. Despite ongoing restrictions supporting health and safety measures, which are gratefully accepted by the guests, visitor numbers are recovering well and give reason for optimism.

In the UK, where leading B2C brands like Luxury Leisure Talarius trading as ADMIRAL have cemented the NOVOMATIC Group’s position as the leading arcade operator, the arcades currently remain closed. This is in spite of official confirmation that a re-opening that was announced for last week, but was then withdrawn with little notice. Still, preparations have been meticulously implemented to provide safeguarding for guests and staff alike and to warrant that the arcades now provide a safe and hospitable gaming entertainment environment ready to open as soon as the restrictions are lifted.

Ryszard Presch said: “We are now live again with many of our group-wide gaming operations under the various international brands. Whereas these brands and the re-opening schedules in the countries may differ, one thing remains the same for all of them: We will ensure that our customers not only are safe but also feel safe and welcome.”