Because of the Department of Justice’s ruling on the existing gaming prohibitions that now only applies to sports betting, letting Internet poker, casino games and lotteries off the hook, Warwick Bartlett, CEO and founder of Global Betting and Gaming consultancy said that this will boost the profile and international interest in the event ICE Totally Gaming Exhibition happening on the 24th, 25th and 26th of January in Earls Court, London.
The impact of the ruling has boosted around £500 million on the value of Britain’s largest quoted gambling companies only during the first day of post Christmas trading as a likely result of the ruling. Bartlett said, “ICE is already the global focal point for the gambling industry and I can see its influence growing further. Following the DOJ ruling software suppliers have been receiving enquiries from the USA and I expect that this will be followed up by new entrants to the market coming to ICE to see at firsthand what is on offer and what deals can be achieved.”
He also said that despite of the recession he would expect visitor numbers to be up this year because of the legislative changes that have taken place in Europe and what is expected to happen in the USA. Nevada alone gets around 30 million visitors annually, and the brick and mortar casinos there are mostly the pit stop.
“This is an important game changer and many of the major players and main beneficiaries will either be exhibiting at ICE or walking the aisles of the exhibition. ICE is the first industry-wide opportunity to sit down, discuss the opportunities, compare suppliers and arrive at what could be some pretty significant commercial decisions. The main beneficiaries to begin with will be the state lotteries, and the software suppliers to those lotteries such as Lottomatica Gtech and Playtech,” said Bartlett.
Bartlett was happy that the DOJ ruling was made public in time for ICE as it comes almost a month to the day of the ruling. Then the request for clarification sought by the New York State Lottery and the Illinois Lottery on behalf of their software suppliers GTECH followed.
According to Bartlett, the ruling of the DOJ will be the hot topic of the ICE followed shortly by Video Lottery Terminal or VLTs since the number of the nations and states looking forward to the VLT market are growing because it could be a possible way of financing budget deficits.
A VLT is a gaming machine that allows gamblers to bet on the outcome of a video game. It is slightly similar to a slot machine where each terminal is a standalone device containing a random number generator. The machine is connected to a centralized computer system that allows the lottery jurisdiction.
[Source: Casino Affiliate Programs]
