Entries:
- February 7, 2019 – Appreciating the last day of ICE
- February 7, 2019 – Consumer Protection Zone at ICE focuses on responsible gaming
- February 6, 2019 – Stevens and Miller reaffirm NIGA/AGA friendship
- February 6, 2019 – A tour through ICE with Julian Graves
- February 5, 2019 – PITCH ICE compass to gaming’s future?
- February 5, 2019 – An Unforgettable Evening at the Hippodrome
- February 4, 2019 – 4 p.m. GMT – Gambling on India and Africa?
- February 4, 2019 – 11:30 a.m. – Japan to be a challenge
- February 3, 2019 – Welcome!
February 7, 2019 – Appreciating the last day of ICE
I love the last day of a trade show! There are few – if any – seminars or programs to cover. While the exhibit halls at ICE were still busy to the closing bell, the vendors are much more receptive to talking to “the media” or even “the advertising salesman.”
It is also a good time to sit down with the gaming media as well as gaming conference planners from around the world and explore cooperative ventures and ideas. According to the CDC Conference Calendar there are 90-plus gaming events still to come this year. I heard about a few more today. I am looking forward to learning about them and then informing the gaming industry as much as I can.
On Sunday I will do a “report card” of the show, but for now I will tell you that I had a wonderful time and found it a fulfilling personal and professional experience. I learned a lot. I saw a lot of old friends, plus hopefully made some new ones.
And along the way I rediscovered why London has always been one of my favorite places.
February 7, 2019 – Consumer Protection Zone at ICE focuses on responsible gaming
Handling player-related issues, including problem gambling, is a struggle on all sides of the gaming industry planet. The industry makes money off players – the great majority of whom can afford to spend and enjoy the gaming experience be it at a casino, online or at a sports betting shop.
We all realize that though it is ultimately the players’ choice to bet responsibly, there should be the tools and advice available to make that choice; even if that choice is to never gamble again.
The Consumer Protection Zone (CPZ) at ICE on the tradeshow floor was one of the best pro-active approaches I have ever seen in informing the industry on responsible gaming issues and resources. Originally launched at ICE 2018, CPZ offered three days of seminars on how to incorporate responsible gaming into game design and mechanics, customer monitoring and transparency, self-exclusion and blocking.
A small section of vendors offered products and services to assist the industry.
Gamblewise is a customer app that can be used at participating casinos to set and maintain personal limits. IBAS adjudicates player disputes including late bets, customer identity, promotional offer issues, and disputed settlements. Mindway AL showed how advances in neuroscience can help gaming businesses find problem gamblers. YGAM is a well-regarded charity assisting young people against problem gambling and social gaming.
One could get fully educated on the issue of responsible gaming and see how to deal with it pro-actively.
CDC Gaming Reports avoids linking to articles that discuss crimes – usually embezzlement – where someone committed the act because of their gambling habit. The crime is the story, not the reason behind it, which could well have been drug addiction or another personal issue. We do realize that such tales, or tales of someone not getting a jackpot they deserved, do not help the image of the gaming.
The gaming industry worldwide should continue to make responsible gaming a goal, for both the industry and as responsible citizens. One speaker I overheard from an on-floor panel yesterday stated, “As an industry we have done a lot, but we can always do more.”
February 6, 2019 – Stevens and Miller reaffirm NIGA/AGA friendship
Last May, Geoff Freeman told Howard Stutz and me that he was leaving as president of the American Gaming Association to accept a similar position with the Grocery Manufacturers Association. On that phone call, I said that of all his accomplishments, the best, in my opinion, was his expansion of the AGA through allowing tribal membership and the strong working relationship he’d forged with the National Indian Gaming Association, in particular, chairman Ernest Stevens Jr.
His reply was “Thanks, but not everyone would agree with you” – a statement verified when Howard later did interviews related to our coverage of Freeman’s departure.
But whatever those (hopefully few) naysayers feel, incoming AGA president Bill Miller (who sat next to Stevens today at an AGA/NIGA discussion at ICE) made it crystal clear that the friendship and cooperation will continue – and even move beyond the Freeman era.
“It is wonderful to see all the benefits the gaming industry brought to Native America,” Miller said, “and that our industry has created long-needed economic opportunity for a group treated so badly for centuries.” In expectation and celebration of the continued AGA/NIGA friendship, Stevens presented Miller with a bolo tie from his own tribe, the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin.
Later in the session, Miller discussed his unique first day on the job – January 14, 2019. “Usually the first day involves chatting with HR about getting on the health plan, locating the restroom and finding out how lunch is handled,” he said. “My first day was spend analyzing the DOA’s reinterpretation of the Wire Act, which came out that very morning.” Miller has a law degree from American University, plus a strong Washington DC political background, so he was the right man in the right place at the right time.
Miller’s initial take on the DOA action? “It has not chilled states from continuing to move ahead on sports betting legislation, and we have not seen any changes in the financial services community regarding their handling of legal online gambling, so it is still very unclear what the effects are or will be.”
Miller added, “It is sad that this could negatively affect established transparent on-line operations that have been operating within the law since 2011, but totally leave illegal gambling unchanged.”
February 6, 2019 – A tour through ICE with Julian Graves
Julian Graves, the non-executive chairman of Clarion Events’ Gaming Division, has been with the company (and critically involved in the development of ICE) since 2005. So I could not ask for a better guide through the current exhibition as well as insights into the background and philosophy of the show.
“ICE is a totally intergraded show for a totally intergraded industry,” said Graves. “The American gambling market is different from many parts of the world as it is heavily into slot machines (as is Macau and the Philippines) but represent a smaller segment of the gambling market in other parts of the world. At ICE anything you can gamble on in the world you will see here.”
That does not mean there is not a place for traditional gaming at ICE, as Graves pointed out at the well-presented Abbiati Casino Equipment display. A long-time supplier in the European market, Italy-based Abbiati makes high-quality table games and layouts – some using beautiful aged mahogany – combining the best of the old and new world.
The largest exhibitor at ICE is Novamatic, whose tradeshow booth measures 4,606 square meters (50,000 square feet). According to Graves, the company was instrumental in ICE London’s (then ICE Totally Gaming) move in 2011 from Earl’s Court to the current, much larger, ExCel location. (Earl’s Court closed in 2014.) Their exhibit (I refuse to call it a “stall”), shows the company’s vast offerings of “high-tech electronic equipment and solutions.” I am going to give it a more thorough visit on Thursday.
“Not only is ExCel a great facility, but London itself is also an advantage” said Graves. “Most of our visitors from over 140 countries travel great distances to be here – and there are thus determined to find value in their time and money investment.”
February 5, 2019 – PITCH ICE compass to gaming’s future?
Tucked away in a corner of one of the two massive ICE exhibit halls is a simple semi-private presentation area – podium, media boards, 40 seats call ICE Theatre. Today it was the home of PITCH ICE. Sponsored by Best Gaming, a comprehensive platform for new gaming startups, PITCH ICE featured 15-minute pitches by 20+ start-ups looking for investors, publicity – sort of a “Speaker’s Corner” for new gaming businesses.
Scanning the list of companies making a presentation told a lot. Or, more accurately, scanning the list of the industry sectors in which these companies were operating told a better story. New table games and new slot machines were not mentioned. However, products and platforms directed at sports betting, exchange/Blockchain, eSports, payments, and odds comparison took center-stage.
The first presenter were two young men introducing “Prophet,” a secondary market for sports bets.
Say I bet 500-to-1 at the beginning of the season that the Cleveland Browns will win the Super Bowl. Later when the Browns make the payoffs (they almost did this year) the odds drop to 40-1. Instead of waiting until the bet comes good or goes bad, Prophet would allow me to “monetize” the bet (with several options in a transparent transaction) for a profit now.
Currently capitalized at $160,000 (as I said, it’s a startup) Prophet plans to launch In the United Kingdom in 6-12 months and then move on to the U.S. They are also considering offering a similar market for election betting – which is very big in the UK.
According to the presenters Prophet is the only product of its type out there. However, PropSwap (http://propswap.com/) has been operating in Nevada for a few years. Two weeks ago, I heard a similar pitch for another company in the U.S.
February 5, 2019 – An Unforgettable Evening at the Hippodrome
Gaming consultant Roy Student, Duke Ochi of Panasonic, and myself were treated last night to a tour of the Hippodrome, one of the most impressive casinos I have ever seen.
One reason for my amazement is that I remember London casinos of old – before the passage of the Gambling Act of 2005. In the 20th century London casinos could not advertise, could not be open to the street (most casinos were located on either second floors or basements), there could be no live entertainment (even a pianist), could not serve liquor at the tables, and you had to join “the club” 48 hours in advance to enter (a major restriction on tourists). Anyone familiar with American casinos found London casinos a dreary affair.
In 2009, father and son Jimmy and Simon Thomas acquired the lease on the Hippodrome, a legendary building located in the heart of London’s legendary West End entertainment district. Originally opened in 1900 for circus and variety programs, the venue then featured a 100,000-gallon water tank, equestrian acts, trapeze acts under a 60-foot dome, elephants, and a music hall show featuring a new actor named Charlie Chaplin. Later as a music hall, the Hippodrome hosted the English premiere of Swan Lake as well as the first official jazz performance in the United Kingdom.
From 1958-1982 the Hippodrome was “The Talk of the Town” a supper-club featuring popular artists including one of the last performances by Judy Garland in 1969 – and then became a general event center until the Thomases acquired it in 2009.
Before enjoying a wonderful dinner, Simon Thomas gave us an extensive tour of the facility, which includes three separate casinos with three very different personalities. The main casino is under the dome, a second is in an intimate club setting, plus there is an informal playing area in the basement.
Hippodrome includes the five-star Heliot Steak House, a 325-seat Cabaret Theatre (currently the home of “Magic Mike Live”), a two-tier “indoor” smoking terrace (a lesson in how to use creative pro-active thinking in effectively dealing with the UK’s no-smoking laws), six bars, and a large poker deck. The amenities are creatively and majestically spread throughout a multi-floor facility that has been beautifully restored to the original décor and ambiance of the early 1900s. Simon Thomas certainly has something to be proud of.
By the number of industry friends I ran into last night, The Hippodrome Casino is no secret – but I recommend that you check it out if you are in the industry and/or just love innovation in gaming.
February 4, 2019 – 4 p.m. GMT – Gambling on India and Africa?
I have never been to Africa, but I did live in India for several months in 1980 – and am very interested in the state of gaming in both regions. Most gaming news sites, including CDC Gaming Reports, do not regularly run news from these jurisdictions. So it is with great interest that I attended the Indian section of the Asian Gaming Roundtable – as well as the later roundtables on Africa.
There are many similarities – some I expected and one I grinned at. With their rapidly expanding middle class, India as well as East and West Africa are offer tremendous opportunities for both on-line gaming and (though not as much) brick and mortar casinos. And unlike other parts of the world, developmental costs are considerably less. And there is also considerable uncertainty.
In India, gambling is regulated on a state-by-state basis. Online games of skill (poker, rummy and chess) are permitted as well as a handful of casinos in the better hotels in Goa and Sikkum. Nigeria has recently upgraded their online regulations plus streamlined their gaming tax structure (better coordinating national and state-by-state taxes). Botswana is beginning the licensing process for both online and casino gaming.
And what are all the countries interested in? Sports betting! While not yet legal in any of these areas, international soccer has a huge following throughout Africa with similar interest for cricket in India. Who knew that eliminating the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act would lead to a worldwide movement?
February 4, 2019 – 11:30 a.m. – Japan to be a challenge
Similar to other shows, the first day of ICE (called ICE VOX) is primarily conferences and seminars but the setup is quite different that anything I have ever seen, and according to other ICE VOX attendees, a change from past years. All of the programs are held in one large room cordoned off with curtains and other temporary dividers.
For example, the various Regional Roundtables that were held in “The Hive” which is designed to look like a bar (see photo). All the programs are one hour long; the first one is devoted only to Japan (three speakers) – followed by next hour discussing the entire Americas (eleven speakers discussing the United States, Columbia, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Brazil.) Speakers go from one-to-five minutes introducing themselves, and everyone then breaks down into very small groups discussing their particular area of interest.
At the Japan Rountable it quickly became apparent from all the speakers (including Ed Bowers, CEO Japan, MGM Resorts; Ayko Makayama, Representative Director, Japan IR Association; Marcus Prater, Executive Director AGEM) that establishing casinos in Japan will be a tremendous gaming industry challenge.
The Japanese Government is still issuing procedures and regulations – and like all regulatory process they can be over-vague in some areas and over-specific in others. Japan has yet to say if the recently increased 10 percent consumption tax will apply to casinos (on top of 30 percent gaming tax), but regulations about design of the Integrated Resorts (IRs – a term that seems to be different in Japan than elsewhere) are getting increasingly detailed regarding non-gaming facilities offered, presentation of Japanese culture and other areas. Off the record, one presenter described Japanese regulatory process to me as “Massachusetts on steroids.”
In Japan, cities and municipalities partner with a gaming operator and it is the municipality that applies for the license. There are few municipalities in Japan large enough to support a $5 billion to $10 billion resort (especially as local residents are restricted to three visits per week and 10 per month). At this time Osaka (site of EXPO 2025) appears very eager and will probably see the first IR.
Another further complication is all development plans are only approved for five years – and then must be re-approved possibly by a different government. The lack of long-term approval makes obtaining capital financing almost impossible – except based on a five-year amortization which is not financially feasible.
However, Prater stated, “Japan is a shining star. It will be the most complex market in industry history, but the results will be cutting edge.”
Tomorrow I will be attending ICE London for the first time – joining Andrew Tottenham, Luke Haward and the newest member of the CDC Gaming Reports team, Hannah Gannagé -Stewart – in covering the biggest gaming show in the world.
Our coverage will be primarily in special “From the Floor” sections in this week’s Last Call, which are perfectly timed to bring both sides of the pond important news from the show. As seasoned writers (and all past ICE attendees) Andrew, Luke and Hannah will provide articles on specific sessions or interviews, while ye-ole-publisher will be submitting daily “Dispatches on ICE” discussing both specific and general reactions to his first ICE London.
For several years I promised myself (and others) that I would be making the trip but due to personal and professional obstacles I never had to opportunity until now. However, with Howard Stutz, Cory Roberts, Ken Adams and Justin Martin holding the CDC Gaming Reports fort in the US – plus a couple of recent angels watching over me on my trip – it is time for Jeffrey to cross the pond to discuss and learn more about his famous industry in one of his favorite towns.
It’s ironic. The first casino I ever played at was in London (Charlie Chester’s 1975 – I was too young to play in Nevada) – and my first association with the professional gaming industry happened at the 6th International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking Conference (1990), where I met Bill Edington (speaking of angels) and another Northern Nevada gaming legend named Terry Oliver, now one of the more active members of our Advisory Board.
Everyone I talked who is familiar with the show tells me that I will be impressed, including two experienced ICE attendees I sent inquires to.
According to Andrew Tottenham, “ICE has grown dramatically since the first gaming equipment supplier exhibited at what was then the Amusement Trades Exhibition in 1987. Since then it has grown into its own exhibition with online gambling representing at least half of the exhibitors. The number and breadth of online gaming supply companies bring vibrancy to the show. Suppliers and operators come from all over the world to attend, last year more than 30,000 attendees came from over 100 countries. This diversity leads to a cross pollination of ideas that drives innovation within our industry.”
The other answer came by email, just as I got hesitantly in line to board the plane to London. It came from former American Gaming Association CEO Geoff Freeman; “You’ll enjoy ICE. Very good event.”
Jeffrey Compton is the publisher of CDC Gaming Reports.
