A sure thing is often referred to as a “lock” in sports betting. In the casino gaming industry, the only sure thing is Lockdogs, the fastest-growing, award-winning distributor of key changeable locks in the highly regulated EGM specific lock industry.
Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis (AGLC) recognized a sure thing when it did its research and awarded Lockdogs a contract to supply their properties with high security locks, including keys and peripherals, to support and maintain the security of gaming machines and kiosks within its licensed casinos.
“For Lockdogs, it was a validation of our business model and philosophy to bring lock technology to the 21st century by eliminating planned obsolescence and allowing our customers to save countless payroll dollars by not having to worry about maintenance, swapping out cores, and counting dimples, among other things,” said Founder and Owner Jeff Connor.
“Our locks come with a lifetime guarantee on keys, meaning our operators no longer worry about ones that break. Lockdogs supplies all major manufacturers and several of the world’s largest casinos with locks, however being awarded this contract after a highly competitive RFP process is a real highlight.”
The contract award is a resounding achievement for Lockdogs and the first one the company has inked with a governmental agency.
Sites within AGLC’s jurisdiction vary from 101 terminals to 1,600, plus one to 12 kiosks. Among the 30 casinos, 13 of them have 399 terminals or fewer, nine have between 400 and 699 terminals, and eight casinos have more than 700 terminals. AGLC oversees more than 22,000 EGMs and VLTs in addition to kiosks.
Connor attributes the resounding, time-tested success of his company to the marketing philosophy known as “word of mouth,” saying, “it is better than any ad or any tradeshow. It is the people in the field who use your product, the slot technicians and security divisions. Once people work with our products, they cannot imagine going back to what they previously used.”
“Our locks are what we call ‘application agnostic,’ ” he continued. “They can go anywhere on an EGM, anywhere on a table game or in the casino cage. They can be coded to the operator’s specific needs.”
Connor went on to reveal that he and Rachel Loudon, Lockdogs’ Chief Compliance Officer, made a commitment that “like it or not, we live in an Amazon world. People want what they want when they need it, and they are not going to wait.”
“When we looked at the business model, we saw that properties were waiting weeks to get their locks because they all had to be pinned by hand,” he recalled. “Our locks are ready to ship 24/7.
“We have always pushed our product out of the door from any of our locations, whether in Las Vegas, Oklahoma, or from our headquarters in Minot, North Dakota. When somebody calls us and says they need locks, we have them there as soon as they want them.
“This commitment has benefited us and will continue to benefit us in Alberta and with our other customers around the globe. We look at it as our competitive advantage. The locks do not require set-up; they require no maintenance. Our goal has always been to turn out our product as soon as the order is received.”
Attributing one of the reasons for his company’s growth to this business philosophy, Connor said that another reason is that Lockdogs has warranties on its products, including lifetime warranties on keys. Broken keys are not an added expense for Lockdogs customers. Break them and Lockdogs will send out new ones.
Acknowledging that he has experience opening casinos in his gaming career, Connor said that some things are always forgotten, that you are always “running around,” forgetting to do this or forgetting to order that.
“What we did was uncover operational inefficiencies and turn them into operational efficiencies,” he explained. “Our mission is to not have casino operators worry about locks, because once they have our locks, they are key-changeable and they will never have to worry about replacing them.
“Fact is, we have a wonderful contract and amazing partners in Alberta. The locks we will provide for them will be the last locks they will ever need.”
Lockdogs is not gaming-specific. Another major portion of the business is in the amusement and route sectors.
“We have a huge number of skill games,” Connor said. “We will be in Las Vegas March 16-19 for the Amusement Expo International, sponsored by the American Amusement Machine Association, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.”
Lockdogs also will be represented at the upcoming Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention at the San Diego Convention Center March 30-April 2.
“Our presence is global and we continue to grow,” Connor added. “Like I have said, beyond all my wildest dreams.”
