The long-awaited new Irish Gaming legislation is not around the corner so suppliers to the market were able to breathe a sigh of relief at this year’s 37th Irish Gaming Show held in Dublin this week.
With the general elections dominating the headlines in Ireland, gaming law, which is never a vote winner, has taken a back seat. This is just the way that the industry likes it. There are over 300 operators successfully running arcades, card clubs, bingo halls and more in Ireland, despite the fact that the country’s legislation is so outmoded that all of these operations occupy a grey area.
Despite this, the industry appears to regulate itself extremely well and there is very little evidence of problem gambling in the country. As such, the authorities appear to be happy with the status quo and the relatively small Irish market is becoming increasingly sophisticated, importing a wide range of high-end, mostly casino-style equipment.
This year’s show sold out before the end of last year and it is settling very comfortably into its relatively new location of the Red Cow Hotel. Susan Freery and John Purcell, the show’s organisers, have done a fine job of combining a sociable small exhibition with an increasingly international set of exhibitors, some of whom are now bringing over large multiplayer roulettes and demanding more sophisticated stand space.
Amusements are not so well catered for, but Bandai Namco, Crown and JNC were there to support the market, alongside a couple of prize suppliers: Novelty World and ITM. Leading cash handling and spares specialists Cummins Allison, GeWeTe, Hazel Electronics and SuzoHapp were present alongside domestic supplier Money Point.
Other than that, the show was dominated by Irish distributors and eastern European slots and roulette suppliers, such as EGT, DLV and Synot, which showed sophisticated new equipment rather than the refurbished slots that were the standard fare in Ireland a decade ago.
Genesis Games and Carnaby Gaming have been a constant of the Dublin show and the Irish market for as long as anyone can remember. Carnaby’s Derek Lynch (pictured) was showing his latest slot machine for the sector, imaginatively called Dracula at the Olympics.
“This is the most successful machine we have ever had for Ireland,” he said. “It offers the player the opportunity to win up to 100 free spins and we have already had several production runs.”
