The FER trade show in Madrid closed its doors on Wednesday afternoon after a revealing three-day run which demonstrated graphically the economic pain that the country is struggling through.
In the past four years two successively restrictive smoking bans and the financial constraints brought on by crushing unemployment levels, has shredded incomes from machines. Cashboxes are down 50 per cent, the installed base is down from 240,000 to 200,000 and there were some major gaps in the line-up on the show floor.
Despite some missing names, there was a big turnout of operators, suggesting that while they may have no resources to re-equip, Spanish operators will still take the chance to meet and talk in the aisles of the show. There were plenty of new machines about, and while the show was well presented, it was clear that buying was very limited.
Sections of the hall had been partitioned off to take up the space, there were rumours that some exhibitors had occupied double the space they booked and there were a few ‘holes’ indicating last-minute pull-outs.
But the organisers had succeeded in putting together a good-looking show against all of the odds and for that they need some praise. The internationals were there, as always, and some of them were there with huge stands. The fact that Novomatic had a massive display, and there were big booths for Aristocrat, Gauselmann Group’s Merkur Gaming and Spielo, shows that there are long-term ambitions for the big players in Spain.
A full report on the show appears in the April issue of InterGame. Pictures from the show can be viewed here.
