Hundreds of employees of German arcades demonstrated at the opening of the IMA trade show in Düsseldorf this morning as the major gaming machine exhibition opened its doors.
The well-orchestrated protest by the employees, many of them in their operating company uniforms, was designed to highlight the industry's fight against the proposals of 16 of the 17 German 'lander' or semi-autonomous states which make up the German federation, to decimate the machine industry over the next five years.
The states have signed an accord setting out their proposals for the gaming industry in Germany for the future and it includes a controversial section which will reduce arcades to 12 machines per location and set the licensed premises 500m apart. The plans are due to come into force in five years' time.
At the opening of the show this morning, the demonstration prefaced the official opening ceremony which was attended by Siegfried Kauder, a member of the federal government's legal committee, who has argued that the changes proposed by the lander are unconstitutional.
