Inside Asian Gaming

January 2008 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 37 Vendor Profile to share intelligence, but his dilemma high- lights an apparent fact of life about slots. Although many of Asia’s casino operators are publicly listed companies, the business model for slots appears to be subject to much less shareholder scrutiny than that for table games, with operators using the catch- all of ‘commercial confidentiality’. Even when operators are willing to supply feedback to slot makers they may still invoke confidentiality clauses. While in the short term this may serve to protect operator interests, in the longer term the dearth of shared market intelligence on slots could actually be holding back de- velopment of the market and even of the products themselves. Mr Gribble says: “I think non-disclosure agreements are a fair trade off. We get the helpful information we need to develop the products, and the operator gets the security of knowing that a competitor won’t have ac- cess to their numbers.” Advantage operators Operators are also reluctant to reveal information on house advantage. When Lawrence Ho—wearing his Melco executive hat—was asked recently what the return to player (RTP) rate was on his slots operation, the most he would divulge was “90% plus”. “Payback will vary from operator to op- erator,” says Mr Gribble.“Some might look at their customers as being a transient crowd and some might look at them as being a lo- cal crowd. They will vary their floors based on their marketing strategy. Most of us as manufacturers would try to cater to fit their requirements. Gamblers versus players Stuart Gribble thinks that while the bulk of operators’ slot revenues in Macau may currently be coming from gambling- focused customers who are playing ma- chines aggressively, he believes an increas- ing number of players are there for general entertainment. He says: “People talk about Macau be- ing a volatile gamblers’ market, but I don’t necessarily agree with that. Yes, the bulk of slots’ earnings may come from top end players, but my feeling is that the bulk of players can’t afford to do that and instead they play for entertainment—time on de- vice. That’s why we see such great utilisa- tion on WMS products. “Across the board our products are with- out a doubt among the most played games in Asia.We know that from the games played analyses I do get to see that show our game play utilisation is continually at the top of the list. “I think the growing part of the slots market is the time on device entertain- ment seeker. There’s no doubt in my mind that players have accepted WMS as an entertainment brand and one they want to spend time on.How- ever,WMS has also focussed on higher game volatility in or- der to attract the top end players. That’s why we developed & released the highly successful Gambler Plus (G+) and Wrap Around Pays series. Games like Brazilian Beauty, Zeus & Great Eagle are perform- ing well above floor average.” he adds. Differentiation While one can clearly detect a strong sales pitch in Mr Gribble’s statement, he may have hit on an important element in the future of slots—not just in Asia but around the world.This is the differentiation of casinos’ slots offer—possibly through