Inside Asian Gaming

EGT by the banker. Using the four sides of a square principle, one of Winning Asia’s Internet café offerings is a soccer game where players bet on which part of the goal an on-screen striker will hit the ball. “The players can change the skill level of the penalty taker to get a better chance of betting successfully on the direction of the penalty kicks,” explains Ms Tang. “There are seven levels of the game. If the player manages all seven, at that point a jackpot kicks in. We provide the games. It’s then up to the service operator to decide how they want to configure the payouts,” she adds. One of Winning Asia’s platform partners in China for the soft gaming offer is C Y Foundation, a Hong Kong-listed company that runs a chain of Internet cafes. Tourism marketing Winning Asia’s third and most recent product line is its hospitality service. This involves marketing to Mainland Chinese customers intending to visit Macau. “We try to bring customers from China to the hotels in Macau,” states Ms Tang. “We have a very big network of shuttle buses that come into Macau. We have loyalty cards so customers can accumulate points when they buy bus tickets or when they buy services from us, such as hotel and bus packages.We’re not looking for big returns in the short term from the hospitality product strand. Long term, we do see it offering recurring revenue as our database grows.” In land-based gaming, Winning Asia is operating a total of 400 slot machines and multiplayer terminals across the region, including 100 machines in Macau. It runs others in Cambodia and other parts of Indochina and on cruise ships operating out of Singapore. Winning Asia works with its partners flexibly as they and the market require. In some cases, the company acts in an outsourced management function, as happens on part of the floor at the Kam Pek Paradise Casino in Macau. At other times, it can work on a revenue participation basis, as a service agent, or as a combination of all three. “We are not just equipment distributors,” stresses Ms Tang. Hands on “We are in the front line of the Asia marketandwehelppartnerstolocalisetheir machines, including all the translations, the graphics, the denominations and firmware for the local currencies and even the setting of the jackpots. We also give them product support. “We have our own team inCambodia and Macau. We can work with partners to train technicians. Every month we have people visiting them to make sure the machines are running well, and to send them parts, etc. “Most importantly, we tell partners what are the tastes and needs of the market— such as the mathematics of the games. That usually means more volatile games,” she points out. “I travel around Asia to learn about other gaming markets. I stay in the casinos for a week and play every day to learn what the players actually do—their betting habits, the average bet, the games they play, and why some games are better than others in that market. It’s crucial to understand the people in that market. I talk to the players as one player to another player. That’s the only way you can learn,” she emphasises. “I will spend hours on each game. Even if I’m losing, I will go for it. You’re investing in it. So I bet on my own machines in customers’ casinos. I will get a feel if a machine is for high rollers, or whether it’s offering itty- bitty returns. Once we know what players like or don’t like, we can respond quickly in changing it. Sometimes we know before a casino operator whether a machine is working well or not,” adds Ms Tang. Quality partners Winning Asia’s formula involves picking its equipment partners just as diligently as it researches player preferences. “We pick our partners very carefully. We don’t work with anyone. We work with people that value our insight and are willing to adapt products for the market,” states Ms Tang. Three of Winning Asia’s partners in the Winning Asia’s machines at Kam Pek Paradise Casino in Macau Another Winning Asia Internet café offering January 2010 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 23