Inside Asian Gaming

In order to grow our business globally, we are expanding into new markets and focusing on making sure we have the right products for operators depending on the dynamics of their individual markets. We have recently entered new markets such as Australia and Mexico and expect to enter more international markets such as Italy in the coming fiscal year. Furthermore, to diversify the range of products we offer to casino operators around the globe, we continue to devote significant resources to R&D efforts and, as a result, we now offer products such as Class II gaming machines, a value priced platform in our Helios™ cabinet as well as VLTs. All this is in addition to our extensive range of content on our industry-leading Bluebird™ 2 and new Bluebird xD™ platforms. Can you please share your thoughts on the development of the Asian slots market? Which markets do you have particularly high hopes for?What opportunities do this present forWMS? We view the entirety of the Asian marketplace as ripe for growth and continue to push forward in most markets. Our ability to capture market share in these growing markets will certainly be a driver of WMS’ long-term international success. We have had very good success in gaining floor share and generating solid financial returns for our customersinthePhilippinesandinSingapore while our floor share in the casinos of Macau continues to grow. As demonstrated by our offerings at the G2E™ Asia 2010 show in Macau, WMS’ product range for the Asian marketplace is extremely robust and we experienced a very positive reception from customers at the show. Looking forward, our initial product launches in Vietnam have generated a solid financial performance and we are devoting increasing levels of R&D spending to the South Korean marketplace and we expect these efforts to begin to bear fruit very soon. Do you have any observations on the differences across Asian slot jurisdictions— Macau, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indochina,etc?Forexample,thePhilippines is a more mature market, whereas Macau is newer, and this impacts game preferences. Do you have different strategies across the markets? As I mentioned earlier, there are very many similarities in the preferences of Asian Talking Heads slot players in different markets and, for that matter, Asian slot players and slot players around the world. Most of the slot players served by our international customers prefer the same products and we work very hard to ensure these operators and their players have the latest and greatest products fromWMS. However, the different markets in Asia do have their special needs due principally to differences in playing habits among players. In Macau, the players tend to be more serious gamblers so they are not necessarily seeking out a particular slot machine for its entertainment value. Contrast that with a player in the Philippines who is more likely to sit at a machine for a longer period of time as they seek out the entertainment of the game. As we do in all of our development efforts, WMS consistently considers input from slot players in order to deliver a best-in-class gaming experience at all times. Participation gaming (revenue share) has been on the rise in the US. Unfortunately, it is not permitted in Macau, but is it applicable to any other Asian markets and are you pursuing it? At present, WMS has decided not to pursue revenue share opportunities in Asian markets where it is permissible, but we do have other economic models, that are over and above a pure for sale model and which can generate recurring revenues for the Company. As in the US, these economic models allow us to provide our casino operator customers with a constantly fresh supply of our newest and most advanced games to meet the demands of their players. September 2010 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 53