Inside Asian Gaming

January 2011 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 41 Wide Area Networks are unlikely to cooperate to offer a joint wide area jackpot, some of the operators could offer significantly more life changing jackpots simply by linking up their own properties; notably, SJM, which provides the licenses for twenty of the casinos, Melco- Crown Entertainment, which operates not only three casinos but also half a dozen Mocha Clubs slot venues, and Sands China, which runs three casinos, including the mass-market gaming meccas of Sands and Venetian Macao. Linking multiple sites requires no additional infrastructure, and can be done reliably via the standard telecoms infrastructure available in all Asian countries. “AnycountrythathasATMsisacountrywhere you can run wide area networks without any problem,” explains David Kinsman, CEO of Singapore-based gaming machine and systems provider, Weike Gaming Technology. Although a wide area jackpot can be “extremely motivating,” according to Mr Kinsman, it must be “properly marketed and well strategised.” Megabucks created a sensation following its launch in 1986, owing largely to IGT’s supporting PR efforts. The game’s popularity has waned in recent years, however, as players realise it offers a significantly lower RTP (return to player) than most other machines. Part of the reason for that is the Megabucks machines are operated on a participation basis, necessitating a significant portion of the proceeds to go to IGT. Mr Kinsman points out that if a casino or slot venue operator runs its own wide area jackpot, it can return more to players. Wider benefits Wide Area Systems can do much more than offer life-changing jackpots. “They cover everything from player tracking, monitoring, accounting, player rewards, TITO, etc,” explains Mr Kinsman. “So they run everything on a wide area basis. The benefit of that is, take someone like SJM in Macau, or Pagcor [the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation] in the Philippines—it means one card can be utilised across their entire network.” Weike has not only developed a complete wide area system, but also has had it running live without a glitch in Singapore since 1st December 2009, linking the five sites run by NTUC, the city-state’s largest slot club operating group. Singapore’s slot clubs, which are limited to a maximum 40 machines per venue, have seen revenues plunge following the recent opening of the sprawling integrated resorts, Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands. Mr Kinsman argues wide area systems offer the clubs a way “to be more competitive against the casinos.” He points out that “since the IRs opened, the clubs usingWeike systems have faredmuch better than the industry average. In other words, they haven’t dropped as much business as the other clubs.” Asia going wide Asia has the opportunity to be a pioneer in the adoption of wide area systems. Notably, although Megabucks offers a wide area jackpot across Nevada, none of the properties in Las Vegas utilise full wide area systems, “even though companies like MGM and Harrah’s operate multiple sites, and it would be a perfect opportunity for them,” says Mr Kinsman. “The US is not an early adopter when it comes to available technology in the gaming industry.” Last month, Weike installed a wide area system across four Singapore clubs run by the Home TeamGroup. It is also set to supply the first wide area system in Malaysia in the first quarter of 2011. Although each of Malaysia’s 228 slot clubs is limited to a maximum of 15 machines (which generate a rumoured US$3,000 on average per day), there are large groups in the market that run up to 40 of the clubs, and they could derive significant advantages by linking their various sites. Mr Kinsman points out: “At the moment, Malaysian clubs are most Indisputably life changing is the minimum US$10 million wide area progressive jackpot paid out by any one of the hundreds of Megabucks slot machines operated across Nevada by International Game Technology (IGT). Wide area potential—Mocha Clubs