Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | September 2012 30 Asian Gaming 50 – 2012 27 Lam Iao Founder and CEO Laxino Technology Ltd A major factor behind Lam Iao’s decision to establish Macau-based IT solutions company Laxino Technology in 2008 was a desire to enable aspiring local software developers to pursue their vocation in his hometown. With the company’s roots in the world’s most dynamic gaming market, it was no surprise that Laxino started out with very much a gaming focus, and the company’s gaming revenues remainon a stronggrowth track. Mr Iao has, however, led Laxino to branch out into a much broader range of activities, and plans to increase non- gaming revenues over the next two years primarily through the provision of software services to the government, telecoms and educational sectors. On the gaming side, Laxino offers full technical support for online gaming operators: software development and customization, hardware setup, infrastructure design and system integration. Last year, the company generated well over US$5 million in revenue as an online software provider. It has captured 25% of the debit market and 15% of the credit market for the online operators that are targeting Asia, and the company sees strong potential to grow those respective shares. As Mr Iao observes, because most other gaming software development companies active in Asia are based in Europe, Laxino is well-positioned to offer Asian customers more responsive service and support and has a unique sensitivity to local tastes and needs. But Laxino’s online gaming ambitions extend beyond the region, and the company and the United States. Laxino’s IT Professional Services unit serves a variety of functions, including helping to deploy the games and software from the company’s development teams and providing end-to-end IT services to land-based casinos and non-gaming enterprises. The unit’s most significant current project involves a partnership with Microsoft and Macau telecoms provider CTM on a cloud service, dubbed “Office Anywhere,” intended to empower the development of small- and medium- sized enterprises. Laxino has invested US$1 million in the project over the past year, and as the exclusive technical partner in Macau for the next six years providing Microsoft Cloud services, plans to bring the benefits of such services not only to SMEs, but to everyone in Macau. Mr Iao says Laxino is also looking into getting into the social gaming arena, though he appreciates that the revenue streams from this realm are currently less concrete, and as such, a move into it would be primarily to serve as a complement to the company’s other activities. In another venture, Laxino is partnering with Microsoft and Samsung in order to offer the Surface 2.0 application for the entertainment and F&B industries. Mr Iao graduated from the University of Texas with a master’s degree in computer science and mathematics, then went on to work on both the equipment supplier and casino operator sides of the industry, first in the US for slot machine manufacturer Atronic, then returning to Macau to work at Wynn Resorts and MGM Macau. At Laxino, he has assembled a team of world-class IT professionals with the requisite skills not only to take the business in new directions, but also to nurture aspiring local talent. is currently in the process of gaining GLI/TST certification of all its games—expected to be completed by next year—in its pursuit of expansion in Europe and Central and South America, where the company has already established a customer base. Also as part of its gaming activities, Laxino distributes slot machines for South Korean manufacturer Hydako as part of a unique arrangement where Laxino also provides content for the games, including graphics and mathematics, as well as obtaining jurisdictional approvals prior to sales. Laxino is notably the only company in Asia that supplies slot manufacturers GLI-approved content and has had strong success distributing Hydako, achieving installations at every major mass-market casino in Macau, as well as making inroads in Indochina, the Caribbean, South America for Asia Pacific from 2003 to July 2009, he played a key role in establishing the Australian slot giant as the biggest supplier of machine games in the region. He also served as executive vice president and general manager for Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe for Aruze, assisting the company in building up its global presence almost from a standing start. Last year, Mr Jolly led the Asia launch of Shuffle Master’s versatile Equinox cabinet, which can run either as a slot or multi- table game and the progressive side bet all spring to mind—revolutionized it. The new i-Table, a unique blending of the communal excitement of a traditional table with the ease and security of totally automated betting and play, promises to do the same. Mr Jolly heads up the effort to promote the entire portfolio across Asia, a mission for which he is amply experienced. He has logged more than 33 years in the business. As Aristocrat Technologies’ general manager terminal station for an electronic game. In the intervening period, he has assembled a strong team of slot sales executives, helping the Equinox achieve rapid regional penetration, with installations in Macau, Singapore, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia. The company has also been busy producing strongly Chinese-themed games for Macau and the rest of Asia, building a base for its continued growth into the future.