Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING MARCH 2018 22 Novomatic is targeting both the US and Asian markets with its recent acquisition of a 52% stake in Australian slot machine developer Ainsworth Game Technology. By Ben Blaschke FEATURES that would see Novomatic become Ainsworth’s majority shareholder by acquiring 172.1 million ordinary shares. But signing off on the deal was easier said than done, with regulatory approval needed from multiple gaming jurisdictions including those of Australia, South America and the United States. In total, 236 licenses held by Ainsworth across those jurisdictions had to be reassessed and approved for completion of the acquisition. Yet the effort was very much worthwhile, according to Novomatic CEO Harald Neumann, with Ainsworth opening the door to the W HEN Austrian gaming giant Novomatic Group confirmed the completion of its AU$500 million purchase of a 52.2% stake in Australian slot machine company Ainsworth Game Technology on 5 January 2018, it concluded a slice of business almost two years in the making. It was at the annual ICE Totally Gaming trade show and exhibition in London in February 2016 that Novomatic owner Johann Graf and Ainsworth founder Len Ainsworth first sat down and drafted a plan EUROPEAN VACATION