Inside Asian Gaming

MAR 2019 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 13 NOVOMATIC TO SERVE SOUTHEAST ASIA WITH NEW INDO PACIFIC GAMING DEAL EUROPEAN gaming giant Novomatic has signed a distribution agreement with Indo Pacific Gaming (IPG) to supply its full range of gaming solutions into the Asia- Pacific region. Under the agreement, Indo Pacific Gaming will provide sales distribution for its specialist markets of Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Goa, Nepal and Vietnam, including Novomatic’s product suite of slot machines, market-focused games and multi-game mixes, electronic table games, systems, jackpots, sports betting and media technologies. The partnership will accelerate the expansion of Novomatic in the Asia-Pacific region, the company said. Novomatic has recently embarked on a mission to develop its footprint in Asia-Pacific with ETG installations and the introduction of its latest gaming technologies throughout the region, complemented by its majority acquisition of Australian slot machine developer Ainsworth last year. The portfolio of Asian-themed Novomatic slot games is expanding via new titles such as “Dragon Hits” and “Asian Dragon Hot”, which were premiered at ICE London in February. “Partnering with IPG, who has a very respectable track record in these territories, Novomatic will strengthen its presence and reach to provide products and services to new and existing customers,” said VP of Business Development and Sales, Asia-Pacific, Robert Dijkstra. wife of former TRA and Universal Entertainment Chairman KazuoOkadawhowas ousted last year following allegations of fraud against the company. Ms Okada remains a director of both TRA and Universal as well as being a boardmember and Chief Relations Officer of Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment, Inc (TRLEI) – the TRA subsidiary that operates Philippines IR Okada Manila. Also appointed to the new ABG board are TRLEI President Kenji Sugiyama, VP of Accounting at TRLEI Masamitsu Fujime and three other current TRLEI directors in Toki Takeuchi, Manuel M. Lazaro and Takashi Oya. Universal Entertainment Corp COO Hajime Tokuda completes the picture for ABG’s new majority owners. TRA announced in early February that it had completed the acquisition of a 66.6% stake in ABG with the purpose of completing a backdoor listing of the company on the Philippine Stock Exchange.