out the illegal machines andmanufacturers made it clear that theirtechnology is only available to legaloperators. Therefore, player choice shouldgo more in the direction of the legalmarket as the illegal market will onlyhave second-rate machines on offer.Furthermore, there is a new regulation –well explained by Carlos Sanz Blanco ofCodere – of the requirement to provideonline information to the Mexicandepartment of finance (called ‘SAT’).

It seems that SAT wishes to push thisthrough quickly – so that machines arelinked to the SAT by mid next year. Alllegal machines are linked to a specificsystem. Game play is activated by creditson an electronic card – and winnings arebooked on to this card. This is controlledvia a server through a systems companyso the next step to provide financial real-time information to the SAT should not betoo difficult a challenge for the industry.

Operators are facing increasing taxes inMexico. Taxes have increased severaltimes in recent years. The gamingassociation is working closely with theMexican government to ensure a mindsetchange in the country towards gaming –moving from a negative image to a morepositive one – that gaming is a form ofentertainment that brings important taxrevenues to the government. SlowlyMexican politicians are showing interestin the gaming industry and the ELAorganizers have been petitioning hard forpolitical recognition of the ELA exhibition.Mr. Pedro Galindo Guerra heads up theELA and was proud to officially introducepolitical visitors for the first time to theELA show.

STRONG GROWTH PREDICTEDNo clear numbers of cited gamingmachines were given during theconference. It is thought to be between60,000 and 80,000. Add another 20 percent to this number of illegal machines inthe market.

There are over 100 gaming halls inMexico at present. This could well growto between 300 and 400 in the comingyears. Naturally practically all of the bestlocations have been taken but in acountry with over 100 million inhabitants,one would think there would be plenty ofopportunities for growth. A growth ratebetween 10 – 15% per annum is seen asviable by industry commentators. Newcustomers are entering the market everyday and the challenge is to continuallyimprove the service these customers arebeing offered.

CLASS II TO CLASS IIIClass II – video bingo machines createdthe gaming machine market in Mexico.

The Mexican gaming exhibition ELA tookplace for the third time in Mexicobetween 6th and 7th May 2010. After itsinauguration in 2008 in Monterrey, theexhibition moved to Mexico City last yearwhere it again took place this year. TheELA took place over two days betweennoon and 7pm. Each morning there wereconferences – organised for the first timein Mexico by the Argentinian mediaportal Yogonet under the brand name EY!Mexico 2010.

All industry eyes are on Mexico atpresent. The federal ruling ‘Reglamentopara la Ley Federal de Juegos y Sorteos’from 2004 opened up the gaming marketin Mexico. The previous ruling from 1947– ‘Ley Federal de Juegos y Sortes’ saw noroom for gaming machines. More recentlythe law has become more open, allowingnot only the operation of so-called Class II(video bingo machines) but also Class III(slots).

EY! MEXICO 2010 CONFERENCEThe EY! Conference took place eachmorning before the exhibition with fourhours each day on specific marketsubjects. It was an ideal opportunity tobecome acquainted with the Mexicanmarket and the rules and regulations thatthe market has to adhere to. The topicswere broad and wide:l Current status and future of gaming in

Mexicol The growth of Class III gaming in

Mexicol Mexico and machine certification

challengesl Slots managers – what is the Mexican

operator buying?

l Online regulation supervision ruling l Security and fraud prevention in

arcadesl Money laundering in the gaming sectorImportant gaming personalities took partin the conference. New market entrantscould learn more about the machinecertification process. The NYCE(Normalizacion y CertificacionElectronica) is responsible for gamingmachine certification. Mr. J. SalvadorSánchez Abarca is the contact person forthe NYCE and provided in-depthinformation of machine certification.

The NYCE bases its decisions on the NMX– the voluntary regulations known as‘Normas Mexicanas’. As there arecurrently no testing houses in Mexico tocertify the gaming machines, NYCE worksclosely together with the GLI and somachine manufacturers have to pass thespecified GLI guidelines. Nine NMXstandards derive from GLI standards. Theinternational experience and the strongcontacts that GLI have is Mexico puts thiscompany in the driving seat as a testinghouse. It was stressed, nevertheless,during the conference that there is nomonopoly on testing bodies in Mexicoand so competition is invited here.

As is standard in the gaming industry,industry associations play an importantrole. The Operators’ Association(‘Associación de Permisionarios de Juegosy Sorteos’) is the major gamingassociation in Mexico and its president,Mr. Alfonso Pérez Lizaur, is the contactperson for the industry.

The challenge to the industry is to drive

While Brazil takes tiny steps towards gaming legislation,Mexico continues to take huge strides and has proved thefocus of attention during the switch from Class II to Class III

Mexico adds spiceto the gaming mix

MEXICOFOCUS

MEXICOFOCUS

G3 I JULY 2010 I PAGE 57G3 I JULY 2010 I PAGE 56

(Top) Kirsten Clarkof Shuffle Master.

(Middle) The EYConference at theELA in Mexico

proved afascinating

debate.

(Above) FrankZiegler and JuanJose Mantese ofMerkur Gamingpictured at theELA Mexicoexhibition.

The niche market is dominated bySpanish manufacturers, such as Metronia,Ortiz Gaming and Zitro. These companiesnaturally had large stands at the ELA. Thefocus, however, was on Class III games –the multi-game slots. All the major slotsmanufacturers were present at the ELA.Many companies exhibited for the firsttime, sensing now is the time to capitaliseon the opportunities in Mexico.

Several gaming machine manufacturersannounced the opening of a newsubsidiary in Mexico or a strategicalliance with a local distributor. Indeedthe ELA was a buzzing exhibition withcompany spokesmen and women ingeneral having plenty to talk about.

The transformation from Class II to ClassIII gaming means that the ELA isbecoming to resemble a mini G2E or IGEexhibition. Comments were made aboutthe rate of transformation. Naturallysuppliers of Class III games explained ofstrong transformation rates – up to 100%in some gaming halls.

Manufacturers of Class II video bingomachines explained that there is stillstrong demand for these machines. Thequestion remains whether there are twodistinctive types of players in Mexico –those who prefer Class II and those whoprefer Class III. That should not besurprising given the size of the populationand that gaming is still very much ayoung, growth industry to the Mexicans.

Each Class has its own advantages. Theconference panel was made up ofrepresentatives of Class III gamingmachine manufacturers who explained indetail about the increased diversity,flexibility, vastly improved mathematicsand faster play time for Class III games.Major Class III manufacturers such asIGT, Bally, Williams, Aristocrat, Atronicand Novomatic exhibited only Class IIIgames – as a statement to the market ofthe direction it is taking or should take intheir opinion.

SALES OR PARTICIPATION?Depending on the relations they havewith the operators, the Mexican marketcan be a dream or extremely market tosell into. A handful of operators dominatethe market. The largest by far is Coderefrom Spain, which is said to have up to a40% share with its Caliente and CIE(Compañía Interamericana deEntretenimiento) brands.

The Pringsa brand from Cirsa – againfrom Spain – is another dominateoperator. Local operators include Televisaand Big Bola. Clearly Spanish companieshave defined this market in Spain withClass II games and on the operator side.

A COMMON LANGUAGE - BUSINESS.Feedback from the conference and fromexhibitors shows a clear tendency toparticipation with the major operators.They are well known and clearly trustedgaming brands.

Long-term earnings can be higher withthe participation model and so bothoperators and manufacturers can profitfrom this – operators do not need toinvest in large sums to purchasemachines and manufacturers have apotentially long-term income stream.

Such a model will surely speed up theplacement of new machines in themarketplace. The risks are much lowerfor operators who can then pick andchoose the winning machines. Mexico isindeed a buyer’s market with operatorshaving a whelm of choice frominternational gaming machinemanufacturers.

The ongoing economic and financial crisishas forced or motivated (depending onyour point of view) many gamingmachine manufacturers to focus on theMexican market. The sales model remainsactive and is the preferred route to marketfor gaming machine manufacturers whoeither sell to smaller, less financially-secure operators or choose to sell theirmachines via a distributor.

PROGRESSIVES – THE FUTURE?The EY! Conference also posed thequestion on progressives. Bothmanufacturers and operators agree of theadvantages that progressives offer. Thefurther benefit is that this will help todrive out the illegal market as players canonly play on legal progressives. Therefore,progressives should benefit the marketand secure the gaming market politicallyin Mexico.

GAME PLAYGame play is activated via electroniccards only. Therefore, players use the cardto book credits on to the gaming machineand book winning back on to it.Nevertheless, the manufacturers anddistributors of TITO payment systemsplaced strong emphasis on this exhibition.The degree of the potential of TITO beingintroduced to the Mexican gaming marketcannot be predicted.

At the very least these companies wereworking hard to strengthen their brands.Suzo Happ exhibited the MEI CashflowSC note acceptor and the FutureLogicGEN2 printer. Hanco Technologiesexhibited the JCM UBA note acceptor andthe Transact Epic 950 printer. Indeed theMEI team was in force visiting the ELA aswell as representatives from MoneyControls and CashCode.

MEXICOFocus

G3 I JULY 2010 I PAGE 58

THE EXHIBITORSThe ELA has expanded much in sizewithin the space of one year. Thisunderlines the buoyancy andopportunities this market offers.Practically all the major names in theindustry were exhibiting. The followinginformation represents a cross-section ofthe exhibitors but by no means all theexhibitors at the ELA:

AMATIC INDUSTRIES AMATIC Industries was present for thefirst time at the ELA. AMATIC has chosena very strong partner in Mexico – namelyAmusgo. Amusgo has established the AlfaStreet electronic roulettes as the number

presence at the ELA 2011.

ARISTOCRAT TECHNOLOGIESThe focus on Latin America is veryimportant to Aristocrat. Seamus McGill,COO of Aristocrat is placing maximumefforts in this region together with ÁlvaroNores, Vice President for Latin America.An office is now open in Mexico as wellas Argentina and Aristocrat is set to playa major role together with theirdistributors.

The Mexican market is growing and themajor operators are expanding theirpresence around Mexico. The opening ofthe so-called ‘Mexican class’ that allows

Feedback from theconference andfrom exhibitorsshows a cleartendency to

participation withthe major

operators. Theyare well known

and clearly trustedgaming brands.

(Top left) J.Salvador SanchezAbarca of NYCE

with KarenMarcela Sierra-Hughes and Gert

Telka ̈mper of GLI.

(Middle left)Mitsuhiro

Miyazaki andEduardo Aching of

Konami.

(Bottom left)Ernesto Escobarof Gold Club.

(Top right) JosephMa of HancoTechnologies.

(Middle right)Georg Steiner ofAmatic Industries

with YeshuaMartinez Sigala of

Amusgo.

(Bottom right)Aquiles Mila de la

Roca - MoneyControls

Thetransformationfrom Class II toClass III gamingmeans that the

ELA is becomingto resemble a mini

G2E or IGEexhibition.

Comments weremade about the

rate oftransformation.

Naturally suppliersof Class III games

explained ofstrong

MEXICOFocus

G3 I JULY 2010 I PAGE 61

one choice in this market segment.Therefore, being able to offer Class IIImachines is an excellent extension oftheir product portfolio. AMATICIndustries were founded back in 1993 andfocused from day one on multi-games.This experience, knowledge and successof AMATIC in multi-games together withsuch a strong partner local partner lookslike a great recipe for success.

AMUSGOThe latest Alfastreet electronic rouletteswere on display. The company states thatit has over 120 electronic roulettes in themarket that represents over 70 per centmarket share. Furthermore, this Alfastreet

distributor in Mexico announced itspartnership with AMATIC Industries. Thestylish chairs from the Italian companyStylGame are also distributed in Mexicoby Amusgo.

APEX GAMING APEX gaming exhibited for the first timeat the ELA. The focus was on the newPinnacle cabinet that houses two 22”widescreen monitors. Mr. Darek Borowiec isresponsible for sales with Latin Americafor APEX gaming. He reported anexcellent show with strong interest for thePinnacle. Indeed all 48 machines on showwere ordered by a Mexican operator.APEX gaming will look to expand its

G3 I JULY 2010 I PAGE 62

Class III games has caused atechnological revolution which hasbrought about the migration of Class II toClass III games.

This is an interesting migration andAristocrat is capable of presenting itssuccessful games throughout the countryas has been validated in the whole ofLatin America as well as around the restof the world.

With the intention of providing a betterservice and customer attention, Aristocrathas opened an office in Mexico City. Theoffice has enough space for technicalassistance and a showroom, thus being anecessary infrastructure to enable salesand operations in the country.

The main operators have already chosenAristocrat as supplier for their halls,demonstrating great confidence inAristocrat’s products. Installed gameperformance easily beats average returns.Aristocrat’s strength is working togetherwith operators to bring solutions thatallow better game performance and thusposition Aristocrat as a strategic partnerin the marketplace.

ASTRO CORP.Astro Corp. was present for the first timeat the ELA and see this market as veryimportant to the company. To-date Astro

has sold mainly PC boards in countriessuch as Chile and Venezuela. The strategyin Mexico is to partner with a localcompany to distribute the machines.

ATRONICThe Three Stooges progressive was themajor focus on the Atronic stand. TheThree Stooges is a three-level progressivebased on the TV show The Three Stooges.A very busy stand showed that this waswell received in Mexico.

BALLY TECHNOLOGIESWith around three thousand machines oforiginal Class II origin, Bally is busyconverting these to Class III. This strongproduct base is reflected in high customerrecognition. Bally is placing just as muchemphasis on its systems solutions inMexico than on its Class III machines.

BELATRABelatra is represented by AR in Mexicoand exhibited for the first time at theELA. The company states that well over100 machines are already placed in themarket and the positive feedback ensuresMexico will remain a focus for Belatra.

BETSTONEBetStone is ideally placed in the Mexicanmarket move to Class III machines. Thedemand for VLT solutions is set to growwhich is the core competency of

BetStone. Operators can now avail ofwider gaming content on the BetStoneplatform which ranges from Video Slots,Video Poker, Table Games and Bingo. Inaddition BetStone’s CMS software -BetStone Vision – provides operators withdetailed reports and analysis in real timeinformation of what is happening on theirgaming floor. This allows operators tomake more informed decisions relating totheir business.

CADILLAC JACKManagement explained that Cadillac Jackwas one of the first companies to enterthe Class II market and thus can be seenas a pioneer. A local office ensures thatover seven thousand machines are wellsupported.

GAMA - ELAUTGAMA is the local distributor for Elaut inMexico. Having exhibited at all threeELA’s the brand awareness of Elaut ishigh. The focus was on the two wheelelectronic roulette for up to six positions.The SIC-BO games also give GAMA/Elauta competitive edge in Mexico.

GLIGLI exhibited together with the localcertification authority – NYCE. NYCE hasbeen working together with GLI for overtwo years and uses GLI standards formachine certification in Mexico.

MEXICOFocus

No clear numbersof cited gamingmachines weregiven during theconference. It isthought to be

between 60,000and 80,000. Addanother 20 percent to this

number of illegalmachines in the

market.

MEXICOFocus

GOLD CLUBGold Club exhibited for the first time atthe ELA, having founded a new Mexicansubsidiary called Gold Club América. Thissubsidiary is responsible for all companysales with Latin America and was openedin January of this year. Gold Club statethe advantage of assembling theirmachines in Mexico, that importedcomponents are not subject to a 27%import tax, giving their products a strongcompetitive advantage.

HANCO TECHNOLOGIESThis company acts as distributor formajor component companies – such asJCM, Transact, Kortek and 3M. The

company announced a new distributorcontract with Gamesman at theexhibition. Hanco Technologies haveseveral bases in Lati America, includingArgentina, Columbia, Mexico, Panamaand Peru.

IGTThe IGT focus was only on Class IIIgames. IGT offered the Sex and the City™slot – the number one performing gamein the USA. It features MultiPLAY gamefunctionality (four games on onemachine, each with a different outcome).Furthermore, IGT’s new MEGAfxSurround Chair has in-built surroundsound in the chairs itself. IGT had a

strong variety of games on display.Naturally the new sbX™ ExperienceManagement System was on display. Thiswent live in Las Vegas at ARIA atCityCenter in December – and IGT reportthat the execution was flawless.

KONAMIThe ‘podium’ cabinet was on prouddisplay – a modular cabinet that allowsoperators great flexibility. The quality ofthe screen graphics is clear to see here.Winning games with excellentmathematics play a key role. Konamimanagement also explained on the role ofhardware. Tests have proven that new‘podium’ cabinet increases cashbox

G3 I JULY 2010 I PAGE 63

(Top left) Adolfode los Rios Clapés

of Bemex(Metronia).

(Middle left)Alejandra Buratoof Beltra Games

withrepresentative

Jimmy Hay Smithof ARO.

(Bottom left)APEX gaming

stand at the ELAexhibition in

Mexico.

(Top right) BenFuller and RafaelLuclo Munoz of

IGT.

(Middle right)Carlos Carrion of

AristocratTechnologies.

(Bottom right)Carlos Engel of

Bally Technologies.

The ongoingeconomic and

financial crisis hasforced ormotivated

(depending on yourpoint of view)many gaming

machinemanufacturers to

focus on theMexican market.The sales model

remains active andis the preferredroute to market

for gamingmachine

(Left) Elautdistributor DavidMoel Arditti of

GAMA with PatrickMagendans.

(Middle) AlfonsoPérez Lizaur -

President of theMexican gaming

operatorassociation.

(Right) FredBrendel of Suzo

Happ.

Bothmanufacturers andoperators agree ofthe advantages

that progressivesoffer. The furtherbenefit is that thiswill help to driveout the illegal

market as playerscan only play on

legal progressives.Therefore,

progressives shouldbenefit the market

and secure thegaming marketpolitically in

Mexico.

“We are excitedto make our firstappearance at thisimportant trade

show as thecompany looks

forward toextending the

market presenceof our innovativeproducts in this

growing market.”Sebastian Salat,WMS Gaming.

MEXICOFocus

by Novomatic. Novomatic intends tosolely sell machines in Mexico and notenter into machine operations. Naturally,the strong product range of Novomaticwas on display.

SHUFFLE MASTERShuffle Master had a broad product rangeon display – for electronic craps, the TableMaster and video slots. Indeed the newlyopened office in Mexico underlines thegrowth potential for Shuffle Master.

STEEL GAMINGSteel Gaming is a local company that hasensured a bright market entry toGermany’s Merkur Gaming. Steel Gamingexhibited the Merkur ‘Games Unlimited’games library in their own cabinets.

SUZO HAPPSuzo Happ showed a very proactivestance with the focus on the MEICashflow SC note acceptor andFutureLogic GEN2 printer. Such productsare not allowed at present. Nevertheless,the Suzo Happ team knows of theinternational success and benefits of TITOand was in Mexico to inform the marketabout this. Furthermore, the team focusedon Signs4U signs – seeing manyopportunities in this growing market.

WMS GAMINGWMS did not enter the Mexican market

until June 2009 but is making quick andstrong progress. Management reported onan excellent show. WMS has theadvantage that there are many secondhand WMS machines in the market somany Mexican players already knowWMS machines.

WMS demonstrated over 50 products atELA 2010, each developed through anextensive process that leverages theCompany’s Player Driven Innovation toensure the consistent delivery of highplayer-appeal game dynamics. The broadproduct lineup ranged from WMS’ nextgeneration foundational technologies –Community Gaming, Sensory ImmersionGaming and Transmissive Reels Gaming –to a robust library of standalone and localarea progressive games and the premierein the Mexico market of the Company’sBluebird xD gaming cabinet, an entirelynew form factor for slot floors.

“WMS continues to deliver a wide-rangeof games, technologies and platforms thatreflect our commitment to Player DrivenInnovation and we believe our portfolio ofproducts on display at ELA 2010 willserve to further demonstrate thatcommitment,” said Sebastian Salat,president, WMS International. “Ourproduct line-up is a testament to WMS’proven and expanding ability to leverageour ‘Culture of Innovation’ to address

worldwide gaming markets with new andnext generation products that delivermeasurable value for casino operators aswell as unique, unparalleled gamingexperiences for players. “We are excited to make our firstappearance at this important trade showas the Company looks forward toextending the market presence of ourinnovative products in this growingmarket.”

ZEST GAMINGZest exhibited at the ELA from day oneand so has focused on Class II machines.Class II machines represent over 90 percent of their machine base in Mexico.Both Class II and Class III solutions wereon display.

G3 I JULY 2010 I PAGE 65G3 I JULY 2010 I PAGE 64

performance compared to the oldercabinet (with the same games inside).This goes to show how important thecabinet is to machine success. Konamihad their full range of gaming machineson display – allowing operator choice asthey said.

LEGENDARY GAMING – EGTLegendary Gaming represents theBulgarian manufacturer in Mexico (aswell as Box Sign Design and HealTechnology). With eight machines in testin Mexico, management reports very goodfeedback for the EGT machines.

MERKUR GAMINGThis German powerhouse from the

“The ELA show isgrowing year onyear with moreinternationalmanufacturersexhibiting and

Operatorsattending. At this

year’s showBetStone were

able todemonstrate ourproven experience

in the LatinAmerican market,global expertise

and illustrate firsthand our extensive

content andgaming platform.For this reason

both newprospects and

existing customerscontinue to chooseBetStone as their

Server BasedGaming provider

of choice,” Marzia Turrini,

Head of BusinessDevelopment and

Marketing,BetStone at the

ELA.

(Right) EuroGame Technology

embraces theMexican spirit at

the show.

This report waswritten for G3 by

CarrollConsulting’s John

Carroll.

MEXICOFocus

RIDING THE MEXICAN WAVE -BETSTONEBetStone is leading the way inoffering the Mexican market best-of-breed content since the legalisationof Class III gaming. Operators canselect from a wider gaming contenton the BetStone platform, whichranges from Video Slots, VideoPoker, Table Games and Bingo.BetStone’s server-based gamingplatform allows for this variety ofgaming content to be experiencedthrough a single machine that caters todifferent player preferences.

Players too are aware of the BetStonenetwork and anxiously await new games which arereleased quarterly. These regular game releases provideplayers with constantly refreshed content, greater varietyand quality of games.

In addition BetStone’s CMS software -BetStone Vision –provides Operators with detailed reports and analysis inreal time information of what is happening on their casinofloor. This allows operators to make more informeddecisions relating to their business.

“The ELA show is growing year on year with moreinternational manufacturers exhibiting and Operatorsattending. At this year’s show BetStone was able todemonstrate our proven experience in the Latin Americanmarket, global expertise and illustrate first hand ourextensive content and gaming platform. For this reasonboth new prospects and existing customers continue tochoose BetStone as their Server Based Gaming provider ofchoice. The ELA show is a key date in the gamingcalendar internationally and BetStone will continue tosupport this show,” said Marzia Turrini, BetStone.

“The Mexican market is in a steep growth phase and weexpect this trend to continue in the coming years.BetStone is committed to this market and with our localcustomer support team are able to provide Operators withcustomized service and support,” continued Ms. Turrini.“Having this locally based team dedicated to servicing theMexican territory ensures faster response times tocustomer requests and efficient management of theirserver based gaming platform.”

Marzia Turrini,Head of BusinessDevelopment and

Marketing,BetStone at the

ELA

GOLDEN TOUCH - GLOBAL DRAWThe Global Draw is unveiling a raftof new gaming titles and marketingsupport for its machineinstallations in Mexico. The rolloutbegins with Golden Balls, anelectronic bingo game with up tofour cards per game to bet on anda bonus balls feature to helpplayers achieve a full house. This will befollowed by Black Yak, Global Draw’sversion of blackjack with options to splithands and double bets on two cards of thesame value, Multi Draw Poker andRoulette, which has a ‘neighbours bet’ feature for placingmultiple bets on a chosen section of the wheel.

A number of reel based games are also in development readyfor release later in the year, including Totem Chiefs andExcalibur’s Choice. New content has been designedexclusively for Global Draw’s local customer in Mexico,Corporacion Interamericana de Entretenimiento (CIE). Thediversified entertainment company currently has 1,200 digitalgaming machines installed in 50 venues, most of which arelicensed bingo halls.

The launch of Golden Balls is being celebrated with a seriesof promotional events, including customer prize draws acrossall venues. Neil Moir, director of international businessdevelopment for The Global Draw, said: “We have a strongrepresentation in Mexico with a team of 18 employees alwayson hand to assist CIE and enhance their gaming provision. Agreat deal of work has gone into content development andoffering games tailored for the local market which have aproven pedigree in the UK and also fully exploit the technicalcapabilities of our newly installed terminals.”

Many of the new games were previewed at ELA. Mr. Moiradded: “This was an important event to get involved with asa way of reaffirming The Global Draw’s commitment todeveloping our international business portfolio while alsosupporting a key customer in their local market. We used ELAto showcase new content developed by our own team, plusgive a taste of what’s to come from the linkup between TheGlobal Draw and Videobet announced earlier this year.

“This partnership will deliver fantastic opportunities for ourinternational customers to enhance their gaming provisionand access the latest advances in server based gamingtechnology.”

II market. Ortiz took the largest stand inMexico - at 500 m² it was double the sizeof the majority of the exhibitors.

Ortiz Gaming has built up a strongpresence in Latin America and besidesMexico (where they have around 5,000machines placed) the company is activein Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador,Panama and Chile to name just a few. R.Franco Texas Hold’em multi-positionswere on display as well.

NOVOMATICNovomatic exhibited once more at theELA. Management explained its intentionto open a subsidiary in Mexico very soon.The direct route to customers is preferred

Gauselmann Group was exhibiting for thefirst time in Mexico. The upright cabinet‘wb4’ was on display. This will befollowed soon by the new Slant Top –which is creating a real stir in Germany.Merkur Gaming is looking to partner witha local distributor.

METRONIAThe local company of Metronia is Mexicois called Bemex. Metronia is one of themajor suppliers of video bingo machinesto the Mexican markets and the size andnumber of visitors reflected this.

ORTIZ GAMINGOrtiz Gaming – under its brand nameEibe – is well placed in the Mexican Class

Neil Moir, Directorof International

BusinessDevelopment, The

Global Draw.