Latest News

Plans to shut down gambling arcades in Cork freeze

Published

6 years ago

July 24, 2018

Cork County Council has put on hold its plans to ban gambling arcades from setting up in towns and villages following legal advice.

Members of Charleville/Fermoy municipal district council are preparing to strengthen legal framework that was first used in the 1980s by the former Fermoy Town Council to ban gaming arcades in its jurisdiction.

An application for a gambling arcade was made recently in Fermoy, but for the outskirts of the town where the prohibitive bylaw is not in place.

It was widely objected to by locals and permission for it was refused by An Bord Pleanála.

A number of other applications have been made for gambling arcades in other towns in recent weeks.

The municipal district council wants to prevent these by widening the bylaws which are used in Fermoy to cover the whole of the county.

Its members had asked senior county council officials to examine their proposal under Part 3 of the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1976 and they replied that they would have to seek legal advice.

At a recent meeting of the Charleville/Fermoy municipal district council, Fine Gael councillor Noel McCarthy asked for an update on progress.

“We want to keep these gaming arcades out of Fermoy and other towns in the future. People don’t want them,” said Mr McCarthy.

He was informed by a senior county council official that legal advice they have received has thrown up more questions than answers. They did not expand any further on the questions.

However, they said as a result of the advice, they are having to seek guidance from a number of government departments, understood to be Justice, Finance and Local Government.

Mr McCarthy said he is disappointed with the reply.

“Waiting this long is totally unacceptable,” he said.

The Social Democrats’ June Murphy, who chairs the municipal district council, agreed, pointing out there has been a planning application for a gambling arcade in her hometown of Mitchelstown, which locals are vehemently opposed to.

“While we’re waiting on this these companies are putting further applications in,” said Ms Murphy.

Council officials reiterated that they need further information and have “flagged some issues” with the Government departments.

They added that “due diligence is needed” and would hope to be in a position to report back to county councillors in September.

Fine Gael councillor Kay Dawson said District Courts could refuse a gaming licence.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil councillor Frank O’Flynn said that a stipulation might be included in town development plans to prohibit new gambling arcade setting up.

The county council formulates plans every few years as blueprints for growth in towns and villages.

Mr O’Flynn said this is worth exploring: “We don’t want any of these gaming arcades in our towns.”

An Bord Pleanála decided to uphold the decision of Cork County Council to refuse permission for the gambling arcade at the junction of Cork Road/Duntahane Road in Fermoy. The area is outside the jurisdiction of the bylaw.

Source: irishexaminer.com

Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network

George Miller

George Miller (Gyorgy Molnar) started his career in content marketing and has started working as an Editor/Content Manager for our company in 2016. George has acquired many experiences when it comes to interviews and newsworthy content becoming Head of Content in 2017. He is responsible for the news being shared on multiple websites that are part of the European Gaming Media Network.

European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

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Latest News

ZITRO CONTINUES MAKING GAMING HISTORY IN TORREMOLINOS

Published

5 hours ago

September 19, 2024

George Miller

Reading Time: 2 minutes

At the recent Andalusian Gaming Expo and Congress, Zitro unveiled its latest products, leaving a lasting impression with games tailored for the Spanish market.

Zitro continues making history, as evidenced by the huge success of its Fu Frog game in Torremolinos. The game’s popularity has spread throughout Spain, with impressive revenue and player engagement. Fu Pots, showcased in Torremolinos on the Allure Glare cabinet, shares the same incredible features as Fu Frog, but this time, magical pots take center stage, multiplying prizes, doubling bonuses, and granting extra lives.

As a new addition, Mighty Hammer Ultimate was showcased on the Altius Glare cabinet, where the power of the hammer of Zitro’s renowned game will be felt even more intensely. Epic Kingdom, also on the Altius Glare cabinet, features an innovative bonus “3-level Link”, that adds three more levels of excitement to the bonus screen. Billy the Pig has also been a standout product at the show, with its super dynamic bonus that’s unlike anything seen before in Spanish gaming halls. It’s already proving to be very popular in the venues where it’s being installed.

As for video bingo, the company’s leading market segment, Zitro has offered a wide range of captivating titles, such as The Great Wealth or Fratelli Pizza, which include free games such as Stravaganzza Da Vinci and Stravaganza Double Bonus, greatly increasing access to bonuses.

In his first event as General Director of Zitro Spain, Albert Zorrilla stated, “It’s been an absolute pleasure sharing this marvelous time with the authorities and operators. I would like to thank the many visitors to our booth for their interest in our gaming offer, which will continue to grow in the coming months with innovations that will change the gaming landscape and continue to rewrite the history of gaming in Spain.”

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Latest News

Scientific Games Fast Play Games Lead Retail Performance in U.S.

Published

5 hours ago

September 19, 2024

George Miller

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Company’s Fast Play Games Are Industry’s Highest Performers, Kansas Lottery is Latest to Launch

Scientific Games reports that the global lottery company’s games lead retail performance in the top three Fast Play lottery markets in the U.S. based on per capita retail sales.

Vermont Leads the Nation: The Vermont Lottery holds the No. 1 spot for Fast Play retail weekly per capita sales in the U.S. The Lottery achieved significant growth in its Fast Play product category after moving to Scientific Games as its new lottery system provider in 2022. In the first 52 weeks after conversion, sales increased by 93% and grew an additional 33% in fiscal year 2024 versus fiscal year 2023.
Growing Popularity: Fast Play games are currently offered by 27 state lotteries. In fiscal year 2024, Fast Play games generated a total of more than$1.5 billion in sales. Scientific Games’ Fast Play lottery customers – Arizona, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Vermont – each achieved year-over-year sales increases. In the next 24 months, two more U.S. lotteries are expected to launch Scientific Games Fast Play games. One of the company’s current Fast Play lotteries plans to launch a $50 product.
Kansas Joins the Trend: The Kansas Lottery is the most recent to launch Scientific Games’ Fast Play products. The company’s high-performance Fast Play games debuted this summer, giving players in Kansas the opportunity to win instantly from a terminal-generated game. Scientific Games has provided the Kansas Lottery’s systems technology since 2018. The company’s advanced data analytics guided the strategy for the Kansas Lottery’s Fast Play portfolio planning and launch.

Stephen Durrell, Executive Director of the Kansas Lottery, said, “Our vision is to continue working with Scientific Games to modernize the Kansas Lottery with new technologies and new games like Fast Play so that we remain exciting and relevant to our players and retailers, and continually improve our contributions to the state of Kansas.”

Scientific Games’ combination of consumer research insights with advanced data analytics guided the strategy for the Kansas Lottery’s Fast Play portfolio planning and launch. A total of 10 Fast Play games at the $1, $2, $5, $10 and $20 price points have launched across the Kansas Lottery’s retailer network at both self-service and clerk-operated terminals. At launch, the most popular game was at the $1 price point. To date, a $20 game is generating the most sales.

Leslie Badger, VP of Lottery Content for Scientific Games, who brings 25 years of industry expertise to the product, said, “We worked with the Kansas Lottery’s team to implement a strategic, targeted approach to launch its new Fast Play games, employing a managed portfolio strategy similar to our proven method for scratch-off games. This requires advanced data analysis to do correctly, and we are very pleased with the results in Kansas.”

Scientific Games provides retail and digital games, technology, analytics and services to 150 lotteries in 50 countries around the globe, including most every lottery in North America.

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Latest News

Clarion provide a new home for industry leaders and policy makers with launch of the ICE World Gaming Forum.

Published

5 hours ago

September 19, 2024

George Miller

Reading Time: 2 minutes

ICE organisers have taken full-advantage of the additional space and enhanced facilities its new home, the Fira Gran Via Barcelona, offers to launch the World Gaming Forum (WGF), an immersive three-day learning, networking and knowledge sharing exchange which replaces ICE VOX.

Expanding on the creation of the WGF, Clarion Gaming’s Managing Director Stuart Hunter, who is leading the project to migrate ICE and iGB Affiliate, the industry’s two leading event brands from London to Barcelona explained: “The move to Barcelona was all about the opportunity our new home provided to elevate absolutely everything that we do and in the process build on our status at the intersection for all sectors of the global gaming business and drawn from all areas of the globe.

“The World Gaming Forum has been adopted to more accurately reflect the credentials of our industry-leading brands comprising the World Regulatory Briefing, the new Casino & Leaders Conference (formerly the ICC), and the new Esports & Games Conference (formerly the Esports Betting Conference)”

“In 2024 we succeeded in bringing together over 1,210 senior decision makers from 79 countries, including 621 operator C-Level, 87 global CEOs, 72 national and regional regulatory bodies, and 7 government ministers, and the enhanced ICE World Gaming Forum will deliver exclusive connections and content across our three conferences, in-depth workshops, high-level roundtable discussions, and tailored networking events, providing a home for the industry’s thought-leaders, innovators, challengers and policy makers.”

He added: “The outstanding facilities at the Fira Gran Via Barcelona, which is one of the largest and most modern venues in Europe, reflects the World Gaming Forum’s status as the premier platform for discussion, knowledge sharing and collaboration between the global gambling industry and the law makers who regulate them – a dynamic which is essential for the development of a progressive, responsible and sustainable industry.”

Situated in the heart of the venue space and featuring an exclusive club-style VIP lounge for delegates and speakers, dedicated networking garden, and a range of concierge services, the ICE World Gaming Forum will run Monday 20th – Wednesday 22nd January alongside the ICE and iGB Affiliate exhibitions.

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