So said Rashid Suliman (pictured), vice president – Asia Pacific, global gaming and lottery at TransAct Technologies. Mr Suliman made the remarks to GGRAsia following the three-day industry trade show Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2019, held in Macau.

“The rest of this year offers the opportunity to maintain our strong current business relationships with casinos, manufacturers, and systems companies. As the Epic Edge is approved, we definitely want to promote it as the next-generation casino TITO printer in Asia and throughout the rest of the world,” Mr Suliman stated.

The Epic Edge printer was showcased during the trade show. The new product is said to have “over twofold” improvement” of print-image quality compared to current options in the industry. This is on the basis the new printer offers 300-dpi resolution, enabling it to print materials across a wide array of languages, and thus to fit the needs of an increasingly-globalised casino industry.

“The ‘Edge’ [Epic Edge printer] creates razor-sharp barcodes for better ticket acceptance and reduced attendant calls,” Mr Suliman noted, adding that this feature could help casinos’ slot and table operations to run at “peak efficiency”.

The Epic Edge TITO printer allows for firmware updates via a USB2.0 connection or directly via a micro SD card. The printer is also equipped with serial and USB interfaces that are all built into a single board, a feature that allows a casino operator to activate an individual printer in a particular gaming machine if its so wishes.

Additional features of the Epic Edge printer include an adjustable ticket bucket, which can accommodate standard and “smaller, paper-saving” tickets to work with environmental-sustainability programmes adopted by casinos, according to TransAct.

Regarding the Epicentral software system, Mr Suliman told GGRAsia: “There has also been elevated interest and demand for loyalty products throughout Asia, and we plan to integrate the Epicentral software system with the major systems providers in Asia to provide a seamless coupon and loyalty experience for the casino operators.”

Upgrades to Epicentral include the ability to run multiple promotions at the same time; create games within games; run different promotions on different slot game banks; segment players by marketing tier; and offer promotions to different levels of “uncarded” players. The latter term is used in the industry to denote players that are not already signed up to casino loyalty schemes.

The latest iteration of Epicentral software suite also enables detailed activity reports for casino operators. On the players’ side, the product also allows for redemption, printing and reprinting of bonuses at multiple locations, according Mr Suliman.

“Our clients have experienced major success with Epicentral. We’re happy to say that Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut [in the United States] increased its lower-tier player ADTs [average daily theoretical] by over 50 percent when they incorporated our software. Epicentral has also encouraged repeat visits and boosted loyal customer base at Hippodrome Casino in London,” Mr Suliman remarked to us.

So said Masahiro Kurosaki, Sega Sammy Creation’s deputy managing director of sales division, during last week’s Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2019, a casino industry trade show and conference held last week in Macau.

“Macau is an important market, but we also want to expand our business to other jurisdictions, like the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and others,” Mr Kurosaki told GGRAsia.

Sega Sammy Creation supplies equipment to regulated markets across Asia and to Nevada, in the United States. The company was founded in June 2013 as part of Japan’s Sega Sammy Group.

The parent’s interests include the manufacture of pachinko and pachislot machines for the Japan market, and the production of digital home entertainment products. The group also develops and operates theme parks and resorts.

Mr Kurosaki said Sega Sammy Creation is trying to install its machines in smaller gaming venues across Asia. “Our multi-station ETGs have been placed mainly in larger casino[s] due to [their] large size, but with the introduction of smaller versions and standalone types, we will be able to provide our games to smaller casinos,” said the executive.

Sega Sammy Creation launched last year a standalone product called “Baccarat Maximum Fortune”. According to the company, players of the product can view the prior game results generated by the machine immediately, by pressing an “Action Button” during bet time, even if they have not yet personally placed any bets via the device.

According to Mr Kurosaki, the company has so far installed 12 machines at MGM Cotai and four machines at MGM Macau, two properties operated by MGM China Holdings Ltd. Sega Sammy Creation has also installed 12 units of Baccarat Maximum Fortune at Galaxy Macau, run by Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd.

This title has received a “lot of positive feedback” from customers and the company is “gradually expanding” its installation in the Macau market, the executive noted.

With more slot and ETG products in the pipeline, Sega Sammy Creation debuted two new slot games at this year’s edition of G2E Asia based on the parent’s intellectual property video games, “Virtua Fighter Battle Genesis” and “House of the Dead Scarlet Dawn Battle Genesis”.

The two titles, launched by the parent company in the 1990’s, have been “successfully” adapted to arcade games, console games, mobile games and other formats over the years, said Sega Sammy Creation in a press statement. The two titles are the “first round” of a range of video slot games based on Sega Sammy’s intellectual property, the manufacturer noted.

The two games have what Mr Kurosaki calls “an industry-first” bonus feature, which “utilises the video slot reels in battle action sequences” and the credit prize is determined by the total number of specific symbols on the screen.

Both titles will be available in Macau and other Asian markets this summer, and installations have already been confirmed for some large-scale properties, said MrKurosaki. He declined to identify such properties by name.

“Baccarat is one of the biggest games in Asia, so it made sense for us to develop Blaze for baccarat,” said Mark Howell, TCS John Huxley’s head of sales for Asia Pacific. “The reason we do Blaze is because it adds a unique element of style and elegance to the [gaming] table and enhances players’ gaming experience.”

The Blaze Baccarat product was displayed at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2019, held at the Venetian Macao casino resort from May 21 to 23.

“This is a first prototype. We have a number of projects that will go ahead quite soon in the Philippines, Singapore and other markets shortly after,” Mr Howell said in comments to GGRAsia, referring to deployment of the product. “There is also a lot of interest from the Macau market, and we’re currently developing it for specific customers,” he added.

According to the company, the introduction of Blaze Baccarat “brings a new and exciting twist” to the traditional game of baccarat by incorporating what it terms “game attract animations” patented by the company, that can also function to highlight player wins. TCS John Huxley said additionally that its Blaze product increased security for operators and assisted dealers in terms of game accuracy.

The new baccarat product will help the company expand its footprint in Asia, which it says already includes “thousands” of Blaze units across several markets. “Our product is robust, it performs well, and players are used to and happy with our technology, particularly the Asian customer,” said Mr Howell.

TCS John Huxley also unveiled at this year’s G2E Asia its eight-player Qorex carousel product. It is available via either the 23-inch or 27-inch version of the firm’s Qorex electronic gaming terminal and incorporates 65-inch overhead screens. The carousel units can be customised to include features attractive to players in Asian markets stated the company.

“Qorex is a very interesting and exciting product for us. TCS John Huxley has been in the live gaming space for many, many decades and in more recent years we started providing much more advanced technology and systems into the market,” explained Mr Howell.  “In terms of electronic table games, it was a natural progression for us to move into that space, and this product offers some unique features,” he added.

TCS John Huxley says the carousel format offers operators “extreme flexibility” and can be built around automated devices which include the “Saturn Auto Roulette” wheel, or the firm’s baccarat based-game of Gameball. In addition, players can also choose from multiple games of live roulette and baccarat linked with live-camera feeds from around the gaming floor.

TCS John Huxley also showcased two new additions to its Ora range of displays, which incorporate surveillance cameras and information on minimum and maximum bets. The displays are double sided and available in either landscape or portrait format, and can be supplied in a variety of screen sizes.

“We like to be different and offer our customers something new and exciting, and tailored to their needs,” said Mr Howell. “The real point is the pairing of our software with the displays, and that’s to create unique functionalities that the casino requests,” he added.

The move will enhance GLI’s efforts as it assists clients in preparing for and complying with, updates expected next year to an administrative regulation in the city relating to casino gaming technology.

Ian Hughes, vice president of global services of GLI, gave the news of the expansion in comments to GGRAsia during the three-day Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2019 casino industry trade show that concluded on Thursday.

“With the new regulation that is coming in Macau, which will affect manufacturers and GLI, we are going to double our lab here,” Mr Hughes remarked.

He was referring first to amendments to Administrative Regulation No. 26/2012 on the “Regime for the Supply and Requisitioning of Gaming Machines, Equipment and Systems”.

Paulo Martins Chan, director of Macau’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau – a body also known as DICJ – mentioned in 2017 that the relevant administrative regulation was to be updated. The Macau government said in its Policy Address for 2019 that such work was ongoing.

“The regulator has been holding open workshops for the industry, and there is an open dialogue among manufacturers, the regulator and testing laboratories,” Mr Hughes said, referring to the regulatory update process.

“We’ve been having an excellent dialogue; DICJ is cooperative, and the industry will continue to work closely so that the objectives can be met without impacting the industry,” he remarked.

“That’s all about timing but people have to listen and we are listening,” he added referring to the updated rules.

The executive revealed there were currently about eight engineers in the GLI Macau lab, a number that could be increased to between 15 and 20 in the next one to two years. Talking about the challenges of recruiting more people for the Macau team, he noted: “When you increase by 10 people in the U.S., that’s easy, but when you increase 10 people in Macau, that’s a doubling.”

Cybersecurity

Mr Hughes said Japan would become another important market for GLI in Asia alongside Macau, the Philippines and Singapore.

“The casino regulatory body will be established in the very near term, so there have been a lot of planning and preparation for what will be required in Japan,” he said. “We’ve been spending time understanding the market, understanding how things might work in Japan.”

The executive said GLI had been looking for partnerships with academic institutions such as universities in Japan in order to assist the firm in building a skilled labour force there. “We always have to maintain control but we are looking for some partners that can bring value,” he said.

The company has also been focused lately on developing its cybersecurity capabilities, with the acquisition of two companies working in that field. The firm announced in April it had acquired US-based information security services company SeNet International Corp to expand its cybersecurity and information technology capabilities.

“We are doing a lot on cybersecurity because casinos hold a lot of confidential information about their players,” he explained. “Though they have done a very good job at protecting the data, there are always opportunities [for cyber attacks].”

GameSource consists of a cloud-based platform offering land-based casinos access to a library of electronic games. It includes game and data management, auditing functions, and monitoring tools, for operators and regulators to track play and business performance.

“The trial has been passed and now we are waiting for official ‘turn on’ for revenue mode, which we anticipate happening in the next month or two at MGM Macau,” Mr Iao said. That property is owned and managed by casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd.

In addition, the platform is undergoing internal testing at two additional properties in Macau, said the company.

“This year, we will be expanding our footprint to Cambodia and Vietnam,” Mr Iao added.

In Cambodia, GameSource is to be deployed at phases II and III of casino property Jin Bei, in Sihanoukville, said Mr Iao.

In Vietnam, GameSource will be deployed at the Hoiana casino resort, a venue scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of this year. The casino at the property is to be managed by Suncity Group Holdings Ltd, a Hong Kong-listed vehicle controlled by Macau casino junket investor Alvin Chau Cheok Wa.

Pacific Intellectuals Alliance also has plans to introduce GameSource in the United States, with a Nevada-based partner. “We will be rolling out our platform alongside with a sportsbook provider,” Mr Iao said. “We are already in technical discussion and we anticipate to roll out by the end of the year, or first quarter of next year.”

Business prospects

GameSource was the highlight of Pacific Intellectuals Alliance’s exhibition stand at Global Gaming Expo (G2E) 2019 (pictured). The three-day trade show took place in casino resort Venetian Macao, in Macau’s Cotai district. It ended on Thursday.

GameSource runs on generic devices that have a touchscreen. This means no specific hardware is needed to play the games carried on the digital platform. Casino operators select which games from among those in the platform’s library they want to make available to their customers.

Mr Iao said that the product took four years to develop and a total investment of about US$25 million, including ensuring all regulatory compliance. “We foresee achieving full return on investment by end of 2021 or first quarter of 2022,” he added, explaining that would be the equivalent to about 400 to 450 devices deployed.

Mr Iao also mentioned plans for a potential listing. “That is under discussion and consideration,” he said.

Currently, there are four gaming content providers – CREATEC, August Gaming, EPICONE and Laxino Systems Ltd – that have signed up with Pacific Intellectuals Alliance to provide their games to the platform; in addition, the firm is also working with a number of individual game developers.

“We currently have about 80 games in our library,” Mr Iao said.

He added that the GameSource platform also made it easy for independent third-party content developers to make their games available there.

“We want to make sure developers provide game content that is different from traditional slot games,” he said. “There is no point if you just clone existing games and place them in our platform: that does not bring value to us and does not bring value to the casino operators.”

GameSource is available both via fixed terminals and handheld, portable devices that can be used only within a designated area within the casino space. “With the handheld devices, players can just sit around in a couch as they were at home. That is the sort of new generation player experience that land-based casinos lack at the moment, and we can provide them right now, for them to target that new segment of the market,” Mr Iao said.

The latter was a reference to a preference among younger generations of gamblers to bet using handheld devices – such as smartphones or tablet computers – instead of traditional slot machines.

“Probably a seventh concession might go to a joint venture – or a kind of a consortium – between some of the companies already operating in the Macau market,” said lawyer Pedro Cortés (pictured, 2nd right), from local law practice Rato, Ling, Lei and Cortés. He was referring to junket promoters and operators of gaming satellite properties, and to a possible supplement to the six-concession system currently operated in the Macau casino market.

The reference to operators of satellite casinos alluded to the system of so-called service-provider agreements where third-party owners of typically small- or medium-sized hotels have been able to piggyback on the gaming licence of one of the existing concessionaires and offer casino gaming.

The boss of one satellite operator called last year for local entities to be involved in any fresh public tender process for Macau rights.

Alidad Tash (pictured, 2nd left), managing director of gaming consultancy firm 2NT8 Ltd, suggested that were a seventh or eighth licence to materialise, that could eventually help clean up the service provider casino business and shut down some of the more run down properties.

But he added: “The decision regarding a new tender – giving a seventh or eighth licence – has to take into consideration the political perspective, aside from any social concerns … There’s a lot of pressure, and the decision to launch a new licence, it’s not purely a Macau decision, but it will be influenced by Beijing and also external factors.”

They were speaking on Thursday during a conference session at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2019, a casino industry trade exhibition and conference being held at the Venetian Macao casino resort.

An executive of Suncity Group – best known for its involvement in Macau’s casino junket sector – said earlier this week that the company was interested in bidding for a casino gaming concession in Macau. The Suncity brand had been previously linked by industry commentators with a possible play for a Macau casino licence in its own right after the current six expire in 2022.

“Suncity is clearly in the pole position for bidding for a new licence,” said Mr Cortés in his Thursday remarks, adding that the company could eventually collaborate with other entities.

Earlier this month, Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong Vai Tac, said the local government was currently doing preparatory work that would enable a fresh public tender process for gaming rights in the city. The official hinted at the time that a tender for fresh gaming rights would in likelihood have conditions attached, such as that applicants must pledge to increase non-gaming elements in the gaming market.

Mr Cortés said he expected the current concessions to be extended beyond 2022, as the government would need more time to prepare properly a public tender for fresh gaming rights. “The 2022 deadline that the government has mentioned for the public tender might be to apply some pressure on the operators, in order for them to deliver more in some particular areas,” noted the lawyer.

Macau gaming law states that the licences of the existing holders can be extended for a maximum of up to five years from the 20-year term. But once a gaming concession contract expires, any new concession would have to be granted via an international public tender.

Mr Alidad said during the panel discussion that Macau also had limitations in terms of land to be allocated to any additional operators, aside from lots 7 and 8 in Cotai, across the street from the Studio City casino resort.

But even before a public tender takes place, there could be some kind of consolidation in the market, suggested Mr Cortés.

“We might have a takeover or partial takeover of some of the U.S. gaming operators in Macau – even before 2022 – by a [Chinese] company already with a presence in the market,” said the law expert.

Macau-based casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd acquired last year an estimated 5-percent stake in U.S.-based firm Wynn Resorts Ltd. The latter firm is the parent company of Wynn Macau Ltd, a market rival of Galaxy Entertainment in Macau.

“We could see that happen directly with one of the Macau-based companies, and that could eventually be welcomed by the local government,” added Mr Cortés.

The 2019 edition of G2E Asia finished on Thursday. The annual, three-day event is held at the Venetian Macao casino resort in Macau’s Cotai district, and is promoted by Reed Exhibitions and the American Gaming Association.

This year’s show was marked by a decision from Macau’s casino regulator – the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, a body also known as DICJ – not to attend the show’s opening ceremony or to send a speaker to its conference segment, unlike in recent editions. It followed what the regulator termed suspected promotion of “illegal online gaming” at the G2E Asia 2019 exhibition floor.

Online casino gaming operations are not regulated in Macau.

According to information by the city’s Judiciary Police, at least one man was arrested on Wednesday at an “international entertainment trade show” in Macau for using the city’s logo to promote a gambling-related website as part of its exhibit at the event. The police did not directly identify G2E Asia 2019 as the place where the suspected infraction took place.

A statement emailed to GGRAsia on Thursday and described as being on behalf of G2E Asia said: “In close coordination with DICJ, G2E Asia continued to restrict the promotion and marketing activities of illegal online gaming products and services.”

The statement added: “Every scheduled exhibitor at G2E Asia 2019 has committed to not display ‘any product or service that may be categorised as a consumer-facing product related to online or mobile gaming.’”

This year G2E Asia was on two floors at the Venetian Macao.

The upper floor of the trade show (pictured) had a number of online gaming service providers, some offering so-called “turnkey solutions” for consumer-facing online gaming platforms. Some booths had notices specifying that such services were not available for use within Macau.

The Thursday statement issued in the name of G2E Asia noted: “Working closely with local regulators to stamp out illegal gambling is a hallmark of gaming operators and suppliers in Macau. We remain committed to our strong partnership with the Macau SAR authorities, in particular DICJ.”

The statement from the organisers said this year’s G2E Asia was the “largest to date”, reportedly attracting 13,500 trade visitors in the first two days of the event, up from the same period last year by 5 percent.

In the casino sector, the firm is probably best known for casino printers, bill acceptors and other gaming hardware-related devices.

“Traditionally we’re a company that makes devices that go inside slot machines, table games, ATMs or kiosks on the casino floor,” noted Dave Kubajak (pictured), senior vice president of sales, marketing and operations of JCM Global.

He was speaking to GGRAsia on Thursday, the third and final day of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2019 industry trade show, held at the Venetian Macao.

“This year our focus has evolved to the theme of being connected across the entire casino floor,” he said. “We’re bringing system technology to the show this year.”

Three system products were highlighted by JCM Global at G2E Asia.

ICB Intelligent Cash Box is said to streamline and simplify the process of cash box collection, as well as allowing a casino venue’s  finance team and executive management to access essential cash box data securely at any time.

PromoNet, which can connect to every slot machine printer, table game, kiosk, and ATM on the casino floor, is said to provide opportunities for casinos to provide instant rewards or incentives for players.

JCM Global’s Fuzion technology offers the possibility of real-time monitoring of all the cash on the casino floor, as well as cash in other parts of the business.

“The [casino] operators can know to the penny exactly what the floor has at any point in time, broken down by denomination, broken down by ticketing, and broken down by promotion,” Mr Kubajak told us, referring to Fuzion. The company said in last December it has been granted a patent in the United States for the system.

Combined with firm’s iVizion bill validators, the Fuzion system is said to be helpful for casinos in their strengthening of measures relating to anti-money laundering procedures, security and surveillance.

“The one thing it does – that no one else in this entire hall or the entire world in gaming does – is give you the ability to see real-time images in high resolution of every single note in your casino,” Mr Kubajak claimed.

The system could also read the serial number on the banknotes accepted, and allow casinos to “track every single transaction to an individual piece of paper or currency,” he added.

Southeast Asian growth

The Fuzion technology, which according to JCM Global can also help improve the efficiency of gaming machines on the floor by measuring their real-time performance, has yet to be put into use, but the executive hopes it could be deployed in some properties by end of this year. “Anybody who is focusing on surveillance, security, operation integrity, responsible gaming or anti-money laundering… [they] need a tool to do it better; to keep the industry safe and protected,” he added.

Regarding the other two system products, Mr Kubajak said PromoNet had already been used in the Philippines, while ICB Intelligent Cash Box had been employed in Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Australia.

“The system products are actually doing really well,” he said. “JCM traditionally just makes these pieces of hardware, and moving into this system business is exciting, sexy and really brings value to our customers.”

Besides having a presence in the Macau market, the executive said JCM Global had also gained footholds in the Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, and Singapore in the past years.

“We now also transition to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Sri Lanka and India,” markets the executive noted.

“I’m very happy with Southeast Asia,” he remarked. “It does really good for us.”

The bill already received a first-reading approval by the city’s Legislative Assembly. It is now under detailed examination by one of the assembly’s working committees. After the committee has issued a report on the bill, the document will return to the full assembly for its second and final reading.

Ms Senna Fernandes said the government had no forecast for when the bill could be put for its final reading by the Legislative Assembly.

The proposal suggests raising the bar conditions-wise in terms of investors being able to classify a local hotel as either “five star” or “five star deluxe”. But it relaxes the conditions required for opening a two-star hotel in the city, and encourages the setting up of other forms of “budget accommodation”.

GGRAsia asked Ms Senna Fernandes about the proposed revised requirements to classify a local hotel as either “five star” or “five star deluxe”. She did not provide details, but noted that the aim of the bill was to “enhance product quality” in Macau’s top-tier hotels.

Ms Senna Fernandes noted that the current legal framework regulating Macau’s hotel sector had been in place since 1996. “A lot has evolved since in terms of Macau’s hotels and their facilities,” she said.

“The aim [of the bill] is to enhance the quality of high-end hotels; while at the same time, setting out more ways to attract more budget-friendly [accommodation] products from around the world to the Macau market,” Ms Senna Fernandes said. She pointed out as examples capsule-style hotels and youth hostels.

Ms Senna Fernandes’ comments were made on the sidelines of day two of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2019 casino industry trade show in Macau. She delivered a keynote speech at the conference segment of the event: the tourism official said the Macau government planned to continue working with the city’s casino operators to enrich Macau’s non-gaming offerings.

The three-day G2E Asia 2019 runs until Thursday at casino resort Venetian Macao.

Macau had a total of about 38,800 guest rooms as of March, of which 63 percent were located in five-star hotels, according to the latest available figures from the city’s Statistics and Census Service.

Some of Macau’s casino operators are in the process of either revamping their existing casino resort facilities, or expanding their Cotai projects with increased lodging capacity to come online starting next year.

A number of investment analysts covering the Macau gaming sector has suggested that hotel capacity constraints and pricing are a potential brake on the growth of mass-market tourism in Macau. A five-star hotel room in the Macau casino-hotel market is typically more expensive than equivalent accommodation in the world’s other major casino hub, Las Vegas, Nevada, in the United States.

That is according to Kevin Lee, deputy general manager of Aruze Gaming Macau Ltd, in comments to GGRAsia on day two of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2019 casino industry trade show in Macau.

“Roll to Win Craps” is Aruze’s latest semi-automated version of the traditionally live-dealer dice table game popular in North America.

Initially it was “not targeted for Asia, but we see potential in it,” Mr Lee told GGRAsia at the company’s stand at the event inside the Venetian Macao casino resort.

The Philippines was likely to be a fruitful market for the final product, as they have “similar players” as the United States market, noted the Aruze manager.

He explained part of the business proposition of the product both from a player’s perspective and from a casino operator’s viewpoint.

“In traditional craps…  there are usually three dealers to calculate and verify whether the payout is correct.

He added: “We completely automated that part. So payout is all automated, and you [the player] can withdraw your payout via ticket.”

The playing surface is built on an LED panel, which can be branded and used as a collateral in marketing by casino venues.

Roll to Win Craps also features a tableside display to show the results of the previous games, including ‘trends’ – a favourite concept with many Asian players.

In live-dealer craps, “you don’t have that,” notes Mr Lee.

He noted Aruze had seen sales growth in the Philippines in an older Aruze product, “Shoot to Win Craps” which he described as a product “very similar” in play style to the traditional Asian dice game sic bo.

“Electronic table games we believe in the future will take over,” from live-dealer tables, said the Aruze manager.

Factors in that included convenience for the players, and a reduction in overhead costs for the casinos.

The Aruze brand, founded by Japanese gaming entrepreneur Kazuo Okada, also expected electronic table games to be popular in the coming Japan casino market.

“That’s how Japan is. Everything is automated,” where possible, noted Mr Lee.

At G2E Asia, the Aruze brand was also displaying its “Fu Lai Cai Lai” progressive link slot series – which translates from the pinyin Chinese as “More wealth to come”. It is being presented on a new cabinet, the Muso Triple-27.

The product manages to combine payout volatility in the base game, with the large-size jackpots associated with progressive-style machines.

“There are three different titles,” Mr Lee explained.

“Each game has its own feature. The games have a very strong multiplier feature, so they are exciting for players that like high volatility” games, he stated.

The product is already in the Philippines and in some large casino resorts in Macau, he told GGRAsia.