Customers in the Macau market and other Asian jurisdictions have given “very good feedback” to the new range of table gaming products from Paltronics Australasia Pty Ltd, said chairman Stephen Cowan (pictured right).
Paltronics, a provider of system solutions for the casino gaming industry and well known for its display technology, has now added table games products to its offer. The new products make use of the firm’s expertise in lighting and displays.
“Diversification is good and going strong for us. These new products have been well received across Asia,” Mr Cowan told GGRAsia at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia taking place in Macau this week.
The first prototype sic bo game was introduced at the Macao Gaming Show in November.
A core technology of the new sic bo game is the Clarity playing surface, described as a fully sealed laminated layer with embedded LED illumination.
“Being only 18 millimetres [0.7 inches] thick, it’s easy to install in the table top surface without the need to modify the main table structure,” explained Simon Witty (pictured left), Paltronics’ director for business development.
The new Infinity dice shaker designed for electronic sic bo games “has been developed to be maintenance free,” said Mr Witty. “We’ve introduced technology that reduces friction, minimising the need for maintenance,” he added. The product has also a magnetic locking dome cover, which increases the safety features of the product.
The new sic bo system is complemented by the Spectra table display, available in both LCD and LED versions. Spectra displays are also designed for baccarat and roulette games.
“A lot of what has gone into our sic bo product has been from the feedback we collected in November, which we used in this version [at G2E Asia],” Mr Witty told us. “Paltronics has…a legacy in technology, including jackpot systems and display technology. We’ve refocused that technology onto gaming tables.”
He added: “Within all this new range of products, particularly for Asian popular games, like baccarat and sic bo, we have also developed some bonusing jackpot offers.”
Catching the next wave
The company executives are confident that the investment in table gaming products will pay off as casino operators look at replacing products and optimising the existent ones.
“We came in with a zero market share and a complete product range. It [Macau] is a mature market – or it’s becoming a mature market on the table side – but we’re seeing that on the table gaming space operators are looking at redesigned games and replacing equipment. So, we are going through a replacing cycle along with all expansion that is going on outside of Macau,” said Mr Witty.
He added: “We had the benefit of looking at the market and improve our products, focusing on functionality and reliability. To be able to come in later and take advantage of all that knowledge allowed us to position well our products.”
The slowdown in revenue growth in Macau, where gross gaming revenue monthly tally has fallen for 11 consecutive months judged year-on-year, has shifted the focus to the mass market and new products, which can be positive to Paltronics.
“But the story about the perceived slowdown in Macau is also the growth in other emerging markets, places where we are strong, like the Philippines and South Korea,” said Mr Cowan.
“It’s good to see that emerging markets are getting more important and some of these markets have less regulatory restrictions,” he added.
“For us, it’s not much about the slowdown in the market, but what could be causing some grief is getting the product up to the latest version due to approval processes,” said the Paltronics chairman.
