“2011 was a terrific year for NEWave”

What were NEWave accomplishments in 2011?
2011 was a terrific year for NEWave. We repositioned ourselves for success, brought in new leaders to our executive team, expanded our services with a new Professional Services division, expanded our client base, and launched our new name and image. We ended the year on a very high note, being named the Partner of the Year by Gaming & Leisure magazine. As we wrap up 2011, we are preparing for major changes to U.S. Treasury guidelines regarding FinCEN that will affect every casino operating in the U.S.

How was the general gaming industry in a year with an economic crisis that affected many markets?
Our business was good. More importantly, because they were protected by our software none of our clients’ business was hit with any fines for non-compliance that could have negatively impacted their bottom lines. Costly fines are a hard pill to swallow, especially in an economic climate such as this. Looking forward, we are encouraged by reports of increased gaming wins in key markets and by improving indexes.

What are the company's plans for 2012? What novelties are you preparing?
The most important plan we will execute in 2012 is software upgrades to ensure our current and potential clients are prepared for the extremely significant changes that are coming from the U.S. Treasury regarding FinCEN that will affect how each and every casino files reports to the federal government. Every casino operating in the U.S. will be affected, and we are all working against a July 1, 2012, deadline.

At NEWave, we have carefully analyzed the new FinCEN reporting requirements, and there are significant changes to CTR and SAR filings. According to FinCEN’s own estimates, each new CTR will take approximately 40 minutes to complete, and each new SAR will take approximately two hours. That means casinos have two choices: staff up to ensure you have the manpower to accommodate the new requirements, or install software that will complete, file and store the forms for you.

At NEWave, we are moving extremely fast to update our myCompliance suite to accommodate all of the FinCEN changes to ensure U.S.-based casinos remain in compliance, and minimize labor expenses. We are also creating a new SAR Manager that will replace yesterday’s SAR-C Manager. We expect our software upgrades to be complete in Q1 2012.

How will be the 2012 for the gaming industry in general? Will it be similar to 2011? Do you think that we will see a growth in the activity?
Fortunately, we are seeing signs of growth, from the Dept. of Labor’s statistics, from the EU bank deals, from gaming revenue reports and from gaming indexes. We hope those signs will lead to a prosperous 2012 for the industry.