“Not only big operators are deciding to invest in Colombia. Medium and small ones too”

What have you found out in this market since you entered it?
MdS: I joined the Novomatic Group last July and since then my experiences have been really very positive. It is of course true that the Colombian market is not new for me; I have been living here for 14 years. Novomatic products are not new for me either, because during my time with Franco we had a distribution agreement and thus we have already been introducing the product.

We can say that the reaction has been extremely positive. It is quite surprising for us to see that the Colombian operator is willing to invest. Last year there was almost 20% more of international commerce and this is a reality: not only big operators are deciding to invest in state-of-the-art equipment now, but also the medium and small operators. They are now no longer afraid of purchasing leading products – even though the prices were a bit high for their market segment.

What is your reaction to the show and the public feedback?
MdS: Very positive. We have a comprehensive commercial infrastructure in Colombia, with one office in Medellin and another in Bogotá. For us, this show is just another place to interact and meet with our customers – we basically engage in commercial activity 365 days of the year. But at the show we met many foreign operators that have now become aware of the fact that AGI Gaming Colombia provides customer support directly in their own country and in the local language for a product acquired in Austria or elsewhere, which is very important for them.

Which is your vision of the creation of Coljuegos for the medium and long term?
MdS: I think we are on the right track. We and the four other largest manufacturers that participated in the show - IGT, Williams, Bally, Atronic – had a meeting with the President of Coljuegos, and the truth is that he was both accessible and agreeable and also very cognizant of the experience we have as international manufacturers, the benefits we have in the various countries in which we have licenses, the different jurisdictions and their requirements, etc…It will not be an easy task, but we think we are on the right track. There is much more clarity now than a year ago.

What novelties are you presenting?
D.U: This edition of FADJA was very important for us, because it was the first time AGI Gaming Colombia directly represented Novomatic at a show in Colombia. This year we presented the NOVOSTAR SL (FV 880) slant top with two 26” screens as well as the Super-V+ Gaminator III (FV 610) with three 24”-screens, offering a great range of attractive single games and multi-game mixes. Furthermore we have displayed two mystery progressive jackpots - “Rise of the Dragon” and “Marilyn Monroe”. We also presented our Novomatic Reel Tournament, which is a spectacular promotion tool for casino operators as it allows them to link an unlimited number of Coolfire II multi-game machines and to organize tournaments for their guests just by the push of a button – without any software changes. And we presented the NOVOLINE Interactive system which is an innovative stand-alone gaming solution, server-based-ready for a later plug ‘n’ play interconnection into the NOVO LINE VLT system.