“Spielo’s priority in 2013 is to stay focused on our clients and their needs”

What is the evaluation of this year?
The past year, 2012, has been a very strong year for Spielo International. We exceeded our expectations in every single territory, and the majority of our markets in the International Casino segment have shown double digit growth compared to 2011, which was already a very successful year for us.

We are very proud of this achievement, and we would like to thank all our customers for their trust and faith in us.

What were the main challenges that you had to face within your major markets?
The main challenge for our operators has been the growing need for flexibility: the ability to react quickly to changing circumstances in the market, good or bad, has never been as important as it is now.

In turn, this requires a much faster response than before from manufacturers and service providers like ourselves. This nimbleness is required from all areas within the company; it is no longer limited to the traditional areas such as sales, marketing, and production. Consequently, I am very happy that within SPIELO International, the cooperation between all departments and areas is strong and that we can therefore manage these constantly changing circumstances very well.

What was the most innovative product or service launched this year by your company?
2012 was full of highlights for us. To point out a just a few: at G2E in Las Vegas, we announced the launch of four new exclusive licensed slot titles based on some of the world’s most popular casual video games. SPIELO International and PopCap Games, a division of Electronic Arts, have entered into a licensing agreement and have developed slot games based on three internationally recognized PopCap franchises – Plants vs. Zombies, Zuma and Bejeweled.

They are currently available for the North American casino market, and they will be coming to International Casino Markets through 2013, plus many more exciting innovations we have in the pipeline.

Among Spielo International’s new content-driven titles in 2012 was Egyptian Gold, the company’s first progressive link using Episodic Gaming. As the player progresses through the game during one session, he or she can save and reactivate their achieved status during the next play session, allowing them to unlock more features and additional bet options.

On the systems side, Crystal.net, the next generation floor platform by Spielo International, debuted in the Latin American market with its installation at Royal Casino Panama. It offers an innovative way to provide a superior customer loyalty experience, and it is based on a newly installed tactile interaction platform, with the growth potential for additional applications in the future.

In your opinion, what is the country with the highest growth potential for next year and why?
In today’s market, there is not one single country that stands out. There is a lot of movement around the world, and everywhere operators are working hard to make their operations profitable and to grow their business.

Each of the more than 50 countries that we operate in is a valuable customer, and so we are not singling out individual countries simply because they’ll bring us business next year. The casino industry as a whole has a lot of potential, and SPIELO International wants to be part of it where we can, no matter how small or large the client is.

What are your company's plans for 2013?
Spielo International’s priority in 2013 is to stay focused on our clients and their needs, and we will continue to do everything we can to show them that we deserve the trust and faith that they have shown us. This also requires us to continue our policy of tailoring game content, services, and solutions to individual markets.

We will continue to expand both the quantity and quality of our portfolio in 2013, and we have exciting products on their way. In addition, we will create some special commercial offerings during the year to specifically meet the needs of individual markets and operators. The difference between markets is significant, and each of them requires a different approach to support their growth, or their recovery from difficult times. Thus Spielo International is committed to creating customized solutions for our customers.

How do you picture the gaming industry in 2013? Will it be similar to this year? Will there be a growth or slowdown?
Though it’s always difficult to predict, our opinion is 2013 will present a mixed picture where, even within a specific region or continent, differences will be evident. In other words, the entire industry will not grow uniformly. However, overall, we do expect that most clients will do well and manage to further grow their business, or start to recover from some of the losses that had been taken in recent years. And Spielo International is looking forward to helping our customers achieve their recovery and growth goals.