ICE Rides The AI Wave Tom Learmont sampled the offerings at ICE Africa 2019 THE CONTINENT’S casino interests converged on Johannesburg in early October to talk business at ICE Africa 2019. And the overall impression was that of a resounding success, as Gaming for Africa roamed the aisles in search of newsworthy exhibitors. First call in a crowded hall was to the GLI stand, where Devon Dalbock answered our questions about trends. He’s the man to ask about the near future, because the GLI Africa labs are busy testing gound-breaking approaches to the world of chance. Last year, there were two exhibitors with products based on blockchain, but this trend seems to have been a flash in the pan
Devon said there are two main trends this year. “Artificial Intelligence is the next big thing – with systems that learn from players’ preferences and habits. These systems are already legal in Africa, the EU and the States. Each player gets a tailored offering – based on past habits – to suit just him or her, and the machine greets them by name. The other growing movement is toward virtual AI-driven online casinos, and in this regard, website appeal is very important.” According to Devon, “I’m like a fisherman in a shoal of fish We’re surrounded by old customers and potential new ones, at a time of change when our labs are in demand. So, yes – GLI is having an
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excellent expo.” Our next call was to the stand of a trusted slots brand that seems stronger than ever: Aruze. GM Riaan Swart said, “We’re having a good show this year, doing lots of business.” He proudly demonstrated the video slots Dancing Lions and Golden Happiness from his new Wealth of Coins series. These designs rely on crowd-pleasing features such free games, with more wilds, and a jackpot. Then it was on to shake hands with Simon Pintar and Primoj Kovac, representing the Slovenian electronic table game firm Spintec Gaming Solutions. Simon said, “Our games keep the players involved for longer sessions, and we have proof of that.
