KEY TAKEAWAYS

AS THE AUSTRALASIAN GAMING EXPO WRAPS IN SYDNEY FOR ANOTHER YEAR, WE SHARE THE HIGHLIGHTS AND OBSERVABLE TRENDS LIKELY TO MOST IMPACT YOUR BUSINESS.

The AGE closed for another year after a soldout floor at the harbourside International Convention Centre in Sydney. The threeday event hosted not just the core gaming technologies, products and services, but many other aspects of pub operations. Three key themes we witnessed and most relevant to hoteliers were: global advances in technology, the suggestion the pubs property market may have peaked and the rise of scenting and coffee service.

The AGE received 10,000 visitors in 2018

The expo hosted over 10,000 attendees, with just shy of 3,000 attending on day one, including the 77 regulators set to have a crucial impact on the industry in both Australia and New Zealand. Many of them heard Gaming Technologies Association CEO Ross Ferrar’s opening speech. Key to his comments was a report compiled by the Centre For International Economics showing an $8.32bn contribution to the national economy in value added by gaming. The report, Gaming Machine Industry in Australia, was conducted in the 2016-17 fiscal year.

ADVANCING TECHNOLOGIES

Meanwhile Justin Baird, Managing Director of R&D, Technology & Innovation at Accenture highlighted the vast leaps in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies globally. Baird pointed to the driverless cars already a reality on some of Sydney’s roads as trials continue until October this year, the imminent launch of e-wallets such as Ora-Saifu, cryto-currencies such as Bitcoin and new ‘spread-ledger’ security afforded by blockchain technology, citing Commonwealth Bank’s tie-up with the World Bank to launch the world’s first bond backed by blockchain.

Baird also noted the impact of e-gaming and VR-gaming encouraging customers to spend more while separately highlighting that 47% of jobs are at risk of being automated. The impact of these new technologies will be felt across security systems, customer retention programmes, gaming technologies and payment transactions as well as customers’ increased understanding of these advances.

On the floor, Cognitec showcased facial-recognition techonology. The company’s FaceVACS-VideoScan highlights security issues or self-identified problem gamblers and VIPs, using built-in face-detection and tracking technology.

Ross Ferrar, Gaming Technologies Australia CEO

PROPERTY VALUATIONS

Scott Robertson, of Robertson & Robertson, speaking at the Pubs and Hotels Summit seminar, spoke of his belief that, in relation to hotel property valuations: “Generally speaking, we’re at the top of the market.” Citing Sydney’s lock-out laws and industry trends as key pressures,

Robertson added: “We’re at a real generational crossroads. The younger generation don’t have the work ethic to do that job [running hotels].”

Robertson spoke of the opportunities that still exist for “last man standing” properties in many regional towns, with lots of pubs and clubs closing around them. Robertson highlighted that in terms of gaming technology, after four years, revenue starts to drop off, while property valuations for those without pokies came down to “95% about the figures.”

Floor space sold out in 2018

SCENTING SUCCESS; COFFEE HITS

Looking to inject a caffeine hit into more hotel properties were a number of suppliers, including Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), Nespresso, Global Beverage Solutions and Hennessy Coffee. All are looking for deeper ties with the on-premise sector through smaller-footprint equipment, whitelabelled beans and a story hoteliers can take to customers.

Scenting success, brands including Sensaroma Atmospheric, Scent Australia, Scent Central and Premium Scenting are laying claim to the growing sector of scent marketing, using aroma to create deep affiliation with customers.

Next year’s AGE dates are now confirmed as 13–15 August 2019.