It was only a matter of time before the Novomatic Group of Companies, through its slot-supply arm Austrian Gaming Industries, made itself a fixture in the U.S. gaming market. One of the biggest European producers of gaming technology, Novomatic is also one of the largest integrated gaming companies in the world, with locations in 43 countries and exports to more than 80.
Now, the U.S. is on the list.
It’s been one full business year since the company announced its American arrival, and it’s been a busy arrival at that. The company has founded Novomatic America Sales LLC and opened a headquarters in Deerfield Beach, Florida, as well as a service center in East Dundee, Illinois.
The company’s U.S. team is headed by CEO Jens Halle, who also is managing director of Novomatic’s AGI division, and Rick Meitzler, vice president of sales for North America. The division has put together a product range that the executives feel will make the Novomatic name a staple in the U.S. gaming industry.
So, this year’s G2E is of special importance to the group.
“G2E Las Vegas is a traditionally important event for the Novomatic Group, and it is now of even more significance as it is the first big show presentation of our growing range of licensed products for the U.S./American markets,” Halle says. “We have done our homework, listened closely to our customers’ needs and their guests’ wishes, and are now in a ‘green light’ position to present an initial and growing U.S. portfolio that also caters to special market requirements such as the Illinois VGT sector.”
But to portray the Novomatic Group as a new player in the gaming world doesn’t really hold up. The group of companies—it would take forever to list them all—is spread throughout the European Union and has been growing rapidly in Asia and Latin America.
Multi-Game Focus
Still, the U.S. is a big domino, and the group is coming forward with an extensive and well-proven lineup. There is room, however, for some strictly American-offered products such as the
Action-Gaminator, a multi-game unit that offers a sophisticated mix of internationally proven Novomatic hit slot games for the Illinois VGT market.
“From the operator responses that we have received, we are sure that this will be a big hit in the specialized Illinois market,” says Meitzler. “We also expect a hugely positive reaction to the Novostar V.I.P., which we are also premiering, introducing supreme game play in panorama format. Our plan for Novomatic’s rollout in U.S. markets is to have U.S.-specific gaming technologies that will excite and inspire American operators. Our recent focus groups and operator interactions tell us that we are on the right track for success.”
For such an established game-maker bringing many of its games to a new market, variety is the key. The largest variety comes from the Group’s Novo Line of interactive games, along with its Coolfire II range of games.
Together, they represent a selection of slots available as either single game themes or presented in the company’s multiple game platforms of Super-V+ Gaminator and Premium-V+ Gaminator and Novo Line Interactive multi-game mixes.
Up to 28 games can be offered at a single terminal in the multi-game units, along with a new POS concept of multi-game presentation for international casino floors. Novomatic ups the player choices by using the latest mathematical concepts and innovative ways for players to win, leaving a range of games with from five to 50 paylines.
“Modern multi-games provide greatly enhanced flexibility for any operator’s gaming floor, as well as an obvious player benefit in terms of game choice,” says Halle. “Simply put, our experience as both a manufacturer and operator over many years has conclusively proven that multi-games are players’ favorite. As always, the games themselves are the most important factor. Multigames gave more games, more choice and more satisfaction.”
It’s All in the Packaging
The group’s multi-game systems are packaged in the Dominator cabinet, with its revolutionary design exclusively for the Novo Line platform, as well as in the Super-V+ Gaminator III and Novostar SL cabinets.
The Novostar V.I.P. cabinet will also make a U.S. premiere at G2E, featuring a panoramic game-play format including a large Crown V.I.P. chair and an extra 46-inch upper screen positioned at the perfect ergonomic distance for game play in top comfort.
Novomatic’s Reel Tournament feature allows for instant tournament play, and is a marketing tool for all sorts of casino promotion programs. It allows operators to offer their guests live tournaments in real time on an unlimited number of connected Super-V+ Gaminator machines featuring the Super-V+ Gaminator multi-game mixes T1 or T2. And all with the touch of a button.
The Novo Line’s Novo Unity II system also allows operators to link any chosen number of terminals to an unlimited number of different games such as roulette, baccarat, poker, blackjack, sic bo and bingo, as well as slot games.
Roulette
Novomatic will highlight this versatility with a fully automated Novo Multi-Roulette wheel linked to a group of Novostar SL slant-tops, each with an entire fully animated multi-player, multi-game selection, as well as Novo Multi-Roulette and the latest Novo Line Novo Unity II video slot multi-game mix.
One example, the Lotus Roulette, is in a six-player island configuration, consisting of individual player stations and one automatic roulette wheel embedded in a veneered table. Each of the individual player stations is equipped with high-resolution touch-screen monitors and automated cash-handling facilities.
Novomatic will also display an automated single-player roulette that combines roulette with slot gaming in one unique machine. The feature is an evolution of the group’s original Pinball Roulette game that will be displayed with Panther Roulette and Panther Roulette II. The Panther Roulette features a second 32-inch full-HD screen on top of the machine with Novomatic’s “Flipscreen” functionality—players can press a button to switch the top and bottom screen displays. Both versions are available with a comprehensive multi-game offering of 23 HD video slot games.
Finally, Novomatic will also feature online products from subsidiary Greentube—along with iGaming2Go—and will present mobile applications and content. Available for HTML 5, Android, iOS, Native App, etc., the portfolio includes Greentube’s multi-channel strategy, which offers a link between online, mobile and thin-client terminal solutions.
Put simply, as far as the U.S. is concerned, Novomatic has arrived.
