Following an international procurement exercise, the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs has signed a contract with Intralot New Zealand Limited, the local arm of European gaming technology company, Intralot SA, for the provision and operation of the electronic monitoring system (EMS) for all gaming machines in pubs and clubs.
Department deputy secretary Andrew Secker said that the contract is for NZ$35 million over six years.
He said that EMS will greatly increase the accountability of the gambling sector. Incorrect banking and inaccurate record-keeping by gambling operators are the most common problems found during audits carried out by the department.
Gaming machines are allowed in pubs and clubs as a form of community fund-raising only. They are a cash-only operation that last year made a profit of NZ$1.035 billion in banknotes and coins from a turnover of more than NZ$8.6 billion.
Currently, gambling operators’ record-keeping is manual and there are more than 20,000 machines at more than 1,800 venues throughout the country.
“Electronic monitoring of gaming machines is standard practice throughout the world because of the huge cash turnovers,” said Mr Secker. “Monitoring systems are already in place in New Zealand’s casinos and will now be used in pubs and clubs through EMS.
“EMS will help safeguard money intended for community groups.”
Department staff have visited some of the jurisdictions that have Intralot systems in place and have been impressed with the technical sophistication and operation of these systems. Regulators have expressed a very high standard of satisfaction with all aspects of Intralot’S involvement in the supply, rollout and operation of the systems in their jurisdictions.
Intralot SA ceo Constantinos Antonopoulos, said: “We are excited about the contract with the department and we are looking forward to working with them. It is a strong endorsement of our V-Lotos™ capabilities. Moreover, it is a significant moment for Intralot, since it is our first agreement in Oceania.”
What EMS will do
EMS will give the Department information allowing it to:
• monitor how much money is gambled on each machine;
• monitor how much each machine pays out in prizes to gamblers;
• monitor how much money should be banked;
• ensure that all software being used on the machines is identical to the approved versions;
• assist in detecting software failures;
• assist in detecting tampering with a machine or software.
The implementation will start by the end of 2005, while all machines are to be connected by mid-March 2007.
Intralot currently has gaming machine monitoring operations, based on its V-Lotos™ platform, in two European jurisdictions and the same system will be used in New Zealand. Intralot is also actively involved in the rollout and subsequent operation of many of the systems they supply.
New Zealand will be its first substantial presence in the region.
Intralot, a public listed company on ASE, is a leading supplier of integrated gaming and transaction processing systems, innovative game designs and added value services to state-licensed gaming organisations and financial services providers worldwide. It is a five continent company with 31 subsidiaries – one of which is Maltco Lotteries which started operating in Malta in April 2004 – seven business offices, 1,500 people in 28 countries and annual revenues of e325.8m. The company currently ranks third for revenue and second for profits among lottery suppliers worldwide.