International Casino Review caught up with Alex Stiglich, DR Gaming Technology’s MD for LatAm and the Caribbean, to discuss how PGS 2018 went for the company.
International Casino Review: Was the 2018 Peru Gaming Show a ‘good fit’ for DRGT, how would you rate your client and prospect engagement at the show this year?
Alex Stiglich: Over the last decade and a half PGS has evolved into what is without a doubt the premier gaming exhibition in the region. It as an exact result thereof that DR Gaming Technology and its regional partners Apex Gaming and Alfastreet Gaming continue to support the event and use it not only as a product showcase, but also as the perfect opportunity to entertain and build relationships with existing customers, and with over 4,000 visitors this year, to meet and engage with prospective new customers.
In terms of a rating, it’s tough to give an actual score, that said, and notwithstanding the fact that the FIFA World Cup 2018 was happening at the same time, attendance at PGS was good, as always, as was the quality of attendees. Whilst some existing customers were indeed in Russia, sadly watching Peru not make it to the knock-out stages, a number of new prospects and opportunities did present themselves. In my travels to many other gaming expos, I believe that PGS really is quite unique thanks to the very nature of Latin Americans. I find the atmosphere relaxed, yet with a purpose, and this really creates a solid platform from which to build and grow the relationships.
ICR: From a product perspective, which of DRGT’s solutions would you say ‘shone through’ at last month’s event?
AS: Ahead of the show, I referenced the fact that player registration and player tracking are becoming more and more important across the globe, and that Peru and the greater Latin America region was without a doubt no different, especially for operators wanting to understand and reward their players better, and really get to ‘know their customer’. To that end, and not with-standing the ongoing support for specifically our core casino management system and our slots player tracking interfaces, drMicro and our world-leading drScreenUltra, as well as our on screen drScreen touchscreen solution, there was significant interest at PGS in our Tables Player Tracking system, with operators intent on wanting to provide a simple and easy to use product that not only provides a player-centric solution for their Tables players in the form of the allocation of loyalty points, rewards and bonusses, but also the ability for them as operators to better track their actual Tables game play activity.
The interest in our Tables Management System, in association with our easy-to-use and operate drSelfRegistration player loyalty sign-up and reward system proved our initial point, along with the ongoing support from operators of our robust and easy to manage ticketing solution.
ICR: Where will DRGT be exhibiting next?
AS: Our next really big show will be G2E Las Vegas in early October, where we will no doubt have a number of new system features and jackpot ideas aimed at, as always, assisting operators to put their player first, we may also showcase some brand new solutions, but I don’t want to reveal too much at this early stage. Safe to say, DRGT always makes a significant effort to use the latest available technology to drive it’s ongoing product expansion and development, and my colleagues at our design hubs in Austria, Malta, Belgium and South Africa are hard at work, doing just that.
With regards to Peru, and Latin America specifically though, we will definitely be back at PGS on 19 and 20 June next year, and continue to be a part of all relevant regional events like FADJA and Juegos Miami.
