With traditional Bulgarian hospitality Casino Technology welcomed guests and partners from all over the world at their new headquarters in Sofia.

Often, new technology takes time to get off the ground. It’s not usually so in the casino industry, of course, but Electronic Game Cards have initially found favour with the Kansas state lottery in the US.

Amazing Holdings are a company with ambition. They have bought a plot of land on the Taiwanese island of Penghu. At present there is no provision for legal gambling there, but Ian Irvin, Executive Director, and Ashley Hines, Chairman, are optimistic that their ultimate plan of a gaming resort can be realised.

What do internet gaming and the small island of St. Pierre, France have in common? Well the simple answer is probably nothing. However, indirectly they share a common characteristic regarding the ability to work around laws which may or may not apply to them. Or in the very least benefit from these laws.

Spanish paying card manufacturer Fournier has become synonymous with quality. Casinos worldwide acknowledge that the company is a leader in terms of security and innovation. Jon Bruford sat down with Javier Berasatagui, Export Manager, and Jesus Guerra, Commercial and Marketing Director of the company, to find out how they stay on top of the game.

Online age verification and fraud experts 192.com warn operators of the risks inherent in the faceless age verification process that can leave online casinos vulnerable to fraud.

This year 186 companies in St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region were revised by law. As a result 11 criminal cases against gaming companies were brought into court, 121 administrative protocols were composed, 88 entrepreneurs and managers were brought to administrative responsibility.

The number of the gaming halls and machines will be more tightly controlled in 2007, as on January 1, 2007 the new gaming law of Chita Region will come into force.

Gennady Djudjaev, Secretary of the “United Russia” regional division in Kemerov city addressed to the State Duma claiming to adopt the gaming legislation. As it was stated by Djudjaev, an increase of the gaming halls and gaming machines can be observed everywhere.

There are plenty of reasons to think this could be the case, anyway. The main factor that makes such an assumption possible is that Russian deputies were not able to submit any draft law that meets the interests of any party, or even the interests of the State. The state authorities intend to modify the gaming business model profoundly.

Casino operators have been awaiting a green light from Mexican legislators for more than a decade, to no avail. In the meantime, in the grey area surrounding other gambling operations, the electronic bingo machines known as yaks are proliferating and an estimated 70,000 slot machines are functioning illegally.

Ecuador’s capital city in the high Andes, Quito has seen the recent opening of three new casinos during the course of this year, to add to the five casinos already operating in this boom gaming South American city. Aston Lowndes, president of the Casino and Bingo Association of Ecuador said: “The increase in casino numbers is incredible, and the market is getting stronger than ever.”

Towards the middle of last month, the Chile Gaming Commission (Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego), put under notice the eight remaining companies in the casino licensing tender process for the fifth, Sixth and Seventh Region in the country, that they have passed the pre qualifying tests and had therefore been approved to enter the final project technical assessment stage for the 5 licences still available for cities in those regions.

The formula sought by Carlos Bruce, president of the Peru’s Congress Overseas Trade Commission, to increase the collection of casino and slot machine operation taxes is simple, just as simple as the original cause of the irregularities in the Peruvian gaming industry.

An in-depth study and analysis undertaken of the most important gaming exhibitions illustrates that SAGSE-2006 will have the widest spectrum of countries (taking into account their nationality and quantity) present as exhibitors.

I have just come back from one of the best business trips to Latin America, ever. Six lovely weeks visiting the exciting gaming markets of Panama, Peru, Colombia, and the outstanding operation at Maracaibo’s superb Hotel Maruma, in Venezuela, where Cirsa operates the most impressive bingo ever in one whole block, and practically on its own in a city of 2 million people.

Sharon Harris asks a simple question with a complex answer: Should people within gaming who have committed offences be granted second chances?

Microgaming, the world’s largest supplier of poker and casino software, announces unprecedented new operator sign-ups for the year so far. In what is seen as a potential record breaking year, the company has added 16 new poker and casino operations to its portfolio during the first nine months of 2006.

Money Controls continues its commitment to first-class customer service with the appointment of Ken Dharwar as Technical Sales Manager.

Bally Technologies has announced that it has filed a lawsuit against International Game Technology in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.

Atronic’s Harmony video slot machines are now available in Egypt following the first installation in the country at the Rendezvous Casino situated at the Nile Hilton Hotel in Cairo.

Casino Operators throughout Europe can look forward to a mid year revenue injection with the release of six great new Xcite titles and a star studded new Hyperlink offering.

Heber Limited, designers and manufacturers of electronic control systems for the Gaming and Amusement industry, has launched its Internet Knowledge Base.

Holland Casino has ordered a considerable number of highly successful games running in the Gaminator and Classic Streamlinecabinets produced by Novomatic’s wholly owned subsidiary, Austrian Gaming Industries GmbH (AGI), for its operations in the Netherlands.

Ainsworth Game Technology used the 2006 Australasian Gaming Expo as the platform for the international launch of their new logo, colours and tagline.

Atronic have enjoyed fresh success with the first installation of their highly successful dynamic bonus link CASH FEVER at the Casino de Marrakech in Morocco.

GPT have announced they have appointed Novoparts KFT as a distribution and Service Centre for Hungary and Romania.

The 2007 International Casino Exhibition (ICE), will be the biggest ever in the show’s history, with organisers Clarion ATE projecting a year-on-year growth in exhibits of more than 43 per cent.

Deal or no Deal, the licensed video slot from Atronic based on the globally successful TV game show from Endemol is now available in France following the first installation of these exhilarating games at Casino Barrière de Deauville.

3M Touch Systems has appointed Jon Temple as Gaming Sales Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Formerly sales manager for the UK and Ireland, Temple will be responsible for managing key customer accounts, developing new business and coordinating sales activities for gaming within the region.

Japan Cash Machine Germany GmbH, President Kazuhito Kawase and Operations Manager Marcus Schmitz, have signed formal registration documents for their new subsidiary JCM Bulgaria.

Gaming Laboratories International have become the first private gaming test laboratory to be granted ISO 17025 and 17020 accreditations by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA).

Despite the problems in Russia, most companies seem to be compensating for the sudden gaps in their cashflow by focusing on many other markets. European companies look to South America, as have many large Russian manufacturers; other companies have joined forces to provide a better service; some seem to have gone from strength to strength with Russia barely a blip on their radar.