IGT showcased a variety of leading products at significant trade shows this year, including the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, and SAGSE Latin America in Buenos Aires, where Marcel Heutmekers, IGT VP of Commercial Gaming International, spoke to Ricki Chavez-Munoz, about the global industry leader’s position in the Latin American market.
Then, IGT had announced its financial results for the third quarter, when IGT CEO Marco Sala stated, “Our recent showcases at the leading gaming and lottery trade shows demonstrated that commitment and the power of combining our compelling content and leading-edge technology to cement our industry leadership.”
RCM: IGT’s Q3 2015 financial results show, “profitability in line with our expectations in this year of transformation,” quoting Marco Sala’s press release comment. How important a contribution have LatAm market results made in this period?
Marcel Heutmekers: “Latin America continues to be a very important part of our business. Our customers throughout Latin America have expressed strong support for the new IGT and we remain firmly committed to delivering solutions that propel their success, profitability, and efficiencies.”
RCM: ‘The year of transformation’ is what Marco Sala calls this period after the GTECH and IGT merger. However, we saw that both the machines and systems showcased in Buenos Aires seemed to have belonged to the same company forever. How did visitors to the Argentinean expo react to the products under the new IGT flag, such as SPHINX 3DTM, for instance?
Marcel Heutmekers: “The IGT brand holds significant value to our global customers, so having SPHINX 3D in the IGT premium game portfolio is a great example of the newly formed organization’s Winning Combination. Our customers in Argentina have followed the trend that we have seen from other international customers, by expressing demand for SPHINX 3D. We’re pleased that we will soon be providing them with the game in Argentina. Overall, we have experienced very favorable customer response to the new organization and the expanded portfolio of IGT products and solutions. Our combined product portfolio provides our customers with a great selection from both legacy organizations.”
RCM: Which is the outstanding product of the new IGT portfolio?
Marcel Heutmekers: “Given IGT’s extensive content library and Customer First focus, we look to our customers to decide which “outstanding product” meets their unique business needs. We complement our industry leading selection of best-in-class content and solutions with superior customer service by maintaining a local presence in the regions where we operate.”
RCM: Colombia is poised to see great activity on gaming machine installation in the coming months. What is IGT’s strategy to increase its market share in this country?
Marcel Heutmekers: “Colombia has always been a very important market for us, and we will continue to enhance the strong relationships we have built with all our operators. The exchange rate situation from recent months and the upcoming regulatory changes are challenging for some of our customers and their focus is not necessarily on growing at this stage. We welcome of course any new opportunity in this market, but we will also continue to support and look for the right flexible solutions that will help our customers optimize their floors and overcome these challenges.”
RCM: Lastly, has IGT developed anything new or special for the Latin American market that we might see showcased at Totally Gaming ICE 2016?
Marcel Heutmekers: “Our extensive global content library is available for the Latin American market. We will demonstrate several exciting products that relate to Latin America varying from multi-game offerings on the CrystalDualTM cabinet, including the fan-favorite, Party Time! Video Slots, to the award-winning TRUE 3D content title, the SPHINX 3D game. Our design and development teams have proven to create successful games for the Latin America market and have established a strong foundation of what the operator and player demand is in the region. IGT’s design teams conduct frequent visits in the region to ensure that the IGT profile remains updated.”
