Julie Clamp Machine Development Manager at Punch Taverns commented, “Partnerships are a key part of our business philosophy and we want to be able to offer the very best to our licensees. At Punch Taverns we are consistently working at how we can improve our licensees business and we provide as much information as we can to help them manage their machine income and release the full potential machines can deliver. We push our supplying partners to develop exciting new content and fresh products and Gamestec have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to invest in research and development and to bring potential industry changing products to our business. Evolution of pay to play products is critical to a successful future and whilst we have to ensure today is being taken care of, we have to seize what are the opportunities of tomorrow.
The relationship we have built with Gamestec is a strong one and we look forward to developing this and working together over the next two years.”

The announcement arrives shortly after the recent Hydes and Youngs deals and confirms the operators continued number one status.

Peter Davies, Commercial Director of Gamestec commented, “We are delighted to have renewed our longstanding supply agreement with Hydes. Over the years Gamestec has built a strong working relationship with Hydes management and we have a great deal of respect for the company’s north west heritage. We look forward to continuing to develop the leisure machine offer in close conjunction with Hydes and Machine Insite and are excited about the opportunity.”

Paul Mercer, Tied Trade Director at Hydes Brewery added, “Hydes are pleased to offer Gamestec a new three year supply agreement. The companies know each other well and Gamestec have consistently supplied a strong combination of great service and innovative products. The decision to renew was an easy one. Machine revenue is a vital profit stream for our business and we trust Gamestec to develop this further and to consistently deliver.”

The agreement comes at a busy time for Gamestec with a number of new and important announcements due in the coming weeks.

The deal sees Gamestec acquire Bar Billiards’ pool tables from administrator BDO. The sale does not include premises or any other assets and Gamestec Leisure have not bought the business of Bar Billiards Ltd which has ceased trading.

Chris Butler, Managing Director of Gamestec commented, “Whilst it’s always sad to see yet another long established supplier to the pub sector disappear we believe we have brought further stability to the market and the assets we have purchased complement our existing operation perfectly. We will be working closely with customers to develop revenue opportunities wherever we can.”

These are clearly exciting times for the Leeds based national operator and clearly demonstrates Gamestec’s commitment to the pub sector not only through the introduction of new technology to attract new customers but also by operating traditional products which are the focal point of many pub’s entertainment offer.

Gamestec will supply a complete range of pay to play leisure machines to Marston’s covering the managed, tenanted and free trade divisions. The new agreement will give Gamestec the opportunity to increase the number of machines it operates within Marston’s.

Chris Butler, Managing Director of Gamestec commented on the deal. “We are delighted to have successfully renewed our supply agreement with Marston’s PLC. We work closely with the team at Marston’s and are excited by the company’s development plans which we look forward to supporting with innovative product solutions. Marston’s have continually demonstrated a market leading approach and to be selected as a significant partner and to have been given the opportunity to grow our holding is testament to a shared vision and recognition of Gamestec’s commitment to deliver versatile and commercially successful product solutions.’

The announcement adds to a number of high profile business gains achieved this year by Gamestec. TCG, Luminar and Youngs have all awarded sole supply agreements to the Leeds based national operator with further business gains achieved in Thwaites, Atmosphere Bars and Clubs and London Town cementing Gamestec as the largest leisure machine operator in the UK Pub market.

The pull-tab lottery game was launched in May 2010 and has now been rolled out to 600 pub sites across the UK by gaming machine operator Gamestec.

The money was presented to The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation at the Roscoe Arms in Liverpool, one of the pubs which has raised the most money for the charity through TabBOXX.

Dr Rosemary Gillespie, chief executive at the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, said: “A quarter of million pounds will have a real impact on the work we do enabling us to increase funding to research programmes, support more patients with lung cancer and run a greater number of awareness and prevention campaigns.

“The success of fundraising through TabBOXX has surpassed expectations and I would like to thank all the pub goers who have bought tickets as well as TabBOXX and Gamestec for choosing to support our valuable work.”

TabBOXX is a user-friendly, pull-tab lottery game where players can win up to £1,000 per play, as well as other smaller cash prizes. Twenty per cent of the £1 ticket price goes to the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

Peter Davies, Commercial Director at Gamestec, said: “I am delighted that TabBOXX has raised so much money for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation in such a short space of time. The work they are doing to fight lung cancer is making a real difference.

“TabBOXX seems to have really taken off in pubs across the UK and we expect it to become a fixture in many more pubs. Players like the chance to win great cash prizes as well as support a good cause.”

Gamestec, the UK’s leading gaming machine operator launched the new instant win lottery product in conjunction with TabBOXX LLC. The TabBOXX was co-pioneered in North America by Oasis Gaming and Jim McIntire the CEO of TabBOXX LLC.

Jim McIntire CEO of TabBOXX LLC said “We are very excited to be able to help Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation with this £250,000 donation, as well as helping generate much needed extra income for pubs. These types of donations will continue to grow as TabBOXX rolls out across the UK. Being able to raise money for charity and offering people the chance to win up to £1000 has created lots of excitement in the pubs even in these difficult times.”

The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is the only charity in the UK wholly dedicated to defeating lung cancer, the biggest cancer killer in the world. The Foundation funds research into the early diagnosis of the disease, provides support to patients and their families, as well as helping people to quit smoking and providing anti-smoking education for children and young people.

The latest, Bath & North East Somerset Council, has issued warnings to three pubs out of four it targeted in its latest sting operation. They were caught allowing under-18s to use their fruit machines.

It has been suggested that licensees review their policy of supervising gaming machines and refresh staff training. Employees under the age of 18 should be excluded from supervising machines, which should be part of the pub’s written policy. The solicitor explained that a properly drafted and implemented policy could form part of a “due diligence defense” in case of a lapse. Machines are age restricted and may be seen as a soft target. Licensees need to make sure they have a clear view of machines from the bar.

The Publican’s Morning Advertiser’s legal editor Peter Coulson added: “The test operations are used as a warning. The chances of a licensee being sent to prison are entirely remote. They’ve always been fined.”

A Bath & North East Somerset Council spokesman said: “We are not looking to catch out pubs, only to make sure they realise what’s involved in meeting their license requirements. That is why our first response is to offer a final warning and advice. However, we will not hesitate to take stronger action in the future should that be required.”

Gaming Machine suppliers have added “If test purchasing is being stepped up, it’s crucial that the Challenge 21 scheme that has been so successfully adopted by pubs in relation to alcohol purchases also covers AWP machines.”

In March, Durham County Council, launched a series of test purchasing operations on gaming machines.

Anita Bickerstaffe Gamestec Willenhall RDC manager presents Stef Langford – Brown Fundraising Manager at the Midlands Air Ambulance with the initial £250 donation.

Willenhall-based Gamestec is helping the Midlands Air Ambulance save lives by donating a penny for every mile two special air ambulance branded trucks are driven.

The leading gaming machine operator has made an initial donation of £250 to mark the start of the partnership.

Staff at Gamestec’s Whillenhall RDC were asked to nominate a charity they would like to support and Midlands Air Ambulance proved a popular choice.

 Manger of the Gamestec Whillenhall RDC Anita Bickerstaffe said: “My colleagues are out on the roads everyday, sadly this means many have witnessed road accidents and seen the Midlands Air Ambulance in action. Seeing the Air Ambulance attending accidents really brings home what an important job they do, so we all agreed they were a fitting charity to support.

 “The trucks both average over 100 miles per day, so in time we hope to raise a significant sum of money to support the Midlands Air Ambulance.”

The Midlands Air Ambulance operates three air ambulances in the Midlands and the Welsh Borders and is funded entirely by donations from the public and businesses.

Stef Langford-Brown, Corporate Fundraising Manager at Midlands Air Ambulance said: “We’d like to thank everyone at Gamestec for nominating us to receive support from this new initiative. We think this a really innovative scheme as not only will it raise valuable funds but having the branded trucks out on the roads will raise the profile of the Midlands Air Ambulance.

 “To continue to run the service we need to raise £6m a year. We manage to survive due to the generosity of members of the public and the business community as we don’t receive any grants from the Government or the lottery.”

Gamestec Group HR Director Neil Lancaster said: “When we asked colleagues at the depot to nominate a charity to support we had a great response. It’s clear that the Midlands Air Ambulance is a charity which is really valued. At Gamestec we are keen to do what we can to support good causes.”

 Gamestec, part of Danoptra Limited, has more than 50 years of experience in the gaming and amusement machines business and operates over 35,000 machines across the UK. Gamestec operate machines for customers of all sizes in many different markets, including pubs, bars, leisure venues, licensed betting offices, clubs, bingo halls, casino’s and adult gaming centres.

Gametec Operations Director Peter Collinge with Gamestec Managing Director Chris Butler at IGE with the five Rapid Response engineers

Pubs in Greater London can now look forward to faster gaming machine repairs, as Gamestec, one of the UK’s largest gaming machine operators, has expanded its ‘Rapid Response’ motorcycle engineer team so it now covers the full area within the M25.

This follows the success of the service, launched last year, which has seen service response times in the capital cut by up to 50 per cent, helping reduce machine downtime and offering better customer service.

A further three fully-fitted out Suzuki GSX 1250 motorcycles have been added to the fleet and were unveiled at this year’s International Gaming Expo, one of the gaming industry’s biggest trade shows.

Peter Collinge, Operations Director at Gamestec, said: “Sitting in traffic jams in London is now a thing of the past for Gamestec Rapid Response service team. Since the introduction of the motor bikes 12 months ago we have seen a huge improvement in customer service levels slashing response time by up to 50 per cent.

“The bikes are fully fitted out to carry essential spares. We also have strategically placed forward stock locations in key parts of the city so engineers are able to repair significantly more machines first time during the working day.”

Gamestec is now considering introducing the service to other urban areas in the UK.

Peter Collinge continued: “With increased traffic congestion and potential city centre congestion charges in major cities, we are considering expanding this successful initiative to areas such as Manchester, Liverpool and Nottingham as part of our drive to deliver the best and most efficient service to our customers.”

Form left to right: Mai John from Gamestec; Heidi Dalton licensee of the Golden Lion; Mags Griffiths General manager, Y BONT Centre for Disabled Children Front Row - Amy Mullen from Y BONT Centre for Dsiabled children with children from the centre.

The Golden Lion pub in Aberkenfig has helped support the Y Bont Centre for Disabled Children in Bridgend by nominating the charity to receive a £4,750 donation.

The money was raised during the trial of the new pub pull-tab lottery product TabBOXX, which took place in South Wales last year.

The donation will be used to help support the centre which provides specialist nursery care as well as after-school clubs and play schemes for disabled children. It was opened in 1997 following four years of fundraising by a group of local parents who felt there were not sufficient support services in place for pre school age children with disabilities.

Leading gaming machine operator Gamestec asked four of the pubs involved in the TabBOXX trial to nominate charities to receive a cut of the £20,000 which was raised for good causes during the course of the trial.

TabBOXX offers players the chance to win prizes of up to £1,000, with 20 per cent of the £1 ticket price being donated to charity. Following the success of the trial TabBOXX is now being rolled out to pubs all over the UK.

Mags Griffiths of the Y Bont Centre for Disabled Children said: “We are really pleased to receive this donation and would like to thank the Golden Lion for nominating us, without donations we wouldn’t be able to offer the services we do.

“Since the centre opened in 1997 we have expanded our services so we now not only offer nursery care for young children with disabilities but also have a daily after-school club, family support, holiday play schemes and a specialist Saturday club for children with autism. We also run an outreach centre at the Caerau Community Centre so families living in the Llynfi valley community can access services.”

Heidi Dalton Licensee of the Golden Lion said: “The Y Bont Centre for the Young Disabled does a fantastic job helping local children with disabilities and their families. We were really pleased to be given the opportunity to nominate a charity to receive the funding. Two of our regular customers use the centre and find it hugely beneficial so we have been working to raise funds for the centre for a while by having a collection box and donating money from the Bonus Ball competition we run each week.

“TabBOXX has been really popular with our customers and it is a great way of raising funds for good causes.”

Peter Davies, Commercial Director at Gamestec, said: “We felt it was fitting to ask the pubs involved in the trail to nominate local charities to receive money which has been raised by the community.”

“TabBOXX proved very popular during the trial as customers found it simple to play and liked that they had the chance to win a significant cash prize whilst at the same time supporting a good cause.”