INTRALOT NZ, a subsidiary of INTRALOT, successfully commissioned in conjunction with the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) 1613 licensed venues, 20.256-odd gaming machines and 1000 jackpot controllers onto the new Electronic Monitoring System (EMS) in New Zealand. Following an international procurement by DIA in May 2005, INTRALOT was selected as the service provider to implement and operate the EMS on behalf of the New Zealand Government. The connection of all venues was completed 10 days ahead of the statutory deadline.

The completion of this project, one of the largest and most demanding in the gambling sector worldwide, involving hundreds of operators and stakeholders, signifies INTRALOT’s ability to successfully implement complex wide area Monitoring Systems in widespread networks of video slot machines.

The most important aspect of the EMS is the control against illegal gambling, guaranteeing the integrity of games and limiting opportunities for fraud. The system enables the Department to monitor the operation of individual gaming machines in pubs and clubs – collecting and storing Bet, Win, Game and Net Win meters and calculating the money to be banked by each venue. The system also authenticates every gaming machine and game software, ensuring that only approved gaming machine configurations are used. Unauthorized or tampered machines and games will be disabled by the system.

Via a specially designed interface, the EMS communicates with the Department’s internal systems, providing an integrated licensing, controlling, monitoring and management application for all video slot machines in the country. Through a dedicated web site, the EMS provides, on a daily basis, statistical and accounting reports to the Department, the venues and the Societies and Clubs operating the gaming machines.

The EMS contract was signed in May 2005, with 6-years duration and estimated total revenues of approximately NZ$ 35 M, as well as an option to extend the contract for an additional period of five years. The commercial operation of the EMS started in July 2006 with the venue roll-out phase being completed in 8 months.

Internal Affairs Deputy Secretary, Keith Manch said: “The Department and INTRALOT NZ worked together in the management of the complex project with the passing of the Gambling Act 2003, the purpose of which included ensuring the integrity and fairness of gambling and that money from gambling benefits the community. The project involved meeting tight timeframes and couldn’t have been achieved so efficiently without the effort, co-operation and support particularly from INTRALOT NZ and many other parties including licence holders, venue operators, gaming machine service agents and manufacturers, software vendors as well as telecommunication and cabling suppliers”.

INTRALOT NZ CEO, Dr. Ioannis Katakis stated: “It was a big achievement to complete such a complex project in such a short period and ahead of time, taking into account its complex technical aspects, commercial requirements and logistical arrangements in managing the different external organisations and individuals involved across the country. INTRALOT literally embraces the globe as it now has the most eastern installation (Chatham Islands, NZ) and the most western one (Easter Island, Chile) in the world.
I would like to thank the Department of Internal Affaires personnel for their support and cooperation, Telecom NZ for assisting us in developing the optimum telecommunications’ solution, the New Zealand clubs and societies for cooperating with us together with the technical teams from the suppliers of the gaming machines. Last but not least I would like to thank our technical team in Greece for providing a reliable technical solution in time for the successful implementation of the project”.

INTRALOT, a public company listed on the ASE, is the 2nd biggest supplier of integrated gaming and transaction processing systems, innovative game content and value added services to state-licensed gaming organizations worldwide. It’s broad portfolio of products & services, its know-how of Lottery, Betting & Video Lottery operations, its experience in sports games and its leading-edge technology, give INTRALOT a competitive advantage, which contributes directly to customers’ efficiency, profitability and growth. With 40 subsidiaries, 7 business offices, more than 3,600 people and revenues of €700m.(?) for 2006, INTRALOT’s footprint straddles five continents.