Jurgen De Munck, Marco Herrera, Alfredo Moreno and Alex Stiglich chat to us ahead of this year’s
Las Vegas Showpiece G2E about the growth in both the DRGT systems, jackpot and distribution business and casino operations.
Let’s start with your latest news: a new CEO, please tell me more
Jurgen De Munck: We have really been fortunate with the growth we have seen within our DRGT systems, jackpot and distribution business, which in turn has opened up casino operations opportunities. We managed the slots divisions of four Belgian casino’s (of which Casino Oostende was one) between 2008 and 2013, subsequently acquiring the license to operate Casino Dinant in 2014, and ultimately winning the licence-tender to fully operate Casino Oostende in August 2021.
Caption: Jurgen De Munck
Since then, our Infiniti Casino Group has opened a casino in Acapulco, México, won the license to operate casino Grasse in France, and are currently busy developing further casinos in Mexico including one in the upmarket Mexico City suburb of Polanco.
Marco Herrera: My core responsibility will be the ongoing growth of our DRGT business, while Jurgen focuses on growing our casino operations. To that end I’m excited to be attending G2E this year, and connecting with one and all, from under the DRGT ‘banner’ at booth 4405.
Caption: Marco Herrera
Alfredo, following on from Jurgen, Mexico seems a key market for the group.
Alfredo Moreno: Without a doubt. Outside of the casino operations Jurgen mentioned, and in addition to our own casino management system and jackpot technology, we are also APEX Gaming’s official distributor in Mexico. We now have around 1,000 APEX slots on revenue share across Mexico and intend doubling that by the middle of next year.
I understand that has resulted in new offices and a new warehouse.
Alfredo: Yes, quite right. We moved to new offices in Polanco in late August, they’re about a 5-minute walk from the new Infiniti Casino Polanco Jurgen referred to, and in addition to that we have also just acquired a new 1,000m² warehouse too. We have about 30 guys working out of the warehouse and our new (890m²) offices house our finance and admin staff, design and marketing guys, as well as our logistics, operations and legal departments.
Caption: Alfredo Moreno
Jurgen: We have also now signed a further machine distribution agreement with BW, and we hope to start rolling these machines out shortly too. Our former locale was just getting to cramped, we had to find new premises. A nice problem to have, we can’t complain….and the location at Calle Julio Verne 29, Polanco IV Sección, is second to none.
Speaking of expansion; Alex I read about your recent full systems and cashless install in Paraguay, congratulations.
Alex Stiglich: Thanks. We’re quite excited about the recent install at Il Palazzo; Paraguay remains an emerging market for us all, so getting some traction there is extremely encouraging. The market is becoming quite competitive, and I have no doubt that our 8.8” drScreenUltra player tracking interface units, our cashless and cashier management system, and our player loyalty suite will assist Il Palazzo in taking their player experience to the proverbial ‘next level’. Add to that our media management solution and they really will be a formidable competitor in San Lorenzo.
Caption: Alex Stiglich
Marco: The flexibility our drMediaManager solution provides operators is really quite special and as someone who is new to the Company, I can highly recommend that operator’s pop by our booth 4405 to have a look first-hand. To be able to design, configure and implement your own jackpots and jackpot themes, as well as schedule and deploy pics, videos, or streamed content to player interface units and casino digital signage from your office PC is quite something
Alex mentioned Cashless. Alfredo you are testing your player App in Mexico at the moment, correct?
Alfredo: Correct. As I noted when we chatted last year, legislation in Mexico (and in other jurisdictions too) allows players to fund their player accounts and cash out directly to and from their personal bank accounts – much like any online gaming or sportsbetting transaction, now that is really cashless isn’t it? To that end our drApp: a free (to player) application available for Android or iOS that links a player via their Smart Phone to any slot machine on the casino floor. That too will be on show at G2E.
You launched your web-based business intelligence reporting last year too, I understand that’s been tweaked and there are now some map add-ons too as a further NextGen App?
Jurgen: Indeed! In addition to what in our view really is an extremely user-friendly interface that continuously evolves as technology allows; we’ll also be showcasing our new drFloorManager in Vegas, where operators are now able to see, with a simple mouse hover, how specific machines are performing, who’s playing at them, and then use that data to not only track performance, but push notifications, reward players and obviously see literally ‘what’s hot and what’s not’ on their casino floor all in in real-time, or across configurable dates and times as they see fit.
Alex: I concur; we’ve had a lot of interest in our new drReportsBI. Reports are often difficult to digest, whereas our NextGen solution is really ‘easy on the eye’ and extremely intuitive; it’s a great add-on to what already in my view are some of the best reporting modules available.
Just before we end off, we can‘t chat to DRGT without mentioning jackpots, can we?
Marco: You’re quite right. My background, outside of systems, also includes time in the slots and tables supply vertical, and I can promise you one thing: DRGT stands back for no-one when it comes to their jackpot offering. Our system-driven jackpots form part of our casino management system (CMS) and as such operate ‘on top of’ existing slot machines and games. Our patented drSMIB ‘mesh management’ network technology affords operators the ability to allocate, schedule, and configured standalone, local and wide-area jackpots in any manner thinkable, and without the need to buy any form of jackpot controller; that sort of flexibility and operational efficiency is second to none.
Alfredo: add to that the fact that we now are also able to supply best-of-breed LED signage, which will also be on display at G2E, and we really do offer an extremely compelling ‘all in’ jackpot solution: the jackpots themselves, the signage, the CMS to configure the jackpots, and the media management software to design and schedule them too.
Jurgen: Our Reel Bonus Games continue to gain significant momentum. Configurable in the same ‘CMS-style’ manner as our jackpots, they too can be activated, themed, and presented as and when casino managers see fit; with a little ‘activation bucket’ that shows players as they get closer and closer to triggering the game. Then once they have, the Reel Bonus Games can offer raffle tickets, loyalty points, F&B vouchers, Free Play or cash as prize options. With the ability to theme them too, they really are a great promotional tool, and a fun addition around events or special times of the year like the Festive Season, Halloween, St. Patricks day and the like.