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Jurgen De Munck and Alfredo Moreno discuss the company’s plans ahead of this year’s Las Vegas showcase
G2E and ICE remain your two key global showings each year. What can visitors to this year’s North American showcase look forward to seeing the DR Gaming Technology Booth 4405?
Jurgen: As you know, whilst our company was established almost two decades ago in Belgium, we opened our Lima office in 2012, followed by offices in Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay as of 2017 – as a result, exhibiting at G2E became a given. It provides the perfect opportunity for us to engage with our extensive customer base in North and South America, as well as the Caribbean.
Image: Jurgen De Munck, CEO
To the above end, much of what we will be launching and exhibiting come 10 October is tailored to, and driven by, the needs of those customers and those markets.
Alfredo, you have been the managing director of DRGT™ Mexico since inception, and based on what I have read, you have been enjoying some serious inroads in your region, correct?
Alfredo: Yes indeed! Competition remains tough, but I'd like to think that we have been able to keep up and in many instances remain 'ahead of the pack' if not lead it. In fact, one of the new products we'll be launching at G2E was developed, initially anyway, with our market in mind.
Image: Alfredo Moreno, Managing Director: Mexico
That sounds interesting and comes back to my initial question: What can visitors to the Global Gaming Expo expect to see from DRGT™?
Alfredo: Well, as I am sure you are aware, in addition to our own casino management system and jackpot technology, we are also APEX Gaming's official distributor in Mexico – coincidentally a business also founded some 20 years ago, and a partnership that continues to go from strength to strength.
Jurgen: Yes and so much so that, by the time G2E gets underway, Alfredo's team would have installed their 1,000th APEX slot machine in the country; we’re also busy finalizing a distribution agreement with a second manufacturer, the details of which we are confident will also be finalized in time for our showing in Vegas.
Your association with APEX is an interesting one, but one that in my view makes 100 percent sense. Product and systems service providers working together – it's kind of a no brainer.
Jurgen: Agreed! We remain a technology company, and a software one at that, and so the association with APEX really works. We do our level best to jointly leverage one another's expertise to the benefit of both our customers, the operators, and in turn their customers: the players.
Our design mantra remains 'The Player First' and it is our unwavering commitment to that as a software technology developer (and hardware distributor) that drives specifically our technology-development road map – a map that we believe will continue to yield significant value from a player engagement point of view and one that will also offer significant commercial value to operators.
Now I am intrigued – what do you mean?
Jurgen: As I said earlier, we are at our core a software company, one that is continuously looking to leverage its own skills, as well as the opportunities created by advances in technology to continue to create better, more efficient, and more enjoyable experiences for our players and the casino operators that service those players.
The fun and excitement of slot (and table) games aside, players want to also be able to access the games easily, understand what jackpots within the games they are eligible for, view any bonuses, free play, vouchers or raffle tickets that may be due to them, and then redeem them there and then. They also want to be able to top-up their account and be able to cash out hassle-free.
They’re able to do all the above via our drScreenUltra 8.8-inch HD player interface. But I’ll let Alfredo tell you what they'll also be able to do on some new tech we've developed and will be launching
at G2E.
Alfredo: Legislation in Mexico (and many other jurisdictions too) allows players to engage with slot machines directly, so to speak, and to fund their player accounts, and cash out from those player accounts to and from their personal bank accounts – much like
any online transaction through the likes of Amazon or an online betting platform. It’s a truly cashless experience; the result: our drApp. It is an easily accessible, free application that links a player through the drApp on their smart phone to any slot machine on
the casino floor via a dedicated QR code – as simple as that.
Very easy and user-friendly indeed, but does that mean that, going forward, operators will no longer need to purchase player-interface hardware?
Jurgen: Exactly that! Whilst we maintain that player cards will become a thing of the past in the not-toodistant future, and that at present a combination of cards and our app is probably the most player-centric option, what the drApp does is present a significant
cost saving moving forward for any operator, one that we believe will set the trend for all suppliers in the future.
Alfredo: Although casino players are our consumers, our customers remain casino operators and as such our app has been extended to include operator specific functionality too, with the likes of player specific push notification functionality. This, in our view, should be a given, as well as geolocation technology, tailored management tools and reports, staff-specific notifications, and even 'key off' functionality in respect of the likes of hand-pays and fault reparation.
The management reporting you refer to in your new app leverages the advances and developments made in both mobile, and web technology as referred to earlier, correct?
Alfredo: Yes, but please don't ask me about how it all works behind the scenes; for that I rely on our chief technology officer, Michiel van Dam and his team of developers. What I can say is that at G2E we will also be launching an updated suite of web-based software that is 100 percent responsive and accessible now from any mobile device; no need for any technical assistance or additional, PC-based hardware – it's all there (with a new look and feel too) in your back pocket.
Jurgen: Affording casino operators more time on their floor to engage with their players whilst having access to all relevant real-time reports and game-play data on their handheld device is our goal. No installations are required; it’s all there, on the Web, via their smart phone or tablet, and of course still via their desktop if need be.
Thanks gentlemen. In closing, any final comments ahead of October's show?
Jurgen: Maybe just the fact that in addition to the aforementioned new products our table jackpot games, cash-desk and cage technology, player-registration, roaming cashier, media-management and tournament software solutions will also all be on show.
With that, travel safely and we'll see you in Vegas between 10 and 12 October Alfredo: Indeed! Viaja con cuidado, nos vemos pronto en Las Vegas.
*** This interview was originally published in September 2023 edition of Casino Life Magazine Issue 160 ***
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