Kai Buenger, International Sales Director of the international payment solutions provider, VNE, has confirmed its focus on linking up younger players and current trends with more traditional land-based gaming is behind its decision to exhibit at this year’s ICE Africa, which takes place at The Sandton Convention Centre on 24-25 October.
Buenger highlighted the growing focus on Sports Betting, mobile and virtual gaming will play a key part in the region’s growth but not at the cost of other more traditional sectors. He stated: “Sports Betting is attracting a lot of attention in Africa, but it´s our understanding, that it´s just a part of the cake and not an isolated business. Getting Sports Betting players connected to land-based gambling, and slot players introduced to sports betting opportunities, is quite easy if they all are meeting in front of a cash handling kiosk which is processing ticket redemption as well as virtual account uploads or cash withdrawals.”
“At this year’s ICE London, John Kamara said ‘the region is 52 nations with 1.6 billion people, 68% of whom are under the age of 27’ but we believe it’s not a matter of age,” Buenger added. “The Sports Betting and online gambling sectors are frequented by a generation which has grown up embedding their smart phone in any of their activities in their daily life, including gambling. Reaching these people with products, which allow them to connect their smart phone and virtual accounts to secure cash deposits or cash withdrawals has been our biggest challenge in the recent years. However, in Africa you´ll also find lots of adults gambling, and so VNE will be presenting a number of cash handling products at ICE Africa, which are connecting the virtual market with land-based activities. These type of products are frequented, not just by traditional casino players, but also by gamblers who have not been visible in land-based gambling yet.”
VNE, which produces hardware and software for the management of a range of payments through cash and cashless systems, will bring particular focus to smart phone payments and responsible gaming features needed for new technology such as this, when they exhibit at ICE Africa later in the year. Buenger confirmed: “There’s no doubt, smart phone payments are dominating the online gambling activities, especially Sports Betting, in Africa. Adding a secure, quick and easy to handle platform for cash uploads or withdrawals is the point where VNE can bring in experience and proven products to the region.
“Our cash handling products are built in a modular system. Adding new peripherals or switching to new technologies is part of our daily business as we understand that only the latest technologies provide a maximum of reliability, security and efficiency. Something we´re excited to present to African operators are our new note recycling products with so far unknown capabilities in terms of speed and capacity. They allow users to reduce the total amount of cash circulating in a gambling environment while nevertheless be prepared for big hit payout at anytime. As ICE Africa marks the first time for VNE to attend a show on the continent, we´re delighted to be able to show the range of our products and focus on Sports Betting payment solutions to better help bring the African gaming industry together.”
Image: Kai Buenger, International Sales Director of international payment solutions provider, VNE
For more information on the first ICE Africa and to register, visit the ICE Africa website: www.iceafrica.za.com
