The View - 197

On Thursday, the 10th May 2018, the CGAO held its Annual General Members Meeting (AGM) in Toronto. One of the core pieces of the AGM is for the Chair and CEO to report to the members on the scope of the CGAO initiatives during the past year. It is only when you sit down and look at what we have done do you realize the vast amount of work that was completed during this twelve month period.

Both the Chair & CEO feel that the Association has gained traction and we are moving in a positive direction. The immediate future is not without challenges but through a collaborative approach with our partners, we feel we can achieve further growth and benefit to all stakeholders/partners.

We believe that we finished the year strengthening our relationships and partnerships with the AGCO, OLG, OCGA and CGA. Through direction from the Chair, the CEO has engaged in more RG forums than previous years and brings back that knowledge to share and support our commitment to strengthen our culture in this area.

The Board was re-elected and both Tony Rosa & Cam Johnstone retained their leadership roles with overwhelming backing from membership. We look forward to seeing measured growth in the sector in the coming years.

Since the last edition of the View there have been various people on the move, which I wanted to share with you.

• Mr. Peter Howard – Diamond Game (Canada) - Has been promoted to Senior Director Sales & Business Development. This is a reflection of Peter’s vast depth of experience and knowledge of the gaming business after operating in three countries - UK, USA and Canada. In this new role he will lead the Canadian Division, reporting to the President Bill Breslo.

• Mr. Bill Sidhu – CBN Limited - Has recently joined CBN as Director of Business Development, reporting to Mr. Kirk Arends. Bill has had numerous appointments in Gaming in Canada and USA that has gained him tremendous knowledge to leverage in his new role. Congratulations Bill on your appointment.

• Mr. Kevin Noel - RG-C - It has been announced by Ms. Shelley White (CEO) that Kevin will be leaving the organization at the end of the month to undertake another senior position. We wish him well in his new role.

• Mr. John O’Reilly - It has been announced that Mr. John O’Reilly has been appointed CEO of the Rank Group PLC with effect of 7th May 2018. He takes over the position from Henry Birch who has undertaken another CEO position in a British PLC.

We wish all the people above every success in their new roles and congratulations on their appointments.

As the cGaming business continues to change and evolve, more attention is being made on the consumer experience within Community Gaming. We are slowly seeing an emergence of attention on hospitality.

These are a few examples of the progress and investment our members are making.

• Dolphin Gaming - They continue to develop their lounge area with full time bar and accompanying media screens to add to the ambience. Both of the Senior Vice President’s (Paul N & Peter N) are reviewing the menu offering in this area to mirror the tastes of the consumers.

• Jackpot City Group - Operating dual Bar/Food Service area that has proven to be a very efficient and effective way to deliver an experience in a limited space environment (St. Thomas). This company has also driven, and are the leaders, in the lighting and ambience of the ancillary games areas.

• Delta Gaming Group - They are really driving a brand strategy with the Red 7’s. It is still early days and the CEO, Mr. Cam Johnstone, is seeking an enhanced performance in this area. Step one is for full deployment across the group. There are mixed results in the differing markets, which are giving some valuable data for the group to further refine the offer.

• Community Gaming & Entertainment - Under the leadership of Mr. Tony Rosa, the group has been slowly deploying their strategy directly at the Breakaway Gaming Centre location. A separate lounge area, under the sub-brand ‘the Zone’, has been refining the consumer offer for the last twelve months. This spring and summer will see a full season of the patio area coming on- line. The early indications are that this offering is beginning to appeal to non-bingo customers.

We are now entering conferences in full force and are often asked for the dates. I have listed 

the conferences below for your information below.

• Canadian Gaming Conference - 18th to 20th June - Ontario, Niagara Falls
• G2E Conference - 8th to 11th October - USA, Las Vegas
• OCGA/CGAO - November - Ontario, Mississauga
• Horizons (RG) Conference - January (2019) - British Columbia, Vancouver
• ICE Conference - February (2019) -  UK, London

As everyone will be aware, the province of Ontario will be holding its provincial election on the 7th June 2018. There are options for early voting and we would encourage any of our members to take advantage of these options if you intend to be in attendance at our Golf Day on the same date.

Click here for attached information on the new $10.00 bill. 

https://cgao.ca/docs/New-ten-dollar-bill.pdf

You will be aware we are hosting our annual Golf Day on Thursday, 7th June 2018, at the Springfield Golf & Country Club in Guelph. This is a great day for golf and networking with colleagues in a social and relaxed setting.

If you would like to join us on this day, please contact our Golf Committee leader Mr. Peter Howard at phoward@diamondgame.com. 

Please be advised that the office will be closed on Friday, 18th May and Monday 21st May 2018, re-opening on Tuesday, 22nd May 2018. During the next week, if you wish to contact the CEO [Mr. Peter McMahon] he can be reached by e-mail only until 25th May 2018. If your message is urgent please call our office at (416) 245-6365 and he will get back to you.