10-minutes with aus vegas

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Feature
10 Minutes With Aus Vegas
November 5, 2004

After a year of effort Lasseters Group, globally recognized and respected for the Lasseters.com site, has recently launched their second online casino, http://www.ausvegas.com. We spoke to Peter Bridge, Managing Director at AusVegas.com

Max Drayman: Hello Peter. Perhaps we could start by hearing a little of your background. When did you get into the online gaming scene? How long have you been with Lasseters Group? Tell us a little about yourself.

AUSVEGAS: I joined Lasseters as Chief Executive back in 1995 to manage the hotel and casino in Alice Springs.

I first became part of the online gaming scene in 1997 when we presented the idea of establishing our first online casino, Lasseters Online, to our regulators from the Northern Territory Government. With our vast experience in physical casinos we were confident this business strategy would be a favorable addition to the Lasseters Group. What we were looking at was greater way of distributing our existing gaming product to broader clientele rather than relying on visitors to a remote part of Australia. The Internet was the perfect medium for us.

My background encompasses many aspects of gaming and hospitality and covers nearly 30 years in these industries. I have been part of Lasseters expansion and corporate development over the past 9 years including merger with the Australian Stock Exchange listed company, Gocorp Limited.

Prior to joining Lasseters I was General Manager and Australian Director of the MGM Grand/Diamond Beach Hotel in Darwin Australia.

MD: Ok, so AusVegas.com opened its doors when?

AUSVEGAS: AusVegas was re-launched by Lasseters on 30th September 2004.

Compared to our first site, Lasseters.com, the design of AusVegas has a bit more glitz and glamour.

Our aim is to extend our share of the player purse by giving them a variety of gaming experiences. The benefit is they can get these experiences all through Lasseters – a regulated operator they trust.

MD: What software do you use? What would you say really stands out about it?

AUSVEGAS: We run both our Online Casinos on the “Online Gaming Systems’ – Fire Platform”. It’s a great platform and one approved within our highly regulated operating framework.

There are a couple of things that stand out about it.

First it is really flexible.

For example, it allows us to develop our own slots, just like the ones we have in our casinos here in Australia. We have multi-line games with free spin features, the majority of which are developed by our own team so the games really are quite unique and fun to play. We have considerable input into any enhancements to the OGS software therefore allowing us to meet market demands with unique games, products and services. Our in house developers have been able to work closely with the local suppliers and have some unique features coming up later this year. As land based operators we know what customers want and can develop and adopt this to the online world.

The second key feature is that it improves our reporting.

This is really important particularly in relation to accounting for marketing initiatives like online incentives and promotions. The FIRE system incorporates a risk management tool enabling Lasseters to effectively monitor and account for these marketing activities.

The final feature is that it will enable us to extend the potential of our gaming sites.

For the first time, we have a platform that will enable us to develop multi-lingual sites from the same foundation. This will be an important part of our future growth.

MD: As some of our readers know AusVegas.com was originally owned by GoCorp Limited, which the Lasseters Group bought and thereby acquired AusVegas.com. The original AusVegas.com closed its doors in late 2000 due to changes in the gaming regulations in Australia, correct? What has changed to allow AusVegas to re-open?

AUSVEGAS: That’s right. AusVegas was first launched in May 2000 by Gocorp Limited but was subsequently taken down six months later when the Federal Government introduced a moratorium on online gaming.

Lasseters subsequently merged with Gocorp in 2001.

We always thought AusVegas was a great brand and an attractive site and so have been working towards a re-launch for some time.

It is only now that we have a reliable software platform that facilitates a multiple casino offer. The moratorium was lifted in 2001 and the Interactive Gambling Act (2001) introduced. A review of this Act was completed this year and no changes were made.

This has given us confidence to expand our international gaming offer.

This multiple casino approach is supported by the results of research conducted in 2003 by the Australian Center for Gambling Research in which Lasseters participated. This study into the preferences of online gaming players found almost half gamble with up to three different online gaming sites. A further 12 percent gamble with up to five online gaming sites.

MD: Does this represent a change in the gaming industry in Australia or is it an isolated event?

AUSVEGAS: Lasseters is still the only Australian regulated online gaming operator offering online casino services internationally. So I suppose it is an innovation in the Australian industry.

Worldwide though is an interesting question. We are seeing a lot of consolidation amongst the international online gaming operators.

We still see Australia and particularly the Northern Territory of Australia as jurisdictions offering the world’s highest standards of regulation. This generates a genuine competitive difference as our players have a lot of trust in our sites.

I have held a casino license in this jurisdiction for over 12 years (including 2 land based casino licenses) and I would encourage any responsible Operator to join us in basing their services here. We house some of the worlds most respected online gaming companies in the Northern Territory, including Centrebet and Sportingbet Australia. I would like to see more regulated online Casinos in our jurisdiction.

MD: Bonuses have become a pretty standard tool to attract new players. Will AusVegas have something special to offer? I’ve heard about a 200% Sign Up Bonus, which is rather unusual these days. Any particular restrictions or limitations players should know about?

AUSVEGAS: We are all about promoting our product and building up a trust relationship with our players. We really value that trust factor. Our promotions such as the 200% sign up bonus aim to allow players to try out all our games including the Aussie style slot machines or “pokies” as we call them here. When you consider the games start with wager limits as low as 1 cent you really can get a good run for your money.

We have our standard terms and conditions including minimum turns (10 turns for most games). With our Lasseters site we have great player loyalty and retention rates and I expect we will see something similar with AusVegas. Our games are fully regulated by Government officials so players can be assured of correct odds and game fairness so I recommend your readers check out the promotions. We will shortly be introducing our player rewards club in AUSVEGAS and we are continually rewarding our regular players with special offers and new themed games and competitions.

MD: I like to ask our guests to spend a few minutes at the crystal ball, telling us what they think is coming down the pipe for online gaming industry, player issues, whatever. What’s in your crystal ball?

AUSVEGAS: I’d like to think that sometime in the future there will be some kind of resolution regarding regulation of online gaming.

The Internet is not going to go away neither will online casinos. We cannot hold back technology developments. But we have always said that the same principles behind regulating gaming in the land based environment need to be reflected online. It is just a different way of delivering a service.

We are starting to see the beginnings of the same kind of rationalisation that happened last century in the early days of legal land based gambling. This development helped clean up the illegal operations that were previously dominant.

I see a similar scenario in cyberspace, where well regulated and corruption free casinos will emerge with the largest market share. We have seen in Australia and now in the UK Governments recognizing the issues and legislating controls and introducing harm minimization techniques. I also think we will see a convergence of online and physical gaming; certainly the land based environment is learning something from the technical innovations of online.

MD: Any final comments before we wrap it up?

AUSVEGAS: I think the industry is still in its infancy and those entrants that don’t focus on the long term won’t survive. Players will always prefer a site where there is trust and credibility, and that’s what we will continue to provide at AusVegas and Lasseters.

MD: Ok, I think that’s about it. Thank you for being with us.