FROM COINSLOT MAGAZINE, 24 JULY 2003

"Industry hits back at Fairplay allegations"

Fairplay's attempts to discredit the machine industry are now being answered by the manufacturers. After several weeks of taking cheap shots, it seems the time has come to put the record straight. Report by Chris Murphy.

The highly publicised Fairplay campaign waged against the AWP manufacturing
sector by two non-industry individuals has been met with opposition by a
group comprising the major machine manufacturers. The campaigners have
argued bitterly on the Fairplay website that the UK's machine punters are
not getting a fair deal because the games are, in their opinion, entirely
predetermined. And it has turned into a war of attrition over recent weeks
with Fairplay grinding away at the UK's media, achieving mixed results along
the way.

The manufacturing sector, while remaining publicly very quiet on
the issue, has galvanised quickly, working hard below the waterline to
ensure it had a sound case against the allegations made by the two
individuals behind the campaign. A shared statement from the manufacturers
said:

"The Fair Play campaign claims that every fruit machine in the UK
cheats everyone who plays it on more or less every single spin of the reels
when in fact all UK machines return at least 70 per cent to the player on a
consistent basis. Throughout the campaign's website there is the constant
allegation that the player is being cheated. This is not the case. No machine
manufactured by BACTA members for the UK can be adjusted to run lower than 70 per cent and the vast majority are run at around 80 per cent and can be adjusted up to in excess of 90 per cent. The actual payout percentage is closely monitored by the machine operator and the site owner and any
significant deviation from target would get very close attention."

The manufacturers also responded to stinging criticism regarding machine Hi-Low
features. They said:

"The hi low gamble has proved to be a popular feature with players over a number of years and has been incorporated in some guise on many UK machines. A hi-low gamble run purely at random will prove a much better than even chance of winning. This being the case it can be offered only infrequently or with the winning steps in the gamble ladder being very small. Neither of these techniques has proved popular with players. Alternatively, the manufacturer can incorporate some form of control which restricts the feature whilst maintaining player appeal."

In conclusion, they stated:

"The UK machine industry is dependent upon attracting and maintaining players, why would it risk alienating its customers?"

BACTA's division 4 vice chairman Neil Chinn was among those manufacturers who had assembled to fight Fairplay's message. He told Coinslot:

"We will be meeting with the Gaming Board for Great Britain on August 6, which is effectively the first date available. We will be working with them closely to alleviate any worries they may have about the integrity of our machines which already comply fully with current regulations."

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ANALYSIS AND COMMENT

As with the previous BACTA statement, what the industry says is rather less revealing than what it doesn't say. The industry's statement concentrates almost solely on denying an "allegation" that has in fact NEVER been made by the campaign - namely that fruit machines pay out less than 70%. We have at no point claimed that this is the case.

Conspicuously, and as noted by previous newspaper articles about the campaign, the statement does not actually deny a single one of FairPlay's allegations, for example those regarding the illegal rigging of "Hi-Lo" features. Indeed, the industry's stance seems to be "Yes, Hi-Lo reels are illegally rigged, but that's okay because it's more fun that way".

We look forward with great interest to hearing that one in court.

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