■ Serena Zheng

At the event organized by Italian Exhibition Group, the game supply chain was compact with market leaders who delivered project previews and proposals to revive the sector. The foreign component is remarkable, with delegations from nine countries. The proposals of ENADA Academy are very popular.

The 31st edition of ENADA Primavera, the leading event in southern Europe and the Mediterranean area, and the 2nd edition of Rimini Amusement Show--the leading event dedicated to gaming without cash winnings--came to a close on March 15th at the Rimini Expo Centre of Italian Exhibition Group (IEG). A very popular exhibition in which operators and companies from the gaming world met to learn about news, products, formats and new standards.

Both organized by Italian Exhibition Group - ENADA in collaboration with SAPAR and the support of EUROMAT, and Rimini Amusement Show with the FEE Consortium and SAPAR itself - the two events ended with around 25,000 national and international operators attending the three-day event. 200 companies have exhibited at the tradeshow, in a layout that has seen the growth of two pavilions. The positive international trend particularly marked this edition, which already at the inauguration, March 13th, had seen the presence of Euromat President Jason Frost and delegates John White, Eduardo Antoja and Jose Sanchez-Fayos, together with the Presidents of Sapar Domenico Distante (and new Vice President of Euromat) and of Sapar Service Paolo Dalla Pria, of the President of the FEE Consortium Mauro Zaccaria, BACTA President Gabino Stergides and of Lorenzo Cagnoni, President of Italian Exhibition Group.

The international response was undoubtedly favored by the matching platform organized by Italian Exhibition Group which guaranteed exhibiting companies international relations with delegations of buyers from eight countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Poland, Czech Republic and Tunisia. In the area frequented by buyers, numerous and productive business meetings took place. The positive trend abroad was confirmed, with a growth of 5% compared to the last edition. The IEG initiative was therefore awarded in its role as business facilitator. Numerous were the contents proposed and discussed by market leaders at ENADA Academy, the training section in which the most topical issues have been addressed: from the AWPR business model to regulatory developments, from the situation of small and medium-sized enterprises to ESports.

At the fair, the sector - composed of 5,000 companies that employ approximately 150,000 employees - was represented with a high profile of technological innovation, as well as by the numerous announcements of the brand leaders who chose ENADA to present projects and investments. Excellent feedback for the second edition of the Rimini Amusement Show, dedicated to the world of games without cash winnings. Games that continue to evolve: in the CONTEST area, the first ESport racing in the amusement sector took place: the Racecraft Arcade Cup 2019. ESports protagonists were also in the Qlash area, where an entire area was set up to play the titles of the moment. From eSports to the timeless traditional games, such as Calcio Balilla, which at the tradeshow had an important space, with the tournament in pairs and the chance to meet also the technicians and champions of the Italian national team.

Like clockwork, the ENADA Spring Pinball Tournament is back, the sports pinball tournament organized by the Italian delegation of the International Flipper Pinball Association, with the sponsorship of the National SAPAR Association and the support of Italian Exhibition Group (IEG). We should also mention the FIDART are (sports federation born in 1994), sponsored by Daspi, to promote the sport of darts (soft darts) with the help of electronics.

※The article is published in the GTI Magazine Issue No. 178 in August 2019