Buying An Awp

Ex-rental AWPs are available to buy from suppliers, though this may not be allowed as part of your tenancy or lease agreement. They are also a poor investment as players quickly become bored of playing the same machine. As a guide, AWPs should be changed approximately every 12 weeks (or less) to ensure that playing demand remains high. The benefit of renting machines is that you can replace them with other models when their popularity begins to wane. Monitor the performance of your machines and ensure that your supplier changes your machines regularly.

Machine Controllers

Where your brewery or pub company takes a share of income, they have a vested interest in ensuring your machines are managed to maximise their income. The more successful your machines are, the more money both you and your brewery or pub company make out of them.

The brewery or pub company will have a small team, headed by a Machine Controller or Machine Manager, whose responsibility it is to maximise machine income. Their role is to monitor machine performance, manage machine suppliers and offer advice to licensees.

If you run a freehold pub, you will not have the benefit of a Machine Controller who is monitoring your machines and making changes behind the scenes in order to maximise your machine income. You will have to be your own Machine Controller and develop a close working relationship with your supplier in order to get the best out of your machines.

Awp Machine Players

A recent survey by Mintel (Gaming Machines – UK, 2004), shows that AWP machine players, also referred to as ‘gamers’, are a relatively small part of the population. Their research showed that gamers account for only 14% of the population, and are typically 25- to 44 year-old males in the ‘D’ and ‘E’ social grade categories. (D – working class semi- and unskilled manual workers, and E – those at the lowest level of subsistence including casual or lowest grade workers.)

In trying to establish the market opportunity for gaming machines, Mintel researched people’s attitude towards gaming machines, and concluded that the UK market was split as follows:

• Gamers (14% of the sample or 6.8 million adults).
• The Unconvinced (20% of the sample or 9.8 million adults).
• The Uninterested (44% of the sample or 21.5 million adults).
• Anti-Gamers (22% of the sample or 10.7 million adults).

 

Other research shows that hardcore gamers (regular players) account for less than 7% of all pub-goers, and these people play your machines most regularly and provide you with the majority of your machine income.

Your Pub Image

Despite the opportunities to earn income from machines, some licensees decide not to have AWPs installed in their pubs, as they do not fit the image they are trying to portray. Noisy, flashing machines may be an annoyance to their customers, and therefore they choose not to install them in their pubs. Better quality food pubs are not usually an appropriate place to install AWPs because of this.

For the more typical pub operation, it is worth remembering that machine noise levels can be turned down and less flashy equipment can be used that may be more appropriate for your style of operation. It is worth discussing with your machine supplier or Machine Controller, what machine options you have that best suit the style of your operation and clientele.

Permits

Legal Requirements

In order to operate an AWP on licensed premises, you must have a permit issued under Section 34 of the Gaming Act 1968. These are issued by your local authority and are granted for a minimum of three years.

Section 34 of the Gaming Act 1968 provides for 2 types of AWP machines:

• ‘Coin or token’ machines with a maximum stake of 30p and a maximum prize of £ 5 cash or £ 8 non-cash. (These are covered by S34 (1) of the Gaming Act 1968.)
• ‘All cash’ machines with a maximum stake of 30p and a maximum prize of £ 25. (These are covered by S34 (5e) of the Gaming Act 1968.) These machines must be played only by persons over 18 years old.

 

Premises licensed for alcohol must apply under S34 (5e) but may then have either ‘all cash’ or ‘coin or token’ machines. The fee payable for the grant and renewal of this permit is £ 32.