Coinslot: It was the second edition of the ARE Expo last week. How would you rate ARE 2026 and what were the highlights?
Quentin Stott: The show was beneficial to us, we experienced an increase in customer footfall compared to last year.
It was great to welcome customers who attended for a few hours from local regions, where other shows in the calendar need mandatory hotel stays or longer transport commitments.
Highlights were the visits from customers who had travelled from farther afield and all ends of the country to support the show – Fair City from Scotland, Castle Bingo from Wales and EZE Gaming from Northern Ireland.
Coinslot: There has been a very positive vibe around the show since its launch. Did it deliver good footfall and business opportunities and did the show bring the industry together at a last selling point before the summer season gets into gear?
Quentin Stott: Both really, the show was busiest for us on the afternoon of the first day, with day two delivering a quality over quantity attendee presence.
ARE was timely for us, both from our ability to deliver on customer orders pre-season and to showcase products that were still embryonic or in development at EAG and were ready for sale at ARE.
Our biggest business opportunities presented themselves in the form of new customers.
Our AGC and Bingo products are firmly established as adding much needed diversity and a compelling commercial model too, ARE was the ideal vehicle for us to demonstrate games and get ‘hands on’ with new customers, our range wide ‘rent to purchase’ options and included content subscriptions stole the show from our cabinets and content!
Coinslot: You have given strong backing to ARE particularly with the quality of product you took to Manchester. Talk us through some of the crowd pulling innovations in your portfolio?
Quentin Stott: Our spectacular Arena: Big Game Fishing, Community Catch was nearly overshadowed by demand for the new portrait screen version of our B3 Flaming 500 – Cyclone Curve both available now, although the Arena has a finite production number due to the amount of donor bases available.
We literally installed crowd pullers onto the stand. Our challenge was to be able to garner attention from visitors and assist sightlines and create attention from players when in venue, the solution was our brand new LED video carousels, available to rent for a nominal monthly fee and able to accommodate a mix of 5x Cat C or B3 cabinets, matched to customers licensing requirements underneath.
These Carousels drive utilisation in venue by adding privacy for players whilst retaining a social experience and ensures our product really stands out on a busy venue floor.
Coinslot: Were there any notable wins from the two days – new agreements, installations,partnerships?
Quentin Stott: Our biggest win from the show and prior orders is the demand for the Arena.
We have early release machines installed across the country in AGC and bingo venues and the strength of early performance means Team Reflex are travelling the length and breadth of the country to fulfil installations.
Although intuitive and simple to install, the size of these showpieces 98” screen and its units make transport and logistics a fun and interesting challenge!
Coinslot: ARE delivered an interesting array of seminars and the Bacta North West Region were there in force as were licensing officials who joined the GBG on their High Street Hub. The threat to Aim to Permit was a key talking point, but what were you keen to discuss on the broader level?
Quentin Stott: It was great to see the variety and relevance, alongside the decent attendance of the seminars driving footfall to the show floor too. The threat to the Aim to Permit was indeed a talking point as is the long overdue and essential requirement for a Stakes and Prizes review.
Reflex being perpetually upbeat and positive, we used the show to explain how we are continuing to invest and innovate in new cabinets, content and promotional hardware to drive player interaction and deliver strong cashboxes despite the lack of progress from government and regulatory bodies.
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