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TBeing a member of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) sure has its advantages. Just ask Executive Director Marcus Prater, who will tell you with a smile, "Our membership is made up of the most powerful gaming industry suppliers in the world, and collectively we can do a lot of good." Not to mention AGEM's membership has nearly trippled in the last year to a whopping 83 members or that those members make up a veritable Who's Who of the global gaming industry.
With such an impressive group of companies and executives representing the association, AGEM is making quite a name for itself. "In the last 18 months we've had more than 50 new companies join our ranks from all over the world," Prater notes, including companies from Bulgaria, Taiwan, Greece, The Netherlands, Japan, the? UK, Australia, Canada and Austria. "People have begun to really take notice of our organization and the advantages it represent
One of those advantages is its ability to present a united force of industry suppliers. "AGEM represents the interests of the entire industry," says Neil Friedman, the association's general counsel and IGT's associate general counsel. "Therefore, we can speak with one voice on regulatory issues, legislative issues and responsible gaming issues. All are better handled through a trade association rather than by companies individually. "
"We're able to lobby and go as a group to confer with emerging jurisdictions 'regulators to deal with issues that are of common concern," adds Mark Lerner, AGEM's treasurer and Bally Technologies' general counsel. "When AGEM shows up, legislators and regulators know that it's a matter of common concern throughout our sector of the industry."
That's really what AGEM's all about, "says Tom Jingoli, AGEM's president and Konami Gaming's director of compliance. "There is a greater mission. We actually have a lot more in common than we do differences. "
And that's saying a lot, especially considering that many member companies are often in direct competition for the same customers. "We are naturally competitive," says AGEM Vice President Orrin Edidin, who's also the president of WMS, "but we have to be careful. There are some issues that are not appropriate to address at the association level, but most issues are and we can speak with a common voice because our interests are unified on a lot of issues, particularly when it comes to growing the gaming market. "
"We're also very concerned with providing excellent service for our operator customers and participating in the more charitable activities that AGEM supports like education," Edidin adds. "For example, this past July AGEM donated $ 25,000 to the Casino Career Institute at Atlantic Cape Community College in Atlantic City. Education is one of our top priorities because it gives operators qualified and highly-skilled employees, which in turn helps us. "The donation offers $ 1,000 tuition assistance scholarships for students in its slot technology-training program. Approximately 25 potential trainees will be awarded AGEM scholarships over the next two years. And with the growing gaming marketplace on the East Coast, the casinos there will surely need highly trained slot technicians more than ever.
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