The ever-present John Stergides and his company continue to back the Middle East shows, after around 30 years of consistent appearances at the DEAL exhibition.
This year, on the cusp of the 2025 edition of the Dubai expo, the veteran distributor is talking up the current range of products in the company’s portfolio, many of which will be taken to the exhibition this month where Electrocoin has the distribution rights. (DEAL 2025)
“The DEAL show is always high on our agenda,” said Stergides. “It is the original and best-known of the international coin-op exhibitions around the world, certainly from that part of the globe. We have been an exhibitor at DEAL almost since its inception and we have never yet regretted taking part.”
Stergides remembers those early days very clearly. “We were the first company, I believe, to target Dubai in the 1980s. We sent out Spyros Sparsis – one of the best salesmen in our industry, and our master planner for overseas shows, Gerry Bowyer.
“Since then, we have worked closely with our partner in the area, Prakash Vivekanand of Amusement Services International, who always gives us the best support.”
He said that the Middle East market had remained stable in the past year. “There has been a great deal of consolidation as many of the bigger operators have scaled back new projects and invested in upgrading their existing estates.
“The pandemic hurt the industry – whatever they say – as footfall was desperately reduced, the number of tourists plummeted, and wholesale restrictions and health and safety precautions were put into place. But that was then, and since 2023 the industry has been emerging from that backwards step. Initially, it was as though the general public, in whatever country, had been released from confinement. They sought entertainment and diversion with a renewed passion and venues benefited.
“That has calmed down now. What most operators really wanted to see was the matching of their 2019 revenues and to proceed from there; most of them hit or passed that mark in 2024 and now they are poised to move on, having spent resources on upgrading their offer.”
Stergides said: “The business is now seeing that the pandemic had one silver lining – the manufacturers had to scale back their production lines or even halt them in some cases, for some time, but that gave them chance to sit down and plan and prepare all-new product. We are seeing the benefits of that now with some superb new games coming through.”
His own development teams have also been busy, and the company had successfully introduced this year Mr Do’s Football Frenzy two-player and the Fun Time double crane. It also has the rights to the Stern Pinball range, a growing passion in these times of competitive socialising, a factor in fresh concepts that has become a standard in the UK, is spreading in interest in North America and looks set to become popular in the more games-advanced Middle East markets too. (DEAL 2025)
These days, Stergides leaves much of the running of his London-based business to son John Jnr and the rest of his well-known family members, but still keeps a regular interest in what is going on in the market and particularly in what is happening in those countries and territories dear to his heart. He remains a regular visitor to the US shows and was recently a visitor to shows in Italy and Greece.
“The fundamentals of the industry don’t change,” he said. “The current crop of games hitting the market are notably good for the reasons I have already mentioned, but at the root of the business is the general understanding that if the game is good, people will play it and operators will buy it. The cash box remains king, even if cash is largely taken out of the equation these days.
“That’s what we are here for; Dubai, the UAE and the Middle East is a well-developed market with players who are mature gamers and who demand the best. Our objective is to provide it for them.”
In this respect Electrocoin is looking carefully at the way in which it can make its offer known to the marketplace in the region. “Three shows inside a couple of months next year? How can that be sustainable? Like most of the rest of the suppliers, we will be torn between loyalties and the demands of the market.
“After the SEA show in Riyadh in May, we will sit down and evaluate what has emerged, what we understand most of the operators plan to do in terms of which show they will visit, and we’ll make our plans accordingly.”
DEAL 2025
