Pubs see benefits of AWP prize ticket system

Pubs are reaping the benefits of a new type of AWP system which prints a ticket receipt for a winning player, instead of offering a coin payout.

The new "ticket out" system means that winning players have to exchange their receipt at the bar.

More than 100 pubs have been trialling the system, with freehouses and pub companies Enterprise Inns and Marston's all reporting positives.

These include staff interacting with players more when they collect their winnings at the bar and also having the chance to up-sell to them.

Games Media, the company behind the new technology, says the tickets, which are valid for 14 days, can also be used to produce promotional messages on the back such as food and drink discounts.

The system also means licensees do not have re-fill machines with coins as regularly. Machines can stop working if there's not enough money in them to cover a prize. The problem has also increased since the jackpot limit on AWP machines rose to £70 in June.

Andrew Ludlow, managing director of Games Media, which has 2,500 of its digital machines in pubs, said: "This is a significant development in how machines are applied in the pub environment which is having a positive impact on income, in some cases as much as a 35 per cent increase.

"Note usage among players is at an all time high and subsequently coin hopper starvation has become a real operational concern."

He added: "We are buoyed by the success of 'ticket out' to date."

The company says it plans to roll-out the system further next year and alos develop a similar system for its SWP terminals.