Regal Gaming and Leisure, part of the Gauselmann Group’s portfolio of leading UK-facing brands, has appointed Rod Runnalls to the newly created post of Head of Business and Product Intelligence.

Rod is having more than 30 years of gaming machine experience with The Rank Group, Ladbrokes, Leisure Link and MHG. He joins Regal in what is a critical post lockdown period for both the gaming machine and pub sectors.

Looking forward to the challenge, which follows a 12-month consultancy role, during which he was instrumental in developing and delivering the reportage required to turn raw data into meaningful customer information, Rod believes that Regal is best equipped of all the industry operators to deliver value on behalf of its customers.

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“Investment into connectivity and data analysis has formed the cornerstone of Regal’s successful growth strategy over the last 24-months and the business continues to invest significant levels of Capex to ensure that all digital AWPs are connected to the Gauselmann Group’s industry leading MARS system,” Rod said.

“Thanks to the MARS system we have the ability to share a wide range of data with our customers in real-time, including the number of machines that are switched on and working, as well as the number being played and transmitting data. We are also collating daily data for customers on how much physical cash is going through their estate of machines – by site and by position – which in turn allows us to understand whether all machines within a venue are trading and to what levels,” he added.

The benefits of the MARS digitally connected estate was put into sharp focus during reopening when Regal was able to track and analyse machine performance as pubs began trading over 4 and 5 July.

“We know that on the opening weekend we saw an average of 35 percent of our digital machine estate on and being played. More interestingly we were seeing these machines generating 48 percent of the total pre-lockdown levels of cash-in and 51 percent of the VTP. By the end of the opening week the proportion of active machines had risen to 45 percent, with the cash-in levels increasing on a daily basis, factors which bode well for the continued growth of pub machine income,” he said.

“Rod brings a wealth of experience to our business and we are confident that he will help us to leverage the investment we have made and continue to make in order to deliver for our customers by driving machine profitability through analysis of the data from Regal’s connected digital estate,” Andy Bell, Finance Director of Regal Gaming and Leisure, said.

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