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26/07/06 |
A
BIG DEAL FOR BELL-FRUIT
GAMES
Bell-Fruit
Games is proud to announce
the eagerly-awaited arrival
of the top-performing AWP
DEAL OR NO DEAL !
The
DEAL OR NO DEAL
TV gameshow has captured
the imagination like no
other, transcending popular
culture and becoming the
hottest property around.
Its success is due in no
small part to the unusual
and compelling format, including
elements such as eliminating
boxes, beating the banker,
deciding whether to ‘Deal’
or ‘No Deal’ etc – all of
which are replicated for
the player in this exciting
new AWP !
The game is enhanced by
sounds and visuals from
the show, with extras recorded
especially for us by Noel
Edmonds!
The
DEAL OR NO DEAL AWP created
a stir right from the start,
producing exceptional test
figures followed very quickly
by full approvals, and now
promises to be as big a
star as the show itself!
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06/07/06 |
PRESS RELEASE - Nova
Productions fail in obtaining
ECJ reference ahead of copyright
judgment appeal
Nova
have failed in their attempt
to delay the Court of Appeal
hearing in their dispute
with the Bell-Fruit Group
by having various matters
referred to the European
Court of Justice.
At
a hearing before Lord Justices
Jacob, Waller and Jonathan
Parker on July 4th, the
Court of Appeal concluded
that there are no grounds
for such reference at this
stage and that costs of
the application should be
awarded in Bell-Fruit Group’s
favour.
The
appeal hearing will take
place before the middle
of February 2007.
BFG
Managing Director, John
Austin, commented: “I am
delighted with this outcome
as we feared the
appeal hearing could have
been delayed by up to two
years whilst an ECJ reference
was sought.
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06/02/06 |
IIIIIIIIINNNNNNN ONE !!!
The
famous tones of legendary
BULLSEYE commentator
Tony Green could be
heard on the Bell-Fruit
stand at ATEI, as
he visited along with
the show’s creator
Andrew Wood.
BFG has had fantastic
success with the BULLSEYE
brand across many
market sectors, and
has now acquired the
licence for the long-awaited
new series, set to
air on Challenge TV
in April. Yet to be
announced is the name
of the presenter;
Tony was debating
the possibility of
taking on the role
himself, but the smart
money with the bookmakers
is on Peter Kay –
followed by the comeback
kid Michael Barrymore
…
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06/02/06 |
HAPPY
FRUITS JOINS HOT SLOTS ONLINE
AT CYBERSLOTZ
We are delighted to announce
that our famous "Happy
Fruits" game has joined
our uniquely interactive
"Hot Slots" game
on the Cyberslotz website,
the online gaming division
of Talarius PLC with more
than 160 Quicksilver Gaming
Centres throughout Britain.
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Hot
Slots |
"Both
Happy Fruits and Hot Slots
have tremendous success records
and have adapted superbly
to the online world, delivering
a rich, interactive experience
not currently seen outside
pubs and arcades," said
John Austin of Bell-Fruit
Games. "These are uniquely
captivating games which bear
much of the appearance and
appeal of traditional fruit
machines."
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| Happy
Fruits |
A
view shared by Brian Morgan
of Cyberslotz who adds "I
am delighted to welcome
Happy Fruits onto our website
to join Hot Slots, an engagingly
simple to play game which
actually rewards the player
for skillful play."
Play
"Happy Fruits"
and "Hot Slots"
for fun or serious cash
at www.cyberslotz.co.uk
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20/01/06 |
NOVA PRODUCTIONS FAIL IN
THEIR COPYRIGHT CLAIMS AGAINST
BELL-FRUIT GAMES AND MAZOOMA
PRESS RELEASE - 20th January
2006
In
a judgment handed down today
in the High Court by the
Honourable Mr Justice Kitchin,
Nova Productions Limited
fail in their alleged copyright
actions against Bell-Fruit
Games and Mazooma Games.
The claim against Mazooma
subsequently involved GamesNet,
IBN, Gamestec and Leisure
Link.
During
the trial, which ran for
12 days in November at the
Royal Courts of Justice,
Nova claimed copyright infringement
of their Pocket Money SWP
game by BFG in its “Trick
Shot” AWP, and Mazooma in
its “Jackpot Pool” SWP supplied
to Gamestec and IBN for
use on the GamesNet and
ITBox terminals.
In
a tightly written judgment
consisting of over 250 paragraphs,
Justice Kitchin concludes
: “For all the reasons I
have given I conclude that
both actions fail.”
On
behalf of Bell-Fruit, MD
John Austin said “I am delighted
that the court found that
neither Bell-Fruit Games
nor Mazooma had infringed
any of Nova’s copyright.
A massive amount of cost
and resource was put into
the preparation of our defence
as well as the time spent
in court and I wish to publicly
thank all the witnesses
who prepared and gave evidence
on our behalf. However,
the work involved in this
whilst maintaining focus
on our business was, at
times, most demanding and
I feel angry to have been
obliged to do it. I hope
this judgment will dissuade
future fallacious claims
on similar issues. Bell-Fruit
Games and Mazooma will be
applying to recover our
legal costs from Nova, which
are substantial.”
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06/01/06 |
BELL-FRUIT'S BATTLESHIPS ON
THE MOVE!
Nigel,
John & Ferdy having
fun with Battleships
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Leading
mobile games publisher
GAMICA has released
Bell-Fruit's Battleships
for the mobile phone,
with single- and multi-player
community features
where players can
challenge each other.
"Working
closely with Bell-Fruit
has enabled us to
make Battleships the
most realistic and
exciting mobile fruit
machine today,"
said Ferdy Blaset,
MD of GAMICA .
"With all the
community features
enabled, the games
brings a new and unique
connected gaming experience
to mobile gamers."
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"Our
Battleships game has a tremendous
success record and GAMICA
has succeeded in migrating
it superbly onto the mobile
platform, delivering a rich
AWP experience not currently
seen outside UK pubs and arcades,"
said BFG’s John Austin.
"Adding community interest
by introducing a high-score
table and multi-player features
can only further enhance its
already proven player appeal."
For
more information, media enquiries
and screen shots, please visit:
www.gamica.com
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01/09/05 |
BELL FRUIT'S MAN OF IRON
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BFG’s
Steve Butler recently
competed in the Sherbourne
Ironman – a long-distance
triathlon event involving
a 2 ½ mile
swim and 112 mile
cycle, finished off
with a full marathon.
Steve himself admitted
that the Ironman is
mainly aimed at lunatics….
He told us : “The
swim was a bit of
a fist-fight, with
1300 other people
trying to swim in
the same bit of lake
as me, but I emerged
relatively unscathed
– unlike my bike which
picked up a puncture
around 70 miles into
the cycle … my legs
were really tired
by the time I started
the run, so while
I ran downhill and
on the flat, I was
reduced to walking
uphill. At the halfway
point I was really
sick … I finally completed
the event nearly 12
hours after I started
! The day after the
race I was very sore
and vowed never to
do another Ironman,
A week after the event,
my aches have gone
and I’ve started to
plan for next year
!!”
Despite his obvious
insanity, Steve’s
mammoth effort has
raised over £350
for the British Heart
Foundation.
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25/08/05 |
BELL-FRUIT
GAMES ON A ROLL !
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Following
the success of RANDOM
SPINNER – top-performing
Sec 16/21 model and
showing no signs of
waning – Bell-Fruit
Games has launched
a new £500 Jackpot
random game in the
shape of HI ROLLER.
HI ROLLER features
the ever-popular game
of Poker in a well
presented video format,
and all the successful
elements from RANDOM
SPINNER, including
multistake options
and the Random Feature
Wheel.
Click
here
to read game description
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16/05/05 |
Nigel
McLaughlin Joins Bell-Fruit
Games
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Nigel
McLaughlin joined Bell-Fruit
Games on May 9th in
the new position of
Director of Business
Development (Technical).
Reporting to MD John
Austin, he will be responsible
for identifying and
developing technically-based
business opportunities.
Nigel
has a wealth of industry
experience, having held
senior positions at
JPM, Ace and Barcrest,
and is delighted to
be joining the Bell-Fruit
team at such an exciting
time.
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09/05/05 |
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DOUBLE
LAUNCH FOR BELL-FRUIT IN SPAIN
Bell-Fruit
have announced the launch
of two products for the Spanish
market, FIEBRE
and AMERICAN POOL,
both of which have successfully
come through the homologation
process.
Export Manager Mick Lee told
us : “We are very pleased
that both games have tested
exceptionally well and are
now approved for Spain. It
is particularly rewarding
that two such diverse concepts
have universal player appeal
: FIEBRE
is a 6-reel game that builds
on the success of its predecessor
GOLPE DE SUERTE,
while AMERICAN POOL
is a first for the Spanish
market – an AWP that utilises
video technology”
Both FIEBRE
and AMERICAN POOL
were at the recent Malaga
show, with Bell-Fruit’s Spanish
distributors Comatel.
Czech
Show
Mick arrived in Malaga direct
from the show in Prague, where
our latest Czech product was
shown by distributors Comax.
RANDOM SPINNER,
based on the UK game that
has got everybody talking,
is Bell-Fruit’s first video
game for the Czech market.
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07/04/05 |
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Gambling
Bill Goes Through
The
Gambling Bill will go through
this week as part of the ‘wash-up’
process as Parliament is dissolved
next Monday, prior to the
General Election.
A deal was struck with the
Opposition to reduce the number
of Regional Casinos to just
one, enabling the Bill to
be debated as a formality
in the Lords yesterday, returning
to the Commons today, and
given Royal Assent on Friday
April 8.
It would appear that, in addition,
the Government has belatedly
agreed to allow existing casinos
to double the number of machines
permitted from 10 to 20, with
an increase in stake to £2
and maximum prize to £4000.
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02/03/05 |
ATEI
2005 Show Report:
Last year we moved our
stand to the back of
the hall adjacent to
the new entrance to
the ICE (Casino) show,
a relocation that was
deemed an immediate
success.
For ATEI 2005 – a busier
show than ever - we
had a brand new stand,
much admired particularly
for the stunning colour-change
lighting on the top
deck …
Downstairs our stand
was chock-full of exciting
product, from all UK
sectors as well as eight
European markets. Highlights
included :
For the much talked-about
Section 16/21 - a new
version of the Vegas-style
video casino game RANDOM
SPINNER
(pictured) with £500
up for grabs as a max.
win….
BFG Managing
Director John
Austin |
Headlining AWP based
on the award-winning
TV show ANT
& DEC’S SATURDAY
NIGHT TAKEAWAY,
with running commentary
provided by the boys
themselves ...
Stunning multiplayer
games with 42” plasma
top boxes for both UK
and Belgium ; the UK
game TRICKSHOT
featuring an innovative
3D Pool game.
POKER
KING
– intensive research
and development has
produced the superlative
multi-site video poker
game with extras …
… and many many more
gems !
Thankyou to all our
visitors, for helping
to make ATEI 2005 such
a successful show.
The
BFG Stand |
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17/01/05 |
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The
following has been released
by DANOPTRA HOLDINGS LIMITED
:
Colin
Daniels, the Chief Executive
of Danoptra Holdings, announced
today that Phil Walters is
joining the Imagehighlight
board as non-Executive Chairman.
Imagehighlight (IHL) is the
holding company for Bell-Fruit
Games, Mazooma and QPS. This
appointment follows the purchase
by Danoptra, on January 5th,
of the 60% share capital in
IHL it did not previously
hold.
Colin
Daniels commented : “I am
delighted that Phil agreed
to join the IHL board as Chairman.
He has considerable experience
in the coin-op and non coin-op
games and gaming business
both in the U.K. and overseas;
I am sure he will contribute
significantly to the development
of the businesses of IHL.”
Phil
Walters commented “I am very
pleased to have been offered
the chance to work with talented
and successful teams at Bell-Fruit,
Mazooma and QPS at a time
of both challenge and opportunity
for the industry”
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05/01/05 |
BFG
under New Ownership....
The
following press release was
issued on Jan 5 2005 :
On
5th January 2005, Danoptra
Holdings Limited announced
that it had acquired from
Merkur Holdings BV, a Gauselmann
Group company, and from the
companies' management the
shares it did not previously
own in Précis (928)
Limited and Imagehighlight
Limited, the holding companies
for Bell Fruit Games Limited
and Mazooma Games Limited.
As a result, these companies
become wholly owned subsidiaries
of Danoptra Holdings Limited.
Colin
Daniels, Chief Executive of
Danoptra said today "
We are very pleased to have
completed the purchase of
the remaining shares in Bell-Fruit,
Mazooma and QPS. They are
market leaders in the design
and manufacture of gaming
and other payout games in
the U.K. Since our initial
investment in 1997, the management
team have done an excellent
job in developing the businesses
and I am sure they will take
full advantage of the many
opportunities that exist in
the UK and overseas markets.
Michael
Gauselmann, Gauselmann's CEO
and Co-chairman said today
" We’re very pleased
that during the past 8 years
of successful partnership
with Kunick (now Danoptra)
the management of our 3 companies
closely cooperated and established
a tight corporate network
to achieve market leadership.
Today’s announced transaction
will enable Danoptra to maintain
and expand its leading positions
in its home markets and will
allow the Gauselmann Group
to further focus and address
growing European market potentials."
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08/12/04
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MICK
LEE ON HIS TRAVELS....
Autumn
being the International Show
season, Export Manager Mick
Lee has had his passport stamped
a fair few times recently,
as he travelled to – among
others – GAMEXPO in Budapest,
FER in Madrid, AMOA in Las
Vegas, ENADA in Rome and FORBES
in Prague.
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“These
exhibitions continue
to play an important
part in the development
of each market sector,
not only to emphasise
BFG’s ongoing commitment
– we have developed
new products for nine
export countries during
the last year - but
also to see firsthand
what other products
are around. It’s also
a great opportunity
to catch up with our
distributors, with whom
we have built strong
working relationships,
and also make new contacts”.
Coming
soon – more
export news from Mick... |
Mick
Lee pictured with Czech
HOT SPINNER |
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25/10/04
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Preview
2005 ....
Preview
2005 at the Hammersmith Novotel was
a busy and successful show, where we
demonstrated our versatile portfolio
including latest AWP
CROWN JEWELS and the revamped
favourite Club machine CLASSIC
PHARAOH’S GOLD.
As ever, Preview is an opportunity to
sneak a look at forthcoming offerings,
which this time included our innovative
development for Section 16/21 machines
– a Monopoly version of roulette. Look
out for the all-singing all-dancing
version at ATEI !
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01/11/04
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New
Gambling Bill Starts Its Parliamentary
Process
Since
Sir Alan Budd’s Gambling Review
Report was presented to Parliament
by the DCMS in July 2001,
there has been nearly four
years of consultation and
scrutiny resulting in the
Government finally lifting
the covers off the Draft Gambling
Bill last week.
The
new Bill allows for relaxation
of the rules governing casinos
and there is much debate taking
place on the pros and cons
of fundamentally changing
what is provided for in the
existing legislation.
BFG
believe that the existing
legislation, which is nearly
40 years old, is out of date
and does not take account
of new technologies. A new
Bill is needed to address
this and reflect more up to
date public attitudes towards
gambling. Also, and importantly,
internet gambling needs to
be regulated.
We
support the new Bill but have
concerns over a number of
issues which, unless addressed
by amendments, will adversely
affect what is currently a
well run, crime free industry
with an excellent record in
the prevention of problem
gambling.
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18/06/04
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BACTA
BIKERS
Following
their latest ‘tour of duty’,
representatives of the BACTA
Bikers presented a cheque
to the little girl who inspired
their cause.
Ellie was diagnosed with cancer
of the kidney just 12 months
ago at the age of 3, but thanks
to the superb care at the
John Radcliffe Hospital in
Oxford she has come through
chemo and surgery, and after
being given the ‘all-clear’
is now well on the road to
recovery. To continue the
care of children with cancer,
a new hospital is being built
for which funds are still
desperately needed – which
is where the BACTA Bikers
came in….
In the last 10 years this
team has raised over £120,000,
all of which went directly
to various charities. After
previous trips, which include
Hell and Back in Norway and
Lands End to John O’Groats,
this year’s ‘jaunt’ was chosen
to be a circular tour of Ireland.
The riders – whose numbers
included John Austin, Phil
Burke, Martin Ireland, Andrew
Murden, Steve Murray, Nik
Novak, David Orton, Kevin
Short and Tony Slater – made
the trip in June, and despite
an accident in the wilds of
Connemara which unfortunately
sent 2 of their team home,
declared the trip a roaring
success.
Their efforts, and the generosity
of so many throughout the
industry, have raised the
impressive sum of £19572
for the new hospital project,
which was received at the
site by Consultant Surgeon
Rowena Hitchcock, and Ellie
herself.
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18/06/04 |
JOHN
GETS ON HIS BIKE…
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Report
from the man himself
…
“The
BACTA Bikers are now
back after completing
our fundraising motorcycle
tour of Ireland …
Overall the tour was
a success, despite losing
2 of our number to minor
accidents …
The team are hoping
to raise £25,000
for the Oxford Children’s
Hospital, £3,200
I have raised thanks
to your generous sponsorship.
Thank you all !
Presentation of the
cheque will be arranged
very shortly …
John Austin |
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02/06/04
|
BFG
IN LINE FOR TOP BUSINESS AWARD
Bell-Fruit
Games has beaten formidable
opposition to reach the final
of the prestigious Nottingham
Evening Post Company of the
Year Award. Short-listed from
a considerable number of applicants,
we are now through to the
top four in the competition,
where we will be up against
the likes of leisure company
Center Parcs.
John Austin said: “Reaching
the final four of this award
is a great achievement of
which we can be justly proud”
The outright winner will be
announced at a special awards
ceremony, which will take
place shortly at the Council
House in Nottingham.
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01/04/04 |
A KICK START FROM
BFG!
Bell-Fruit Games are proud
to sponsor the N.S.T.K (National
Sport Traditional Karate)
squad, including our own Luke
Milner, Multimedia Designer
for the company.
The squad have accumulated
an impressive assortment of
titles under their collective
belts, while Luke himself
won the EMA British Kickboxing
title this year and was chosen
once again for the full England
team.
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Jan
2004 |
WHAT DE-REG REALLY
MEANS.....
Banknotes
can now be used for ‘Plays’
on machines–
When
a note is inserted, £2
automatically transfers over
to Credit
Each time Credit returns to
‘zero’, a further £2
may be transferred
Club
machines have an extra facility:
When
a note is inserted, £2
automatically transfers over
to Credit
Each time Credit returns to
‘zero’, a further £2
may be transferred
£2 increments can also
be transferred from ‘Wins’
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