Hear from Quixant’s Abhinay Bhagavatula, EVP, CTO and Global Manufacturing Leader and G3’s Managing Director Lewis Pek in the latest Pulse podcast.

We’ve just said goodbye to the final ICE London show. What was your overall impression of the show?

We saw a huge turnout at this year’s event, both from visitors and the 600+ exhibitors showcasing over 1,000 product launches. Just from a number’s perspective, it was enormous. We had a very busy three days with a lot of new enquiries, new connections, innovative discussions and further insights.

What I saw personally was a lot of interest from online and sports betting companies displaying very creative solutions, with conversations focused on improving player engagement. It is always a positive step when companies in the gaming industry put the player at the core of the gaming experience. And I think from a lab-based perspective, it is great to see a wider range of products targeting a larger demographic space. It has also been very encouraging that we are seeing more product entering the market than we have seen in the last couple of years.

Overall, there were a lot of positives to take from this year’s ICE London show.

At the show, Quixant launched its new IQ2 product. What were the key elements that excited visitors at ICE?

Quixant offer three ranges of products, IQ, IQON and QMAX. IQ is our cost-effective entry-level product range. At ICE last year we launched our QMAX 3 product followed by our IQON 2 product at G2E this October passed. So, we were excited to launch our IQ 2 at ICE, and I can share that it was a huge success.

The best product launches, in my opinion, happen when you have a product at the right place at the right time at the right price, and the IQ 2 checks all those boxes, which is why it has been such a success. With new and emerging markets opening and existing markets expanding in LatAm, Europe and US route markets, IQ2 is perfectly positioned to meet customers’ needs. It delivers a cost effective, powerful and efficient platform combined with Quixant’s full suite of software features and support.

The IQ 2 hardware platform makes high performance products more accessible for cost-conscious customers – providing the latest innovation and technology and breaking down barriers in a period in which the gaming industry is constantly evolving. The IQ 2 enables developers to deliver their content to market as they envisioned it. The ease of integration with our Software Suite of products, speed to market, and having all of the right features, performance and value makes the IQ 2 a very attractive proposition to our customers.

How important is it to offer your clients the complete range of Intel and AMD solutions?

We have been developing our product roadmap with a special focus on customers, markets, new technology, and real innovation that provides the best value and service to our customers. It has been our focus and at the core of everything we do. Quixant has always believed in providing a range of powerful options to our customers, enabling them to position themselves for success in the global gaming market. The current Quixant product portfolio across AMD and Intel provides scalability and flexibility to our customers, enabling them to choose the right platform for their markets in terms of price, performance, and features.

Quixant now offers AMD and Intel options across our entire range of products from IQ, IQON, and QMAX, delivering the huge range of graphical performance that is needed for different markets. Aside from the hardware configurations, our software is agnostic, because that is the core value we provide to our customers, whether it is AMD or Intel. Our Software Suite is agnostic whatever platform our customers choose, which makes it an even more flexible proposition, enabling them to pick the right product for their markets without a huge integration effort.

What are the key markets Quixant is focused on in 2024 and beyond?

We saw a lot of interest at ICE from new customers focusing on the LatAm markets, in addition to key European markets. We have also seen a lot of interest from emerging markets such as Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. We see content providers seeking to gain an early market advantage, which generated a lot of interesting conversations at ICE this year. We had a variety of conversations from both existing and new customers trying to take advantage of these expanding landscapes and emerging markets.

For Quixant, it is important that our product meets the needs of our customers for all these markets. We are seeing an interest from customers selecting a different range of products for different markets, as opposed to a one-size fits all. We understand that perspective and offer a range of products that provide a solution for whatever challenge or opportunity a customer might face.

Do we have a greater perspective post-ICE as to what the future holds for Brazil?

The Latin American market is of considerable interest to Quixant, as it is positioned to be one of the fastest growing gaming markets, with gross gaming revenues predicted to triple in the next two years. Brazil is poised to be a key driver in this growth, so we are keeping a close eye on how the anticipated changes and legislation of sports betting in Brazil unfolds, including how it will be implemented and how the legal and tax framework will work.

The concrete news is that the Brazil Senate passed the bill regulating and establishing taxes for sports betting, and it was very evident at ICE that momentum has built from the sheer number of conversations with customers we were having about Brazil and how to get product into the market. We see exciting opportunities in the pipeline as Brazil implements new regulations and standards. Quixant is ready to grow in these markets and become a leading provider of our gaming technology to the Brazilian market.

We have been involved in very interesting conversations relating to the potential of Brazil, and it is clear that manufacturers are getting their supply chains ready. At Quixant, we are an enabler in helping our customers to enter new markets. We have solutions ready to go to allow our customers and our partners to take advantage of first mover opportunities.

If there’s an identifiable 2024 business trend, what would you say it is right now?

Since G2E we seen more product pushed to market – both hardware and game content – than in recent years, and this is very refreshing to see. What this has prompted is a technology refresh for most manufacturers who are focused on player engagement and player experience.

Innovations in system integration, cashless, and player tracking are also gaining momentum. We are having conversations now about integration in the future, and there is also growing interest in the online space coming over to land-based. We are in conversations with online gaming companies looking to bring their products to land-based environments and who are seeking the right partners to provide full turnkey solutions.

What is driving demand and interest is that we are also seeing land-based companies implementing online strategies to create omni-channel experiences for players. Regulators are working on trying to regulate or provide delineation between a land-based and online to frame how an omni-channel experience would work for customers.

What were the key demands customers were making of Quixant at ICE?

The biggest client takeaways from ICE were centred around the launch of our IQ 2 platform, which has been a huge success and generated the most interest with new and existing customers. With a full range of products across all our offerings, Quixant can meet our current customer demands while we continue to work with them in partnership to identify future trends to bring new and innovative products to market.

Another takeaway is the value Quixant brings to our customers. Our ability to solve customer problems, combined with our range of regulated gaming products, Software Suite and turnkey integration and supply chain expertise are the four pillars of our business. I think our clients are very appreciative of the efforts to help solve their problems. It is part of our core expertise, all of which have been of immense value to our customers we have been told.

Have supply chain issues now been fully resolved? Is there going to be an impact from the Middle East conflict?

We have seen more positive momentum in the first two months of this year. We are also seeing demand increasing as existing markets look to grow and new markets emerge. A lot of new products are being pushed to the market, which is a positive sign, and we are expecting this trend to continue throughout 2024. This will put added strain on the supply chain, but at least for now we can say the supply chain disruptions over the last two years of component shortages, foundry issues, and end of life products, are a distant past. However, as demand continues to increase, the Quixant team is bringing all our learnings from the past years to ensure better lead times for our customers.

What we are seeing now are more logistical problems, as opposed to the component issues we had been seeing in the past. It is a different dilemma, but in general, availability will become less challenging. Instead, the focus will shift to making sure we get the right products in the right place at the right time for our customers. We work with a lot of suppliers domestically. Our design, engineering, and manufacturing is based in Taiwan and we are very aware of some of the logistical challenges right now, including the Middle East situation. We are putting in place strategies to ensure that product availability to our customers remains consistent.

ICE moves to Barcelona in 2025. Do you have any expectations for that show and where else can we meet the Quixant team in 2025?

It does feels like the end of an era. Quixant has exhibited at ICE London for as long as I can remember. We have made a lot of great connections, opportunities, and a whole lot of memories were created at ICE London. However, we are also very excited about the move and believe it is time to explore new opportunities and a new venue.

We hear from customers that ICE Barcelona will be a game changer, and we are really looking forward for it. Spain is a significant gaming market, which will bring a large community together for the event. As for the Quixant team, we are always available through our website and social media where you can see our latest offerings, opportunities and explore our products. We will also be at IGA in California, where you can engage with our team in-person and we are also planning to further explore the Brazilian market. You can’t take Brazil out of any conversation right now!