Who Built Bar Slot Machines: The Historical Manufacturers of Italian AWP

Who built Italian bar slot machines? Behind every machine that stood in the bars of the 1990s there was a manufacturer — often foreign, sometimes Italian — with a precise industrial history. Here are the companies that built the AWP sector in Italy.

The Big European Manufacturers: The Market Dominators

Novomatic (Austria) — The AWP Giant

Novomatic AG is the manufacturer that had the greatest impact on the Italian AWP market. Founded in 1980 by Johann F. Graf in Austria, it grew rapidly across Europe thanks to a combination of robust hardware, reliable software and a wide range of titles.

The Novomatic titles that defined the aesthetic of Italian bar slots:

• Jolly Joker — probably the best-selling Novomatic slot in Italy in the 1990s
• Sizzling Hot — high-volatility fruits, continued success for years
• Lucky Lady's Charm — good-luck theme, internal free spins
• Burning Wild — expanding wild, a distinctive technical feature
• Book of Ra (AWP version) — the first title with an Egyptian narrative theme

Novomatic is today a multinational with billion-euro revenues, present in 50+ countries. It produces both physical machines (AWP, VLT) and online gaming platforms. It has acquired dozens of companies over the years, including Ainsworth Game Technology (Australia).

Merkur / Gauselmann (Germany)

The Gauselmann Group, founded in 1957 in Germany by Paul Gauselmann, markets its machines under the Merkur brand (recognizable by the golden stylized eagle). Specialized in high-build-quality machines with a long service life.

Titles known in the Italian market:

• Magic Fruits 27 — 27 paylines, three reels × three rows
• Ultra Hot — classic fruits, high volatility
• Various models of the Fruit series with variations on the classic theme

Gauselmann is today also present in Italy as a gaming hall operator with the Merkur Spielothek brand.

Bally Wulff (Germany)

Bally Wulff is a German manufacturer with post-war roots, born as a joint venture between the American Bally and the German Wulff. It produced some of the most widespread classic AWPs in Europe in the 1980s-1990s. It is known for reliable designs and proven mechanics — less innovative than Novomatic but much appreciated by operators for durability.

IGT — International Game Technology (USA/Italy)

IGT, founded in 1975 in Reno (Nevada, USA), is one of the world's largest gaming machine manufacturers. In Italy it operated through an Italian subsidiary (IGT Italia) that produced and distributed both AWPs and gaming systems for the concessions. After the AAMS regulation, IGT acquired Lottomatica (2006), becoming a central player in the Italian regulated gambling ecosystem.

The Italian Manufacturers

HBM — Harting Bally Manufacturing

HBM was one of the most significant Italian industrial players in the gaming machine sector. Born as a joint venture between Italian and American components (the Bally brand), it had its period of greatest activity between the 1990s and the early 2000s. Strong presence in central-northern Italy with its own machines and on loan-for-use.

After the 2004 AAMS regulation, the company struggled to adapt to the costs of type-approval and connection to the NewSlot network, progressively reducing its direct production activities.

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Beltra

Beltra was a Lombard manufacturer of gaming machines active mainly in the 1990s. Known for solid and reliable builds, it produced its own models based in part on European hardware adapted for the Italian market. Like many national manufacturers, it suffered the pressure of post-2004 regulation and competition from the big European groups.

Amusement

Amusement (in its Italian form) was one of the operators/manufacturers that contributed to the development of Crazy Fruits and similar models in the Italian market. The term "amusement" is also an industry category (amusement devices), so several companies used this term in their name.

Sielcon

Sielcon specialized in electronic components for gaming machines — control boards, payment systems, interfaces — rather than in the complete production of cabinets. It later developed its own line of machines. Active mainly in the 1990s, it reduced its activities after the 2004 regulation.

The Post-2004 Consolidation

The introduction of the mandatory AWP system in 2004 triggered a rapid consolidation of the sector:

• ADM type-approval costs (laboratory testing, software certification) are prohibitive for small manufacturers
• Connection to the NewSlot network requires significant technical infrastructure
• The large national concessions (Lottomatica, Sisal, Snaitech) prefer to work with already-certified international manufacturers
• Small/medium Italian manufacturers reconverted into local concessionaires or hall operators

The result is that today the Italian AWP market is dominated by a few large international groups, with a significant Italian presence only at the concession and distribution level, not in hardware production.

Who Produces Italian AWPs Today

The main suppliers of AWP machines in the current Italian market are:

• IGT/Lottomatica: after the acquisition of Lottomatica in 2006, IGT is one of the dominant players
• Novomatic: continues to supply machines and platforms
• Scientific Games (now Light & Wonder): American multinational with a strong presence
• Konami Gaming: Japanese manufacturer with a gaming division present in Italy

Updated: July 2026. Information on manufacturers based on industry documentation and public company records. 18+. Play responsibly.