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IMA 2013 cancelled due to complications in laws with Germany's federal states.
According to a media release from the German Industry Association for Coin-Operated Amusement and Vending Machines (VDAI) IMA 2013 has been cancelled due to amendments to federal laws concerned with commercial gaming. The VDAI explained that "the entire German gaming and amusement machine industry have come under increasing political pressure in recent months. The federal states' First Amended German Interstate Treaty on Gambling (1. GlüÄndStV), its implementing laws, federal gaming arcade laws and massive increases in local amusement tax has in total led to a severe suppression of the German gaming and amusement machine industry."
They have predicted a number of law suits against federal state laws including 1. GlüÄndStV, as, in the view of the VDAI, these amendments contain huge legal violations at both "a constitutional and European level".
"Under the pretext of combating gambling addiction, the federal states are trying by all means to curtail commercial gaming with prizes to the point of threatening its existence." said the VDAI in their press release.
These amendments have created a lot of financial uncertainty and job insecurity in the German gaming and amusement machine market, and unfortunately it wasn't viable to host the expo in 2013. There was a brief plan for a replacement show set for the same mid-January dates under the title Amusement and Leisure Expo (ALEX), but it was quickly abandoned due to ongoing issues with the federal laws. However, following legal clarification they are hoping to go ahead with planning the next IMA, set for 14-17th January 2014.
Watch this space for more updates on IMA 2014, and if you would like to know more here is a link to the press release:
http://www.ima-messe.com/medien/download/presse_all/Pressrelease-IMA-2013-cancelled.pdf
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