Aristocrat Leisure Limited
Encyclopedia
Aristocrat Leisure Limited is an Australia
n company, which has its administrative centre in the Sydney
suburb of North Ryde, although the majority of its research and development is also done at its North Ryde site. It also has marketing and development offices in South Africa
, Russia
, the United States
and Japan
.
Aristocrat is the largest gaming machine manufacturer in Australia, and is one of the largest manufacturers of slot machines in the world (currently second only to US based International Game Technology
).
To this day, probably the most iconic Aristocrat game is Queen of the Nile, with its golden Egyptian theme. However, a key revenue driver for the company is its linked jackpot themes, such as the Cash Express or Jackpot Carnival hyperlink themes, which place large progressive jackpots over a number of machines, usually between 4 and 12, but theoretically up to 256 machines can be linked under one jackpot system.
The company has a number of distribution partnerships, such as its partnership with Sammy Corporation in Japan.
.
Aristocrat's CEO has blamed the US Subprime Crisis for bad financial results in 2008
, despite the fact that competing companies have experienced record growth in the same time period. As a result of the expected drop in revenue, the CEO has enacted sweeping budget cuts, including large-scale retrenchments of staff from all areas of the business. The company again faced difficult market conditions in 2009 with their full year resulting in a net loss of $157.8 million.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n company, which has its administrative centre in the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
suburb of North Ryde, although the majority of its research and development is also done at its North Ryde site. It also has marketing and development offices in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Aristocrat is the largest gaming machine manufacturer in Australia, and is one of the largest manufacturers of slot machines in the world (currently second only to US based International Game Technology
International Game Technology
International Game Technology is a Nevada based company specializing in the design, development, manufacturing, sales and distribution of gaming machines and network system products internationally, as well as online and mobile gaming solutions for regulated markets. The company's main offices are...
).
History
The company produced its first machine in 1953, and was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1996. The company was founded by Len Ainsworth, whose family maintains a lucrative stake in the company, but is now Chairman of a different gaming company, Ainsworth Game Technology. Aristocrat is now licensed to distribute slot machines and other gaming products in over 200 jurisdictions (note that many countries, such as Australia, have a number of different gaming-licence jurisdictions).Products and partnerships
Aside from spinning reel slot machines, the company also has interests in gaming systems (a computerised network systems that manage slot machines), computerised card game simulations, electronic table games and linked jackpot systems (such as the patented Hyperlink systems). The company has developed the exclusive Reel Power system, where players buy reels instead of lines, win combinations in the standard configuration.To this day, probably the most iconic Aristocrat game is Queen of the Nile, with its golden Egyptian theme. However, a key revenue driver for the company is its linked jackpot themes, such as the Cash Express or Jackpot Carnival hyperlink themes, which place large progressive jackpots over a number of machines, usually between 4 and 12, but theoretically up to 256 machines can be linked under one jackpot system.
The company has a number of distribution partnerships, such as its partnership with Sammy Corporation in Japan.
Corporate Information
Company revenue during 2004 was in excess of $1.1 billion Australian dollars. 2080 persons are employed by the company. Its current CEO is Jamie Odell. This is in contrast to earlier financial crises that the company has suffered, mainly associated with licence rejections in Nevada and dishonoured contracts in South AmericaSouth America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
.
Aristocrat's CEO has blamed the US Subprime Crisis for bad financial results in 2008
, despite the fact that competing companies have experienced record growth in the same time period. As a result of the expected drop in revenue, the CEO has enacted sweeping budget cuts, including large-scale retrenchments of staff from all areas of the business. The company again faced difficult market conditions in 2009 with their full year resulting in a net loss of $157.8 million.