WMS comes in with about a 21 percent market share, analysts say. Part of the reason is that WMS lacks variety in its games and technology. Brian Gamache, president and chief operating officer of WMS since last year, acknowledges that the company needs to improve its standard reel-spinning slot machines and video poker games, as well as expand its game library. The company made one step to expand its games last week, when it reached an agreement with IGT to develop games for popular linked-jackpot machines. The companies will share profits on those games.
Technology innovations are crucial.
Slot machine-makers, which until a few years ago used computer chips to power the games, are using hard disks for more graphics and more variations of game play. Companies also are developing complex data systems to track players' bets. WMS last year moved its headquarters and manufacturing operations from Chicago to Waukegan and is converting its Chicago offices into a game development center. Five hundred of its 800 employees work in Chicago or Waukegan. A major focus for growth in the U.S. slot machine industry is the newly opened California market, where a recent ballot proposition legalized Las Vegas-style gambling on American Indian reservations.