PART I

Item 1.  Busines s .

 

Overview

 

Everi is dedicated to providing video and mechanical reel gaming content and technology solutions, integrated gaming payments solutions and compliance and efficiency software. Everi Games provides: (a) comprehensive content, electronic gaming units and systems for Native American and commercial casinos, including the award winning TournEvent® slot tournament solution; and (b) the central determinant system for the video lottery terminals (“VLTs”) installed at racetracks in the State of New York. Everi Payments provides: (a) access to cash at gaming facilities via Automated Teller Machine (“ATM”) cash withdrawals, credit card cash access transactions, point of sale (“POS”) debit card transactions, and check verification and warranty services; (b) fully integrated gaming industry kiosks that provide cash access and related services; (c) products and services that improve credit decision making, automate cashier operations and enhance patron marketing activities for gaming establishments; (d) compliance, audit and data solutions; and (e) online payment processing solutions for gaming operators in states that offer intrastate, Internet-based gaming and lottery activities.

 

On December 19, 2014, Holdings completed the acquisition of Everi Games Holding. Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of September 8, 2014 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among Holdings, Movie Merger Sub, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Holdings (“Merger Sub”), and Everi Games, Merger Sub merged with and into Everi Games Holding, with Everi Games Holding continuing as the surviving corporation (the “Merger”). In the Merger, Everi Games Holding became a wholly owned subsidiary of Holdings. Also, as a result of the Merger, each outstanding share of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of Everi Games Holding, other than shares held by Holdings, Everi Games Holding, Merger Sub or their respective subsidiaries, was cancelled and converted into the right to receive $36.50 in cash, without interest.  We refer to the consideration paid for the shares of Everi Holdings common stock, together with the consideration paid in connection with the acceleration and full vesting of certain Everi Games Holding equity awards, as the “Total Merger Consideration”.

 

Holdings was formed as a Delaware limited liability company on February 4, 2004 and was converted to a Delaware corporation on May 14, 2004. Our principal executive offices are located at 7250 South Tenaya Way, Suite 100, Las Vegas, Nevada 89113. Our telephone number is (800) 833-7110. Our website address is www.everi.com. The information on our website is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or our other filings with the SEC.

 

Our Business Segments

 

Our operating segments were previously organized and managed under five business segments: (a) Cash Advance, (b) ATM, (c) Check Services, (d) Games, and (e) Other. During the first quarter of 2015, we changed our organizational structure as part of our transformation to a Games and Payments company providing solutions to the gaming industry. Accordingly, since the first quarter of 2015, we have reported our financial performance, and organized and managed our operations, across the following two business segments: (a) Games, and (b) Payments. Each of these segments is monitored by our management for performance against its internal forecast and is consistent with our internal management reporting. We have presented prior period amounts to conform to the way we now internally manage and monitor segment performance beginning in 2015. This change in segment reporting had no impact on our consolidated financial statements.

 

A summary of our segment financial information is contained in “Note 1 9 . Segment Information” of our notes to consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Prior to the Merger, Everi Games operated in a single segment.

 

Our Products and Services

 

Games Products and Services

 

Our Games products and services include commercial products, such as Class III products, Native American Class II products, and other bingo products, lottery systems, and back office systems. In our Games business, we generally retain ownership of the leased gaming equipment installed at customer facilities and receive recurring revenue based on a

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percentage of the net win per day generated by the leased gaming equipment or a fixed daily fee based on the number of player terminals installed at the facility. We also make direct sales of player terminals, licenses, back office systems and other related equipment to customers.   T he majority of these direct sales contracts are for some combination of gaming equipment, player terminals, content, system software, license fees, ancillary equipment and maintenance.

 

With respect to our Games business, we have expanded our licensing into new jurisdictions, increased investment in research and development, and introduced premium game products (which typically include high definition (“HD”) dual-screens, liquid crystal display (“LCD”) panels, and red green blue (“RGB”) top box lighting). From its historical focus on placement of standard games into the Oklahoma and Washington tribal markets, Everi Games has diversified its installed base in recent years with entry into new commercial and tribal markets as well as the development and placement of premium products. Everi Games has grown premium game installations with approximately 1,750 units installed (representing more than 13% of our installed base) since entering the category three years ago. Development of high-earning premium games has supported Everi Games’ ability to enter new markets, expand its footprint, and provide broad and new content across its installed base.

 

Everi Games provides the New York Lottery with an accounting and central determinant system for the VLTs in operation at licensed State of New York racetracks. As of December 31, 2015, this central determinant system connected to approximately 18,000 VLTs and electronic table games (“ETGs”) provided by third-party providers and has the ability to interface with, provide outcomes to, and manage the VLTs as well as interface with and manage the 1,7 50   ETGs. Pursuant to its agreement with the New York Lottery, Everi Games receives a portion of the network-wide net win (generally, cash-in less prizes paid) per day in exchange for provision and maintenance of the central determinant system. In February 2009, the New York Lottery awarded Everi Games a contract extension through December 2017 and provide d Everi Games an opportunity to expand its network as the New York Lottery licenses additional race track gaming facilities or the expansion of existing facilities in the state. Everi Games also provides central determinant system technology to Native American tribes in the State of Washington for which it receives a portion of the revenue generated from the VLTs connected to the system.

 

Our Games products include:

 

Classic Mechanical Reel Games .  Our full range of classic mechanical reel games provides players with a traditional, high denomination slot gaming experience. These games leverage our long-standing experience in building enduring brands, such as Black Diamond ,   Crystal Jackpots, Smokin’ 777, Double Eagle ,   and Jackpot Fire , among others, and feature a unique take on traditional slot games with eye-catching features. The premium Skyline mechanical reel series was released with a vintage-inspired bezel showcasing RGB lighting and a 24-inch LCD display, with titles including Double Jackpot Gems, Ultra Mega Meltdown and Canary Diamonds .

 

Video Reel Games . We offer a growing range of video reel games that provides a uniquely entertaining slot gaming experience. These games leverage the Player HD cabinet to deliver eye-catching graphics and full, rich sound. High denomination, high multi-line themes have been introduced to the market, such as Warrior Legacy, Starry Night-HD, and Smokin’ Hot Gems , along with a batch of gameplay features, such as the Windfall Reels on Fire Lion and Mummy’s Tomb ; the Wild Pairs feature on Antony and Cleopatra and Bonnie and Clyde ;   Blazin’ Streaks on Disco Fever ;   Variable Direction Paylines on Time Twister ; and Multi-Stage “Battle Bonus” on Pirates vs. Ninjas .  

 

Core HDX.  The Core HDX enhances the player gaming experience with its dual widescreen 23” monitors with 1080p HD capability, integrated touchscreens and premium 3-way sound system. Its eye-catching cabinet commands a presence on the casino floor with game-controlled lighting and a custom premium LCD topper. Select Core HDX games feature Everi Bet™, the bet configuration system that gives casino operators the power to optimize the casino floor for max returns.   The vast majority of our standard video library on our MForce platform is designed to be playable on the Core HDX . Newly released games exclusive to the Core HDX cabinet include: Peking Fantasy ,   Goddess of the Realm - Moon Stone ,   Goddess of the Realm - Flame Star ,   Jackpot Inferno , and Bonus Attack .

 

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High Rise Games . Our current premium participation slot game series features one of the industry’s largest top boxes, a vertically oriented 37-inch LCD screen that eliminates overhead signage, creates new possibilities for gaming action, offers LED lights around the perimeter of the top box screen, as well as unique bonus features. Four themes are being unveiled on the High Rise Games series, including Queen of Diamonds, Pirates Skull & Bones, The Money Man Big Cash Spin, and Smokin’ Hot Diamonds .   Queen of Diamonds is a 9-Reel, 32-Line theme featuring our new Jackpot Jump feature. Once any jackpot trigger is hit, players pick from one of four cards to find a diamond-suited Jackpot Jump card or a Queen of Diamonds card, which will “jump” the progressive prize by one or two tiers, respectively.

 

Platinum MPX and The Texan HDX . The award-winning Platinum MPX represents a premium participation cabinet and game series that offers a 40-inch monitor, full 1080p HD graphics capabilities, a fully-customizable touchscreen button panel, game-controlled runway lighting and six custom speakers, including two speakers in the fully integrated interactive sound chair with Earthquake Shakers technology. The Platinum MPX debuted with two games in 2014, the award-winning Thundering Herd and Invasion 2: The Return , with new themes Smokin’ Hot Dice, Gargoyle, Her Majesty, and Myths & Legends .   The Texan HDX is an 8-foot tall cabinet with twin 42-inch video screens, featuring a two-person bench seat. The cabinet is designed to showcase the Everi Standard Video Library in oversized format, allowing the games to be prominently displayed on the casino floor.

 

TournEvent . Our award-winning slot tournament system is a proven solution that allows operators to switch from in-revenue gaming to out-of-revenue tournaments with the simple click of a mouse. The latest 4.3 version released in 2015 includes an updated user interface that give operators more flexibility in setting up different types of tournaments including a cumulative scoring option that gives casinos the ability to have the system automatically sum players’ scores in multi-session tournaments. The player(s) with the highest accumulated scores from all sessions win or advance. The new version also adds additional tournament sounds, animations, and tournament game options. With the wireless tablet option, casino operators will be able to sign up players for tournaments remotely, allowing for a more efficient tournament registration and an overall better tournament experience for the casinos and players alike. We believe that the out-of-revenue games, Cash Boom Bang with 4 Reel Frenzy and Crown Jewels with 4 Reel Frenzy , will improve slot tournaments, as tournament screens will explode into four sets of reels once a bomb appears. Jump to First and Pop-n-Win features may occur during this time as well. Additional game and system releases are planned for 2016, giving casino operators what we believe will be even more exciting game titles to select from and additional efficiency in the planning and operation of slot tournaments. TournEvent also is available with multiple sign options, consisting of a rotating 55-inch monitor, lighted accent dividers, and the ability to be featured on new bank configurations.

 

Payments Products and Services

 

Our Payments products and services include solutions that we provide directly to gaming establishments to offer their patrons cash access related services and products including: access to cash at gaming facilities via Automated Teller Machine (“ ATM ”) cash withdrawals, credit card cash access transactions and POS debit card transactions; check-related services; fully integrated kiosks and maintenance services; compliance, audit and data software; casino credit data and reporting services and other ancillary offerings.

 

The following is a description of the markets we address with our principal Payments products and services:

 

ATM Cash Withdrawals . ATM cash withdrawal transactions represent the largest category of electronic payment transactions that we process, as measured by dollar and transaction volume. In an ATM cash withdrawal, a patron directly accesses funds from a device enabled with our ATM service by either using an ATM or debit card to withdraw funds from the patron’s demand deposit account , or using a credit card to access the patron’s line of credit. In either event, the patron must use the Personal Identification Number (“PIN”) associated with such card. Our processor then routes the transaction request through an electronic funds transfer (“EFT”) network to the patron’s bank or issuer. Depending upon a number of factors, including the patron’s account balance or credit limit and daily withdrawal limit (which limits are set by the bank or issuer) , the bank or issuer will either authorize or decline the transaction. If the transaction is authorized, then the ATM-enabled device dispenses the cash to the patron. For a transaction using an ATM or debit card, the patron’s bank account is debited by the amount of cash disbursed plus a service fee that we assess the patron for the use of the ATM service. For a transaction using a credit card with a PIN, the patron’s credit card account is charged by the amount of the cash disbursed plus a service fee that we assess the patron for the use of the ATM service. In both cases, the service fee is currently a fixed dollar amount and not a percentage of the transaction size. We also receive a fee, which we refer to as a reverse interchange fee, from the patron’s card-issuing bank for accommodating the bank’s customer. In most circumstances, we

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pay a percentage of the service fee that we receive from the patron and, in some circumstances, a portion of the reverse interchange fees we receive, as a commission to our gaming establishment customers for the right to operate on their premises.

 

Credit Card Cash Access Transactions and POS Debit card Transactions . Patrons can perform credit card cash access transactions and POS debit card transactions using many of our enabled devices. A patron’s credit card cash access limit is usually a sub-limit of the total credit line and is set by the card-issuing bank , not Everi . These limits vary significantly and can be larger or smaller than the POS debit limit. A credit card cash access transaction obligates the patron to repay the issuing bank over time on terms that are preset by the cardholder agreement. A patron’s POS debit card allows the patron to make cash withdrawals at the point of sale in an amount equal to the lesser of the amount of funds in the account , or a daily limit that is generally five to ten times as large as the patron’s daily ATM limit.

 

When a patron requests a credit card cash access or POS debit card transaction, our processor routes the transaction request through one of the card associations , or EFT networks to the issuing bank. Depending upon several factors, such as the available credit or bank account balance, the transaction is either authorized or declined by the issuing bank. If authorized, the patron’s bank account is debited or the patron’s credit card balance is increased, in both cases, by an amount equal to the funds requested plus our service fee. The service fee is a fixed dollar amount, a percentage of the transaction size or a combination of a fixed dollar amount and percentage of the transaction size. If the transaction is authorized, the device informs the patron that the transaction has been approved. The device then further instructs the patron to proceed to the gaming establishment’s cashier, or Company-operated booth, to complete the transaction because credit card cash access and POS debit card transactions must, in most circumstances, be completed in face-to-face environments and a unique signature must be received in order to comply with rules of the card associations. Once at the cashier booth, the patron acknowledges acceptance of the fee. We reimburse the gaming establishment for the amount of cash that it provided to the patron by either issuing a negotiable instrument to the gaming establishment or paying the gaming establishment via wire transfer or other similar form of electronic payment. In addition, we generally pay the gaming establishment a portion of the service fee as a commission for the right to operate on its premises, although this payment as a percentage of the fee is generally smaller for credit card cash access and POS debit card transactions than for ATM withdrawals. In addition, we are obligated to pay interchange fees to the issuing bank and processing costs related to the electronic payment transaction to card associations.

 

Check-Related Services . Patrons are able to cash checks at certain gaming establishments. When a patron presents a check to the cashier, the gaming establishment can accept or deny the transaction based on its own customer information and at its own risk, obtain third-party verification information about the check writer, the bank account number and other information relating to the check to manage its risk, or obtain a warranty on payment of the check, which entitles the gaming establishment to reimbursement of the full face amount of the check if it is dishonored.

 

If a gaming establishment chooses to have a check warranted, it sends a request to a check warranty service provider, asking whether it would be willing to accept the risk of cashing the check. If the check warranty provider accepts the risk and warrants the check, the gaming establishment negotiates the patron’s check by providing cash for the face amount of the check. If the check is dishonored by the patron’s bank upon presentment, the gaming establishment invokes the warranty, and the check warranty service provider purchases the check from the gaming establishment for the full check amount and then pursues collection activities on its own.

 

For those gaming establishments that seek to manage their own risk, we provide a subscription check verification service via a database operated by our subsidiary, Central Credit, which is used by gaming establishments to make credit issuing decisions. Central Credit maintains information on the check cashing and credit history of many gaming establishment patrons. For those gaming establishments that prefer to obtain a warranty, we currently provide check warranty services through a third-party check warranty service provider. We pay this third-party provider to assist with the warranty decision, check processing, billing and collection activities. On our behalf, this third-party provider charges our gaming establishment customers a fee for the check warranty services, which is typically a percentage of the face amount of the check being warranted. In such circumstances, we receive all of the check warranty revenue. We are exposed to risk for the losses associated with any warranted items that cannot be collected from patrons issuing the items. Warranty expenses are defined as any amounts paid by the third-party provider to gaming establishments to purchase dishonored checks that will not be collectible from patrons and any expenses related to the collection on these amounts. We also pay certain fees and operating expenses to our third-party provider related to the provision of these services.

 

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Our principal Payments products and services consist of the following:

 

Casino Cash Plus 3-in-1 ATMs are unmanned, cash-dispensing machines that enable ATM cash withdrawals, POS debit card transactions, and credit card cash access transactions directly, or using our patented 3-in-1 Rollover functionality. Most financial institutions that issue debit cards impose daily ATM withdrawal limits, and, in many instances, aggregate and count Friday, Saturday and Sunday as a single day in calculating such limits. If a patron has reached his or her daily ATM limit, our patented 3-in-1 Rollover functionality automatically enables the patron to obtain funds via a POS debit card transaction or a credit card cash access transaction instead.

 

Check verification and warranty services allow gaming establishments to manage and reduce risk on patron checks that they cash. A gaming establishment can query our Central Credit database to review the check cashing history of a gaming establishment patron before deciding whether to cash the patron’s check. If the gaming establishment desires additional protection against loss, it can seek a warranty on payment of the check. We have an exclusive relationship with a third-party check warranty service provider to market check warranty services to gaming establishments.

 

Fully Integrated Kiosks are multi-function terminals that combine our cash access 3-in-1 Rollover functionality with slot machine ticket redemption and bill breaking service capabilities. The availability of our cash access services on these slot ticket redemption devices provides us with additional points of contact with gaming patrons at locations that are closer to the slot machines than traditional cash access devices that are typically located on the periphery of the gaming area within the gaming establishment and also provides gaming patrons with more opportunities to access their cash with less cashier involvement, thereby creating labor cost savings for gaming establishments .

 

Jackpot kiosks are multi-function employee kiosks that allow casino personnel to immediately process and dispense taxable jackpots in the form of cash, tickets or a combination of both. Jackpots that exceed established local or federal dollar limits are taxable and require a casino employee to complete the transaction in order to issue the patron a W-2G or 1042-S. The jackpot kiosk, which may also offer our other cash access services, automates and streamlines this process .

 

Central Credit is our gaming patron credit bureau service which, on a subscription basis, allows gaming establishments to improve their credit-granting decisions by obtaining access to a database containing credit information and transaction data on millions of gaming patrons. Our gaming credit reports are comprised of information recorded from patron credit histories at hundreds of gaming establishments. We provide such information to gaming establishments that subscribe to the service. These establishments then use that data, among other things, to determine how much credit, if any, they will grant to a gaming patron. We typically charge our customers for access to gaming patron credit reports on a monthly basis and our fees are generally comprised of a fixed minimum fee plus per-transaction charges for certain requests .

 

Everi Compliance   is our suite of compliance software offerings for gaming operators. These compliance solutions help our gaming establishment customers comply with financial services and gaming regulations. These compliance solutions include software to assist with anti-money laundering regulations, such as filing currency transaction reports (“CTRs”) and suspicious activity reports (“SARs”). Additionally, these compliance solutions also assist casinos in filing required tax forms in connection with the payout of jackpot winnings to patrons and assist casinos with auditing cash on the floor and in casino cages.

 

We also offer:

 

 

 

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Manufacturing

 

We utilize contract manufacturers to produce the cabinets that make up our electronic gaming machines (“EGMs”) and our kiosk products, as well as other sub-assemblies. We have assembly facilities in Austin, Texas and Las Vegas, Nevada, where we assemble the EGMs and our kiosk products, which include the cabinets, computer assemblies, LCD screens, printers, bill validators and acceptors, and other wiring and harnesses. We believe that our sources of supply of component parts and raw materials for our products are generally adequate and we have few sole-sourced parts.

 

Research and Development

 

We conduct research and development activities primarily to develop gaming systems, gaming engines, casino data management systems, casino central monitoring systems, video lottery outcome determination systems, gaming platforms and gaming content, as well as to add enhancements to our existing product lines. We believe our ability to deliver differentiated, appealing products and services to the marketplace is based on our research and development investments, and we expect to continue to make such investments in the future. Research and development costs consist primarily of salaries and benefits, consulting fees and game lab testing fees . Once the technological feasibility of a project has been established, it is transferred from research to development and capitalization of development costs begins until the product is available for general release.

 

Customers

 

As of December 31, 2015, we served over 1,000 casinos and other gaming properties in the United States, Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America and Asia. In certain limited circumstances, we provide our products and services to non-gaming establishments, such as gas stations and other retail businesses associated with gaming establishment customers, however the revenue generated from these operations is not material to our operations and we do not actively market or target non-gaming establishment customers.

 

Sales and Marketing

 

We sell and market our products and services to gaming establishments primarily through the use of a direct sales force, which targets gaming establishments in the United States and in international markets. With respect to our gaming products, we participate in the Class III and Class II gaming machine markets, as well as the central determinant system market in North America, through participation, or revenue share, and fixed fee arrangements and the sale of proprietary EGMs and systems. For the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013 , our revenues from our operations outside the United States were 2.9%, 2.7%, and 2.4% of our total revenue, respectively. All of our long-lived assets outside of the United States were immaterial for each of fiscal 2015, 2014, and 2013.

 

Our sales and marketing efforts are directed by a team of customer service executives, each of whom has business development responsibility for gaming establishments in specified geographic regions. These customer service executives direct their efforts at all levels of gaming establishment personnel, including senior executives, finance professionals, marketing staff, slot directors, and cashiers, and seek to educate them on the benefits of our products and services. In some cases , our customer service executives are supported by field account managers, who provide on-site customer s ervice to most of our customers. In other cases our sales executives directly maintain the customer relationships. These customer service executives and field account managers generally reside in the vicinity of the specific gaming establishments that they support to ensure that they respond to the customer service needs of those gaming establishments. We also have joint sales efforts with a number of strategic partners, including independent sales organizations, which allow us to market our products and services to gaming establishments through channels other than our direct sales force.

 

Competition

 

In our Games business, we compete across different gaming markets with a variety of gaming equipment suppliers. Competition is generally based upon the: (a) amount of revenue our products generate for our customers relative to the amount of revenue generated by our competitors’ products, (b) prices and/or fees we and our competitors charge for products and services offered, and (c) appeal of our competitors’ products to gaming patrons, which has a direct effect on

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the volume of play generated by a product and, accordingly, the revenues generated for our customers. To drive customer demand and improve product attractiveness to end users, we are continually working to develop new game themes, gaming engines, hardware platforms and systems that appeal to gaming patrons, all while working to release these new products to the marketplace in a timely manner.

 

In our Payments business, we compete with other providers of cash access services to the gaming industry, as well as with financial institutions and other regional and local banks that operate ATMs on the premises of gaming establishments. Some of these other providers and financial institutions have established cooperative relationships with each other to expand their service offerings. Although almost all gaming establishments outsource their cash access service to third-party providers because providing these services is not a core competency of gaming establishment operators, and because gaming establishment operators are unable to achieve the same scale that can be obtained by third-party providers that deploy cash access services across multiple gaming establishments, we on occasion do face competition from gaming establishments that may choose to operate their own in-house cash access systems. In recent years, we have also faced increased competition from independent sales organizations, which provide basic services and aggressive pricing, from gaming equipment manufacturers and system providers that manufacture kiosks that directly, or through affiliates with third parties, which offer ATM and other cash access products and services, and from traditional transaction processors that have entered the gaming patron cash access services market. This increased competition amongst these various providers of cash access services has resulted in pricing pressure and margin erosion with respect to our core cash access products and services.

 

Proprietary Rights

 

We believe the ability to introduce and respond to technological innovation in the gaming industry will be an increasingly important qualification for the future success of any provider of cash access and gaming-related products and services. Our continued competitiveness will depend on: (a) the pace of our new product development, (b) our patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret protection, and (c) our relationships with customers. Our business development personnel work with gaming establishments, our technology and other strategic partners, and the suppliers of the financial services upon which our cash access services rely, to design and develop innovative products and services that appeal to gaming patrons.

 

We rely on a combination of patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and contractual restrictions to protect our intellectual property. In our business, we have over 220 patents issued related to games and systems and processes, and have more than 60 patent applications pending world-wide . The expiration dates of these patents vary and are based on their filing and issuances dates. We intend to continue to actively file for patent protection, when such filings are commercially reasonable, within and outside the United States. We also seek trademark protection for our names and products and have registered hundreds of trademarks in the United States and various foreign countries. Under permission or license agreements with third parties, we also sell gaming products covered by independently filed copyrights, trademarks and/or patents. Typically, these contracts require us to pay royalties to the licensing party. Royalty expenses are included in cost of gaming and systems in our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition to our patents, trademarks, and copyrights, we also rely on a broader scope of intellectual property including trade secrets, in-house know-how and innovation.

 

Employees

 

As of December 31, 2015, we had approximately 900 employees. We believe that our relations with our employees are good. We have never experienced a work stoppage and none of our employees are subject to a collective bargaining agreement.

 

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Available Information

 

Our website address is www.everi.com. We make available free of charge on our website our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. In addition, our earnings conference calls are web cast live via our website. In addition to visiting our website, you may read and copy any document we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F. Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20549 or at www.sec.gov. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for information on the Public Reference Room.

 

REGULATION

Gaming Regulation

 

The gaming industry is highly regulated under legal systems that frequently evolve and change based on governmental public policies. Various aspects of our business are subject to comprehensive laws, regulations and ordinances applicable to the ownership, management and operation of gambling establishments as well as certain financial services conducted at such establishments. These gaming laws, regulations and ordinances require us to be licensed, registered, found suitable, qualified or otherwise approved by various city, county, state, provincial, federal, tribal and foreign government agencies (collectively “Gaming Authorities”) in the jurisdictions where we conduct business.  We must maintain those licenses, registrations, or other approvals in good standing to continue our business, which generally imposes certain (i) financial and operational reporting, and oversight requirements, and (ii) character and fitness suitability requirements, in each case administered by the Gaming Authorities, upon us and our affiliated or subsidiary organizations, as well as the officers, directors, key personnel and, in certain instances, holders of our debt and/or equity securities in each of those organizations, and our material business associates. Gaming Authorities have broad discretion in determining whether to grant a license, registration or other approval.  Subject to complying with certain procedural requirements, Gaming Authorities may deny any application, or limit, condition, restrict, revoke or suspend any license, registration, finding of suitability, qualification or other approval for any cause deemed reasonable to them. 

 

In general, the licensure, qualification and approval requirements and the regulations imposed on non-gaming suppliers and vendors are less stringent than those requirements and regulations imposed on gaming operators, gaming-related manufacturers and suppliers.  However, some jurisdictions do not distinguish between non-gaming and gaming suppliers and vendors while other jurisdictions classify all of our products and services as gaming-related.  In those jurisdictions which classify our products and services as gaming-related, we are subject to the more stringent licensing and regulatory framework. The stated policies and other purposes behind such laws, regulations, and ordinances are generally to: (i) ensure the public’s trust and confidence in legalized gambling through a system of mandated regulation, internal controls, accounting practices, and operating procedures, and (ii) promote economic activity for the state, county and local governments through revenue opportunities emanating from taxes, licensing fees, and other economic benefits arising out of gambling and related activities.

 

Moreover, our gaming devices and certain other products and technologies must be certified or approved by Gaming Authorities in many jurisdictions where we conduct business.  These Gaming Authorities test the gaming devices, systems, and related equipment directly or through an independent testing laboratory and may also require a field trial under the regulator’s technical standards before allowing us to sell the product. Although we collaborate closely with the Gaming Authorities and independent testing laboratories, we cannot control whether our products will be approved or the length of time taken to review our products for sale to third parties.

 

We believe that we are in substantial compliance with all material gaming and financial institution laws applicable to our business.  We can give no assurance, however, that our business activities or the activities of our customers in the gaming industry will not be subject to any regulatory or legal enforcement proceedings in the future and a violation of applicable gaming laws by us or any of our subsidiaries could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, prospects and results of operations. Depending on the nature of any noncompliance, our failure to comply with such laws, regulations, and ordinances may result in the suspension or revocation of any license, registration, or other approval, a partial or complete cessation of our business, seizure of our assets, as well as the imposition of civil fines and criminal penalties.

 

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A description of the material regulations to which we are subject is set forth below.

 

Federal Regulation . At the federal level, we are subject to two key pieces of legislation. Our Native American customers are regulated by the National Indian Gaming Commission (“NIGC”), which was established by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (the “IGRA”). The NIGC has regulatory authority over certain aspects of Native American gaming and defines the boundaries of our dealings with the Native American marketplace and the level of regulatory authority to which these games are subject. IGRA establishes three classes of gaming, each with a different regulatory framework:

 

Class		Type of Games		Regulatory Oversight
I		Social gaming for minimal prizes and traditional Indian gaming.		Exclusive regulation and oversight by tribal governments.
II		Bingo (both in traditional and electronic form).		Regulation by tribal governments with NIGC oversight.
III		Casino style games (including slot machines, blackjack, craps and roulette).		Must be permitted by the state in which the tribe is located. The state and the tribe must have negotiated a compact approved by NIGC, and the tribe must have adopted a gaming ordinance approved by the NIGC.

 

We sell our gaming devices and systems in both Class II and Class III markets.

 

The Johnson Act, as amended by the Federal Gambling Devices Act of 1962 (the “Johnson Act”), requires that we register annually with the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice and requires a wide variety of record keeping and equipment identification efforts on our part. Registration is required in order for us to sell, distribute, manufacture, transport, and/or receive gaming equipment, machines or components across state lines. If we fail to comply with the requirements set forth under the Johnson Act, we could become subject to a variety of penalties, including, but not limited to, the seizure and forfeiture of equipment.

 

State and Tribal Gaming Commissions . We are regulated by gaming commissions or similar authorities at the state or tribal level as either a (i) manufacturer of gaming devices, in those jurisdictions where we manufacture gaming devices and systems, (ii) supplier of “associated equipment,” in those jurisdictions where we sell and service fully integrated kiosks and jackpot kiosks, and/or (ii) non-gaming supplier or vendor, in those jurisdictions where we provide cash access and Central Credit services only.

 

The process of obtaining necessary licenses, registrations, or other approvals often involves substantial disclosure of confidential or proprietary information about us and our officers, directors, key personnel and, in certain instances, beneficial owners of our debt and/or equity securities, and requires a determination by the regulators as to our suitability as a manufacturer, supplier, or vendor to gaming establishments. Such suitability examinations may also generally include the following:

 

 

 

 

 

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These regulatory obligations are imposed upon gaming-related manufacturers, suppliers, or vendors on an ongoing basis, and there are no guaranties that we will be successful in obtaining and maintaining all necessary licenses, permits, and approvals and to continue to hold other necessary gaming licenses, permits, and approvals to conduct our businesses as currently being conducted by us. The expansion of our businesses, the introduction of new games, systems, products or services, or changes to applicable rules and regulations may result in additional regulatory or licensing requiremen ts being imposed upon us. Many Gaming Au thorities will require us to submit software and other key technology components of our gaming devices and systems, as well as our fully integrated kiosks and jackpot kiosks, to government or third-party gaming laboratories for testing and certification prior to deploying such games, systems, and devices in a particular gaming jurisdiction.

 

Gaming regulatory authorities have broad discretion and may require any beneficial holder of our securities, regardless of the number of shares of common stock and/or amount of debt securities owned, to file an application, make personal or confidential disclosures, be investigated, and be subject to a determination of suitability. Many jurisdictions require any person who acquires beneficial ownership of more than a certain percentage of voting securities of a gaming company and, in some jurisdictions, non-voting securities, typically 5%, to report the acquisition to Gaming Authorities, and Gaming Authorities may require such holders to apply for qualification or a finding of suitability, subject to limited exceptions for “institutional investors” that hold a company’s voting securities for investment purposes only. If a beneficial holder of our securities is a corporation, partnership, or trust, such entity must submit detailed business and financial information, which may include information regarding its officers, directors, partners, key personnel, and beneficial owners. Further disclosure by those officers, directors, partners, key personnel, and beneficial owners may also be required. Under some circumstances and in some jurisdictions, an institutional investor, as defined in the applicable gaming regulations, that acquires and holds a specified amount of our securities in the ordinary course of its business may apply to the regulatory authority for a waiver of these licensure, qualification, or finding of suitability requirements, provided that the institutional investor holds the voting securities for investment purposes only, meets certain thresholds relating to the number of securities held, and certifies as to its intentions not to directly or indirectly exert control or influence over the management, policies, and operations of the licensed entity or to change its corporate governance documents.

 

Tribal-State Compacts and Tribal Regulation . Native American gaming is subject to the review of the NIGC and other applicable laws. Native American tribes must adopt and submit for NIGC approval the ordinances that regulate their gaming activities. Pursuant to the requirements of IGRA, our tribal customers require the tribe to have the sole proprietary interest in their gaming activities. Because federally recognized Native American tribes are independent governments with sovereign rights, Native American tribes can enact their own laws and regulate gaming operations and contracts, and, with some exceptions, generally enjoy sovereign immunity from lawsuits similar to that of the individual states and the United States.

 

Class III gaming on Native American tribal lands is subject to the negotiation of a compact between the tribe and the state in which they plan to operate a gaming facility. These tribal-state compacts typically include provisions entitling the state to receive a portion of the tribe’s gaming revenues. While tribal-state compacts are intended to document the agreement between the state and a tribe, these tribal-state compacts can be subject to disputes relative to permitted Class III gaming operations. Currently, we operate in three states where compacts materially affect our business: Oklahoma, Washington and, California.

 

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Charity Regulation . We have historically supplied bingo games and systems to nonprofit organizations that operate these games for charitable, educational and other lawful purposes. Bingo for charity is not subject to a nationwide regulatory system, such as the system created by IGRA to regulate Native American gaming, and, as a result, regulation for this market is generally on a state-by-state basis, although in some cases it is regulated by county commissions or other local government authorities.

 

Lottery Commissions. Most States and the District of Columbia have lotteries. The operation of lotteries is subject to extensive regulation. Many aspects of lottery operations are determined by state or local legislation, but lottery regulatory authorities exercise significant discretion to ensure the integrity of contract awards and lottery operations, including in the process of selecting suppliers of equipment, technology and services and retailers of lottery products.  Lottery regulatory commissions typically require detailed background disclosure by and investigations of vendors and their subsidiaries, affiliates, principal stockholders, officers, directors, and employees who will be directly responsible for the operation of lottery systems.  These regulators may have authority to order removal of employees who they deem to be unsuitable or whose presence they believe may adversely affect the operational security or integrity of the lottery. Some lottery commissions mandate extensive personal and financial disclosure and background checks from persons and entities beneficially owning a specified percentage (typically 5% or more) of a vendor's securities. The failure of such beneficial owners of our securities to cooperate with the regulators could result in penalties, jeopardize the award of a lottery contract to us, or provide grounds for termination of an existing lottery contract.

 

Internet and Online Gaming Regulation . Several states have passed implementing legislation and/or regulations to allow certain intra-state, wager-based, online casino and/or lottery games, such as online poker, lottery ticket purchases, or lottery ticket subscriptions. This is due, in part, to (a) a rule of construction contained within the Unlawful Internet gaming Enforcement Act (“UIGEA”) that limits and prevents UIGEA application from altering, limiting or extending any federal, state or tribal laws regulating gambling, (b) a definition within UIGEA that excludes certain intra-state, intra-tribal and interstate horseracing transactions from the phrase “unlawful Internet gambling,” provided certain threshold requirements are met, and (c) a memorandum dated September 20, 2011 and published by the United States Department of Justice, Criminal Division, in which the Department concludes, among other things, that the Federal Wire Act of 1961 (the “Wire Act”) does not apply to interstate transmissions of wire communications that do not relate to a sporting event or contest. To date, states such as Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina and North Dakota have some form of internet or online gaming or lottery activities.

 

However, the legislative and regulatory environment surrounding online, wager-based games in the United States remains uncertain and complex, and it is unclear how the legislative and regulatory framework governing these activities will

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evolve in the future. Many states have yet to introduce or finalize regulations regarding the licensing and operational requirements regarding online, wager-based activity, including the licensing and technological requirements relating to the funding and processing of payments relating to online, wager-based casino and lottery games. In addition, the funding of online casino gaming activity is subject to the requirement of the UIGEA, which may prohibit or significantly impede the funding of online, wager-based gaming activity. There is also a possibility that the Wire Act may be amended in the future to prevent or prohibit the use of Internet or mobile-based platforms regardless of the involvement of a sporting event or contest.  

 

Financial Services Regulation

 

Our Payments business is also subject to a number of financial services regulations:

 

Durbin Amendment . On June 29, 2011, the Federal Reserve Board issued a final rule establishing standards for debit card interchange fees, among other things, which took effect on October 1, 2011. This rule, Regulation II (Debit Card Interchange Fees and Routing) was promulgated pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 as modified by the Durbin Amendment (the “Durbin Amendment”) and establishes, among other things, standards for assessing whether debit card interchange fees received by certain debit card issuers are reasonable and proportional to the costs incurred by issuers for electronic debit transactions. Debit card interchange fees are established by payment card networks and ultimately paid by merchants to debit card issuers for each debit transaction.

 

Anti-Money Laundering . The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 and its implementing federal regulations require us to establish and maintain an anti-money laundering program. Our anti-money laundering program includes: internal policies, procedures and controls designed to identify and report money laundering, a designated compliance officer, an ongoing employee training program, and an independent audit function to test the program. In addition, the cash access services that we provide are subject to record keeping and reporting obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act. Our gaming establishment customers are required to file a SAR with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to report any suspicious transactions relevant to a possible violation of law or regulation. We are also required to file a SAR where we provide our cash access services directly to patrons through satellite cages (“booths”) that we staff and operate. To be reportable, such a transaction must meet criteria that are designed to identify the hiding or disguising of funds derived from illegal activities. Our gaming establishment customers, in situations where our cash access services are provided through gaming establishment cashier personnel, and we, in situations where we provide our cash access services through a booth location, are required to file a CTR of each deposit, withdrawal, exchange of currency or other payment or transfer by, through or to us which involves a transaction in currency of more than $10,000 in a single day. Our QCP Web product can assist in identifying transactions that give rise to reporting obligations. When we issue or sell drafts for currency in amounts between $3,000 and $10,000, we maintain a record of information about the purchaser, such as the purchaser’s address and date of birth.

 

Fund Transfers . Our POS debit card transactions and ATM services are subject to the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, which provides cardholders with rights with respect to electronic fund transfers, including the right to dispute unauthorized charges, charges that list the wrong date or amount, charges for goods and services that are not accepted or delivered as agreed, math errors and charges for which a cardholder asks for an explanation or written proof of transaction along with a claimed error or request for clarification. We believe the necessary policies and procedures have been implemented throughout our organization in order to comply with the regulatory requirements for fund transfers.

 

State Money Transmission Laws . Most states in which we issue the negotiable instruments that are used to complete credit card cash access and POS debit card transactions or offer our online payment processing solution require us to have a money transmitter license.

 

Credit Reporting . Our Central Credit gaming patron credit bureau services and check verification and warranty services are subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 and their implementing rules, which require consumer credit bureaus, such as Central Credit, to provide credit report information to businesses only for certain purposes and to otherwise safeguard credit report information, to disclose to consumers their credit report on request, and to permit consumers to dispute and correct inaccurate or incomplete information in their credit report. These laws and rules also govern the information that may be contained in a consumer credit report. We continue

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to implement policies and procedures as well as adapt our business practices in order to comply with these laws and regulations. In addition to federal regulations, our Central Credit gaming patron credit bureau services are subject to the state credit reporting regulations that impose similar requirements to the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003.

 

Debt Collection . We currently outsource most of our debt collection efforts to third parties. However, we do engage in debt collection to collect on chargebacks on our cash access products and unpaid balances for services performed for our check services, Central Credit services, receivables relating to the sale and service of our fully integrated kiosks and jackpot kiosks, and other amounts owing to us in connection with performing various services for our customers. All such collection practices may be subject to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which prohibits unfair, deceptive or abusive debt collection practices, as well as consumer-debt-collection laws and regulations adopted by the various states.

 

Privacy Regulations . Our collection of information from patrons who use our financial products and services, such as our cash access services, are subject to the financial information privacy protection provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and its implementing federal regulations. We gather, as permitted by law, non-public, personally-identifiable financial information from patrons who use our cash access services, such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, bank and credit card account numbers and transaction information. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act requires us to safeguard and protect the privacy of such non-public personal information and also requires us to make disclosures to patrons regarding our privacy and information sharing policies and give patrons the opportunity to direct us not to disclose information about them to unaffiliated third parties in certain situations. We are also subject to state privacy regulations which, in some cases, may be even stricter than federal law. We continue to implement policies and programs as well as adapt our business practices in order to comply with federal and state privacy laws and regulations.

 

ATM Operations . The Electronic Fund Transfer Act requires us to disclose certain notices regarding the fees that we charge for performing an ATM transaction as well as to incorporate such notices on the ATM screens to notify patrons of such fees prior to completing an ATM transaction. Our ATM services are also subject to applicable state banking regulations in each jurisdiction in which we operate ATMs which require, among other things, that we register with the state banking regulators as an operator of ATMs, that we provide gaming patrons with notices of the transaction fees assessed upon use of our ATMs, that our transaction fees do not exceed designated maximums, that we offer gaming patrons a means of resolving disputes with us, and that we comply with prescribed safety and security requirements. In addition, the ATMs that we operate are subject to requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which in general require that ATMs be accessible to individuals with disabilities, such as visually-impaired persons.

 

Check Cashing . In jurisdictions in which we serve as a check casher, we are required to be licensed by the applicable state banking regulator to operate as a check casher. Some states also impose restrictions on this activity, such as limits on the amounts of service fees that may be imposed on the cashing of certain types of checks, requirements as to records that must be kept with respect to dishonored checks and requirements as to the contents of receipts that must be delivered to gaming patrons at the time a check is cashed.

 

Network and Card Association Regulations . In addition to the governmental regulation described above, some of our services are also subject to rules promulgated by various payment networks, EFT networks and card associations. For example, we must comply with the Payment Card Industry (“PCI”) Data Security Standard. We have been designated as a compliant service provider under the PCI Data Security Standard. We must be certified to maintain our status as a compliant service provider on an annual basis.

 

In addition, Europay, MasterCard and Visa jointly developed new card security features (“EMV”), designed to deter fraudulent card transactions related to identity theft, counterfeit cards and the misuse of lost or stolen cards via enhanced card authentication, transaction authorization and cardholder verification using chip-based smart-cards. EMV has been adopted in many regions of the world as the global standard for fraud deterrence in chip-based smart-card payments. The U.S. payments industry has until recently continued to rely on magnetic stripe cards instead of EMV-compliant chip-based cards. However, U.S. card issuers are beginning to offer EMV-capable chip-based smart-cards, and, beginning in October 2015, the network and card associations will begin shifting liability for fraudulent POS transactions generated through EMV-capable cards onto merchants whose devices are not capable of processing chip-based smart-card EMV transactions. The liability shift for ATM transactions onto merchants began in October 2015. This shifts the responsibility for chargebacks due to fraudulent transactions on such cards from the card issuer onto the merchant. As a merchant in

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connection with our cash access transactions processed through MasterCard and Visa, we must upgrade or replace our existing fleet of U.S.-based devices to accept the EMV standard. This requires us to upgrade the software on a significant portion of our currently deployed fleet of U.S.-based POS, kiosk and ATM devices. Additionally, we may have to replace a portion of our devices with newer devices equipped with the minimum hardware requirements to support EMV.

 

International Regulation

 

We are also subject to a variety of gaming and financial services regulations and other laws, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, in the international markets in which we operate. We expect to become subject to additional gaming and financial services regulations and other laws in the jurisdictions into which we expand our operations. Our expansion into new markets is dependent upon our ability to comply with the regulatory regimes adopted by such jurisdictions. Difficulties in obtaining approvals, licenses or waivers from the gaming and monetary authorities, in addition to other potential regulatory and quasi-regulatory issues that we have not yet ascertained, may arise in other international jurisdictions into which we wish to enter.  

 

Item 1A.  Risk Factors .

 

The following section describes material risks and uncertainties that we believe may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or the market price of our stock. This section should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes to consolidated financial statements and “Item7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations “included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Risks Related to Our Business

 

We may not remain profitable.

 

We had net loss of $ 105 .0 million and net income of $12.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. As a result of the interest payments on the indebtedness incurred in connection with the Merger, amortization of intangible assets associated with the Merger and other acquisitions, other related acquisition and financing costs, asset impairment charges and depreciation and other amortization, we may not be able to remain profitable in the future. We expect to continue to incur charges in the future in connection with the Merger and future acquisitions and we cannot assure you that we will generate net profits from operations in 2016 or subsequent years. Our ability to generate net profits in the future will depend, in part, on our ability to:

 

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continue to successfully integrate our Games and Payments businesses;

 

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establish strategic business relationships with new and existing customers;

 

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sell our products and services into new markets   and to new customers in existing markets and retain our existing customers;

 

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develop new games or license third party content in our Games business and develop new products and services in our Payments business;

 

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effectively manage a larger and more diversified workforce and business;

 

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react to changes, including technological and regulatory changes, in the markets we target or operate in;

 

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respond to competitive developments and challenges;

 

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comply with the Europay, MasterCard and Visa global standard for cards equipped with computer chips; and

 

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attract and retain experienced and talented personnel.

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We may not be able to do any of these successfully, and our failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows, which could, among other things, affect our ability to make payments under our Credit Facilities (defined herein) or the Notes (defined herein).

Our substantial leverage could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, limit our ability to react to changes in our industry or the economy, expose us to interest rate risk to the extent of our variable rate debt, and prevent us from meeting our obligations with respect to our indebtedness.  

 

As of December 31, 2015, our total indebtedness was approximately $1.2 billion, which included the Credit Facilities and the Notes, and contains restrictive covenants. Our high degree of leverage could have significant adverse effects on our business, including :

 

 

 

 

 

 

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness, including the Credit Facilities and the Notes, and fund our working capital and capital expenditures, and we may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness, which may not be successful.

Our ability to make scheduled payments on our indebtedness, including the Credit Facilities and the Notes, will depend upon our future operating performance and on our ability to generate cash flow in the future, which is subject to general economic, financial, business, competitive, legislative, regulatory, and other factors that are beyond our control. We cannot assure you that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations, or that future borrowings, including those under the Credit Facilities, will be available to us in an amount sufficient to pay our indebtedness or to fund other liquidity needs.

If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we could face substantial liquidity problems and could be forced to reduce or delay investment and capital expenditures or to dispose of material assets or operations, seek additional equity capital, or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. We may not be able to affect any such alternative measures, if necessary, on commercially reasonable terms or at all and, even if successful, such alternative actions may not allow us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. The Credit Facilities and the purchase agreement governing the Refinanced Secured Notes and indenture governing the Unsecured Notes restrict our ability to dispose of assets and use the proceeds from any such disposition.

If we cannot make scheduled payments on our debt, we will be in default and, as a result, the holders of the Notes could

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declare all outstanding principal and interest to be due and payable, the lenders under the Credit Facilities could declare all outstanding amounts under such facilities due and payable and terminate their commitments to loan money, and, in each case, foreclose against the assets securing the borrowings under the Credit Facilities, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.

If our indebtedness is accelerated, we may need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness before maturity. We may not be able to refinance any of our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain sufficient funds to enable us to repay or refinance our debt obligations on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.

The agreements and instruments governing our debt impose restrictions that may limit our operating and financial flexibility.

The Credit Facilities and the purchase agreement governing the Refinanced Secured Notes and indenture governing the Unsecured Notes contain a number of significant restrictions and covenants that limit our ability to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These covenants could have the effect of limiting our flexibility in planning for or reacting to changes in our business and the markets in which we compete. In addition, the Credit Facilities require us to comply with a financial maintenance covenant under certain circumstances. Operating results below current levels or other adverse factors, including a significant increase in interest rates, could result in our being unable to comply with the financial covenants contained in the Credit Facilities, if applicable. If we violate this covenant and are unable to obtain a waiver from our lenders, our debt under the Credit Facilities would be in default and could be accelerated by our lenders. Based on cross-default provisions in the agreements and instruments governing our indebtedness, a default under one agreement or instrument could result in a default under, and the acceleration of, our other indebtedness. In addition, the lenders under the Credit Facilities could proceed against the collateral securing that indebtedness.

If our indebtedness is accelerated, we may not be able to repay our debt or borrow sufficient funds to refinance it. Even if we are able to obtain new financing, it may not be on commercially reasonable terms, on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. If our debt is in default for any reason, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, complying with these covenants may make it more difficult for us to successfully execute our business strategy and compete against companies that are not subject to such restrictions.

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Our net operating loss and other tax credit carry forwards are subject to limitations that could potentially reduce these tax assets.

 

As of December 31, 2015, we had tax-effected federal and state net operating loss (“NOL”) carry forwards of approximately $76.6 million and $9.4 million, respectively, a federal research and development credit carry forward of approximately $4.3 million, and a federal alternative minimum tax credit carry forward of approximately $1.6 million. The net operating losses will expire starting in 2016.  The federal research and development credits are limited to a 20 year carry forward period and will begin to expire in varying amounts in 2033 if not utilized.  Based on the weight of positive and negative evidence, we believe that it is more likely than not that we will be able to utilize these NOL and other tax credit carry-forwards, with the exception of certain state NOL carry forwards that already have a valuation allowance. However, our ability to utilize these NOL and other tax credit carry forwards to reduce taxable income in future years may be limited for various reasons, including the possibility that projected future taxable income is insufficient to realize the full benefit of these NOL carry forwards prior to their expiration. Additionally, our ability to fully use these tax assets could be adversely affected by the limitations of Sections 382, 383 and 384 of the Internal Revenue Code.  

The gaming industry is intensely competitive, and if we are unable to compete effectively, our business could be negatively impacted.

The market for gaming devices, cash access products, and related services is highly competitive, and we expect competition to increase and intensify in the future. In both our Games business and Payments business, some of our competitors and potential competitors have significant advantages over us, including greater name recognition, longer operating histories, pre-existing relationships with current or potential customers with respect to other financial services, greater financial, research, design, development, marketing, technological and other resources, and more ready access to capital resources, which allow them to respond more quickly to new or changing opportunities, be in a better position to compete as well as, in respect of our cash access business, to pay higher commissions or other incentives to gaming establishments in order to gain new customers. In our Payments business, we compete with other established providers of cash access products and services, including third-party transaction processors, financial institutions and other regional and local banks that operate ATMs on the premises of gaming establishments, as well as from gaming establishments that operate their own proprietary cash access systems. To the extent that we lose customers to these competitors, or competitive pressures force us to offer incentives or less favorable pricing terms to us to establish or maintain relationships with gaming establishments, our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.

Our business is dependent upon consumer demand for gaming and overall economic trends specific to the gaming industry. Economic downturns or a decline in the popularity of gaming could reduce the number of patrons that use our products and services or the amounts of cash that they access using our services.

We provide our gaming-related and cash access products and services almost exclusively to gaming establishments. As a result, our business depends on consumer demand for gaming. Gaming is a discretionary leisure activity, participation in which has in the past and may in the future decline during (i) periods of economic growth, due to changes in consumers’ spending habits, (ii) periods of economic downturns, due to decreases in our customers’ disposable income or general tourism activities, and (iii) periods of declining consumer confidence, due to general economic conditions, geopolitical concerns or other factors. Gaming competes with other leisure activities as a form of consumer entertainment and may lose popularity as new leisure activities arise or as other leisure activities become more popular. In addition, gaming in traditional gaming establishments (to which we sell our products and services) competes with Internet-based gaming. The popularity and acceptance of gaming is also influenced by the prevailing social mores and changes in social mores, including changes driven by social responsibility organizations that are dedicated to addressing problem gaming, which could result in reduced acceptance of gaming as a leisure activity or litigation or lobbying efforts focused on limiting gaming activities. To the extent that the popularity or availability of gaming in traditional gaming establishments declines as a result of any of these factors, the demand for our cash access and gaming-related products and services, or the willingness of our customers to spend new capital on acquiring gaming equipment or utilize revenue share agreements, may decline and our business may be harmed.

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Most of our gaming device contracts with our customers are on a month-to-month basis, and if we are unable to maintain our current customers on terms that are favorable to us, our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows may suffer a material adverse effect.

Most of our gaming device contracts with our customers are generally on a month-to-month basis, except for customers with whom we have entered into development and placement fee agreements. We do not rely upon the stated term of our gaming device contracts to retain the business of our customers. We rely instead upon providing competitive player terminals, games and systems to give our customers the incentive to continue doing business with us. At any point in time, a significant portion of our gaming device business is subject to nonrenewal, which may materially and adversely affect our earnings, financial condition and cash flows. To renew or extend any of our customer contracts generally, we may be required to accept financial and other terms that are less favorable to us than the terms of the expired contracts. In addition, we may not succeed in renewing customer contracts when they expire. If we are required to agree to other less favorable terms to retain our customers or we are not able to renew our relationships with our customers upon the expiration of our contracts, our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows could suffer a material adverse effect.

Consolidation among our customers could have a material adverse effect on our revenues and profitability.

We often execute contracts with customers pursuant to which we provide products and services at multiple gaming establishments. Accordingly, the expiration or termination of a single key contract can mean the loss of multiple gaming facilities at which our products and services are used. In addition, consolidation among operators of gaming establishments may also result in the loss of customers if one of our customers is acquired by a business that utilizes one of our competitors.

We derive a significant portion of our revenue from Native American tribal customers, and our ability to effectively operate in Native American gaming markets is vulnerable to legal and regulatory uncertainties, including the ability to enforce contractual rights on Native American land.

We derive a significant percentage of our revenue from the provision of cash access and gaming-related products and services to gaming facilities operated on Native American lands.

Native American tribes are independent governments with sovereign powers and, in the absence of a specific grant of authority by Congress to a state or a specific compact or agreement between a tribal entity and a state that would allow the state to regulate activities taking place on Native American lands, they can enact their own laws and regulate gaming operations and contracts. In this capacity, Native American tribes generally enjoy sovereign immunity from lawsuits similar to that of the individual states and the United States. Accordingly, before we can seek to enforce contract rights with a Native American tribe, or an agency or instrumentality of a Native American tribe, we must obtain from the Native American tribe a waiver of its sovereign immunity with respect to the matter in dispute, which we are not always able to do. Without a limited waiver of sovereign immunity, or if such waiver is held to be ineffective, we could be precluded from judicially enforcing any rights or remedies against a Native American tribe, including the right to enter Native American lands to retrieve our property in the event of a breach of contract by the tribal party to that contract. Even if the waiver of sovereign immunity by a Native American tribe is deemed effective, there could be an issue as to the forum in which a lawsuit may be brought against the Native American tribe. Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and generally do not have jurisdiction to hear civil cases relating to Native American tribes, and we may be unable to enforce any arbitration decision effectively. Although we attempt to agree upon governing law and venue provisions in our contracts with Native American tribal customers, these provisions vary widely and may not be enforceable.

Certain of our agreements with Native American tribes are subject to review by regulatory authorities. For example, our development agreements are subject to review by the NIGC, and any such review could require substantial modifications to our agreements or result in the determination that we have a proprietary interest in a Native American tribe’s gaming activity, which could materially and adversely affect the terms on which we conduct our business. The NIGC has previously expressed the view that some of our development agreements could be in violation of the requirements of the IGRA and Native American tribal gaming regulations, which state that the Native American tribes must hold “sole proprietary interest” in the Native American tribes’ gaming operations, which presents additional risk for our business. The NIGC may also reinterpret applicable laws and regulations, which could affect our agreements with Native American

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tribes. We could also be affected by alternative interpretations of the Johnson Act as the Native American tribes, who are the customers for our Class II games, could be subject to significant fines and penalties if it is ultimately determined they are offering an illegal game, and an adverse regulatory or judicial determination regarding the legal status of our products could have material adverse consequences for our business, financial condition, operations, cash flows or prospects.

Government enforcement, regulatory action, judicial decisions and proposed legislative action have in the past, and will likely continue to affect our business, financial condition, operations, cash flows and prospects in Native American tribal lands. The legal and regulatory uncertainties surrounding our Native American tribal agreements could result in a significant and immediate material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows. Additionally, such uncertainties could increase our cost of doing business and could take management’s attention away from operations. Regulatory action against our customers or equipment in these or other markets could result in machine seizures and significant revenue disruptions, among other adverse consequences. Moreover, Native American tribal policies and procedures, as well as tribal selection of gaming vendors, are subject to the political and governance environment within each Native American tribe. Changes in tribal leadership or tribal political pressure can affect our business relationships within Native American markets.

Certain Native American tribes require us to contract with entities that are owned, controlled or managed by tribal members to provide a portion of our services. In some instances, these entities are subcontractors of ours in connection with providing our services, while in other instances we are a subcontractor to these entities who contract with the applicable tribal gaming casino or tribe directly to provide cash access services. Our ability to provide our services is dependent upon our relationship with these third parties and their ability to provide services in accordance with the terms of our contractual arrangement with these third parties and, in some instances, the third parties’ relationship or contractual arrangement with the applicable tribal gaming casino or tribe.

Our business depends on our ability to introduce new, commercially viable games, products and services in a timely manner.

Our success is dependent on our ability to develop and sell new games, products and services that are attractive not only to our customers but also to their customers, the gaming patrons. If our games, products, and services do not appeal to gaming operators and patrons, or do not meet or sustain revenue and profitability of contractual obligations and expectations, we may lose business to our competitors. Additionally, we may be unable to enhance existing games, products and services in a timely manner in response to changing regulatory, legal or market conditions or customer requirements, or new games, products and services may not achieve market acceptance in new or existing markets. Delay in regulatory approvals of new gaming devices and equipment may adversely impact new product deployment.  Furthermore, as we attempt to generate new streams of revenue by selling our games, products and services to new customers in new jurisdictions, we will face licensing and approval requirements of Gaming Authorities influencing the timing of our market entry and we may have difficulty implementing an effective sales strategy for these new jurisdictions. If we are unable to keep pace with rapid innovations in new technologies or product design and deployment or if we are unable to quickly adapt our development, manufacturing or sales processes to compete, our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows could suffer a material adverse effect.

We may not successfully enter new markets and potential new markets may not develop quickly or at all.

If and as new and developing domestic markets develop, competition among providers of gaming-related and cash access products and services will intensify. We will face a number of hurdles in our attempts to enter these markets, including the need to expand our sales and marketing presence, compete against pre-existing relationships that our target customers may have with our competitors, the uncertainty of compliance with new or developing regulatory regimes (including regulatory regimes relating to Internet gaming) with which we are not currently familiar, and oversight by regulators that are not familiar with us or our businesses. Each of these risks could materially impair our ability to successfully expand our operations into these new and developing domestic markets.

In addition, as we attempt to sell our gaming-related and cash access products and services into international markets in which we have not previously operated, we may become exposed to political, economic, tax, legal and regulatory risks not

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faced by businesses that operate only in the United States. The legal and regulatory regimes of foreign markets and their ramifications on our business are less certain. Our international operations are subject to a variety of risks, including different regulatory requirements and interpretations, trade barriers, difficulties in staffing and managing foreign operations, higher rates of fraud, compliance with anti-corruption and export control laws, fluctuations in currency exchange rates, difficulty in enforcing or interpreting contracts or legislation, political and economic instability and potentially adverse tax consequences. Difficulties in obtaining approvals, licenses or waivers from the monetary and gaming authorities of other jurisdictions, in addition to other potential regulatory and quasi-regulatory issues that we have not yet ascertained, may arise in international jurisdictions into which we attempt to enter. In these new markets, our operations will rely on an infrastructure of, among other things, financial services and telecommunications facilities that may not be sufficient to support our business needs, such as the authorization and settlement services that are required to implement electronic payment transactions and the telecommunications facilities that would enable us to reliably connect our networks to our products at gaming establishments in these new markets. In these new markets, we may additionally provide services based upon interpretations of applicable law, which interpretation may be subject to regulatory or judicial review. These risks, among others, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and operations. In connection with our expansion into new international markets, we may forge strategic relationships with business partners to assist us. The success of our expansion into these markets therefore may depend in part upon the success of the business partners with whom we forge these strategic relationships. If we do not successfully form strategic relationships with the right business partners or if we are not able to overcome cultural or business practice differences, our ability to penetrate these new international markets could suffer.

We are subject to the risk that the domestic or international markets we attempt to enter or expand into may not develop as quickly as anticipated, or at all. The development of new gaming markets is subject to political, social, regulatory and economic forces beyond our control. The expansion of gaming activities in new markets can be very controversial and may depend heavily on the support and sponsorship of local government. Changes in government leadership, failure to obtain requisite voter support in referendums, failure of legislators to enact enabling legislation and limitations on the volume of gaming activity that is permitted in particular markets may inhibit the development of new markets. Further, our estimates of the potential future opportunities in new markets are based on a variety of assumptions that may prove to be inaccurate. To the extent that we overestimate the potential of a new market, incorrectly gauge the timing of the development of a new market or fail to anticipate the differences between a new market and our existing markets, we may fail in our strategy of growing our business by expanding into new markets. Moreover, if we are unable to meet the needs of our existing customers as they enter markets that we do not currently serve, our relationships with these customers could be harmed.

We may not realize satisfactory returns on money loaned or otherwise funded to new and existing customers to develop or expand gaming facilities.

In our gaming business, we enter into development and placement fee agreements to provide financing for construction, expansion or remodeling of gaming facilities. Under our development and placement fee agreements, we typically secure a long-term revenue share percentage and a fixed number of player terminal placements in the facility in exchange for funding the development and construction of the gaming facility. The success of these ventures is dependent upon the timely completion of the gaming facility, the placement of our player terminals and a favorable regulatory environment. Our development and placement efforts and financing activities may result in operating difficulties, financial and regulatory risks, or required expenditures that could materially and adversely affect our liquidity. In connection with one or more of these transactions, and to obtain the necessary development and placement fee funds, we may need to extend secured and unsecured credit to potential or existing customers that may not be repaid, incur debt on terms unfavorable to us, incur difficulties in perfecting security interests in collateral on Indian lands, or that we are unable to repay, or incur other contingent liabilities. While we believe the increased level of receivables from counterparties to development agreements has allowed us to grow our business, it has also required direct, additional focus of and involvement by management. The failure to maintain controls and processes related to our collection efforts or the deterioration of regulatory or financial condition of our customers could negatively impact our business.

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We typically rely on a single third-party processor to process substantially all of our cash access transactions that are processed through various card associations and payment networks, and the failure of our third-party processor to adequately provide such processing services could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows.

We typically rely on a single third party to provide processing services for the substantial majority of our cash access transactions by obtaining authorizations for ATM cash withdrawal, POS debit card and credit card cash access transactions and to provide settlement transaction files to card associations and payment networks for some of these transactions. If our third-party processor fails to adequately provide these services, it could result in our systems being unable to process our cash access transactions intermittently or for extended periods of time, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows.

We depend on third-party transaction processors, telecommunication networks and other third-party technology providers to provide our cash access and related services, and if we, or any of these third parties, experience system or service failures, the products and services we provide could be delayed or interrupted, which could harm our business and reputation.

Our ability to provide uninterrupted and high levels of services depends upon the performance of the third-party processors, telecommunication networks and other third-party technology providers that we use. Any significant interruptions in or degradation of the quality of the services that these third parties provide to us could severely harm our business and reputation and lead to the loss of customers and revenue. Our third-party providers and their systems are potentially vulnerable to computer viruses, physical or electronic security breaches, natural disasters and similar disruptions, which could lead to interruptions or outages of our services, delays, loss of data or public release of confidential data, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows. In some instances, such failures could cause us to fail to meet contractual deadlines or specifications and force us to renegotiate contracts on less favorable terms, pay penalties or liquidated damages or suffer major losses if the customer exercises its right to terminate. We are parties to certain agreements that could require us to pay damages resulting from loss of revenues if our systems are not properly functioning or as a result of a system malfunction. For example, our agreement with the New York Lottery permits termination of the contract at any time for failure by us or our system to perform properly, and any such unforeseen downtime could subject us to liquidated damages. In addition, if we fail to meet the terms specified in our contracts, we may not realize their full benefits. Failure to perform under any contract could result in substantial monetary damages, as well as contract termination. Our results of operations are dependent on our ability to maximize our earnings from our contracts.

An unexpectedly high level of chargebacks, as the result of fraud or otherwise, including in connection with new technology standards being implemented in the United States regarding chip-based cards, could materially and adversely affect our cash access business.

In 1994, Europay, MasterCard and Visa jointly developed EMV, designed to deter fraudulent card transactions related to identity theft, counterfeit cards and the misuse of lost or stolen cards via enhanced card authentication, transaction authorization and cardholder verification using chip-based smart-cards. EMV has been adopted in many regions of the world as the global standard for fraud deterrence in chip based smart-card pa yments. Historically, the U.S. p ayments industry has relied on magnetic stripe cards instead of EMV compliant chip-based cards. Recently, however, U.S. card issuers have begun to offer EMV-capable chip-based smart-cards, and as of October 1, 2015, the U.S. payment card industry shifted the liability for fraudulent transactions generated through EMV-enabled cards onto merchants whose devices are not capable of processing chip-based smart-card EMV transactions. This shifted the responsibility for chargebacks due to fraudulent transactions on such cards from the card issuer onto the merchant. We bear the risk and are subject to trailing chargeback risk for fraudulent transactions generated through EMV-enabled cards from October 1, 2015 until such time that our customer base is fully converted to the EMV standards.  

When patrons use our cash access services, we either dispense cash or produce a negotiable instrument that can be exchanged for cash. If a completed cash access transaction is subsequently disputed, and if we are unsuccessful in establishing the validity of the transaction, we may not be able to collect payment for such transaction and such transaction

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becomes a chargeback. In the event that we incur chargebacks in excess of specified levels, we could lose our sponsorship into the card associations or be censured by the card associations by way of fines or otherwise. Our failure to adequately manage our chargebacks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows.

Changes in consumer willingness to pay a fee to access their funds could reduce the demand for our cash access products and services.

Our cash access business depends upon the willingness of patrons to pay a service fee to access their own funds on the premises of a gaming establishment. In most retail environments, consumers typically do not pay an additional fee for using non-cash payment methods such as credit cards, POS debit cards or checks. Gaming patrons could bring more cash with them to gaming establishments or access cash outside of gaming establishments without paying a fee for the convenience of not having to leave the gaming establishment. To the extent that gaming patrons become unwilling to pay these fees for convenience or lower cost cash access alternatives become available, the demand for cash access services within gaming establishments will decline and our business could suffer.

If we are unable to protect our intellectual property adequately or obtain intellectual property rights and agreements, we may lose valuable competitive advantages, be forced to incur costly litigation to protect our rights, or be restricted in our ability to provide various products in our markets  

Our success depends, in part, on developing and protecting our intellectual property. We rely on copyright, patent, trademark and trade secret laws to protect our intellectual property. We also rely on other confidentiality and contractual agreements and arrangements with our employees, affiliates, business partners and customers to establish and protect our intellectual property and similar proprietary rights. While we expect these agreements and arrangements to be honored, we cannot assure you that they will be and, despite our efforts, our trade secrets and proprietary know-how could become known to, or independently developed by, competitors. Any litigation relating to the defense of our intellectual property, whether successful or unsuccessful, could result in substantial costs to us and potentially cause a diversion of our resources.

In addition, we may face claims of infringement that could interfere with our ability to use technology or other intellectual property rights that are material to our business operations. In the event a claim of infringement against us is successful, we may be required to pay royalties to use technology or other intellectual property rights that we had been using, or we may be required to enter into a license agreement and pay license fees, or we may be required to stop using the technology or other intellectual property rights that we had been using. We may be unable to obtain necessary licenses from third parties at a reasonable cost or within a reasonable amount of time. Any litigation of this type, whether successful or unsuccessful, could result in substantial costs to us and potentially cause a diversion of our resources.

We rely on hardware, software and games licensed from third parties, and on technology provided by third-party vendors, the loss of which could materially and adversely affect our business, increase our costs and delay deployment or suspend development of our gaming systems and player terminals.

We have entered into license agreements with third parties for the exclusive use of their technology and intellectual property rights in the gaming industry, such as our license to use portions of the software infrastructure upon which our cash access systems operate, and we also rely on third-party manufacturers to manufacture our gaming devices, fully integrated kiosks and jackpot kiosks. We rely on these other parties to maintain and protect this technology and the related intellectual property rights. If our licensors fail to protect their intellectual property rights in material that we license and we are unable to protect such intellectual property rights, the value of our licenses may diminish significantly and our business could be significantly harmed. In addition, if these agreements expire and we are unable to renew them, or if the manufacturers of this software or hardware, or functional equivalents of this software or hardware, were either no longer available to us or no longer offered to us on commercially reasonable terms, we may lose a valuable competitive advantage and our business could be harmed.

Acts of God, adverse weather and shipping difficulties, particularly with respect to international third-party suppliers of our components, could cause significant production delays. If we are unable to obtain these components from our established third-party vendors, we could be required to either redesign our product to function with alternate third-party

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products or to develop or manufacture these components ourselves, which would result in increased costs and could result in delays in the deployment of our gaming systems and player terminals. Furthermore, we might be forced to limit the features available in our current or future offerings.

We rely on intellectual property licenses from one or more third-party competitors, the loss of which could materially and adversely affect our business and the sale or placement of our products. Various third-party gaming manufacturers with which we compete are much larger than us and have substantially larger intellectual property assets. The gaming manufacturer industry is very competitive and litigious, and a lawsuit brought by one of our larger competitors, whether or not well-founded, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows and our ability to sell or place our products.

Our inability to identify business opportunities and future acquisitions, or successfully execute any of our identified business opportunities or future acquisitions could limit our future growth.

From time to time, we pursue strategic acquisitions in support of our strategic goals. In connection with any such acquisitions, we could face significant challenges in timely securing required approvals of Gaming Authorities, or managing and integrating our expanded or combined operations, including acquired assets, operations and personnel. There can be no assurance that acquisition opportunities will be available on acceptable terms or at all or that we will be able to obtain necessary financing or regulatory approvals to complete potential acquisitions.

 

We may not achieve the intended benefits of our recent acquisitions or future acquisitions, if any, nor may we be able to integrate those businesses successfully, and any such acquisitions may disrupt our current plans and operations.

 

Our ability to succeed in implementing our strategy will depend to some degree upon the ability of our management to successfully integrate commercially viable acquisitions.  Acquisition transactions may disrupt our ongoing business and distract management from other responsibilities.  There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully integrate the businesses we have acquired, including our acquisition of Everi Games Holding, or do so within the intended timeframes or otherwise realize the expected benefits of such acquisitions. The expected cost synergies associated with such acquisitions may not be fully realized in the anticipated amounts or within the contemplated timeframes or cost expectations, which could result in increased costs and have an adverse effect on our prospects, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. Our businesses may be negatively impacted if we are unable to effectively manage our expanded operations. The integration of these acquisitions will require significant time and focus from management and may divert attention from the day ‑to ‑day operations of the combined business or delay the achievement of our strategic objectives. We expect to incur incremental costs and capital expenditures related to our contemplated integration activities.

The risks we commonly encounter in acquisitions include:

 

 

 

 

 

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Our failure to effectively integrate any future acquisition would adversely affect the benefit of such transaction, including potential synergies or sales growth opportunities, in the time frame anticipated.

We operate our business in regions subject to natural disasters. Any interruption to our business resulting from a natural disaster will adversely affect our revenues and results of operations.

In the event of a natural disaster, the operations of gaming establishments could be negatively impacted or consumer demand for gaming could decline, or both, and as a result, our business could be interrupted, which could materially and adversely affect our revenues and results of operations. Adverse weather conditions, particularly flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, heavy snowfall and other extreme weather conditions often deter our customer’s end users from traveling or make it difficult for them to frequent the sites where our games are installed. If any of those sites experienced prolonged adverse weather conditions, or if the sites in the State of Oklahoma, where a significant number of our games are installed, simultaneously experienced adverse weather conditions, our results of business, financial condition and operations could be materially and adversely affected.  

 

Changes by M&C International and First Data Corporation to certain of their tax returns may have an impact on the value of a component of our deferred tax asset, which could require us to recalculate the starting balance of the deferred tax asset and the annual amortization thereof.

 

In connection with a recapitalization and private equity restructuring that occurred in 2004 involving our former owners, First Data Corporation (“First Data”), M&C International (“M&C”) and entities affiliated with Bank of America, N.A., we recorded a deferred tax asset of $247.0 million. In connection with this deferred tax asset, we expect to pay a significantly lower amount in United States federal income taxes than we provide for in our C onsolidated S tatements of (Loss)   Income and C omprehensive (Loss) I ncome . Our calculation of the starting balance of the deferred tax asset is based upon information we received from First Data and M&C about the gains they recorded in the transaction. If First Data or M&C change their calculation of the gains and file amended tax returns, we may be required to recalculate the starting

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balance of the deferred tax asset and the annual amortization thereof. In addition, unanticipated changes in applicable income tax rates or laws or changes in our tax position or our ability to utilize our deferred tax asset, which may be affected by factors beyond our control, could have a material adverse effect on our future business, financial condition, operations or cash flows.  

Risks Related to Regulation of Our Industry

We may be subject to fines, penalties, liabilities and legal claims resulting from unauthorized disclosure of cardholder and patron data, whether through a security breach of our computer systems, our third-party processor’s computer systems or otherwise, or through our unauthorized use or transmission of such data.

We collect and store personally identifiable information about cardholders and patrons that perform certain cash access and Central Credit transactions, including names, addresses, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers and account numbers, and we maintain a database of cardholder and patron data, including account numbers, in order to process our cash access and Central Credit transactions. We also rely on our third-party processor and certain other technology partners to process and store cardholder and patron data relating to our cash access and Central Credit transactions. As a result, we, as well as our third-party processor, certain of our other technology providers and some of our gaming establishment customers, are required to comply with various federal and state privacy statutes and regulations and the PCI Data Security Standard. Compliance with these regulations and requirements, which are subject to change at any time, is often difficult and costly, and our failure, or the failure of these other third parties, to comply may result in significant fines or civil penalties, regulatory enforcement action, liability to our sponsor bank and termination of our agreements with our gaming establishment customers, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows. If our computer systems or those of our third-party processor or other technology providers suffer a security breach, we may be subject to liability, including claims for unauthorized transactions with misappropriated bank card information, impersonation or similar fraud claims, as well as for any failure to comply with laws governing required notifications of such a breach, and these claims could result in protracted and costly litigation, penalties or sanctions from the card associations and payment networks, and damage to our reputation, which could reduce and limit our ability to provide cash access and related services to our gaming establishment customers.

The personally identifiable information we collect also includes our patrons’ transaction behavioral data and credit history data, which we may use to provide marketing and data intelligence services to gaming establishments. This information is increasingly subject to federal, state and card association laws and regulations as well as laws and regulations in numerous jurisdictions around the world. Governmental regulations are typically intended to protect the privacy and security of such data and information as well as to regulate the collection, storage, transmission, transfer, use and distribution of such data and information. We could be materially and adversely affected if domestic or international laws or regulations are expanded to require changes in our business practices or if governing jurisdictions interpret or implement their laws or regulations in ways that negatively affect our business or even prohibit us from offering certain marketing and data intelligence or other services. Similarly, if we are required to allocate significant resources to modify our internal operating systems and procedures to enable enhanced protection of patron data that we transmit, store and use, our business results could be adversely affected. In addition, we may face requirements that pose compliance challenges in new international markets that we seek to enter as various foreign jurisdictions have different laws and regulations concerning the storage, transmission and use of gaming patron data. Such variation could subject us to costs, liabilities or negative publicity that could impair our ability to expand our operations into some countries and therefore limit our future growth.

We are subject to extensive governmental gaming regulation, which may harm our business.

Our operation of gaming activities, including the sale and manufacturing of gaming devices, fully integrated kiosks, the provision of cash access services at gaming establishments and the operation of central determinant systems, is subject to extensive regulation by the jurisdictions where we operate. The gaming laws, regulations and ordinances vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but generally concern the antecedents, acumen, financial stability and character of our owners, officers and directors, as well as those persons financially interested or involved in our companies. Our violation of these gaming laws, regulations and ordinances could result in the imposition of substantial fines, or in the conditioning, limitation, suspension or revocation of a required license, registration or other approval, either of which could have a

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material adverse impact on our business depending on the specific circumstances.  In addition, we are subject to the possible increase at any time by various state and federal legislatures and officials of gaming taxes or fees, which could adversely affect our results. For a summary of gaming regulations that could affect our business, see “Item 1. Business—Regulation.”

Our ability to conduct both our gaming and cash access businesses, expand operations, develop and distribute new games, products and systems, and expand into new gaming markets is also subject to significant federal, state, local, Native American and foreign regulations. In the United States and many other countries, gaming must be expressly authorized by law. Once authorized, such activities are subject to extensive and evolving governmental regulation. While we seek to comply with the standards and regulations set forth by each jurisdiction, a governmental agency or court could disagree with our interpretation of these standards and regulations or determine that the manufacturing and use of certain of our electronic player terminals, and perhaps other key components of our gaming systems that rely to some extent upon electronic equipment to run a game, is impermissible under applicable law. An adverse regulatory or judicial determination regarding the legal status of our products could have material adverse consequences for us in other jurisdictions, including with gaming regulators, and our business, operating results and prospects could suffer and we and our officers and directors could be subject to significant fines and penalties. Furthermore, the failure to become licensed, or the loss or conditioning of a license, in one market may have the adverse effect of preventing licensing in other markets or the revocation of licenses we already maintain.

As we expand into new markets, we expect to encounter business, legal, operational and regulatory uncertainties as well as additional responsibilities. As we enter new jurisdictions, we are subject to increasing legal, regulatory and reporting requirements that will require substantial additional resources, such as new licenses, permits and approvals, including third-party certifications that our games comply with a particular jurisdiction’s stated regulations, in order to meet our expectations for new market entry, and such licenses, permits or approvals may not be timely granted to us, or granted to us at all, which could have a material effect on our business in general and new market entry specifically. Obtaining and maintaining all required licenses, findings of suitability, registrations, permits or approvals is time consuming, expensive and potentially distracting to management. As we enter new jurisdictions, our reporting systems will need to be developed and/or updated, and we may fail to provide timely or adequate notifications or reporting requirements within these new jurisdictions, which could have adverse regulatory consequences for us in that, or in other, jurisdictions, which could affect our business. In addition, entry into new markets may require us to make changes to our gaming systems to ensure that they comply with applicable regulatory requirements. We may also encounter additional legal and regulatory challenges that are difficult or impossible to foresee and which could result in an unforeseen adverse impact on planned revenues or costs associated with the new market opportunity. If we are unable to effectively develop and operate within these new markets, then our business, operating results and financial condition would be impaired.

Generally, our placement of systems, games and technology into new market segments involves a number of business uncertainties, including whether:

 

 

 

 

 

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In addition, the suspension, revocation, nonrenewal or limitation of any of our licenses could have a material adverse effect on our business operations, financial condition, and results of operations and our ability to maintain key employees. The gaming authorities may deny, limit, condition, suspend or revoke a gaming license or related approval for violations of applicable gaming laws and regulations and may impose substantial fines and take other actions, any one of which could have a significant adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Further, changes in existing gaming laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing gaming laws may hinder or prevent us from continuing to operate in those jurisdictions where we currently do business, which could harm our operating results. In particular, the enactment of unfavorable legislation or government efforts affecting or directed at manufacturers or gaming operators, such as referendums to increase gaming taxes or requirements to use local distributors, could have a negative impact on our operations. Moreover, in addition to the risk of enforcement action, we are also at risk of loss of business reputation in the event of any potential legal or regulatory investigation, whether or not we are ultimately accused of or found to have committed any violation.

Many of the financial services that we provide are subject to extensive rules and regulations, which may harm our business.

Our Central Credit gaming patron credit bureau and check verification and warranty services are subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 and similar state laws. The collection practices that are used by our third-party providers and us may be subject to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and applicable state laws relating to debt collection. All of our cash access services and patron marketing services are subject to the privacy provisions of state and federal law, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Our POS debit card transactions and ATM withdrawal services are subject to the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. Our ATM services are subject to the applicable state banking regulations in each jurisdiction in which we operate ATMs. Our ATM services may also be subject to state and local regulations relating to the imposition of daily limits on the amounts that may be withdrawn from ATMs, the location of ATMs, our ability to surcharge cardholders who use our ATMs, our ability to accept EBT card types, and the form and type of notices that must be disclosed regarding the provision of our ATM services. The cash access services we provide are subject to record keeping and reporting obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act and the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001. We are required to file SARs with respect to transactions completed at all gaming establishments at which our cash access services are provided. If we are found to be noncompliant in any way with these laws, we could be subject to substantial civil and criminal penalties. In jurisdictions in which we serve as a check casher, we are subject to the applicable state licensing requirements and regulations governing check cashing activities. We are also subject to various state licensing requirements and regulations governing money transmitters.

We are subject to formal or informal audits, inquiries or reviews from time to time by the regulatory authorities that enforce these financial services rules and regulations. In the event that any regulatory authority determines that the manner in which we provide cash access, patron marketing or gaming patron credit bureau services is not in compliance with existing rules and regulations, or the regulatory authorities adopt new rules or regulations that prohibit or restrict the manner in which we provide cash access, patron marketing or gaming patron credit bureau services, then these regulatory authorities may force us to modify the manner in which we operate or force us to stop processing certain types of cash access transactions or providing patron marketing or gaming patron credit bureau services altogether. We may also be required to pay substantial penalties and fines if we fail to comply with applicable rules and regulations. For example, if we fail to file CTRs or SARs on a timely basis or if we are found to be noncompliant in any way with either the Bank Secrecy Act or the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, we could be subject to substantial civil and criminal penalties. In addition, our failure to comply with applicable rules and regulations could subject us to private litigation.

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We are subject to extensive rules and regulations of card associations, including VISA, MasterCard and electronic payment networks that are always subject to change, which may harm our business.

Our cash access business is subject to the extensive rules and regulations of the leading card associations, VISA and MasterCard. The rules and regulations do not expressly address some of the contexts and settings in which we process cash access transactions or do so in a manner subject to varying interpretations. As an example, we and certain of our providers must comply with the PCI Data Security Standard. The failure by any of such providers to comply with such standards could result in our being fined or being prohibited from processing transactions through VISA, MasterCard and other card and payment networks. We also process transactions involving the use of the proprietary credit cards such as those offered by Discover Card and American Express, as well as other regional cards issued in certain international markets. The rules and regulations of the proprietary credit card networks that service these cards present risks to us that are similar to those posed by the rules and regulations of VISA, MasterCard and other payment networks.

The card associations’ and payment networks’ rules and regulations are always subject to change, and the card associations or payment networks may modify their rules and regulations from time to time. Our inability to anticipate changes in rules and regulations, or the interpretation or application thereof, may result in substantial disruption to our business. In the event that the card associations, payment networks or our sponsoring banks determine that the manner in which we process certain types of card transactions is not in compliance with existing rules and regulations, or if the card associations or payment networks adopt new rules or regulations that prohibit or restrict the manner in which we process certain types of card transactions, we may be forced to pay a fine, modify the manner in which we operate our business or stop processing certain types of cash access transactions altogether, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows.

Card associations and EFT networks may change interchange reimbursement rates or network operating fees or assess new fees associated with the processing and settlement of our cash access transactions or otherwise change their operating rules and regulations without our consent and such changes may affect our revenues, cost of revenues (exclusive of depreciation and amortization), net income and our business generally.

We receive income from issuers of ATM, credit and debit cards for certain transactions performed on our ATMs related to cash dispensing or certain other non-financial transactions such as balance inquiries. The EFT networks may also charge certain fees related to the performance of these transactions. We refer to the net of this income and fees as reverse interchange. The amount of this reverse interchange income is determined by the card associations and EFT networks, and this income is subject to decrease at their discretion.

We pay interchange and other network fees for services to the credit card associations and EFT networks that they provide in settling transactions routed through their networks. Collectively we call these charges interchange fees. Subject to the limitations imposed by federal regulations such as the Durbin Amendment or other regulations that may be enacted, the amounts of these interchange fees are determined based upon the sole discretion of the card associations and EFT networks and are subject to increase at any time. Although certain of our contracts enable us to pass through increases in interchange or other network processing fees to our customers, competitive pressures might prevent us from passing all or some of these fees through to our customers in the future. To the extent that we are unable to pass through to our customers all or any portion of any increase in interchange or other network processing fees, our cost of revenues (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) would increase and our net income would decrease, assuming no change in transaction volumes. Any such decrease in net income could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows.

The card associations and EFT networks may also elect to impose new membership or other fees, or implement new rules and regulations with respect to processing transactions through their networks, and any such new fees, rules or regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows.

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The provision of our credit card access, POS debit and ATM services are dependent upon our continued sponsorship into the VISA and MasterCard card associations, and the suspension or termination of our sponsorship would result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows.

We process virtually all of our credit card cash access, POS debit and ATM service transactions through the VISA and MasterCard card associations, both domestically and internationally, and virtually all of the revenue that we derive from our credit card cash access, POS debit and ATM services is dependent upon our continued sponsorship into the VISA and MasterCard associations. We cannot provide these services without sponsorship into the VISA and MasterCard associations by a member financial institution. Our failure to maintain our current sponsorship arrangements or secure alternative sponsorship arrangements into the VISA and MasterCard associations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows.

Our ATM service business is subject to extensive rules and regulations, which may harm our business.

Our ATM services are subject to the applicable federal, state and local banking regulations in each jurisdiction in which we operate ATMs, which regulations relate to the imposition of daily limits on the amounts that may be withdrawn from ATMs, the location of ATMs, our ability to surcharge cardholders who use our ATMs, our ability to accept EBT card types, and the form and type of notices that must be disclosed with respect to the fees we charge to patrons in connection with our ATM services. ATMs are also subject to requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which in general require that ATMs be accessible to individuals with disabilities, such as visually-impaired persons. These laws and regulations may impose significant burdens on our ability to operate ATMs profitably in some locations, or at all, and our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows could be materially adversely affected. Moreover, because these regulations are subject to change, we may be forced to modify our ATM operations in a manner inconsistent with the assumptions upon which we relied when entering into contracts to provide ATM services at gaming establishments. If federal, state, local or foreign authorities adopt new laws or regulations or raise enforcement levels on existing laws and regulations that make it more difficult for us to operate our ATM business, then our revenues and earnings may be negatively affected. If legislation or regulations are enacted in the future that adversely impact our ATM business, we may be forced to modify our operations in a manner inconsistent with the assumptions upon which we relied when entering into contracts to provide ATMs at gaming establishments and our business, financial condition, operations or cash flows could suffer a material adverse effect.

Consumer privacy laws may change, requiring us to change our business practices or expend significant amounts on compliance with such laws.

Our patron marketing and database services depend on our ability to collect and use non-public personal information relating to patrons who use our products and services and the transactions they consummate using our services. We are required by federal and state privacy laws and rules to safeguard and protect the privacy of such information, to make disclosures to patrons regarding our privacy and information sharing policies and, in some cases, to provide patrons an opportunity to “opt out” of the use of their information for certain purposes. The failure or circumvention of the means by which we safeguard and protect the privacy of information we gather may result in the dissemination of non-public personal information, which may harm our reputation and may expose us to liability to the affected individuals and regulatory enforcement proceedings or fines. Regulators reviewing our policies and practices may require us to modify our practices in a material or immaterial manner or impose fines or other penalties if they believe that our policies and practices do not meet the necessary standard. To the extent that our patron marketing and database services have failed, are now failing or in the future fail to comply with applicable law, our privacy policies or the notices that we provide to patrons, we may become subject to actions by a regulatory authority or patrons which cause us to pay monetary penalties or require us to modify the manner in which we provide patron marketing and database services. To the extent that patrons exercise their right to “opt out,” our ability to leverage existing and future databases of information would be curtailed. Consumer and data privacy laws are evolving, and due to recent high profile thefts and losses of sensitive consumer information from protected databases, such laws may be broadened in their scope and application, impose additional requirements and restrictions on gathering, encrypting and using patron information or narrow the types of information that may be collected or used for marketing or other purposes or require patrons to “opt-in” to the use of their information for specific purposes, or impose additional fines or potentially costly compliance requirements which will hamper the value of our patron

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marketing and database services.

 

Risks Related to Our Stock

Our common stock has been publicly traded since September 2005 and we expect that the price of our common stock will fluctuate substantially.

There has been a public market for our common stock since September 2005. The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, including those described above under “—Risks Related to Our Business,” “—Risks Related to Regulation of Our Industry” and the following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Some provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may delay or prevent transactions that many stockholders may favor.

Some provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may have the effect of delaying, discouraging, or preventing a merger or acquisition that our stockholders may consider favorable or a change in our management or our Board of Directors. These provisions:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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These provisions may have the effect of entrenching our management team and may deprive our stockholders of the opportunity to sell shares to potential acquirers at a premium over prevailing prices. This potential inability to obtain a premium could reduce the price of our common stock.

 

Item 1B.  Unresolved Staff Comment s .

 

None.

 

Item 2.  Propertie s .

 

Our headquarters are located in a facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, consisting of approximately 59,000 square feet of office space, which is under a lease through April 2023. In connection with the Merger, we assumed certain lease obligations of Everi Games, including approximately 84,000 square feet of office space in Austin, Texas, which is under a lease through March 2021. We also lease several other properties that are used to support all our products and services.

 

We believe that these facilities are adequate for our business as presently conducted.

 

Item 3.  Legal Proceeding s .

 

Everi Games Shareholder Litigation

 

As discussed in “Note 13. Commitments and Contingencies” of our notes to consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, in connection with the Merger, certain actions were filed by putative shareholders of Everi Games Holding in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (the “Texas Federal Action”) and the District Court of Travis County, Texas (the “Texas State Court Action”) alleging that directors of Everi Games Holding directors breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the Merger. The complaints further alleged that Everi Holdings and its formerly wholly-owned merger subsidiary, Merger Sub, aided and abetted those purported breaches of fiduciary duty.

 

The parties agreed to settle all claims asserted in the Texas Federal Action. Everi Games Holding agreed to make certain additional disclosures in its proxy statement related to the Merger, and made those disclosures in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 21, 2014. In addition, the defendants agreed not to oppose plaintiffs’ application for an attorneys’ fee award of up to $310,000. The court in the Texas Federal Action approved the settlement, awarded attorneys’ fees of $310,000, and entered judgment. The deadline to file any appeal from the judgment has expired and no appeal has been filed.

 

The judgment in the Texas Federal Action includes a release of the claims asserted in the Texas State Court Action. The Texas State Court Action has been dismissed with prejudice.

 

Alabama Litigation

 

The Company is currently involved in one lawsuit related to Everi Games’ former charity bingo operations in the State of Alabama, which we believe is not material from a damages perspective. The lawsuit is currently pending in federal court and includes claims related to the alleged illegality of electronic charity bingo in the State of Alabama.

 

Ozetta Hardy v. Whitehall Gaming Center, LLC, et al., a civil action, was filed against Whitehall Gaming Center, LLC (an entity that does not exist), Cornerstone Community Outreach, Inc., and Freedom Trail Ventures, Ltd., in the Circuit Court of Lowndes County, Alabama. On June 3, 2010, Everi Games Holding and other manufacturers were added as defendants. The plaintiffs, who claim to have been patrons of White Hall, allege that Everi Games Holding participated in gambling operations that violated Alabama state law by supplying to White Hall purportedly unlawful electronic bingo machines played by the plaintiffs, and the plaintiffs seek recovery of the monies lost on all electronic bingo games played by the plaintiffs in the six months prior to the filing of the complaint under Ala. Code, Sec 8-1-150(A). The plaintiffs requested that the court certify the action as a class action. On July 2, 2010, the defendants removed the case to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, Northern Division. The court has not ruled on the plaintiffs'

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motion for class certification. The Company continues to vigorously defend this matter. Given the inherent uncertainties in this litigation, however, the Company is unable to make any prediction as to the ultimate outcome.

 

Item 4.  Mine Safety Disclosure s .

 

Not applicable.

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