Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | October 2009 16 T echnological development has affected not only consumer products on the casino floor and the front and back of house systems that control and monitor them. It has also affected the way that casinos and regulators implement responsible gaming policies. For example, in the online gaming market, technology can be used for age and identity verification purposes or to limit a player’s spend in any one session or any one calendar period. In the bricks and mortar casino market, general messages regarding responsible gaming can also be communicated from the regulator and/ or the operator to the player via slot game screens. The technology that enables this interface is the standard communication protocol. “Over the past few years, several new technology-based responsible gaming services have emerged around the world,” says Peter DeRaedt of the Gaming Standards Association. “The GSA recognises the emergence of a new technology impacting on gambling revenue, and has taken a lead role in establishing a dialogue aimed at articulating a standard communication protocol. GSA is collaborating with the industry to ensure that any messages needed to support the development of such responsible gaming initiatives are part of the standard,” he adds. In Focus Responsive and Responsible The GSA is supporting technology’s contribution to ethical gaming Changing Architecture The historical reasons why technical standards vary across gaming markets T he creation of open communication standards in gaming, in the manner of USB devices or Bluetooth equipment found in the personal computer and telecommunications industries, is one of the founding principles of the Gaming Standards Association. The Association’s president, Peter DeRaedt, acknowledges, however, there were practical reasons as to why proprietary standards were developed in the gaming industry in the first place. “Some gaming markets developed before others,” he says. “Those markets that developed first naturally tended to develop intra-market standards. As a result, in order to become global suppliers, gaming equipment companies had to maintain and support multiple [communication] languages, or protocols, as we call them,” explains Mr DeRaedt. “That allowed the suppliers to sell their products in various jurisdictions. The problem is that’s an expensive proposition. Every gaming manufacturer knows the pain and the cost of needing to have equipment tested in many different countries.” The need to develop products market by market also stifles innovation, explains the GSA President. New horizons “You are restricted to what the [localised communication] language allows you to do. If you only have to do that testing once, it means if you get into a market that’s signed up to the common standards, it opens up a lot of possibilities [for vendors]. It reduces R&D [research and development] costs and significantly decreases the time it takes to get products to market. “There are operators in countries here in Asia that want [gaming] technology from the United States because they like the functionality that it offers. But they cannot get it because regulations prohibit them. What’s happening in some cases is the jurisdictions are changing the regulations so the operators can get the technology. “For the vendors that already provide products for the American market, open standards are a dream come true. Instead of doing custom designs on equipment for markets outside the US, they can ship those [US-compliant] products around the world. That’s where the saving lies. That’s the reason our members support GSA initiatives. It enables them to grow a business,” asserts Mr DeRaedt. Peter DeRaedt, GSA President