Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | 50 FEATURES Protecting All Interests ‘Prevention is better than cure,’ explains Ian Hughes, senior director, Global Engineering and Client Services at Gaming Laboratories International A dispute arising fromamalfunctioning machine in a Vietnam slot club that erroneously displayed a US$55 million jackpot in 2009 is still being contested. The latest court ruling, in January, upheld the player’s claim to the sum, though the judgment—which clearly would set a dangerous precedent for the country’s gaming industry—has been appealed to a higher court. One of the knock-on effects of the protracted drama has been an increase in demand around the region for the services of gaming testing labs. “We’re noticing that in Asia— whether it’s a regulated or non- regulated jurisdiction—the reliance on lab results and the credibility of the machine have become ever more important,” explains Ian Hughes, senior director, Global Engineering and Client Services at Gaming Laboratories International, the world’s leading gaming testing laboratory and technical consultancy. “An operator in a regulated market is relying on the protection afforded to them by that regulator. So if you’re an operator or concession-holder in Macau, the regulator takes the responsibility for making sure the product coming into Macau meets the requirements. “But when there’s a lack of regulation then you need to have some other mechanism in place to protect both your own interests and your players’ interests. Because an operator, particularly an operator with international interests or of high reputation, wants to ensure the products coming into their markets do what they’re supposed to do. “So we’re really seeing more of that in Asia—they’re relying on a GLI certification or an approval or something presented by someone of independence saying the product does what it’s supposed to do.” Mr Hughes adds: “GLI’s series of standards is recognized globally as an international set of standards of very high reputation. Regulators refer to it, operators refer to it, manufacturers refer to it. The GLI Standard Series is seen as the international standard that can be easily adopted in these jurisdictions. The goal of the Standard Series is to help regulators, suppliers and operators avoid any potential issues before they happen.” Inside Asian Gaming caught up with Mr Hughes recently and spoke to him further about the current state of gaming testing and standards in Asia. IAG : Are there any significant regulatory changes that have taken place in Asia recently? Mr Hughes : From a regulatory standpoint we’ve had a few minor changes in Singapore. We worked with the Singapore [Casino Regulatory Authority] on the changes for some of their technical standards. We participated in a technology forum they held [at the end of January] with manufacturers and operators. The Singapore CRA holds these forums to keep the industry involved with changes that they want to put forward that would affect manufacturers. It’s