Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | April 2014 30 Tech Talk W hen James Maida and Paul Magno launched Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) in 1989, the testing of gaming equipment primarily revolved around the mechanical reel slot machine—the prevalent and staple product of casinos across the United States and around the world. But fast forward 25 years and my, how things have changed. Today, industry leader GLI and other independent game testing labs have to examine increasingly sophisticated video slot products, server-based and other technologically-advanced gaming systems, online and mobile game platforms, and ancillary Testing the Testers The constantly evolving nature of modern gaming has provided opportunity and obstacles for independent game testing labs By Paul Doocey gaming products ranging from ticket printers to bill acceptors for a growing number of local, state and federal regulatory authorities. Few would deny that life for the labs has become exponentially more difficult. “When Paul and I launched GLI, we didn’t know if we would have three clients, 10 clients or 20 clients,” said Mr Maida, who is president and CEO of GLI, which is headquartered in Lakewood, N.J. “Today we have 20 plus labs and over 850 employees who deal with thousands of clients. This additional bandwidth is needed since so many things have changed. Games are so much more complex now—the math