PART 1: BUILDING BRIDGES
Supporting the Industry through global
collaboration
AGENDA
 PART 1: Building Bridges
 Who Are We
 The Pace Of Change
 The Impact
 A Parallel Industry
 Some Thoughts
 PART 2: Online Gaming … The Next Generation
WHO ARE WE?
 An International Trade Association
 Formed in May 1998
 Currently 62 members (operators, vendors, test labs)
 We are an association that enables collaboration between:
 The Industry Domain (Suppliers / Operators / Test Labs)
 The Policy Domain (Governmental Agencies and Regulators)
 Create information standards (G2S, S2S, …)
PLATINUM MEMBERS
GSA’S ROLE IN BRICK & MORTAR CASINO
INDUSTRY
 Focused on brick and mortar as there was a need
 Established committees to support the industry
 Gained track record for the successful creation of standards
 Successful due to participation from both industry and policy
domain
CURRENT COMMITTEES
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Technical Committees (S2S, G2S, TRA, GAT, GDS …)
Player User Interface Committee (PUI)
Online Gaming Committee (OGC)
Architectural Oversight Committee (AOC)
 Operator Advisory Committee (OAC)
 Regulatory Advisory Committee (formation stage)
GLOBAL DEPLOYMENT (70+ COUNTRIES)
PACE OF CHANGE IN OUR WORLD
The Internet – its size doubles every 5.32 years
Speed of adoption is significantly faster as
population gets more tech savvy
IMPACT ON OUR LIVES
 Technology is outpacing far quicker than one can manage to
acquire the necessary competencies
 The end of online / offline
 Continuously online – Internet of Everything (IoE)
 25 Billion devices by 2015 and 50 Billion by 2020!
 The personalization of everything
 To quote Gerd Leonard (CEO of the Futures Agency):
 Machines will know us better than our closest friends and spouses.
 They will give us flawless comments, advice and recommendations and
very accurate personal predictions.
IMPACT ON THE GAMING INDUSTRY
 Gaming is moving to a personal device anywhere anytime
 Gaming is shifting from game centric to system centric to
player centric
 Old technologies ‘crush’ the ability to drive business
 As the markets mature, operators that do not innovate will die
 Some regulators are using Independent Testing Labs (ITL’s) for
certification
MOBILE GAMING MARKET
 The massive growth of smart phones and tablets is one of the
most important technology innovations in the online gaming
industry in the last 5 years
 By the end of 2014 there will be more than 1.75 Billion number of
smartphones in use
 By the end of 2014 there are more than 7.5 Billion mobile subscribers
 Analysts predict an annual growth as high as 39%
 Dec 2012: 28 year Londoner won $530,584 at William Hill
property playing a game on his phone!
Source: Casino City Press
PRINCIPLES OF GAMING POLICIES
 Ensure that all games are delivered fair and in a transparent
manner
 Protect minors and vulnerable persons from gambling
 Ensure that gaming activities are free from crime, corruption
and money laundering
 Protect the public interest
IMPACT ON POLICY DOMAIN CHALLENGES
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Technology is changing at an exponential rate
Access to the right knowledge
Resource restricted
Increased pressure to create policies and technical standards
Growing economic complexities
Increasing international interdependencies
Insufficient capacity for effective oversight
ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY HELP
CARD COMPANIES NOTICE
IRREGULARITIES FIRST
CC companies know more about you then your friend or spouse!
HOW TO ADDRESS THESE
CHALLENGES ?
 Consider moving away from Prescriptive Regulations
Prescription is the result from the lack of trust between policy and industry
domain and this resulted into a policing mentality.
Towards…
 Risk Management Approach
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Security
Auditability
Accountability
ITL’s to verify
 The compliance and enforcement process is elevated
 Regulators must not chase the internet
THE ROLE OF GSA
FIVE PRIORITIES OF INNOVATION
 Create a culture of openness
 Build platforms for participation
 Foster dialogue and continual improvement
 Protect the public interest
 Organize collective action in the industry
THE ROLE OF GSA
 Provide a platform for collaboration between industry
stakeholders
 Enable participatory regulations
 Create trusted collaborative environment between policy domain and
industry domain
 Create Common Data Dictionary
 Offer education re standards and technology
 Support the creation of a messaging standard for Central
Monitoring
REGULATOR BENEFITS OF STANDARDS
 Improves the quality, accuracy and reliability of information as
it enters, processed and then reported to regulators.
 Enhances the breath and depth of information that can be
included in analyses and reports on a routine basis with
minimum to no added costs.
 Addresses the need to find long-term solutions to pull time and
costs out of the reporting process.
 Allows sharing of information amongst regulators on a global
level.
 Enables the developed of tools to detect fraudulent activities in
real-time, across multiple states or countries thereby
significantly supporting the principles of gaming policies.
STANDARDS WILL HELP TO ACCURATLY COMPILE, REVIEW
AND AUDIT
UNFETTERED DATA ACCESS
“Open Standards give you peace of mind”
PART 2: ONLINE GAMING
… The Next Generation
Online Gaming – The Next Generation
 As online gaming is being accepted in more and
more jurisdictions, the industry is maturing.
 Regulations.
 Operations.
 Technology.
 Sometimes technology can be a hindrance, other
times it can be a facilitator.
 As we look towards the next generation of iGaming technology,
there will be some distinct benefits to regulators.
Traditional View of Online Gaming
iGaming Platform
Player Registration
Player Verification
Geo-Location
Location Verification
Player Accounts
Payment Processing
Game Services
Other Services
Independent
External Systems
Evolving View of Online Gaming
iGaming Platform
Game Services
Player Registration
Player Verification
Geo-Location
Location Verification
Player Accounts
Payment Processing
Game Services
Externalization
of Game Services
Other Services
Why Is This Bad? Complexity!
iGaming Platform
Player Registration
Game Service #1
Geo-Location
Game Service #2
Player Accounts
Game Service #3
Other Services
Multiple Game Services from
Multiple Manufacturers
Why Is This Bad? Complexity!
Game Service #1
iGaming Platform #1
Player Accounts
Game Service #2
iGaming Platform #2
Player Accounts
Game Service #3
Multiple iGaming Platforms
Accessing the Same Game Services
Why Is This Good? Accountability!
iGaming Platform
Game Services
Player Registration
Player Verification
Geo-Location
Location Verification
Player Accounts
Payment Processing
Game Services
Other Services
Independent Roles
and Responsibilities
Why Is This Good? Accountability!
 Game services can be controlled and operated by
independent third-parties – like payment processing,
geo-location, and player verification services.
 This creates an arms-length relationship between the iGaming
operator and the game supplier.
 Activity reported by game services can be audited
and reconciled against the activity reported by
iGaming platforms.
 Game services and iGaming platforms can be
independently tested and approved.
Why Does This Sound Familiar?
Standards!
Slot Machine
Independent Audit
and Reconciliation
Wagering Accounts,
Ticket-In-Ticket-Out,
Progressive Jackpots
Where Does GSA Fit In?
 In 2013, GSA made two important organizational
changes to help support efforts to bring
standardization to online gaming.
1. Started a new Online Gaming Committee (OGC).
 OGC will focus on the development of protocols specifically
for online gaming.
2. Re-established the Regulatory Committee (RAC).
 RAC will develop requirements for central monitoring of
online gaming operations.
 RAC will also address other issues of common interest to
the regulatory community.
Where Does GSA Fit In?
 The OGC plans to address a wide range of topics,
including:
 Third-Party Game Interface – integration of third-party game
services into iGaming platforms.
 External Interfaces – interfaces between iGaming platforms
and geo-location providers, payment processors, etc.
 Central Monitoring – regulatory monitoring of iGaming
operations.
 Brick & Mortar – integration with existing land-based
operations.
Third-Party Game Interface
3
1
2
Third-Party Game Interface
 What is being addressed?
 Game Launch URL.
 Game Session Start / End.
 Game Cycle Start / End.
 Restoration and completion of incomplete games.
 Monetary Transactions.
 Wagers, wins, and special transactions.
 Standardized wager descriptions.
 Demo play, free play, social gaming.
 Revenue Recognition.
 Revenue is reported on the day that the final outcome of a wager
has been determined.
Game Authentication
 Remote game authentication (GAT) started with
gaming machines.
Game Authentication
Terminal
Game Authentication
 With G2S and GDS, game authentication was
expanded onto the network and into peripheral
devices.
Game
Authentication
Server
Peripheral
Device
Game Authentication
 With S2S, game authentication was expanded to
include the systems communicating with gaming
machines, such as progressive and bonus servers.
Game
Authentication
Server
Bonus
Server
Progressive
Server
Game Authentication
 The next logical step . . . extend game authentication
to iGaming platforms and game servers.
Bonus
Server
Game
Authentication
Server
iGaming
Platform
Progressive
Server
Game
Server
Game Authentication
 How does it work?
 Discovery - Request the list of software components and
supported authentication algorithms from an end-point.
 Verification - Request verification of a particular component
using a specific algorithm and user-selected seed value.
 Authentication - Check the result against a known value
provided by the test lab.
Questions?