Gaming Laboratories International LLC (GLI) says its role as the Philippines’ first – and so far “only” – accredited tester and certifier of iGaming platforms includes providing training support for staff at the country’s regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor).
So stated Richard Howarth (pictured), GLI’s managing director for APAC (Asia Pacific), in comments to GGRAsia at the recent Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia, in Macau. GLI announced in March its accreditation for iGaming testing and certification in the Philippines.
“In our relationship with Pagcor, there is an advisory component to it,” he noted.
“We’ll be organising times with them to train staff on iGaming and work through our most recent standards, like GLI-19,” he said, referring to the company’s ‘Standards for Interactive Gaming Systems’. Mr Howarth said that was a protocol that the firm was “updating all the time”.
He added that its responsibilities included working with the regulator in the Philippines, “to see what their needs are”.
“Pagcor has been very active in accrediting anyone that operates in the wagering environment in the Philippines: land-based; iGaming, even those that are involved in marketing of those products,” the executive stated.
He observed: “GLI is always first to go into a market, help a regulator, work with governments, put our standards in place, and be trusted and relied upon to do that. We’ve done that yet again with Pagcor.” He added that GLI maintains a registered office in the Philippines.
The executive joined GLI at the end of 2023, initially in the role of chief business officer for APAC, subsequently being appointed managing director for the region.
Asked about the briskly-evolving regulatory environment for iGaming in the Philippines, he said: “It’s public knowledge that there was debate in the Philippines as to whether or not to continue to have iGaming there.”
Mr Howarth added, referring to Pagcor chairman and chief executive Alejandro Tengco: “With chairman Tengco, we share a similar opinion: have a properly-regulated market in iGaming. As we’ve seen, it’s providing revenues back into the community. It’s properly taxed.”
As a result of maintaining a legal and regulated online industry, “accredited providers and operators make up that market,” Mr Howarth said.
“It creates improvement, including responsible gambling and a safer environment for consumers,” he added.
AI, cybersecurity
GGRAsia asked Mr Howarth whether the rapidly-advancing technology of artificial intelligence (AI) could be used as a tool in GLI’s work globally.
“AI does play a role in automation of processes… [and] a strong role in responsible gaming, but we don’t rely on AI to certify and test product,” he stated. “You have to certify and test product independently.”
In addition, “we have absolutely to maintain the integrity of all of our customers’ data, their intellectual property – with which we are entrusted,” Mr Howarth said. “That’s why we don’t fully go into AI” for such testing work, he added.
Another integrity-related aspect of GLI’s work, is cybersecurity, to protect industry clients and their end users.
Mr Howarth said: “While we’re well known for [covering] land-based gaming, we’ve also really developed our systems testing strongly and we’ve also integrated Bulletproof, which is now ‘GLI Secure’ as a brand, which is all about cybersecurity and ISS [information system security], and customers are really engaging with it as a product across the globe.”
Integrity, responsible gaming
Asked about a trend seen across the gaming equipment supply sector and in multiple markets, for ‘reel bounce’ animations on video slot machines, the GLI executive noted that various “gamification” elements on slot machines “can be characterised as ‘cosmetic’, if they will not affect return to player or the random number generation component”.
Reel bounce animations can involve a visual – and sometimes physical effect – where a slot machine’s reels abruptly drop, stop, and slightly shudder or ‘bounce’ into place when a spin finishes.
He added: “There are some discussion points around national standards – for example, in Australia and New Zealand – including around ‘reel bounce’.
“It’s not GLI’s place [as a service provider] to decide on that, but we have to certify to what governments, regulators, wish to put in place.”
Mr Howarth said some examples of positive outcomes from collaboration between GLI, gaming operators, regulators, and suppliers, included “working together on the responsible gambling elements of cashless play and mandatory carded play” at Crown Resorts Ltd’s Crown Melbourne casino in Victoria, Australia.
GLI has also assisted Crown Melbourne in its efforts to regain regulatory “suitability”, as announced in March 2024.
He said GLI had “done the same thing” regarding Crown Perth in Western Australia, helping restore its suitability, as announced by the authorities in July last year.
The GLI executive said nonetheless: “We don’t provide solutions [to those topics], we test against the requirements.”
Assisting in that process “has been quite rewarding,” noted Mr Howarth. “To say GLI plays a part in enhancing responsible gaming is a good outcome.”
