GGRAsia – GLI cybersecurity services expanding to meet demand

GLI cybersecurity services expanding to meet demand

Jun 07, 2024 Newsdesk G2E Asia 2024, Latest News, Macau, Philippines, Top of the deck

Gaming technology compliance tester and security consultancy Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) is marking its 35th year in business globally, and more than a decade-and-a-half operating in Asia Pacific. The firm has expanded its services from land-based gaming and lottery, to iGaming, sports betting, as well as cybersecurity, the latter a segment where demand is growing rapidly.

Marina Wong (pictured), general manager of GLI Asia Ltd, said in comments to GGRAsia that GLI continues to support the growing casino sector in Asia Pacific.

“With over 15 years of operations in the Asia Pacific region, GLI is the most qualified and experienced independent gaming laboratory, providing extensive expertise and services related to all forms of regulated gaming,” she stated.

In the Philippines, GLI has “a strong presence,” noted the GLI Asia general manager, including “supporting land-based casinos through GLI’s testing and assessment services”.

GLI’s regional effort also includes helping equipment suppliers and Macau casinos ensure compliance with Macau’s Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) Technical Standards version 2.0.

Although the new standards came into force on September 1, 2021 – during Macau’s previous gaming concession regime – there is currently a grace period until December 31, 2026, for all EGM’s in the market to be fully compliant with the new standards.

That will be part-way through the new 10-year casino concession system for Macau’s six operators that came into effect from January last year.

GLI’s Ms Wong noted: “The new concessions in Macau have brought attention to various aspects of gaming operations. While specific details may vary based on individual concession agreements, the overall focus remains on responsible gaming, security, and compliance.”

An area relating to responsible gambling is a clock that must be featured on the main screen of EGMs in the Macau market, to tell players how long they have been on the machine.

Ms Wong stated: “New slot machines supplied to the Macau market must have the clock feature as standard by the end of 2024.”

The clock will be displayed in 12-hour format in the bottom-right corner of the player’s main screen. It will flash at the beginning of each play session and at least every 10 minutes during the same session.

For machines already in the market, during the compliance grace period, it is necessary to “retrofit… slot machines with the necessary software to include the clock feature,” said Ms Wong.

In the Philippines land-based segment, “GLI’s expertise ensures that gaming equipment, systems, and platforms comply with regulatory standards” on behalf of casino operators, suppliers, and regulators, outlined the GLI Asia general manager.

For the online sector, she said GLI had been “a pioneer” in providing services to the Philippines-licensed offshore gaming operators.

The country’s gaming regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), approved in July last year new regulations for such entities, which were formerly known as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and are now referred to as “Internet Gaming Licensees” (IGLs).

Examples of GLI’s services to the online sector are: Internet Protocol [address] blocking; platform testing; random number generator (RNG) evaluations; analysis of maths and analysis of percentage return to player (RTP); game evaluations; and cybersecurity audits.

The GLI Asia general manager said that region-wide, casino operators and technology suppliers are increasingly seeking specialised support regarding cybersecurity.

But Ms Wong also noted: “In parallel, casino operators and technology suppliers actively expect dedicated cybersecurity services to be built into our support model for industry clients.”

“We have invested heavily in this area so that we could expand our cybersecurity services beyond cybersecurity audits and assessments, to secure hosting and real-time security monitoring, training, and education,” she said.

“We work with any industry, any size – to help mitigate risk, improve technologies, processes, systems, business infrastructure, and ensure compliance while securing customer’s data,” Ms Wong added.