GGRAsia – GSA has new board chair, blockchain technology committee

GSA has new board chair, blockchain technology committee

Feb 14, 2018 Newsdesk Latest News, Trends & Tech, World

The Gaming Standards Association (GSA) has elected a new board of directors for 2018, the organisation’s 20th year of operation.

Roman Czubak, head of Central and Eastern Europe sales for Austria-based gaming machine maker Novomatic AG, has been chosen as GSA chair.

Randy Hedrick, of U.S.-based lottery services and casino equipment supplier Scientific Games Corp, was selected as vice chair.

“Roman and Randy are deeply respected and judicious innovators, and we are pleased to have them lead our diverse board and membership,” said GSA president Peter DeRaedt in a prepared statement contained in the announcement.

He also thanked Mr Czubak’s predecessor as GSA chair, Adrian Marcu, vice president for architecture at casino slot machine and lottery services provider International Game Technology Plc, for “visionary and steady leadership”.

Those re-elected to the board alongside Mr Marcu, were: Scott Milford, vice president of new media for slot maker Aristocrat Technologies Inc; Mike Langedock, vice president of information technology at the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corp; Syed Hussain, chief information officer of Oregon State Lottery; and Francesco Rodano, chief policy officer of gaming software supplier Playtech Plc.

In a Monday statement, the GSA announced that it and GSA Europe had created a new technical committee dedicated to the issue of blockchain technology.

Blockchain – also known as “open distributed ledger” – is being widely seen as a major advance in the security, storage and sharing of information and transaction of monetary or other economic value held in digital form.

GSA Europe managing director Mark Pace said: “Many industries are evaluating how the blockchain technology can enhance data sharing security and increase operational transparency. GSA will launch this new committee and evaluate the creation of a gaming industry standard.”

He added: “This is very timely and may have significant impact on how companies can achieve general data protection regulation [compliance] and anti-money laundering requirements.”

A growth in acceptance of blockchain technology has also been associated with a proliferation in the creation and use of cryptocurrency, which some commentators have suggested could, in the wrong hands, pose a threat to regulatory oversight of the casino industry.