Gaming Laboratories International’s 12th North American Roundtable Draws 315 Regulators from 46 Jurisdictions

Bally Technologies President and Chief Executive Officer Ramesh Srinivasan Keynotes Event

Emerging technologies and evolving regulation took center stage as Gaming Laboratories International (GLI), the world’s leading technical consulting and independent certification laboratory, welcomed 315 regulators from 46 jurisdictions to its 12th annual North American Roundtable.

The Roundtable, produced through GLI’s world-renowned training program GLI University®, was held February 27 and 28 at the Flamingo Las Vegas and included a mix of general session panel discussions, hands-on learning modules and a keynote address by Bally Technologies President and CEO Ramesh Srinivasan.

GLI secured leading global experts from across the gaming industry to speak to regulators on a variety of today’s most important topics, bringing regulators many different vantage points, and providing a one-of-a-kind forum for networking and knowledge-sharing.

GLI President and CEO James Maida said, “Sometimes people ask me why GLI goes to the time and expense to produce the Roundtable each year in three areas around the globe. And my answer to that question can be summarized by a comment I received from a regulator during the Roundtable. He said to me, ‘GLI always goes above and beyond for the regulators we serve.’ And that is it in a nutshell. It’s not enough for us to just do our jobs. We as a company set ourselves apart by going above and beyond for our clients. That’s who we are as GLI.”

The Roundtable opened with Srinivasan’s keynote address, wherein he talked about the benefits of new technologies and the need for standards in regulation. After Srinivasan, GLI President James Maida and Director of Technical Compliance Patrick Moore presented “Hot Topics: 10 Things You MUST Pay Attention to in 2013.”

The session was followed by GLI’s General Counsel & Senior Director Government Relations Kevin Mullally moderating a panel on social gaming asking the questions does social gaming need to be regulated and can it be? Panelists were Gaming Network Solutions CEO John Cramp; Cherokee Nation Director Gaming Commission Jamie Hummingbird; Mitch Kamin, Principal at Bird/Marella; and Illinois Gaming Board Executive Director Mark Ostrowski.

Next was a discussion on what regulators must do to ensure compliance, data security and player protection as casinos shift from bricks to clicks. Moderating was iGaming Business Magazine Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Michael Caselli, and panelists included Kurt Freelund, COO & General Counsel, Georgia Lottery; Katie Lever, General Counsel & Executive Vice President, SHFL Entertainment, Inc.; the Honorable Leslie Lohse, Vice Chairman of California Business Alliance & Treasurer of the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians; and Paul Williams, Chief Technology Officer, Cantor Gaming.

Sports betting and wagering regulatory best practices were the topics of discussion in a panel led by GLI Senior Director Engineering & Client Development Ian Hughes with Michael Ellen, Director Licensing and Strategy, AGCC; John Tarr, Director of Security, Montana Lottery; and Paul Williams, Chief Technology Officer, Cantor Gaming joining as panelists.

Next, GLI Canada CEO Salim Adatia led a discussion about the regulatory implications of persistent browser-based gaming with panelists Floyd Barroga, Jurisdictional Engineer, WMS Interactive; Morris Choma, Senior Manager Technical Services, Manitoba Lotteries Corporation; and GLI Director of Engineering Mackenzie Haugh.

The risks of departmental security silos were highlighted in a panel led by Arizona Gaming Director Mark Brnovich and panelists Sam Basile, Gaming & Business Attorney & Advisor, GeoComply; Denise Harvey, Gaming Commission Chair, Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon; and Victor Rocha, Owner & Editor of Pechanga.net.

The last general session panel highlighted the migration of technology with online systems. GLI’s Director of Development Global Professional Services Stephanie Maddocks moderated with panelists Jamie Hummingbird, Director Gaming Commission, Cherokee Nation; Steve Kastner, Executive Director Product Compliance, IGT; and Kelly Shaw, Vice President Systems & Marketing North America, Aristocrat Technologies participating.

The learning modules were conducted by GLI staff and included a hands-on overview of GLiCloudSM, GLI’s newest exclusive tool; cloud gaming and trends in third-party audit and certification; and a back-to-basics compliance session on network security and field audits.

GLI Vice President Paul Magno brought the Roundtable to a close with an eye to this year’s GLI University regional seminars and the Roundtables in Europe and in Latin America.

In addition to the seminars, the annual Regulators/Suppliers cocktail party drew hundreds of suppliers as well as regulators for what has become one of the year’s premiere gaming industry events.

GLI’s next Roundtable takes place May 13 and 14 in Barcelona, Spain.

For nearly 25 years, Gaming Laboratories International, LLC has been the world leader in providing independent testing, inspection and certification services to the gaming, wagering and lottery industry. GLI also offers independent network and information security assessments to its regulatory, lottery and supplier clients. With 20 laboratory locations located across Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Europe, North America and South America, GLI is the only global organization of its kind to hold U.S. and international accreditations for compliance with ISO/IEC 17025, 17020 and guide 65 standards for technical competence in the gaming, wagering and lottery industries. For more information, visit www.gaminglabs.com.