61
around in markets,” Greenslade reported.
“[There is now] far more regulated and much
more proactive policing, and customers are far
more aware now with the risk of being pros-
ecuted which, in turn, is driving better behav-
iour. However, Asia is a challenge, there’s no
question about it.”
GIPA strengthens anti-piracy efforts in
two ways. “The alliance provides a unique fo-
rum for gaming machine competitors to meet
and share information concerning the activities
of gaming machine pirates, and a process to
agree upon and fund joint enforcement action
as required,” Greenslade explained. “It also
permits the industry to proactively propose
reforms or initiatives in both established and
emerging problem jurisdictions, aimed at early
identification and eradication of piracy.”
Once legal action is initiated, it is usually
limited to piracy activities identified in one
country, but Greenslade noted that the main
targets are where counterfeit products are
made and where infringers hold assets, if any,
that may be seized as compensation.
A Macau industry spokesman said of slot
machine certification, “Nobody really knows
how machines are certified.” He elaborated,
“The enforcement resides solely in the hands of
the DICJ [Gaming Inspection and Co-ordina-
tion Bureau], and nobody knows what rules the
gaming machines follow, or should follow. For
instance, what is the minimum return percent-
age? Ninety percent? Eighty percent? Less?”
All gaming manufacturers in Macau have
a GLI certification, an internationally recog-
nized standard. However, it is not clear who
tests the machines, how they are supervised,
serviced, or even if they are in fact certified,
since there is no law making it compulsory for
them to be certified, according to the spokes-
man.
However the DICJ announced early in No-
vember that it has a new agreement in place
with BMM and Macau Polytechnic Institute
Slotting in
to establish testing labs in Macau and create
dedicated Macau standards. “This agreement
As the number of slot machines in operation in Macau
has the potential to revolutionize machine cer-
tification in Macau,” said the spokesman.
continues to grow, regulators say specific standards
Whether gaming piracy can ever stamped
for their certification and regulation are in the pipeline
out completely is doubtful, according to
by Sandra Gomes
Greenslade. “There will always be persons in
the second-hand gaming machine business, or
that support the second-hand gaming machine
business, that when faced with an inability to
O
ne look at the figures shows In 2003 the city was home to
that however unglamorous 814 slot machines which gobbled up
slot machines may seem, they a gross revenue of MOP236 million.
meet a specific customer demand, will resort
are an increasingly major component Last year, at its height, the city had
to counterfeiting to meet that demand. The
of Macau’s gaming culture. They 13,552 slots which raked in a massive
best chance to stamp out piracy is implemen-
are certainly exercising the minds of MOP5.65 billion - more than black-
tation of security measures within the gaming
Macau’s casino regulators who say jack, roulette, cussec and stud poker.
machine software that will prevent software
legislated rules for the operation of Slot machines are big business
copying,” Greenslade concluded.
slots are in the pipeline. and the bigger they get, the more the
february 2009
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