Revview G2E VEGAS 2015
THE FUTURE OF GAMES AND TESTING
Skill-based gaming stole lots of headlines at G2E, but a regulatory framework must still be agreed. G3 spoke to GLI about what testing requirements need to be met
The major topics at G2E 2015 in Las Vegas centred on eSports, Skill-Based gaming and the need to attract the ‘New Millennials’ generation not just as a future aspiration, but most pressingly, in the present too. Accusing an industry of lacking innovation is one thing, but working within regulatory limits and defined player protection boundaries is not something the video game, social gaming and eSports culture has had to deal too intimately with in the past. The fact that the first Fantasy Sports scandal hit the news as G3 went to press is confirmation that testing and compliance has to be an integral part of any real-money gaming offer and a company at the forefront of this shift is Gaming Laboratories International.
Speaking to GLI Vice President of Global Services, Ian Hughes, at G2E, he explained that a large focus of his work with land-based casinos in the US is currently aimed at creating the ultimate gaming floor off the future. “While the industry wants to offer a very social environment for their players, there exist regulatory and technical barriers before we arrive at that destination,” explained Mr. Hughes. “At GLI we are looking at how we can bridge the gap, whereby social media can be utilised within a casino environment without causing regulatory protection issues. We already know that the network infrastructure is going to be huge - part of what’s termed the ‘Internet of Things,’ which is all about connectivity and how everything will link together not just on the floor, but at the check-in desk and restaurant too. Gaming and
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While the industry wants to offer a very social environment for their players, there exist
regulatory and technical barriers before we arrive at that
destination. We are looking at how we can bridge the gap.
non-gaming systems will need to work together and right now, that’s the biggest barrier to affecting this social level of change.”
Open protocols between non-gaming and gaming platforms is no small issue. While there has been a concerted effort within the gaming industry to adopt open protocols between gaming systems and platforms using the G2S standard, the APIs needed to allow full integration and interoperability between gaming and non-gaming platforms is currently back at the starting line. Every new casino and major resort is looking at how they can install the latest technology to drive forward the customer experience, but they’re having to work with systems that currently are incompatible with the vision.
What’s vital to build into any system that touches and bumps into the player, as part of their interactions with the casino, are systems that remain firmly within the regulatory environment. However, not all communications need to travel so deep into the machine or system protocol as to necessitate major reconfigurations.
Ian Hughes, VP Global Services, GLI.
“Interface communication standards that pass information between systems and machines should enable social interaction at the machine level without going through the machine protocol,” emphasised Mr. Hughes. “Operators should be able to offer NFC and ApplePay options to players without the need for complete backbone core system changes. We are working with operators to establish common protocols and APIs that will provide system solutions without the need to overhaul entire networks.”
In the hotel sector, HTNG is an example of this in practice, a global trade association dedicated to enhancing the deployment of technology in hotels. HTNG has fostered, through collaboration and partnership among hoteliers and technology providers, the development of next-generation solutions that will enable them to do business globally in the 21st century. The common interfaces developed with HTNG means that you can book any hotel online anywhere in the world and your booking is processed as though through one system. GLI is working on the tools to make this part of casino operator’s armoury too.
“While the operator wants a plug-and-play solution, in many cases they are instead faced with proprietary systems,” commented Mr. Hughes. “These involve expensive connection costs wherein there are no commonly defined protocols. Of course, common protocols need to be tested and certified, but that should be a one-off process, not tested individually, operator by operator. From the operator’s perspective it’s difficult to know which protocol is going to be the definitive technology in the future. What the industry needs is something akin to the way Apple brought together so many different developers to create Apps that all work on the same platform. If you develop an
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