BUILDING BRIDGES
Gaming in the new ERA and the importance of
GSA
THE WORLD IS CHANGING AROUND US
 The Internet – its size doubles every 5.32 years
Speed of adoption is significantly faster as
population gets more tech savvy
Oct 2012: 620,480,777 domains
Total users: 2,267,233,000
Global penetration: 34%
Latin America growth: 1,310% (2000-2012) 43% pop
US growth: 153% (2000-2012) 79% pop
THE WORLD IS CHANGING AROUND US
 Online revolution has changed customer behavior
 Ebay is the world’s largest garage sale online
 Expedia the world’s largest travel agency online
 Amazon the world’s largest department store online
 Pokerstar the world’s largest poker room online
 Mobile devices: 49% of time spend on gaming applications and
30% on social networking applications
WHO ARE WE?
 An International Trade Association
 Formed in May 1998
 Currently 64 members (operators, vendors, test labs)
 44% US, 20% CA, 13%, EU, 10% AS
 56% Vendors, 25% operators, 19% others
 We are an association that enables collaboration between:
 The Industry Domain (Suppliers / Operators / Test Labs)
 The Policy Domain (Governmental Agencies and Regulators)
 Create information standards (G2S, S2S, …)
PLATINUM MEMBERS
GOLD MEMBERS
SILVER MEMBERS
BRONZE MEMBERS
AFFILIATES / ADVISORS
BOARD REPRESENTATION
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Alberta Gaming and Liquor
Aristocrat
Bally
IGT
Isle of Capri
Manitoba
Ontario Lottery and Gaming
Oregon Lottery
Penn National Gaming
Spielo
WMS Gaming
GSA’S ROLE IN BRICK & MORTAR CASINO
INDUSTRY
 Focused on brick and mortar as there was a need
 Established committees to support the industry
 Gained track record for the successful creation of standards
 Successful due to participation from both industry and policy
domain
EVOLUTION OF DATA COMMUNICATION
 Multiple protocols in the market: SAS, SS, BESS, ASP, QCOM,
X-series, CC – talk, GDAP, SDT, GamPro, DXS, SuperSAS,
BOB, and many more…
 Our industry is plagued by too many proprietary protocols
 You are NOT in control of your business
 You are NOT able to innovate and differentiate your product
offering
 You will PAY more to maintain your current infrastructures
 You will LOOSE new players
EVOLUTION OF DATA COMMUNICATION
Let’s Talk SAS
 SAS was created by IGT early 1980 and for a long time IGT
enjoyed a significant market share in the US which lead to the
defacto standard
 Last functionality enabled by SAS was TITO announced in 1999
 GSA took control of SAS in 2004
 Helped the industry by ‘cleaning up’ this de-facto industry standard
 Developed SAS certification program and toolkit
 Industry embraced an ‘end of life’ strategy:
 GSA’s SAS version was handed back to IGT end of 2009
 Certification by GSA of SAS was terminated end of 2009
 Industry adopted G2S as replacement for SAS effective 2010
1982
SAS era
2008
GSA era
EVOLUTION OF DATA COMMUNICATION
The Cost Of A New Feature
Here’s why Innovation has been slow
Touchscreen
4
Proprietary
Proprietary
Proprietary
Protocol
Protocol
Protocol
1
EDW or
Marketing
System
Slot Floor
Management
System
2
Floor
Controller
3
Proprietary
Protocol
SAS
19.2 Kbps
SMIB
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5
EGM
GSA STANDARDS TODAY
 List of GSA protocols
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G2S – Game to System (released 2006)
S2S – System to System (released 2004)
GDS – Game Device Standard (released 2004)
GAT – Game Authentication
WHAT DO WE OFFER?
Unfettered Data Access
COMMITTEES
 Technical Committees (S2S, G2S, TRA, GAT, GDS …)
 Architectural Oversight Committee
 Operator Advisory Committee
 Player User Interface Committee
 Regulatory Advisory Committee (formation stage)
 Online Gaming Committee (formation stage)
 Central Reporting / Monitoring messaging standard
 External Interfaces – Geo-location, Player Verification, Payment Processors
 Brick & Mortar Interfaces – Player Tracking, Promotions, etc.
GLOBAL ADOPTION (70+ COUNTRIES)
ALBERTA GAMING & LIQUOR
OPERATOR PERSPECTIVE
TECHNICAL BARRIERS
 Solutions tied to vendor proprietary protocols
 SAS protocol no longer supported
 Integration capabilities limited and complex
 Long time to market for new features and games
 Technology obsolesce
ARCHITECTURAL REQUIREMENTS
 Maintain ownership and control over Enterprise integration
decisions as the Solution Integrator
 Maintain ownership and control over key data
 Ensure a single view of the player
 Analyze and make business decisions from an Enterprise
perspective
 Improve time to market and operational processes
 Minimize the effects of Vendor Lock-in
 Minimize the effects of Operator Lock-in
CURRENT ENVIRONMENT
 VLT channel was the first to convert to GSA open protocols.
 Immediate benefits:
 Rich, detailed data captured for analysis
 Data available is not dependent on the needs of the host system.
 Download & Config from a central platform to change game sets,
operating systems, and peripherals
 Single, industry standard security implementation
 Improved time to market for new EGMs due to simplified integration
 Able to deploy an increased variety of platforms and products
 GSA protocols are extensible and can be easily evolved to meet
business and player needs
 Casino & Lottery channels are still using proprietary protocols.
 Case Study for the Value of GSA Protocol Implementation
Gaming Floor
Interoperability
PAST
TODAY
FUTURE
Serial connections
leveraging vendor
proprietary legacy
protocol
High risk, high cost,
high time to market
Migrating to an open
standard protocol,
high speed enabled
floor
Decreased risk and
costs and faster time
to market.
Increased ability to
deploy a variety of
Download
platforms. and
configuration to EGM’s
from s single central
system
Open standard
extensible protocol,
high speed floor
Bi-directional
communication with
players
Predictive analytics,
real time dashboards
Responsiveness to
Change
Limited
Player Engagement
None
Developing standards
for PUI
Business Intelligence
Aggregate data design
to meet the slot host
needs
Collecting detailed
play data
Security
Vendor proprietary
security solution
Industry standards
security model
Gaming Channel
Convergence
Monolithic siloed
gaming solutions
Groundwork in place
for convergence
Certified platforms can
be deployed with
minimal risk & costs
Player initiated
download and
configuration from a
single central system
Single deployment of
industry standard
security model across
channels
Single deployment of
shared components,
single view of the
BUILDING BRIDGES
Supporting the Industry through global
collaboration
PROLIFERATION OF ONLINE GAMING
INDUSTRY
 Online Gaming is proliferating beyond Europe into N. America
 There is now focus on the connection between brick & mortar
and online systems
 Industry collaboration is critically important
 GSA has created the Online Gaming Committee
 GSA created a trusted environment for the Policy Domain in a
framework of collaboration
ECOSYSTEM’s CRITICAL CROSS POINTS
 Transparency - Regulatory reporting & monitoring information
 Access - Operator data across states and countries
 Stability – Consistent connections through standardization
ONLINE GAMING COLLABORATION
 Both industry and policy domain will benefit from the work GSA
can be doing in these domains.
 GSA is not the one telling you what to do, we are here to serve
the industry.
 We have a successful track record for over 15 years and
successfully provided solutions that the industry requested
 GSA continues to reach out and build bridges to support the
industry
EVOLUTION OF GAMING
10
9
8
7
6
5
Complexity
4
3
2
1
0
GSA formation: vendors,
operators & test labs
INDUSTRY DOMAIN
POLICY DOMAIN
GSA as Platform for Global
Collaboration
Protocol Standards /
Interoperability
Multiple Standards
Monitoring /
Reporting/Transparency
Cross Jurisdictional standard reporting,
Consumer protection
MACROWIKINOMICS
Anthony D Williams
Macrowikinomics
Mass collaboration – by engaging all stakeholders - is reinventing the way
businesses communicate, solve business problems, create value and
compete in the new world economy.
We are faced with many global threats that undermine global
peace and stability:
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Cyber attacks
Food security (e.g.: tainted milk)
Toxic toys
Climate change
Water scarcity
Emerging technologies
Infectious diseases…
COLLABORATION - INNOVATE OR DIE
1783+ VOLUNTEERS OVER 15 YEARS
UPDATES
 Education program
 Macau: Bachelor of Science in Computing – Gaming Technology
 GSA: one –on - one training
 China Lottery Online Co.
 European Regulator Briefing in Dec 4 – Brussels
 Gaming Industry Collaborative Summit 2014
 Time has come for industry collaboration
 AGA, NIGA, AGEM, GSA, NASPL, IAGR, NTGCR, NCLGS, GTA, EGA,
Expert Group, GREF, ….
What Is The Price Of Freedom?
As Nevada Gaming Commissioner Randolph Townsend stated:
“Its not about the green felt anymore, its not about dealing cards anymore, its not
even about slot machines anymore – its all about technology”
To interest the next generation of casino players, one has to be on the cutting edge of
technology.
LETS TALK ABOUT TODAY’S BUSINESS REALITY IN THE GAMING…
How Does It Feel To Be Trapped?
How Does It Feel To Be Handcuffed To Your
Vendors?
CMO to CIO…
“This Is What I Need To Grow The Business!”
CIO to Vendor…
“When Can You Make This Happen?”
Vendor to CIO…
“These Are My Terms And Conditions.”
CIO to CMO…
“This Is The Best Our Vendor Can Do.”
Control your Own Destiny
Do You Want The Freedom To Drive Your
Business?
What Is The Price Of Your Freedom?
“Open Standards give you peace of mind”
STANDARDS
CERTIFICATION
MEMBERSHIP
www.gamingstandards.com
THANK YOU
15 Years Of Industry Collaboration