A higher standard
A higher standard
The Gaming Standards Association promotes innovation with protocols that look ahead to server-based and downloadable gaming
By Darby Harris
Technological standards are taken for granted in so many daily activities. Computers work with printers, faxes work with each other, and cell phones can send e-mail. But none of them work together without common languages. Standardized protocol ensures that technological innovators can focus on being creative instead of struggling to overcome poor communication.
"It became clear that if they wanted to enjoy creative freedom, like we enjoy the Internet today, they needed a technology standard in the gaming industry," said Peter DeRaedt, president of the Gaming Standards Association, of gambling industry professionals.
So the GSA, initially called GAMMA, formed in 1998 to address the issues of standards and protocols. After standards began to take hold, the improved communication between technologies showed obvious benefits.
"Soon, the solution providers and operators realized that the ability to collect data from machines provided them with the ability to continuously drive their business," DeRaedt said. Innovations followed, opening the industry up to progressives, player tracking, bonusing, note acceptors and tickets. "None of this would have been possible without a mechanism to collect and exchange information," he added.
To protect the freedom to creatively evolve the industry in the future, the GSA has spent another year hard at work, serving operators and manufacturers by establishing protocols, addressing unique industry issues and educating everyone on new standards.
Developing protocol
"Without a doubt the biggest achievement is the industry's agreement on the G2S standard," DeRaedt said of the new Game-to-System (G2S) protocol developed this year. "G2S is the integration of two previous industry efforts-BOB, as developed by GSA, and SuperSAS, as developed by International Game Technology before they rejoined GSA last year just before G2E," he said.
Based on proven computer industry standards, G2S promises to ease the transition to downloadable and server-based games, as well as other new technologies, while still maintaining current systems. "GSA standards are the enabler of server-based and downloadable technology," DeRaedt said. "Current protocol technologies such as SAS are unable to support this functionality."
DeRaedt estimates that it will take about a year for G2S to be fully implemented in the industry, so operators should plan ahead. "If an operator is confronted with the purchase of a new system and/or game, they should ask the manufacturers when they will have their G2S products ready," he said. Certain benefits may be worth waiting a little longer-benefits like remote configuration.
"One of the many features offered by the new G2S protocol is the ability to remotely configure a type or bank of gaming devices," DeRaedt said. "This eliminates the typical finger problem associated with the current manual process."
The new protocol also allows for game networking. "Another benefit of the G2S standard is that operators will have the ability to link any game together to participate in any event they create," DeRaedt said. "They can send multi-media messages directly to the player."
Additional advantages will help foster industry growth. "Operators will have unfettered access to more detailed and 'cleaner' information from the floor that will allow them to increase their ability to make better informed decisions to innovate and drive the business forward," DeRaedt said.
GSA's secretary and board of directors member, Moti Vyas, agreed that the G2S standard will be a boon to operators, partly by simplifying things for manufacturers. "The product cost will be down, because the vendor doesn't have to get approval from 52 different jurisdictions," said Vyas, who also serves as chief information officer for the Viejas Casino. The savings generated by GSA's engineering and testing will be passed down to the operators.
Vyas also foresees a remix of the industry's human capital. "Right now the industry is like a black hole-nobody can get in, nobody can get out," he said. With common standards, especially standards related to the computer industry, innovators can migrate to across industries, spurring unique improvements. "There'll be innovation, there'll be new players in the market, and the gaming industry will benefit as a whole," Vyas said. "And the operators will be the biggest beneficiaries."
Inter-connecting
The GSA's System-to-System (S2S) protocol could shed new light on otherwise dark areas of operation. By allowing the linkage of casino management systems, POS and hospitality systems, the communication protocol will give operators fresh insight on the casino's inner workings, alleviating Class II quandaries.
"The Class II industry had a unique problem to overcome," DeRaedt said. "Each Class II game manufacturer needs a system that uniquely talks to its EGMs only." This complicated the casino floor for customers. "The reality before GSA standards was that a player received a ticket from one game and was unable to put it into a game from another Class II vendor, since the ticket was not recognized by that system."
Since the Seminole Tribe of Florida first approached the GSA for a solution, the proffered S2S protocol has helped prove the business value of common standards at the tribe's Hard Rock properties, DeRaedt said.
"Today S2S is being requested by other operators, and adopted by various manufacturers to provide a seamless integrated solution for both the operator and the player," DeRaedt said. And, like G2S, S2S is based on computer technologies.
Getting the message out
In July the GSA announced the release of the Multicast Transport Protocol, which describes the transport mechanism used to send messages from protocols like G2S and S2S. It was designed with progressive signs in mind, DeRaedt said, and assumes that messages are received and processed.
"You would have one controller and multiple progressive signs consuming the messages," he said. "The multicast messages are sent frequently enough so that a single missing message has no real effect on the process. The operator can create a separate multicast group for each progressive level."
The transport protocol supports new GSA standards, as do the group's plans to implement new learning programs. "Our members are seeking to train their employees on our standards, and operators will want to bring their IT staff up to speed on technologies that will be deployed on their gaming floor and throughout their property," DeRaedt explained. "Therefore GSA has committed to provide a significant amount of its resources-$900,000 over a period of three years-to fund two GSA Professor-in-Residence positions at UNLV's School of Informatics." A GSA-certified engineering program will be developed as well.
"We are creating standards, supporting knowledge transfer through education and supporting implementation through third parties," DeRaedt said. And the GSA ensures that consistency hasn't been left out, either. "GSA has developed a certification program to ensure and monitor the quality of the GSA certification," he said.
Common goals
The industry-supported organization's progress has been helped by last fall's re-addition of IGT to its membership. IGT had previously broken ranks with GSA due to concerns over the protection of intellectual property.
"Their return has had a positive impact on GSA and the industry," DeRaedt said. "It led to the creation and adoption of a single industry standard for game to system communication (G2S)." Because G2S combines IGT's and GSA's protocols, it results in a stronger standard, DeRaedt said.
And he foresees that stronger standard spurring innovations throughout the industry. "In the future, vendors will be able to provide operators with a graphical representation of the configuration of a gaming device with default scripts," due to G2S's remote configuration capability, DeRaedt said.
Additionally, G2S's feature allowing games to be linked for events will assist data warehousing. "Data warehousing will get more advanced, and soon real-time data scrubbing (sanitation) will be the norm, and predictive artificial intelligence algorithms will be used to provide a business window into the future," DeRaedt said.
And GSA will continue its forward-looking path. "We have put the pieces of the puzzle on the table, we know what we want, and now we have to put the puzzle together," DeRaedt said. Education about the new standards, certification based on the new standards, and educating the industry about certification and expectations are all ahead for the industry.
Any of the GSA's current 68 members can request a solution to a particular issue, as long as two other members support the request and the member puts forth resources. "The great part of becoming a GSA member is that you have a voice and can seek a solution to any technical problem your organization is facing," DeRaedt said.
The Gaming Standards Association promotes innovation with protocols that look ahead to server-based and downloadable gaming
By Darby Harris
Technological standards are taken for granted in so many daily activities. Computers work with printers, faxes work with each other, and cell phones can send e-mail. But none of them work together without common languages. Standardized protocol ensures that technological innovators can focus on being creative instead of struggling to overcome poor communication.
"It became clear that if they wanted to enjoy creative freedom, like we enjoy the Internet today, they needed a technology standard in the gaming industry," said Peter DeRaedt, president of the Gaming Standards Association, of gambling industry professionals.
So the GSA, initially called GAMMA, formed in 1998 to address the issues of standards and protocols. After standards began to take hold, the improved communication between technologies showed obvious benefits.
"Soon, the solution providers and operators realized that the ability to collect data from machines provided them with the ability to continuously drive their business," DeRaedt said. Innovations followed, opening the industry up to progressives, player tracking, bonusing, note acceptors and tickets. "None of this would have been possible without a mechanism to collect and exchange information," he added.
To protect the freedom to creatively evolve the industry in the future, the GSA has spent another year hard at work, serving operators and manufacturers by establishing protocols, addressing unique industry issues and educating everyone on new standards.
Developing protocol
"Without a doubt the biggest achievement is the industry's agreement on the G2S standard," DeRaedt said of the new Game-to-System (G2S) protocol developed this year. "G2S is the integration of two previous industry efforts-BOB, as developed by GSA, and SuperSAS, as developed by International Game Technology before they rejoined GSA last year just before G2E," he said.
Based on proven computer industry standards, G2S promises to ease the transition to downloadable and server-based games, as well as other new technologies, while still maintaining current systems. "GSA standards are the enabler of server-based and downloadable technology," DeRaedt said. "Current protocol technologies such as SAS are unable to support this functionality."
DeRaedt estimates that it will take about a year for G2S to be fully implemented in the industry, so operators should plan ahead. "If an operator is confronted with the purchase of a new system and/or game, they should ask the manufacturers when they will have their G2S products ready," he said. Certain benefits may be worth waiting a little longer-benefits like remote configuration.
"One of the many features offered by the new G2S protocol is the ability to remotely configure a type or bank of gaming devices," DeRaedt said. "This eliminates the typical finger problem associated with the current manual process."
The new protocol also allows for game networking. "Another benefit of the G2S standard is that operators will have the ability to link any game together to participate in any event they create," DeRaedt said. "They can send multi-media messages directly to the player."
Additional advantages will help foster industry growth. "Operators will have unfettered access to more detailed and 'cleaner' information from the floor that will allow them to increase their ability to make better informed decisions to innovate and drive the business forward," DeRaedt said.
GSA's secretary and board of directors member, Moti Vyas, agreed that the G2S standard will be a boon to operators, partly by simplifying things for manufacturers. "The product cost will be down, because the vendor doesn't have to get approval from 52 different jurisdictions," said Vyas, who also serves as chief information officer for the Viejas Casino. The savings generated by GSA's engineering and testing will be passed down to the operators.
Vyas also foresees a remix of the industry's human capital. "Right now the industry is like a black hole-nobody can get in, nobody can get out," he said. With common standards, especially standards related to the computer industry, innovators can migrate to across industries, spurring unique improvements. "There'll be innovation, there'll be new players in the market, and the gaming industry will benefit as a whole," Vyas said. "And the operators will be the biggest beneficiaries."
Inter-connecting
The GSA's System-to-System (S2S) protocol could shed new light on otherwise dark areas of operation. By allowing the linkage of casino management systems, POS and hospitality systems, the communication protocol will give operators fresh insight on the casino's inner workings, alleviating Class II quandaries.
"The Class II industry had a unique problem to overcome," DeRaedt said. "Each Class II game manufacturer needs a system that uniquely talks to its EGMs only." This complicated the casino floor for customers. "The reality before GSA standards was that a player received a ticket from one game and was unable to put it into a game from another Class II vendor, since the ticket was not recognized by that system."
Since the Seminole Tribe of Florida first approached the GSA for a solution, the proffered S2S protocol has helped prove the business value of common standards at the tribe's Hard Rock properties, DeRaedt said.
"Today S2S is being requested by other operators, and adopted by various manufacturers to provide a seamless integrated solution for both the operator and the player," DeRaedt said. And, like G2S, S2S is based on computer technologies.
Getting the message out
In July the GSA announced the release of the Multicast Transport Protocol, which describes the transport mechanism used to send messages from protocols like G2S and S2S. It was designed with progressive signs in mind, DeRaedt said, and assumes that messages are received and processed.
"You would have one controller and multiple progressive signs consuming the messages," he said. "The multicast messages are sent frequently enough so that a single missing message has no real effect on the process. The operator can create a separate multicast group for each progressive level."
The transport protocol supports new GSA standards, as do the group's plans to implement new learning programs. "Our members are seeking to train their employees on our standards, and operators will want to bring their IT staff up to speed on technologies that will be deployed on their gaming floor and throughout their property," DeRaedt explained. "Therefore GSA has committed to provide a significant amount of its resources-$900,000 over a period of three years-to fund two GSA Professor-in-Residence positions at UNLV's School of Informatics." A GSA-certified engineering program will be developed as well.
"We are creating standards, supporting knowledge transfer through education and supporting implementation through third parties," DeRaedt said. And the GSA ensures that consistency hasn't been left out, either. "GSA has developed a certification program to ensure and monitor the quality of the GSA certification," he said.
Common goals
The industry-supported organization's progress has been helped by last fall's re-addition of IGT to its membership. IGT had previously broken ranks with GSA due to concerns over the protection of intellectual property.
"Their return has had a positive impact on GSA and the industry," DeRaedt said. "It led to the creation and adoption of a single industry standard for game to system communication (G2S)." Because G2S combines IGT's and GSA's protocols, it results in a stronger standard, DeRaedt said.
And he foresees that stronger standard spurring innovations throughout the industry. "In the future, vendors will be able to provide operators with a graphical representation of the configuration of a gaming device with default scripts," due to G2S's remote configuration capability, DeRaedt said.
Additionally, G2S's feature allowing games to be linked for events will assist data warehousing. "Data warehousing will get more advanced, and soon real-time data scrubbing (sanitation) will be the norm, and predictive artificial intelligence algorithms will be used to provide a business window into the future," DeRaedt said.
And GSA will continue its forward-looking path. "We have put the pieces of the puzzle on the table, we know what we want, and now we have to put the puzzle together," DeRaedt said. Education about the new standards, certification based on the new standards, and educating the industry about certification and expectations are all ahead for the industry.
Any of the GSA's current 68 members can request a solution to a particular issue, as long as two other members support the request and the member puts forth resources. "The great part of becoming a GSA member is that you have a voice and can seek a solution to any technical problem your organization is facing," DeRaedt said.
