Four Steps to Compliance Success

Inefficiency in vendor compliance approaches is costing more and more, but there is another way out.

Technical compliance generally refers to all regulatory related activities that cover the technical side of the gambling industry. This includes, among other things, game mechanics, platform specifications and information security.

These requirements have become a major concern for suppliers in the past few years as more and more point country markets introduce new structures.

This means that suppliers need to comply with thousands of requirements in different jurisdictions. Many of these requirements can be difficult to understand and involve complex technical implementations.

Such an undertaking requires structured procedures and a clear strategy, but in fact, many game companies approach this task by trial and error.

Since testing labs are only allowed to report whether a requirement is met, this means that these vendors often send the same product for testing multiple times before they fix it.

Another approach

This is not a sustainable approach.

Sending a product to a test lab without going through a pre-shipment inspection and confirming that the product is ready for certification usually leads to predictable results: the test lab finds problems, asks the supplier to fix them, and resend.

Of course, every time a supplier reships a product, an additional fee is charged and the delivery of the product is delayed.

Over the past few years, having worked first internally and now externally with many suppliers, it has become clear that the smoothest path through the testing process is taken by those that are better prepared before initial shipment.

These companies now favor a four-step approach to product testing.

First, they compare all applicable requirements for the product they are seeking approval for.

These requirements are usually available on the website of the regulator in which jurisdiction they plan to introduce. If they're lucky, their testing lab can provide them with a list of requirements on their own.

Second, they ensure that their product is thoroughly tested against a checklist of requirements. This is usually a QA task and can take a long time without proper planning.

For example, if you want to test a product to launch in multiple jurisdictions, it's important to match the requirements before testing. Otherwise, QA will check the same requirement multiple times. A little planning ahead can make the process much more efficient.

Third, they allow for peer review, ensuring that a proper quality assurance process is in place and that all relevant requirements are verified. If issues are found, they resubmit for peer review until everyone is satisfied. It is much faster, easier and easier to do this double check earlier in the process than after it has been submitted to the testing lab.

Finally, they submit their game or product to a testing lab. At this stage, they have a deep understanding of the requirements and how their product applies to them.

If their position is at odds with that of the test lab, they can put forward arguments and explain their opinion. Remember that it is critical to obtain regulatory approval when choosing a different approach.

These four steps require knowledge, experience and the ability to navigate complex regulatory requirements. Not everyone has such resources at hand.

Those who do not should consider seeking outside support. The cost of an inefficient pitch is difficult to measure. The inability to quickly launch new products in rapidly changing markets means you can quickly get left behind.

Even a delay of a few weeks with the launch of a new game can impact several areas, including loss of revenue during those weeks and problems coordinating multi-jurisdictional rollouts or marketing campaigns. And, of course, carriers tend to favor vendors that can provide a clear roadmap and then deliver on it.

Ultimately, implementing these processes sooner rather than later will ensure a smoother certification process for all involved.

Antonio Zanghi is an online gambling compliance expert with years of experience in the field. He previously worked at IGT where he was in charge of regulatory and technical compliance, having been successfully responsible for compliance in the Canadian and European regions. He now runs Maxima Compliance, a full-service consulting firm supporting the online gambling business.