Gaming Laboratories International Review & Guide

Introduction

Gaming Laboratories International, or GLI for short, is one of a handful of testing labs in the gambling industry with the credentials to test any gambling product on worldwide markets. Their core service is ensuring compliance with various land-based and online casino gaming products, devices, and systems.

The company was founded in 1989 in New Jersey, USA and started its operations in the US land-based markets by testing lottery products. Within a few years, it expanded to cover casinos, Tribal jurisdictions in the USA, and even riverboat gambling. By the early 2000s, GLI had expanded overseas and become a certified authority in land-based testing. By the end of the decade, operations included locations in Europe, Australia, Asia, and South America.

The first steps from GLI into online jurisdictions were taken around 2010. Since then, the company has grown its presence in all markets, integrated itself into different testing and certification bodies, and established or helped establish standards that are followed worldwide. Today, they are one of the most trusted testing laboratories in many major jurisdictions.

The Most Notable Milestones

Over the decades, GLI has achieved numerous significant milestones that have shaped its reputation as a global leader:

• 1994: New offices opened in the USA, and fresh operations were established in Australia.
• 1996: Operations established in South Africa.
• 1998: Operations established in the Netherlands.
• 1999: Testing expanded to cover vending machines, redemption games, tabletop, bingo and keno games.
• 2004: Operations established in Italy.
• 2007: Operations established in China and in Argentina.
• 2008: Testing approval received from Mexico and the United Kingdom.
• 2009: Testing approval received from Singapore.
• 2010: Testing approval received from Peru.
• 2011: Testing approval was received from Bolivia, Spain, Puerto Rico, and Poland.
• 2011: New offices opened in Spain.
• 2013: New offices opened in Canada. Operations accredited in Colombia.
• 2014: Testing approval received from Paraguay and Slovenia.
• 2015: Testing approval received from the Isle of Man and Portugal.
• 2016: Testing approval was received from the Czech Republic, Bahamas and Romania. The company reached a milestone of 2.5 million tested devices and systems.
• 2017: Acquisition of NMi Gaming.
• 2019: Acquisition of SeNet International Corporation.
• 2020: Acquisition of Public Knowledge. Testing approval was received from Greece.
• 2022: Acquisition of SIQ GLI.
• 2023: Acquisition of iTech Labs.

Global Reach

Today, GLI has a robust global presence with more than 25 offices strategically located across six continents. The company employs over 1,300 professionals, including engineers, mathematicians, and compliance experts, who collectively bring unparalleled expertise to its clients.

Gaming Labs International serves clients in over 480 jurisdictions, offering tailored solutions that meet the unique regulatory requirements of each market. Its extensive reach and localised approach enable GLI to support gaming operators, regulators, and developers worldwide, ensuring seamless entry into new markets while maintaining compliance with evolving standards.

Through its commitment to innovation, collaboration, and excellence, the testing lab continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the gaming industry, ensuring it remains fair, secure, and enjoyable for all stakeholders.

Acquisition of iTech Labs

In May 2023, Gaming Laboratories International acquired iTech Labs, a globally recognised gaming testing laboratory based in Melbourne, Australia. This strategic move enhanced GLI’s capabilities and expanded its reach within the iGaming industry, strengthening its position as a leader in testing and certification services. With over 20 years of experience, iTech Labs specialises in evaluating a wide range of iGaming products, including Random Number Generators (RNGs), online casino games, sports betting platforms, and live dealer systems.

Testing Gambling Software & Hardware

Hardware & Software

Since its inception, GLI has concentrated on testing hardware products, mainly because online casinos didn’t exist when it was initially founded. However, once they were introduced into the gambling market, GLI would apply the same principles across the board of its operations.

This includes everything from scrutinising the component lists to technical documents and manuals and ensuring licensing standards are upheld. As the laws, regulations and requirements change, the company also ensures that all systems are kept up to date.

Is It All About Mathematics?

Mathematics plays a heavy role in testing, and at the centre of this are random number generators (RNGs). It doesn’t matter if it’s demo slots, real-money games, lotteries, table games, or virtual sports; the RNGs and math need to be thoroughly tested to ensure fairness and accuracy.

ISO Standards and regulations lay out the requirements for this, and whilst it might sound simple, you must remember that there are hundreds of these jurisdictions, each with varying laws and requirements.

So, while math plays a massive part in verifying the games you play and their fairness, the integrity and professionalism of the testing house tasked with judging them are also key. GLI has gained the trust of lawmakers and jurisdictions worldwide, making its logo on any website you visit a positive sign, meaning it has been fully validated by industry experts.

Player Disputes & Malfunctions

Technical malfunctions are all part of operating any hardware or software, and occasionally, this can cause an issue with game performance or delivery. Gaming Labs International is there to help their customers establish procedures through their expertise and testing that can remove any problems that might arise. Additionally, they have dedicated teams to monitor and ensure that no such errors occur in the future, protecting both income and company reputation.

When legislation comes into play with player disputes, GLI helps its clients establish procedures and ensure all applicable laws are followed. Their experience and rapport with regulatory bodies guide how they handle each case in its respective jurisdiction.

Rules & Regulation

How Online Casinos Get Licensed

Casinos that function without a license are not worth visiting. The risks of playing at one run range from getting scammed to never getting paid if you win. The rules and laws exist for a reason, and many of them have to do with protecting the player. Especially when playing online.

That’s why it’s essential for online casino operators to have a license. But how do they get one?

The process usually involves intermediaries, especially when talking about new online casinos. In any case, the casino either applies directly for a licence with the governing authority, such as the Malta Gaming Authority or the UK Gambling Commission, or another party facilitates the process for them.

The authority then evaluates the casino and grants a license if all concerns are met. This can be a lengthy and expensive process, costing tens to hundreds of thousands, and as you can imagine, it includes mountains of detailed paperwork that needs to be completed accurately.

GLI ensures that this is in order before sending the application. Not only do they thoroughly check all paperwork and forms for accuracy, but they can run all the technical tests required and, in many jurisdictions, even officially certify equipment and games to be compliant.

Online Casino Game Requirements

It’s not only online casinos that need licenses, but the games and platforms, too. And it’s for the same reason that casinos need them: legal compliance. Online slots today use very complex mathematical formulas, which are getting even more complicated with the introduction of new gaming engines like Megaways or the various xWays mechanics used by Nolimit City.

Additionally, when game providers state that the RTP of a slot is a specific figure or the chance of winning the main pot is set to exact odds, all those figures need to be tested for accuracy. These games need to run millions, if not billions, of simulated rounds to ensure the numbers displayed by gaming studios are true. This is why you’ll sometimes see a game RTP of 96.023%, as this would be the exact percentage the game ran at when tested by companies like Gaming Laboratories International.

As you can imagine, this is vitally important in the licensing process, not only to ascertain that the numbers are correct but also to find fault when they aren’t. This is especially important for game providers, given that in several countries and jurisdictions, they cannot offer their games if the certifications aren’t in order.

Security, Safety & Responsible Gambling

Besides knowing that the games themselves function as they should, customers need to know that the online sites providing them are safe to use. There are three areas here that GLI has developed expertise in to make sure these platforms uphold their integrity and provide a service to their users that is honest, secure and trustworthy.

• First is technical security, or cybersecurity. This ensures that the website, the servers, and anything else connected to the internet are safe from hacking or other attempts to infiltrate, control, or penetrate the network, including social engineering attacks. This isn’t a legislative matter, yet GLI has put a lot of effort into creating teams that know what they are doing in this area. This is clear from their acquisitions, too.

• The second area is the safety of customer data. This ranges from your personal information, such as your address, debit cards, or other payment methods you use, to KYC information. This sensitive data must be kept secure, both from a technical safety point of view and a regulation standpoint.

• Third is customer rights, which include responsible gaming, which GLI takes pride in. Again, these vary significantly from country to country, and some jurisdictions regulate that customers cannot even be offered bonuses. In short, GLI’s expertise ensures you can trust every aspect of the online casino you are playing at.

The Future of Gaming Labs

Automated Testing

With AI making strides in the tech industry, it’s no surprise that testing is being automated. For Gaming Labs International, it’s not just about AI, though; they have been building custom automated testing devices for quite a while. This is not only to cut down on the tedious and time-consuming manual labour but to eliminate human error from the process altogether.

Once widespread, this technology can have a considerable impact on the online gaming market. Cutting costs and the necessary red tape means more slots and casino games can be released. It also allows for real-time automatic monitoring, adding further layers of security for casinos and players.

Scaling Towards Global Markets

GLI has been fundamental in developing gaming standards and regulations. Whilst they are not a legislative authority alone, they are the experts that both online casinos and national authorities listen to. In the world of iGaming, an expert opinion is still important.

This means helping casinos deal with multiple jurisdictions, some of which may conflict with each other, and aiming for standardised regulations, where the company has been building automated services, too. Therefore, their existing customers benefit from accessing linked databases, which transfer devices and games certified for one market into another.

What About Cryptocurrencies, Fantasy Sports and Social Casinos?

Although the company is in many ways cutting-edge and perhaps the biggest of its kind in the world, it’s currently not interested in these developments. We have seen some evidence of working with social casinos or sites that offer things like fantasy sports, but it’s mostly buried in footnotes and barely mentioned.

Cryptocurrencies get even less attention, with the company’s homepage featuring an article or two on the whole matter. This is expected, as cryptocurrencies aren’t regulated at any level, but they are increasingly important, and as the number of casinos using them continues to surge, this is undoubtedly an area where Gaming Laboratories International has some improvements to make.

Final Summary

Gaming Laboratories International is an independent testing agency that you, as the customer, have most likely never heard of. The same could be said for the likes of iTech Labs or BMM Testlabs, as they are not something that a player would go out of their way to learn about, but within the gambling industry, whether that’s a US riverboat or a Curacao online casino, their work is well known.

The company excels in all fields of testing, and it is familiar with every gambling product. This knowledge allows them to create standards and tools that everyone in the industry uses, including the regulating bodies. Whether it is sports betting, slots, bingo, poker, or even sweepstakes arcade games, GLI has the expertise to test it.

So now you know, should you see their logo on any of the sites you visit, you can be sure you’re in a secure place to play.