Travis Foley, Executive Vice President Operations, Americas
BMM Testlabs—Americas
2014 was another record year for BMM as we celebrated 33 years in the gaming industry. BMM continues to uphold our core values: integrity, quality, productivity, responsiveness and accountability, ensuring that we deliver world-class testing and certification services with predictability and consistency, across the globe.
As we look back over 2014, it has been an incredible year for change in our industry. The initial successes from gaming expansion in North America began to see the significant impact of oversaturation in many markets. Casinos have closed as others struggle to remain competitive and the industry seeks to find its equilibrium. The consolidation of the manufacturing industry experienced some of the most significant changes yet, with the results of the mergers still to be seen. Undoubtedly these changes will create challenges as well as opportunities across the whole industry.
As innovation prevails, there will no doubt be a drive to find the perfect gaming product to appeal to the younger generation. This will result in continued pressure on manufacturers and a greater burden on R&D to develop technologies to transform how the patron will access gaming and what the overall experience can deliver. Will it be conventional, online or mobile? Will it be social or skill-based? In 2015 we will begin to find out.
At BMM we are already seeing these technologies start to emerge and expect to see them deployed in the market within the next year. A major challenge for these technologies, though, is ensuring that government regulators receive the gaming and technology education to deal with what is here now and what is coming. Similarly, manufacturers need to understand the objectives of regulators in ensuring the integrity and accountability of new technology. Manufacturers must ensure that they take the time to understand the intent of existing requirements and how those will translate into requirements on new technology.
For testing laboratories, 2015 should be a year of progress. Laboratories themselves must continue to find ways to exceed their obligations to the regulators they serve, the manufacturers whose products they test and in the services they provide above and beyond testing. Laboratories must create more efficient and cost effective ways to perform the services they provide. The quality of testing must improve. At BMM we have developed and will continue to aggressively invest in the development of automation tools. The use of automation can greatly increase testing time frames, reduce human error and result in reproducible outcomes that can quickly be communicated to the manufacturer of the equipment.
To improve the quality of testing, the few remaining regulators who solely rely upon a single private testing laboratory, must take into consideration the benefits of a multi-lab environment. Multiple independent laboratories, while working together, can ensure a higher quality of testing services, competitive pricing, add transparency and enable more timely delivery of competitive products to the market place.
For 2015, BMM stands ready to support regulators and manufacturers in the U.S. and worldwide as the gaming industry prepares to accommodate new and exciting technologies and gaming experiences. We remain open to working together with our competitors and key industry stakeholders to ensure the highest levels of quality, transparency and the expedient advancement of technology regulations and standards.
BMM Testlabs wishes a prosperous and successful 2015 to all.
Published in CEM Magazine, January 2015
