For the protection of both players and business, the global online gambling industry is heavily regulated. Those regulations, however, change depending on a particular country or state’s approach to governing the industry within its borders. Regardless of the specific regulatory framework, licences have to be obtained, as they are the foundation of security, consumer protection and game fairness.
For end-users, the online gambling interactions all happen through casino platforms. The details of their particular licensing for running operations can be found via links on their home page, with transparency allowing users to check the viability and legality of the operator. But behind all of that, the actual games that appear on the platforms and are provided by specialist suppliers all have to go through design, development and their own licensing regulations.
Difference in Licences
Two types of licence govern things in the world of iGaming: the B2C (Business to Customer) licence that online casinos operate under because they provide services directly to the end consumer, and the B2B licensing (Business to Business). The latter doesn’t have any contractual relationship with the end-user (the player) as it’s focused on the design, development, manufacture and supply of games that end up in a casino’s portfolio, like slots and table games.
The main focus of a B2B licence, therefore, is ensuring that the games which are developed have robust security, meet the required technical standards as set out by the regulations for a jurisdiction and game fairness. Game fairness checks and standards ensure that when a game ultimately reaches the public, players get a game that has strong software integrity and that the Random Number Generator (RNG) running it is truly random.
All About Integrity
The main stipulations for game providers when it comes to licensing are a focus on the structural integrity of the product they make. From a software standpoint, the coding development of a slot game has to meet certain standards to ensure that it can’t be manipulated once it is distributed to online casinos for consumer usage.
This is where independent testing laboratories enter the picture, like BMM Testlabs and Gaming Laboratories International, which scrutinise every line of code in a game. The mechanics of a game are also heavily tested, including the Return to Player percentage and the robustness and randomness of the RNG, to ensure that it meets the regulators’ technical standards.
Different Rules
Part of the complexity that game developers face when creating titles is the different regulations in different markets. That means a game’s code needs to be tweaked to meet those different standards, such as not having auto-spins available because of the restrictions imposed by the UK Gambling Commission or the Swedish Spelinspektionen.
Different mandated rules and regulations mean that developers have a lot of technical issues to get exactly right, and ultimately, that the core software of a game has to be both adaptable and robust. A prominent game supplier, for example, would need a Remote Gambling Software Licence to offer its games in the UK, or a Combined Remote Operating Licence if it also operates an online casino. Under the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), a provider would need the Critical Gaming Supply Licence, which may appear as B2B Approved Vertical: Type 1 when the approval covers casino-type games only, without extending to fixed-odds betting, peer-to-peer products, or other verticals.
If that same supplier is looking further afield, other licences like the Game Software licence from the Spelinspektionen and the Manufacturer’s Suitability Licence, Category A1 from the Hellenic Gaming Commission, are required for a particular game to be distributed in Sweden and Greece, respectively. Essentially, the more jurisdictions that a game supplier is hoping to reach, the more licences will need to be obtained.
The Licensing Gatekeeper
It’s the governing bodies that ultimately determine the quality of the game titles that reach consumers. They set the outlines for what they expect in terms of quality, security and game fairness. On the other side of the coin, a licensed casino operator in the UK, for example, is not permitted to offer games from a B2B provider that doesn’t hold the necessary licence for that jurisdiction.
While this may sound like a lot of hassle for game developers, there is a major upside to it all. Game developers who have a long, trusted record of obtaining licences from respected licensing bodies such as the Malta Gaming Authority and UK Gambling Commission put themselves in great standing.
Getting these “gold standard” licences from some of the most heavily regulated markets gives a game provider status, which means they are more likely to be used and trusted by casinos, something that a newer game provider will have difficulty matching.
