The Gaming Standards Association announced that it has opened a satellite office in Brussels, Belgium. In addition to aiding the organization’s global collaboration initiative in creation of overall protocol standards for the gaming industry, the office will work on the GSA’s Online Gaming Standards.
With the establishment of an office in Europe, GSA will be working and consulting with all stakeholders from both the regulatory and policy domain as well as the industry.
GSA’s primary aim is to bridge the gap in the debate concerning technical requirements and to facilitate the creation of solutions through standards that will yield benefits to regulators, operators, and manufacturers and provide a platform for further development of both domains.
Phyllis Farrugia, as GSA Europe Special Representative, will manage the new office. Farrugia has more than 15 years’ experience in EU policy and the reform and regulation of markets, having held senior positions in both government and industry in various previously monopolized sectors.
“As online activity spreads and grows in Europe and around the world, enhanced by the spread of smart phones and tablets, regulation and technical requirements remain fragmented along (member) state boundaries, leading to burdensome inconsistencies for gaming providers active and licensed in more than one jurisdiction,” explained GSA President Peter DeRaedt.
“GSA believes that at this stage of regulatory and market development in Europe, it seems there is increased focus on compliance for both the regulators and the regulated, where we believe the adoption of common technical standards could be the next building block and a catalyst for enhanced global collaboration between the various stakeholders.”
