The Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau has issued a new set of technical standards for live-dealer-operated electronic table games (ETGs). The standards, which went into effect January 1, are the first or their kind to focus on live-dealer ETGs.
The standards aim “to specify sufficient requirements and controls to ensure operation of dealer-operated ETGs in a manner that is fair, secure, reliable and auditable,” according to a document from the regulators reprinted on the GGRAsia website.
The document adds, “It is not the intent (of this set of standards) to unreasonably: mandate a single solution or method of realizing an objective; limit technology application to gaming equipment; limit creativity or variety of choice; limit marketability; advantage any supplier or manufacturer of equipment; or preclude research and development into new technology, equipment or innovative solutions.”
Dealer-operated ETGs use a live dealer to operate the game and beam the entire process to individual slot-like gaming stations.
In January 2013, the Macau government introduced a cap on the aggregate number of live dealer tables allowed in local casinos, which has fueled a boom in live-dealer ETGs. The new set of standards requires that any dealer-operated ETG submitted for approval to the gaming regulator must first have been certified by a Macau-accredited testing laboratory.
Commenting on the new rules, the chairman of casino equipment manufacturer Paradise Entertainment Ltd, Jay Chun, said in a press release, “We are delighted to see the release of the standards, setting out objective standards and requirements for the dealer-operated ETG machines, which have been under rapid growth in recent years and are playing an important role in the development of the gaming industry.”
