GLI: "Our tradeshow appearances are never about us, they are about our clients"

With only a month away from one of the largest tradeshows in the gaming industry, companies from around the globe are preparing to exhibit their products at G2E Las Vegas. Set to take place at The Venetian Expo, Las Vegas from October 9-12, the event is expected to gather more than 350 exhibitors who will be showing off the latest gambling technologies and solutions from around the world. 

Ahead of the event, Yogonet caught up with Mackenzie Haugh, GLI's Chief Delivery Officer. During this exclusive interview, he shares the company's expectations for the event, insights into the gaming industry's current trends such as AI, and GLI's plans for the remainder of the year.

What will the company’s presence at G2E be like, and what will you focus on for this edition? What are your expectations in terms of networking and discussions with other industry stakeholders and partners?

G2E and other tradeshows are exciting because this is such an incredibly dynamic industry. As readers of Yogonet are keenly aware, every facet of the gaming industry across the globe is undergoing unprecedented change, and that’s why GLI offers unmatched partnership and performance. We are dedicated to connecting with regulators, suppliers, and operators in more places, helping the industry embrace change safely and successfully.

One interesting new change about G2E 2023 is the iGaming pavilion. We will be in booth #4419, which is in the center of both land-based and iGaming offerings. From there, we can talk with suppliers of all sizes about their development and compliance journey, and where they want to go in this global gaming industry.

What does this participation at G2E mean for GLI?

What’s interesting is our tradeshow appearances are never about us – they are about our clients. For our supplier clients, it’s about what they are showing or still developing and how we can help to ensure their products are tested and certified properly and to the highest levels of compliance, all while speeding time to market.

For our regulatory clients, it’s about helping them understand new technologies and how they might be affected by or limited by current regulations, and at G2E we get to do this in a very hands-on environment.

For our operator clients, it’s about how to embrace new technologies safely and successfully and to help them better network and share ideas with recent enhancements and Internal Controls (IC).

GLI's stand at ICE London this year

Where do you see the gaming industry headed, and how would you describe the sector and your clients' current testing demands at the time?

The gaming industry continues to find its place in a rapidly changing society with drastically different needs from patrons in terms of entertainment and gambling. This allows for a number of existing and new gaming companies to develop traditional and unique concepts, both on and off the casino floor.

It’s this constantly changing, innovative environment that keeps things very exciting for us. Our experience has taught us that the only constant is actually change, and with GLI at your side, our clients benefit from nearly 35 years of industry prestige and expertise, helping them embrace change successfully.

As we see new products and technologies hitting the market, would you say regulations are keeping up with this evolving landscape?

Regulators globally are embracing change very successfully, and we are proud to be a partner in their efforts. With many jurisdictions requiring responsible gaming due diligence and other compliance-related issues such as recertification and ongoing auditing, we are proud to offer robust solutions to help clients maintain and understand ongoing compliance obligations.

GLI offers 360-degree compliance services that consist of four overarching categories: regulatory compliance, technical compliance, end-to-end testing, and full-lifecycle compliance. Our suite of integrated compliance services helps companies of all sizes mitigate risk, enabling them to stay focused on the future.

GLI’s network of labs and best-in-class global team of experts aids clients in staying one step ahead, integrating all testing and compliance services seamlessly in addition to advanced cybersecurity services specifically designed to protect operators, regulators, and suppliers across all categories.

GLI's stand at SAGSE this year

One issue set to be discussed at G2E and that has been gaining momentum in the industry is AI. How does GLI leverage artificial intelligence in its processes? 

AI seems to be all the buzz in society and is making its way into our industry as well.  At GLI, we are monitoring and using AI in a few key areas:

• Ethics of AI. As both a part of the GSA committee and as a trusted advisor to many of our regulatory clients, we are working to ensure that a common set of guidelines is established regarding the ethical use of AI with any jurisdictional specific additional needs being addressed from that. We must ensure that rules are in place that AI never be implemented or utilized in a way where decisions are solely made which can impact regulations or player fairness.
• Internal Improvements. We constantly look at ways to improve existing processes to create more test coverage and/or faster testing durations. While machine learning and automation are not new, AI today is advancing so rapidly and being applied so uniquely, that we are looking at it differently. One example is looking at both big and small wins. For example, we are finding ways to take 15 min tasks and reduce them down to 5 min. A small win. But, doing that a number of times, really starts to add up and makes a series of small wins, a big win in itself.
• Customer Tools. As much as AI is helping us internally, we are also looking at how it can better aid our customers. This is where the Ethics of AI comes into play strongly as well as we could never have a scenario where the wrong information is supplied and a product developed based on that which ultimately is not compliant. It’s incredibly important to us that we balance AI with human review and oversight to constantly ensure the output is accurate.

What should we expect from GLI for the remainder of the year?

For the rest of the year, the industry can expect from GLI what they can always expect from us: world-class service and the best insights available anywhere. The fact is, the future of gaming is full of uncharted territory, and with our decades of unique expertise, our clients can leverage that experience to achieve their goals—no matter how big or small, or how unique the challenge is. We look at it like this: When you’re ahead of what’s to come, the future is your playground.

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