RGA Releases New Technical Guidelines

The Remote Gambling Association (RGA), which is widely acknowledged to be the world's premier online gambling trade association which represents the interests of many of the globe's biggest online gambling operators and software vendors, has announced the release of new technical guidelines designed to aid regulators.

Recognising the need for a new and comprehensive set of guidelines to help the various gambling regulators around the world to hone their technical standards, both effectively and efficiently, the RGA took it upon itself to put together said guidelines. And the result of their hard work is expected to be well received by regulators.

It is the intention of the RGA that their technical guidelines will enable gambling regulators to be far more consistent and thus successful in their approach to the gambling industry and the many issues therein. As such, the guidelines take into consideration market dynamics, consumer experience and information society services.

RGA Guidelines Denote Fairness and Integrity

They have also been designed to highlight the fairness and integrity of remote gambling services, as well as to bridge the gap between gaming and betting product needs and requirements, and to reassure consumers that the gambling industry as a whole and its regulators are committed to providing safe and fair gaming and betting.

But the scope of RGA's new technical guidelines don't stop there. They are also intended to help gaming regulators create a set of standards to ensure that online gambling services and products have the capability of being regulated efficiently, and to ensure that at their core they are secure, fair and can withstand regular audits.

The guidelines are flexible in that they can be applied to all remote delivery methods and platforms, while encouraging constant growth in terms of ongoing technological innovations and developments. They have been designed also to facilitate the principles of good testing standards used by regulators and third party testing firms.

RGA Drew on Years of Experience of its Members

The bottom line is that the RGA has come up with its new guidelines to help standardise the regulation of the online or remote gambling industry, to make it safer, more efficient and more reliable. And in this vein, the RGA drew on the many years of collective practical experience of its large membership when compiling the guidelines.

The RGA's aim is for its technical guidelines to help revolutionise remote gambling regulation, although not without first acknowledging the strides other gambling regulation organisations have made over the years, including the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) and the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN).

Excited about the new RGA guidelines was RGA CEO, Clive Hawkswood, who said: 'RGA is committed to the encouragement of high standards of probity and integrity, both for the benefit of its members and the public generally. Ensuring that technical standards are consistent, proportionate, practical, and effective is central to that.

'If that can be achieved there would be obvious benefits for the industry, but we would suggest that this must also be in the best interests of regulators, governments and consumers. As such, we look forward to discussing their application with established regulators and those jurisdictions considering the regulation of remote gambling,' he said.

 Posted by Anton Johan at 12:06 on 6 September 2012