After gambling was legalized on the Ukrainian market, operators had to start resolving a lot of technical and legal issues. One of the key topics, which is actively discussed by local businessmen, is how to choose and certify high-quality gambling equipment.
Features of the Legalisation of Gambling in Ukraine
In July 2020, the local government legitimated the casino market, allowing operators to offer all types of entertainment, both online and offline. Anyone can launch a gaming site, a virtual bookmaker's office, and a platform with lottery drawings.
Land-based gambling attracts special interest as a promising area with excellent opportunities for establishing and scaling a business.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine provided a number of preferences to the offline market, allowing:
- simplified licensing within the framework of investment activities (you can obtain a permit for 10 years for free by presenting a project for the construction of an entertainment complex);
- opening a casino in 4 and 5-star hotels with a certain number of rooms;
- operation of gambling halls with slots, betting products, lottery terminals, etc.
The Nuances of Choosing Gambling Products
To find and install high-quality hardware is one of the most important tasks for entrepreneurs. Equipment must be reliable and ensure customer involvement and seamless operation even during critical IT infrastructure loads.
Usually, slots, consoles, and game boxes are supplied with a built-in catalogue of entertainment, which greatly simplifies the operator's work at the first stage of the project launch.
There is no point in considering game cabinets and software separately because this path will turn out to be more expensive in the end.
The Description of High-Quality Hardware for Gambling Halls
Lasha Gogiberidze, the Regional Sales Manager of IGT, the world’s leading company in the production of equipment, offers businessmen to carefully choose hardware.
It is worth paying attention to several nuances:
| Availability of game mixes | When entering a new market, it is difficult for casino owners to decide which set of entertainment to provide. It is better to opt for game mixes ― slot machines, arcades, roulette, video poker, and other types of products. Working for 6 months or more, you can learn more about the preferences of users and customise solutions depending on the specifics of the market |
| Modernity and technological effectiveness | This is a wide-ranging concept that includes mathematical aspects, UX design, and the availability of any special features. Cabinets with interactive LCD backlighting can be an excellent example. This solution creates the reaction of the machine to the distribution of cards, spins, the rotation of the virtual roulette wheel, thus providing an unforgettable user experience |
| Good integration with the design of a gambling hall | When choosing game cabinets, it is important to consider their visual compatibility with the colour and shape of chandeliers, furniture, and carpets. Everything should look harmoniously and not make casino visitors feel uncomfortable. An excellent solution would be to decorate the gambling hall and buy equipment in the same style, for example, in Hi-Tec or Neo-Classicism. Moreover, it is necessary to take into account the ergonomics of hardware and how exactly it will be installed |
| Service and maintainability | The manufacturer must provide customer support, prompt hardware maintenance, and replacement of elements (screens, displays, etc.) |
New Releases from International Game Technology
IGT can be rightfully called the national leader in the production of high-quality equipment for offline platforms. Before gambling was prohibited in 2009, the manufacturer occupied more than 50% of the domestic market, supplying hardware to many legal casinos and slot clubs in the country.
IGT offers:
- the CrystalCurve line of slots with 4K support, ultra-high-definition screens, and a panel with double Bash buttons;
- a series of Cobalt 27 machines with two 27-inch screens and a built-in video topper;
- 3 packages of video games that can be installed in land-based slot machines (game mixes with 40 types of solutions, the adapted design, and modern mechanics);
- comprehensive support for B2B partners and entrepreneurs.
It is worth noting that all IGT products are certified according to international quality standards: ISO 14001, ISO 9001, ISO 17025, and ISO 27001. Also, the company is a member of WLA ― the international lottery association.
Mandatory Certification of Hardware
According to law No. 768-IX, all hardware used in casinos must be certified. This is an essential prerequisite for the acquisition of a licence.
Registered Certification Bodies
Currently, there are 8 companies operating that can certify casino hardware:
- “Zaporizhzhia Scientific and Production Centre for Standardisation, Metrology, and Certification”;
- “International Standards and Systems Research and Production Enterprise”;
- “Kyivmetrologiya”;
- “Ukrainian State Centre of Radio Frequencies”;
- “All-Ukrainian State Research and Production Centre for Standardisation, Metrology, Certification, and Consumer Rights Protection”;
- “Vinnytsia Scientific and Production Centre for Standardisation, Metrology, and Certification”;
- “Ukrexpertiza” All-Ukrainian Expert Group”;
- “Etalon”.
Anna Buyadzhi, a lawyer with vast experience of working in the gambling field, said that at the moment, the equipment is checked according to the specification as low-voltage equipment. According to the expert, this approach is not entirely correct since it is impossible to thoroughly test all casino products.
The certification centre in Zaporizhzhya has temporarily suspended equipment testing due to the lack of clear technical regulations, although it is included in the list of organisations that should be involved in the procedure.
In all other companies, the cost of certification services varies from 10 to 200 thousand hryvnias, depending on the volume of work.
International Test Centres
When the profile committee of NAAU (National Accreditation Agency in Ukraine) approves the application, the company will be able to check the equipment for compliance with international quality and security standards.
Moreover, it is expected that the certificates that were previously issued by the GLI laboratory will be recognised in Ukraine on the basis of an international agreement. The company's arrival on the local market is a positive sign for the entire casino industry.
Apart from GLI, the authorities are negotiating with other prestigious agencies, including BMM TechLabs and iTech Labs.
Legal Framework for Certification
In early June, the Verkhovna Rada presented a new draft bill of the technical regulations. This document will facilitate the work of both operators and authorised bodies.
The main characteristics of the document:
- It is mandatory for manufacturers, suppliers, operators, as well as control and conformity assessment bodies, to follow the established rules.
- It can be applied to all types of solutions: slots, betting machines, lottery and poker terminals, gaming tables with and without a roulette wheel, and shuffle machines.
- The regulations contain a list of required documents. To obtain a certificate of conformity, applicants must provide a general description of each piece of equipment, the results of design calculations, and a copy of the examination certificate.
- Technical regulations establish the requirements for the equipment body. Thus, it must indicate the name of the device, serial number, date of manufacture (modification), developer, and country of manufacture.
Software for Land-Based Casino Hardware
An offline location with slot machines cannot fully operate without special software.
The expert noted:
The platform is a kind of core on which all external components are integrated, whether they are payment systems or marketing tools.
It is logical that the system must be characterised by high performance and level of security in order to provide the best service in the industry. The data storage volume also plays an important role.
During its operation, the system collects and analyses terabytes of information on:
- transactions;
- users;
- games;
- behavioural patterns.
All the obtained and processed data needs to be stored somewhere, and the powerful casino operating system successfully copes with this task.
It is possible to connect external programs to the platform: payment software, additional games, and marketing tools.
Products are integrated into the front-end or directly into the platform. The second option is preferable since it guarantees a higher security level and operability of the offline system.
UX Solutions for the Attraction and Retention of Customers
The abbreviation UX stands for “User Experience”.
UX solutions that are used in all modern platforms for offline gambling are focused on maximum interaction with casino visitors. The result of the executed work is considered to be an increase in the average check, as well as the formation of a “team” of regular visitors.
The CRM system plays a key role in the process of interaction with gamblers as part of the casino software. The product works with the use of Big Data technology, collecting and analysing information on the preferences of customers.
The main UX solutions that are used in offline gambling:
Programs for the Creation of a Game Account
This is special software that remembers the personal data of gamblers (full name, document numbers, date of birth) in order to simplify the identification of players in the future.
Moreover, the software records each visit of clients in the form of brief additions (for example, that a person has been identified, provided documents without problems, etc.).
Solutions for the Attraction of Gamblers
To keep users from leaving a casino too early, it is necessary to let them feel that they are special. The task of entrepreneurs is to create the most comfortable environment (personal bonuses, individual customer service, and a range of the most popular slots).
Customer Retention Programs
It is a loyalty system that takes into account the user experience. Operators should remind customers of the upcoming jackpot drawings, interesting tournaments, new bonuses, and available discounts.
Financial Aggregator for the Gambling Platform
Lasha Shikhashvili believes that:
The payment system is one of the most important aspects of the casino operation since the ability to earn money is the most important thing in running a business.
On the local market, there are different types of casino owners. It is better to cooperate with the field-oriented ones since they specialise in the gambling field and, as a result, provide more sophisticated financial tools and services.
The Interkassa provider is considered to be the industry leader. The brand offers a wide range of payment solutions for offline gambling. SoftPay, LiqPay, and other enterprises also offer some decent products.
Characteristics of a good payment module:
- processing of various payment methods (cash and via bank cards, vouchers, and mobile transfers);
- fast conversion of funds with a convenient exchange within the system;
- a powerful anti-fraud system with identification of gamblers at the time of transfers;
- options for additional verification of large prizes for the honesty of winnings and the absence of signs of money laundering;
- support for cryptocurrency operations.
Moreover, a well-thought-out financial aggregator should contain a reporting section.
The system takes into account:
- the total amount of money on personal casino accounts;
- the amount of lost money;
- the size of large winnings, for example, jackpots;
- financial indicators of the effective work of entrepreneurs.
The Ukrainian offline gambling business faces some difficulties with money transfers. At the moment, banks do not fully understand the MCC codes they should use to identify operations in the gambling field.
To prevent regulatory bodies from having questions for operators in the future, it is important to cooperate only with licensed payment providers.
GameBridge Solutions
The Ukrainian brand produces equipment and furniture for sports poker establishments, as well as offline and live casinos.
The company’s director, Vitaly Artyukh, states:
GameBridge is the manufacturer that has released the largest number of poker tables in the world that vary in classes, sizes, and standards.
Products of the brand are well known to businessmen from Europe, Asia, Africa, and other parts of the world where gambling is not prohibited.
The developer offers the following services:
- production of long-lasting solutions, in which the attention is paid to such parameters as height, width, covering material, shape, and formatting;
- creation of exclusive hardware, taking into account the size of the premises, interior design, and the rational placement of equipment in the gambling hall;
- customisation of hardware (filling the equipment with new elements, for example, shuffle machines for cards shuffling);
- high-quality service and quick repair of equipment and its elements (baffles for cards, cloth covering, etc.).
GameBridge launched the production of interactive poker and card tables. The equipment is connected with the use of the software. As soon as gamblers or dealers perform certain actions (use a shuffle machine, shuffle cards, make a move, win, etc.), the table immediately shows a reaction in the form of the accent lighting.
Vitaly Artyukh says:
The gaming tables will be able to remotely inform the operator about how much money they have brought, regardless of the managers and staff of the establishment.
The Main Things about Choosing the Gambling Software and Hardware
Our company provides an extensive set of services for the creation of high-quality online and offline projects.
Here, you can order:
- the creation of a turnkey platform with an exclusive UX design;
- a project under the White Label scheme;
- software and hardware for offline locations;
- financial systems.
We offer assistance in casino licensing and the certification process.
- When choosing high-quality hardware, pay attention to its performance, availability of technical support from the supplier, and a modern ergonomic design.
- The certification process is mandatory. At the moment, it is done by 8 specialised bodies and, over time, several international test centres will also start working.
- Software for offline locations should be UX focused, that is, to ensure the best user experience in the industry. It is also important to be able to easily integrate external components, such as payment options and marketing tools.
For all questions, please turn to our experts!
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