GB regulator joins harmonisation pilot scheme

Great Britain’s Gambling Commission has teamed up with a raft of international gambling regulators in a bid to improve and harmonise procedures for the testing of online games which should reduce the time it takes operators to bring products to market.

The Commission said it had joined the multi-jurisdictional testing framework (MJTF) scheme along with regulators in the Isle of Man, Alderney and the Netherlands.

The first phase of the framework has already been drafted in a move to streamline external testing procedures and establish a single standard used across all member jurisdictions.

The framework is currently limited to external testing labs and the testing of random number generators used in online gaming, and is only recognised by jurisdictions that have signed up to the MJTF.

But the group said it hoped other regulated jurisdictions, or those mulling regulation, would join the scheme to improve and harmonise their testing protocols.

A spokesman for the Commission said the scheme would benefit regulators who relied on outsourced fairness testing as it enables them to pool experience and help prevent costly duplication.

“The aim is for all participating jurisdictions to agree on common standards and then where one product operates in multiple jurisdictions operators can have the game tested to these standards and use the one test to satisfy the testing requirements of all participating jurisdictions,” the spokesman added.

British licence holders will still be required to adhere to the regulator’s testing strategy, but can now use the one standard in other jurisdictions that are members of the scheme.

Further phases of the MJTF will tackle game fairness testing, field product certification and information security.