Gambling isn’t a simple as it used to be, before the internet gave consumers an option to play poker or blackjack online instead of in a casino or other brick-and-mortar location. And now the gaming industry, like so many others, is moving to deal with the digital disruption.

Late last month the Gaming Standards Association (GSA) announced the creation of an Online Gaming Committee, made up of technology experts, to lead the online gambling industry toward standardization. The group is aiming to reduce research and development costs, speed time to market, bring more interoperability, and improve consumer protection.

The first step for the committee “will be to solicit industry input, identify problem areas, and develop a comprehensive framework for technical standards for regulated online gaming,” GSA said in a press release.

The way to achieve success in standards development is through collaboration.

While GSA has been developing technical standards for the traditional gambling industry for 15 years, this is the first time the organization is trying to do so in the online gambling arena. GSA sees these standards as a way to provide proper regulatory monitoring that will benefit developers and consumers and to allow for continued technological innovation.

The association is organizing a forum to encourage collaboration among existing industry associations and other groups. The forum “will solicit support from experts across the industry to ensure that GSA successfully builds a firm foundation for the continued growth of regulated online gaming,” according to GSA.

GSA President Peter DeRaedt says that while online gambling has been around for almost two decades, there is not a good understanding of what exactly it is.

“The way to achieve integrity, transparency, and consumer protection and to combat illegal activity in online gaming is through standards, and the way to achieve success in standards development is through collaboration,” he said in the release. “Collaboration must consist of affiliations with existing industry organizations that can then identify partnerships that will move the industry forward.”

Has your association had success developing standards for its industry? Share your experience in the comments.

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