Hex or Text? - the choice is yours

Gaming Standards Association 2005 ... The Year of Implementation

GSA Roadshow 2004

Agenda

 What is GSA?

 What are Gaming Standards?

 GSA’s three standards: BOB, S2S & GDS  GSA Certification  Moving from the drawing board to the gaming floor GSA Roadshow 2004

What is GSA? - Our Mission statement

GSA is an international trade association representing gaming manufacturers, suppliers, operators and regulators. We facilitate the identification, definition, development, promotion, and implementation of open standards to enable innovation, education, and communication for the benefit of the entire industry.

GSA Roadshow 2004

GSA Roadshow 2004

Our Platinum Members

Chair Vice Chair Secretary Treasurer

2004 Board Of Directors

Gregg Solomon Mark Lipparelli John Boushy Fred Lychock Kent Young Joe Bailo Val Levitan Derrik Khoo Frank Ciuffetelli Steve Sutherland Lyle Bell Jon Berkley Rob Siemasko Mandalay Resort Group Bally Gaming and Systems Harrah’s Entertainment R. Franco USA Aristocrat Technologies Atronic Americas CashCode Company eGenting Isle of Capri Konami Gaming Seminole Tribe of Florida TransAct Technologies WMS Gaming GSA Roadshow 2004

Membership Growth

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 22 38 35 37 59 8 1998 1999 2000 2001

Year

2002 2003 2004 76 GSA Roadshow 2004 Platinum Gold Silver Others Total

Membership Composition

OEM 17% Affiliates 7% Advisors 9% Operators/Hotel 20% Manufacturers 47% GSA Roadshow 2004

Europe 20% Australasia 9%

Global Membership

Japan 7% N. America 64% GSA Roadshow 2004

What are Gaming Standards?

What are Gaming Standards?

  Eliminate the need for incompatible, proprietary languages  Open standards or protocols that enable communication between peripherals, gaming machines, and systems Based on industry standard protocols: Ethernet, TCP/IP, XML, SOAP, USB GSA Roadshow 2004

Enable Communication on Three Levels

S2S Coin Acceptor GDS Coin Hopper Note Acceptor Game Control BOB Voucher Manager S2S Player Tracking S2S Kiosks Hotel Systems Printer Slot Accounting Coin/Bill Counters S2S Touch Screen Class II Servers Progressive System to System Game & Peripherals Game to Systems

GSA Roadshow 2004

Why Were They Developed?

 To provide a standardized method for communication  To address the problem of having >30 different “languages” on the gaming floor  To enable operators to have valuable business information about patron activity GSA Roadshow 2004

How Were They Developed?

   Developed by members of Gaming Standards Association (GSA):  Operators  Game and Peripheral Manufacturers  System Suppliers  Regulators Cross-pollination of ideas Much richer protocols than can be developed by one company alone GSA Roadshow 2004

Why Are Standards Important?

 Unlinked systems do not provide “big picture” view of operations  Proprietary interfaces are costly & inefficient  Changing one part requires changing another  Cost of switching vendors can be prohibitive  Need to access multiple systems to gain accurate customer intelligence GSA Roadshow 2004

What is the Value Proposition?

  Increased ROI Greater revenues  Offer more games & programs targeted to customer preferences  Retain customer loyalty  Decreased costs of operation  More efficient tools to manage, analyze & evaluate the productivity & profitability of casino operations  Less energy spent on managing multiple protocols GSA Roadshow 2004

Improved Efficiency

 Better interoperability between different manufacturers’ equipment  All 3 protocols (GDS, BOB, S2S) work together by design  More & better choices  Buying decisions can be based on quality, options and cost-effectiveness, rather than adhering to a proprietary solution  Reduce operational costs  Simpler, repeatable solutions  Deploy new technologies quickly  Maximize utilization of staff resources GSA Roadshow 2004

Investment Protection

 Open standards are typically more robust  Developed by many different companies, not just one  Continuous improvement of standards  Workgroups have a continuing agenda  Smooth migration path to new functionality while protecting existing equipment investment  Bank by bank migration strategy for BOB  A new GDS device can be introduced in a single EGM  S2S protocols can be initially used for new systems GSA Roadshow 2004

GSA’s Three Standards

Gaming Device Standard (GDS) Protocol

Coin Acceptor Coin Hopper Note Acceptor Printer Touch Screen GDS Game Control EGM to Peripherals protocol

GSA Roadshow 2004

Benefits of GDS

      Standardizes communications between EGM and its peripheral devices Can easily change between peripherals from different vendors Plug and Play USB communication Peripheral device provides detailed information to EGM Coupled with BOB, peripheral device info is sent to the host systems Device commands (and code) can be sent from host systems through the EGM to the peripheral device GSA Roadshow 2004

GDS Workgroup Update

   First device protocols are complete  Note Acceptor, Coin Acceptor and Coin Hopper Development suite is nearing completion Next projects:  Touch Screen device  Note Acceptor code download  Printer interface and template download GSA Roadshow 2004

Manufacturers developing GDS solutions

     Peripherals  Asahi Seiko CashCode Coin Mechanisms, Inc. JCM Mars MoneyControls Gaming Machines  Aristocrat  Bally GSA Roadshow 2004

Best of Breed (BOB) Protocol

Coin Acceptor Coin Hopper Note Acceptor Printer Touch Screen

EGM

Game Control BOB Vouchers Player Tracking Slot Accounting Progressives Wagering Accounts

BOB Host Systems GSA Roadshow 2004

What Is BOB?

     The industry’s protocol for a networked casino floor environment Communications between EGMs and back-end servers Based on current, proven technology standards: XML, SOAP, Web Services, etc.

Expandable from low-speed (BOB messages between an EGM and SMIB over a serial link) to very high-speed communications (EGM to multiple back-end servers over Ethernet) Consists of three independent components:  BOB Message Standards  BOB Transport Standards  BOB Configuration Standards GSA Roadshow 2004

Benefits of BOB

      Single method of communication between an EGM and one or more Hosts Yield management for multi-game cabinets Rich information about EGM and its peripherals Easy to add new applications to the casino Standardized transport methods allow use of “off the shelf” development tools Manufacturers can now focus on content GSA Roadshow 2004

Here is what is on the gaming floor today...

GSA Roadshow 2004 [Looks like hex to me…]

A BOB Meter Request

Host Request EGM Response

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meterInfo metertype =“onDemand”> [A little easier to understand] GSA Roadshow 2004

BOB Protocol Simulators

A pair of software applications, (EGM and Host) were built to generate the BOB messages that are sent between a game and a system 1) Validates the new protocols (gain experience) 2) Creates a set of tools to enable a developer to build and test their BOB in their platform Where are we today?

1) Version 1.1 of the Simulators will be completed this year. 2) All classes of the BOB protocol implemented and tested 3) Developer notes and lessons learned from the Sims are in progress, and will be distributed with these tools GSA Roadshow 2004

Status of BOB

      Data model and schemas are completed, documented, and a reference implementation has been written against the documentation One transport profile is fully documented (SOAP and TCP/IP), a second is in progress (wbxml and PPP). Host and EGM Sims - complete for all BOB classes by end of year BOB simulator intro session - December 16th BOB technical working session - January 20 & 21 BOB Interoperability event - mid July 2005 GSA Roadshow 2004

Manufacturers developing BOB solutions

Systems  Aristocrat  Konami   Gaming Machines  Aristocrat  Cirsa Revive Partners WMS Gaming GSA Roadshow 2004

BOB Objectives for 2005

        EGM Configuration - BOB transport options Peripheral code download (e.g. Note Acceptor) Lottery extensions Protocol Testers for self-certification and verification EGM Configuration - game & cabinet options Central determination (Class II gaming) EGM operating system and code download Printer class - template and code download GSA Roadshow 2004

Coin Acceptor Coin Hopper Note Acceptor Printer Touch Screen

System to System (S2S) Protocol

S2S Game Control Voucher Manager S2S Player Tracking S2S Slot Accounting S2S Progressive S2S Kiosks Point of Sale Coin/Bill Counters Class II Servers EGM Host Systems and other S2S devices

GSA Roadshow 2004

Benefits of S2S

    Standardizes communication between servers and devices S2S is developed with GDS and BOB, so communication with a note acceptor is available to a back end server Standard server protocols opens up new solutions (Class II) Supports “plug and play” for systems and peripheral devices  Interfacing - all components speak the same language  Integrating - Custom solutions are developed for each new conversation  Standardization promotes portability, interoperability and reusability GSA Roadshow 2004

S2S and Class II

In a Class II environment, each manufacturer has their own server for central determination and other game functions The Problem: Three game manufacturers means  three separate accounting reports,  three player tracking feeds, and  three voucher systems • vouchers are only redeemable on same manufacturer’s games • What about the cashier booth? (three redemption terminals…) GSA Roadshow 2004

S2S and Class II - the solution

Each host server now talks S2S to a central consolidation server, which provides  One accounting report  All vouchers are cleared through a central database  All systems communicate using common protocols  Happier casino management!

GSA Roadshow 2004

Members Pursuing S2S solutions

Manufacturers     Bally Gaming & Systems IGT NRT Rocket Gaming    Operators Harrah’s Mandalay Resort Group Seminole Tribe GSA Roadshow 2004

S2S Objectives 2005

   EGM Player Rating Configuration Lottery & Central Determination Point-of-Sale Integration GSA Roadshow 2004

GSA Certification

 GSA compliance – independent testing by 3rd party lab using GSA tools and pre-defined test scripts    All parties benefit through  Improved speed to market for products  Products work together when they show up on your floor  Plug and Play (easier installs, reduced service calls) Protocol certification streamlines the regulatory process  Reduces the quantity and variety of tests that must be performed If both devices are certified, they should work together the first time they are connected (like your PC and printer) GSA Roadshow 2004

Moving From the Drawing Board to the Gaming Floor

Questions and/or Comments?

   To ask a question, please press the  key on your telephone Through the magic of teleconferencing you’ll be recognized and we’ll talk about your specific issue Thanks to all for attending!

GSA Roadshow 2004