Technological developments are driving the emergence of new technical standards for gaming machines in a number of European jurisdictions, delegates at the European Gaming Compliance Technology Expo learnt last week.

Latvia’s gambling regulator is beefing up its inspection division in order to enforce new gaming machine standards that will take effect next July. A representative from the Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection said up to one-third of existing machines in the country will fail to meet the standards.

GamblingCompliance is pleased to confirm Eduardo Antoja, honorary president of European slot machine association EUROMAT, as keynote speaker for the upcoming 1st European Gaming Technology Expo in October.

Gambling Compliance has announced its first European Gaming Technology Expo, scheduled to take place in London later this year.  The two-day conference will focus on Italy, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic and Slovenia and will bring together regulators, manufacturers and testing labs from across Europe to discuss the latest regulatory and technical developments.

Estonian officials are confident of enacting sweeping new gambling legislation in January of next year after a draft bill received final approval in the Estonian Parliament last week. The legislation is likely to trigger consolidation in the country’s gambling sector as new capital and gaming machine requirements are introduced.

Latvian gaming revenues fell over 10 percent during 2008, newly released statistics confirm, but officials fear there could be worse to come for the once-booming sector as the country’s economic plight worsens and more stringent machine gaming regulations are introduced.

Gambling revenues in Latvia have continued to fall during the first quarter of 2010. The worst hit in the industry have been the gaming machine sector. Meanwhile, legislative changes targeting illegal internet gambling are currently being considered.

The Gaming Standards Association has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Macau Polytechnic Institute to enable the institute to act as a local office for GSA in Asia’s biggest gaming market.

Serbian gaming operators are asking the country’s government to update slot regulatory requirements to allow machines manufactured by leading international companies, and certified by established testing labs, to be imported into Serbia.

The following article is designed to provide some guidance for gaming machine manufacturers who wish to implement new designs of gaming machines for use in hotels, clubs and casinos in New South Wales (NSW), a state in which there are over 100,000 gaming machines.