Operator News
Australia – Victoria to trial new and innovative EGMs types and games
By Phil - 4 August 2021
The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation has approved an Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) Live Trial Framework (LTF) to support the trialled introduction of new and innovative EGMs types and games to ensure they do not contribute to player harm.
A spokesperson for the VCGLR said: “The LTF provides a defined and structured approach to testing EGM innovations in a live environment. This enable us to gather intelligence to determine whether EGM types or games are suitable for approval in Victoria.
The LTF provides key conditions that may be applicable to the live trial, including general operational conditions outlining minimum requirements to ensure the trial provides a useful outcome. This includes the length of the trial period, trial location to ensure suitable exposure both across the state and within the trial venues, and the importance of general player observation when they are engaging with the trial game. It also looks at quantitative requirements in relation to data which may be captured from the EGM and/or the central monitoring system to highlight the EGMs’ performance in isolation and when compared to a similar or new EGM in the trial environment. Qualitative requirements will capture player intelligence through surveys to inform an assessment of the players’ view of game performance and potential for harm.
“After determining to trial an EGM type or game we will publish the EGM type or game being trialled, term of trial, and trial locations on our website to provide external stakeholders with transparency to trial products that have been permitted,” the spokesperson said.
