IGT to make slot system protocol available to others

Thursday, June 2, 2005 | 11:10 a.m.

International Game Technology will drop its licensing requirement and make its new SuperSAS gaming machine protocol available to other manufacturers.

Company officials said the move is expected to speed the development of server-based games, the next-generation technology that will enable casinos to some day change games across the casino floor with a few computer keystrokes.

IGT hopes that by making the communication standard easily accessible it would produce an advantage to become the system of choice on casino floors worldwide.

Reno-based IGT, the world's largest slot machine manufacturer, made its announcement Wednesday.

"IGT is clearly following up on its commitment to the industry to provide a free and open standard for all manufacturers to utilize," said Steve Morro, president of the IGT Gaming Group, in a company announcement. "This will certainly speed up the development timeline for server-based gaming. It will allow all manufacturers to participate in the development process for a single industrywide protocol without worrying about membership fees or patent policies."

Meanwhile, officials with the Gaming Standards Association, a trade group representing several rival manufacturers, said today its BOB (Best of Breed) 1.1 protocol has won praise from an independent testing laboratory.

The GSA said its communication protocol was tested by Gaming Laboratories International.

"We are very pleased with the results of this independent review," said Lyle Bell, chairman of the GSA. "Being comprised of manufacturers and operators alike, GSA's membership is very aware of GLI's impartiality and highly advanced technical capabilities and we're thrilled with their findings."

IGT said its new version of SuperSAS is the first open standard protocol for the gaming industry that incorporates both download and remote configuration capabilities.

Regulators are attempting to stay ahead of technological advancements destined for the casino floor, but have yet to sign off on technology associated with server-based games.

Such systems would enable casinos to make rapid changes on their floors, switching the location and type of games and even hold percentages with a few keystrokes. For example, if a casino found that a certain type of slot machine performed best at certain times of the day, floor managers could make daily adjustments to take advantage.

Protocols like SuperSAS and BOB 1.1 are important because they allow computers to communicate through a central server to bill validators, accounting, player tracking systems and the slot machines themselves.

Manufacturers want commonality in such systems, but the industry is split on whether to adopt IGT's system or something else.