Inspection of Gambling Hardware and Software According to the Ukrainian Law

On July 14, 2020, in Ukraine, the law that will regulate the operation of casinos came into force. This document legalised this type of entertainment in the country but in order to implement such projects, entrepreneurs needed to certify all equipment that they use.

Online Casino Market has prepared a review of conditions under which it is supervised. We will also talk about the legal regulation and specifics of the local business and help you to successfully pass the inspection.

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What Hardware Must Be Certified?

According to Law No. 768-IX, to manage casinos in this country (land-based or virtual ones), businessmen have to make sure that their software and equipment are certified.

The special controlling body has identified 4 categories of elements that can be found in a casino:

• slot machines (slots and lottery, video, poker, and bingo terminals);
• gaming tables (as well as those that are used to play roulette);
• shuffle machines (equipment for offline locations that is used for mixing cards);
• systems for online platforms.

It is very important to collect a certificate for each unit of equipment. Moreover, entrepreneurs must take out a document confirming the reliability and security of online systems used in their casinos.

Ukrainian Inspecting Authority

Any legal entity that provides gambling services should pass the procedure. An obligatory criterion when choosing a reliable inspecting authority is its inclusion in the list of the National Bar Association of Ukraine.

There are relevant international regulations that must be followed by parties:

• ISO 17020 (operational standard for inspecting authorities);
• ISO 17025 (rules related to testing laboratories).

At the beginning of June of this year, the following certification centres were included in the register:

• SC “Zaporizhzhia Scientific and Production Centre for Standardisation, Metrology, and Certification”;
• TOV “NVC Kievstandartmetrologiya”;
• SC “Ukrainian State Centre of Radio Frequencies”;
• SC “Vinnytsia Scientific and Production Centre for Standardisation, Metrology and Certification”;
• PE “Etalon”.

The Ukrainian government is actively working on the attraction of foreign companies to the domestic market and is currently negotiating with 2 reputable laboratories: BMM TechLabs and iTech Labs. It will definitely make foreign users interested and help to develop the industry in this country.

Regulatory Framework for Certification

By the end of 2021, the government is planning to publish technical norms, and while the document is still being developed, special laboratories check the hardware based on the following statutory acts:

Since there is still no single regulation for land-based equipment inspection, the authorised bodies themselves establish the procedure.

For example, companies can test a unit of casino equipment as a complete mechanism or check each of its structural components (a separate RNG, bonus programs, etc.).

In Ukrainian legislation, all elements of a gaming site (slots, platform, and payment gateways) are united by such a term as “online system”. Therefore, entrepreneurs cannot just test individual components of a website: they must collect the certificate for the entire platform.

Such an approach increases the verification timescale and makes it more difficult to prepare a package of documents to send to the authorised body.

Problems That May Arise During the Hardware Inspection

During the described procedure, operators can face the following difficulties:

1. An insufficient number of verification centres. Only 5 domestic companies operate on the market. Cooperation with international laboratories is in question: the government is still negotiating with reputable test centres.
2. Absence of single rules. The government promises to issue guidelines no earlier than December 2021. While parliamentarians are working, the regulatory framework that is most suitable for the gambling industry is being used. According to some criteria, slot machines and video terminals are equated to low-voltage equipment (though it is not entirely correct from the technical point of view.
3. Lack of partnership with foreign certification centres. World-famous companies (NMi, BMM TechLabs, QUINEL, and others) cannot yet cooperate with Ukrainian entrepreneurs. Moreover, to enter the domestic market, foreign operators with prestigious certification must go through the inspection procedure once again.

The Main Things about the Inspection of Casino Hardware and Software

To obtain a licence, it is mandatory to provide the certificate of conformity to the above-mentioned elements of a gambling club.

Specialists of our company will tell you about the issues related to the process and help with the preparation and sending of documents to the test centre and develop a strategy for an effective inspection process.

• According to the local legislation, all offline casino hardware must be tested. Owners of virtual platforms are also required to test their software.
• Currently, there are 5 inspection centres in Ukraine, and cooperation with foreign organisations is at the stage of discussion by the government.
• In the certification process, entrepreneurs may face such difficulties as a lack of a regulatory framework and an insufficient number of testing laboratories. Therefore, we recommend you to turn to managers of Online Casino Market.

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For all questions, please contact us, and we will be glad to tell you about all nuances of the gambling business!