NMi Gaming Press Releases

NMi first in as Romania issues Class 2 certification and auditing licences

Published

8 years ago

April 29, 2016

The Romanian ONJN (Oficiul National pentru Jocuri de Noroc, or National Gambling Office) has kick-started the compliance process in Romania by today awarding Class 2 licences to two certification and auditing bodies. International gaming laboratories NMi and GLI have been awarded licences to certify and audit, which is good news for operators and their suppliers who now have not only certainty in terms of choosing a lab who is approved within the relevant time frame, but also a choice of two labs where previously there had been none.

This development, along with the release of “Ordinul nr.93/2016” on the 27th April which officially defines the scope of the certification and audit, now allows licencees in Romania to start the process immediately. This is an important step forward as several operators, and consequently a larger number of their suppliers, require these compliance activities to be completed by the end of June, when their temporary right to operate expires. The majority of temporary permits expire in July and August.

The Romanian gambling market is set to become one of the most dynamic and lucrative in Eastern Europe. With around 70,000 slot machines, 5,000 betting shops and several casinos already operating, and well-known gaming brands opening development offices in the country to take advantage of the upwardly mobile, technically competent workforce, consumer demand for online gaming in the country has never been higher. The newly adopted legislation has already seen positive results for the state budget, due to the implementation of tighter controls of the landbased market; thousands of illegal slot machines have been removed making licences even more attractive to investors. With new legislation now in place for both online and landbased gaming, and with their Class 2 licence secured, NMi are able to provide certification and auditing services to interested operators and are perfectly positioned to service the Romanian and Eastern European markets.

Andrew Rosewarne, NMi gaming division Director

Andrew Rosewarne, Director of NMi’s gaming division: “We are delighted to have received our formal approval as a lab in Romania. Entry into this market has not been without its challenges; the NGO made a decision that they only want mature companies on a strong financial footing providing certification services in Romania and the level of scrutiny has been high. We are fortunate to be that sort of company. Of course 250,000 Euro is a lot of money and posting the guarantee, in combination with up-front annual fees, is not common practice and has taken some organisation. The awarding of Class 2 licences in Romania is the culmination of a lengthy and time-consuming process for NMi’s regulatory team, but the experience of achieving approval in more than 25 i-gaming jurisdictions has stood us in good stead. We are of course grateful to the ONJN for their openness and for the clarity of their communications to allow us to get to this point.

“NMi has been operating in highly-regulated jurisdictions for years now with their corresponding investment costs. Our many loyal customers appreciate our level of service and breadth of coverage and we are now in a position to provide straightforward transfers of approval to Romania. It is the unwritten compact we have with all our customers that we won’t leave them high and dry when new markets emerge. As well as being one of the top three gaming labs in the world, NMi is a global brand in certification and auditing across a wide range of other industries. We are fortunate that this puts NMi in the solid financial position where investment in new jurisdictions is not a problem.

“In addition to extensive jurisdictional coverage, NMi has invested significantly in staffing. Our experienced and highly qualified team are able to cover all the needs of our existing customers and our message to new customers is that NMi is open for business in Romania and wherever else you want to go afterwards. We are sure that once they experience NMi’s high level of assurance, it will be a move they will be glad they made.

“Even before the release of regulations or licences we have seen, perhaps more than anywhere else in Europe, increased demand for specialist support and pre-compliance audits. Romania has certainly got the industry excited and we look forward to working in this challenging but game-changing jurisdiction.”

With 40 years of experience in gaming, NMi provides independent auditing and testing of gaming equipment and software, and information security auditing to customers across the world, with offices in the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy and the Netherlands.
For enquiries please contact Beverley Cooke at [email protected]

Zoltan "Hawkie" Tundik

With an experience of over 8 years in the online gambling industry, as an affiliate, later affiliate manager and consultant, I consider myself a veteran of the industry and can guarantee that you will be served with the most accurate information.

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EEG iGaming Directory

NoLimit City partners with NMi to drive content into regulated markets

Published

7 years ago

September 12, 2017

George Miller

Recently looking at making a change in how NoLimit City approaches certification in regulated markets, NMi and NoLimit City agreed on a test project to see what long-term relationship would look like going forward. After a successful completion of testing their new title ‘Kitchen Drama Sushi Mania’ on their EJS Platform in the UK, NMi are picking up additional great titles as a permanent partner of NoLimit City going forward.

“Nolimit City are a team of highly experienced gaming designers and I’m very excited for NMi to be partnering them for the UK and their future roadmap within regulated markets. Our team have been impressed with the quality of the interaction and look forward to a highly successful long term relationship.” Julian Borg-Barthet, Director of Business Development.

Jonas Tegman, Chief Technology Officer at NoLimit City added “The people at NMi match our culture perfectly, they’re eager to meet our goals and expectations, without pushing us to work differently to achieve the same results”.

About Nolimit City
Nolimit City is a Stockholm-based online casino platform and game developer, offering high-quality content and services to operators around the world. The company has designed and developed its platform in-house from the ground-up; delivering a strong and powerful engine that can take large volumes of play and social interaction in its stride, on both desktop and mobile. It is coupled to an innovative back office and bonus toolbox, providing a one-stop shop for our partners. It is hugely flexible, and can be tailored to individual operator requirements and needs. We employ some of the smartest minds and artistic talents in the industry; people passionate about gambling and technology. They have helped us to create a portfolio bursting with fun and engaging games for both casino and lottery operators, including Oktoberfest, Space Arcade and Bet on Poker.

About NMi
NMi Gaming has more than 40 years of experience in the gaming industry and offers a full range of compliance testing and auditing services in its markets. Its gaming laboratories are located in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, and Spain. NMi Gaming has extensive knowledge of regulations and procedures and a multi-disciplined team of experienced professionals qualified in IT, mathematics, ISMS auditing, and security testing.

News

NMi SMDA test facility Southampton live!!

Published

7 years ago

August 15, 2017

George Miller

NMi has opened a new SMDA test facility in Southampton for interoperability and interchangeability testing, which is live since the 4th of August 2017!

Smart metering systems are being installed in around 26 million homes and small businesses in Great Britain. Correctly performing and secure smart meters and devices will ensure that smart metering benefits are delivered to energy consumers, energy suppliers and other industry parties. Assurance that smart metering devices will meet requirements and can be exchanged without impact to other devices will provide confidence and eliminate avoidable costs.

SMDA scheme
Energy suppliers in liaison with other key players decided that specific Smart Meter Device Assurance (SMDA) scheme was needed to deliver the necessary confidence to consumers, suppliers and financiers that smart metering devices in homes and small businesses will work properly. In January 2015, Gemserv was appointed as the SMDA Scheme Operator by the SMDA Company (SMDA Co) to take the main task of setting up the assurance testing scheme.

One of the key aspects of the SMDA scheme was to have an independent test house that conducts testing of the devices. NMi was selected to take this forward as the official SMDA Test House at the end of last year. This was an important step towards supporting the smart metering rollout in Great Britain.

A new dedicated SMDA laboratory in Southampton that offers all necessary testing services for smart metering devices was opened by NMi. Since the 4th of August 2017 this laboratory is live. Manufacturers of smart gas and electricity meters and other devices, such as In-Home Displays (IHDs) and Pre-Payment Interface Devices (PPMIDs), can have their products tested in this laboratory against a set of test specifications developed by the SMDA Scheme Operator in consultation with the scheme members. When after testing a smart metering device is found to meet the SMDA test specifications, that design will be awarded the SMDA assurance mark and registered in the Device Assurance Register (DAR).

SMDA testing
The SMDA testing consists mainly of two items:

interoperability testing, to demonstrate that smart meters are able to communicate properly with the Data Communications Company (DCC) systems; and
interchangeability testing, to check that all devices connected to any individual Home Area Network (HAN), such as meters, IHDs, PPMIDs or HAN Connected Auxiliary Load Switches (HCALCs) can communicate and operate with each other correctly, irrespective of the device manufacturer.

Henri Schouten, Business Development Manager Utilities at NMi explains: “We are proud to be selected SMDA Test House and offer those services to support the Smart Metering rollout in Great Britain. In our Southampton lab the smart metering devices will be tested and examined using all necessary Wide Area Network (WAN) and HAN communication technologies and applications. We have also prepared specific equipment for electricity meters to perform the interoperability and interchangeability testing to simulate real life operation using actual electrical load where required. Furthermore, for gas meters a specific rack is installed, producing air flow that will also simulate real life conditions during testing.”

Conferences

NMi Team to Provide Compliance Guidance at the iGaming Super Show

Published

7 years ago

June 29, 2017

George Miller

The iGaming Super Show, taking place on the 11th – 14th July 2017, is the biggest dedicated iGaming exhibition and conference for the iGaming industry and for the 5th consecutive year NMi will be exhibiting.

The 2016 show saw over 100 speakers and 150 exhibitors attract an audience of over 4000 delegates. This is an ideal opportunity for partners new and old to understand how NMi can be the catalyst for global access into their desired regulated jurisdictions.

Julian Borg-Barthet commented “A regular at the Super Show, we see this as an important ‘must attend’ event in the iGaming Calendar year bridging affiliates, suppliers, and operators like no other conference/expo. There’s quite a bit on the horizon including Sweden, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and changes in Germany, some closer than others, which we’re only too happy to discuss during the show”.

Julian will also be a speaker at the Annual Global Lottery Messenger Forum (GLMF) portion of the Super Show, discussing compliance around messenger and insurance lottery products in regulated markets.

Book a meeting at our booth M3 in advance, or simply come along and meet the team led by Julian Borg-Barthet, Business Development Director and Antonino Santangelo, Business Development Manager.

NMi is the market leading compliance testing and auditing lab, committed to being first to market in emerging jurisdictions, whilst maintaining accreditation’s in all existing regulated jurisdictions and global standards. NMi have over 40 years of experience in the gaming industry with testing facilities in the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and Canada.

NMi’s services include: