Peter DeRaedt and Mark Pace
5 QUESTIONS
Peter DeRaedt and Mark Pace
President and Vice President , International Gaming Standards Association
The gaming industry of today is worlds removed from that of 25 years ago , thanks in large part to innovative figures and organizations such as the International Gaming Standards Association . Two huge catalysts for the creation and development of the IGSA are President Peter DeRaedt and Vice President Mark Pace , who have worked tirelessly over the last two and a half decades to standardize the industry . The pair spoke with GGB Managing Editor Jess Marquez via Zoom in August .
1
GGB : The IGSA is celebrating its 25th anniversary . What made you first get involved ?
DeRaedt : I started in the gaming industry in 1986 developing table solutions , mainly for Holland Casinos . In August 1997 I was offered a position in Reno , Nevada to work for Aristocrat . I represented Aristocrat moving forward the year after that . I think in May ’ 98 Jeff ( Freidman ) left Silicon Gaming , and I was elected chair . I ’ ve been chair or involved since then . Pace : I started in this industry in 1982 , at Harrah ’ s Atlantic City . I was working in finance and accounting and became truly enamored by slots . Then I moved to Vegas when Harrah ’ s moved , and got into regulatory affairs . IGSA needed somebody to look after regulators and create a committee to harness their ideas . I met Peter and became involved with IGSA , and I ’ ve been involved ever since .
2
How tough was it to succeed in the early years ?
DeRaedt : They were exciting times , but also painful in the sense that we had to learn very quickly . We had to see how to manage meetings , antitrust policies , all the things that you normally don ’ t think about . Our industry definitely wasn ’ t used to that — we had to put that into place . That was a very exciting time . Pace : Imagine bringing a bunch of different engineers from competing companies into one room . One thing that had to be implemented was a very robust IP policy within these committees to make sure that the ideas being freely bantered around were not hijacked by a single entity .
3
What have been some of the biggest victories since then ?
Pace : The first is Class II gaming , which is still significant after all these years . Lyle Bell , who was one of our long-term chairmen , said the growth of the Seminoles can be pinned to this one victory that we achieved thanks to IGSA creating the standard . A perfect example of how communication protocols provided significant uplifts to operations . DeRaedt : There ’ s a whole slew of things we have done , but we should recognize the people who ’ ve supported this organization so far . More than 1,800 engineers from more than 195 companies have contributed to the technology that IGSA has developed . Those companies supply 70 percent of the global marketplace . It ’ s quite significant .
4
How did the international expansion come about ?
DeRaedt : In 2007 , we landed in Macau . We said , fantastic , there is no legacy . We thought it would be a great idea to get these guys informed and educated , and we ’ ve worked with the Macau Political University as it ’ s known today . In Europe , iGaming was on our radar , so we set up in Malta — there ’ s a lot of knowledge out there , and that ’ s what we had to do . Afterwards , we also copied that to Japan .
5
Peter DeRaedt
Mark Pace
What do you anticipate happening over the next 25 years ?
Pace : The days of being able to compete on low-level technology are long gone . Operators are now used to infinite amounts of data , so they ’ re going to realize that we need a fresh approach . Over time , the idea of standardization will continue to become more necessary and will be implemented . And , maybe one day we will get to global open statements . DeRaedt : For me , the best step moving forward is a closer regulatory relationship . Regulations shouldn ’ t be fragmented over the world , because there ’ s no need for that . It should be a national or international set of regulations that are practical , enforceable and can be monitored . Open access to data and full transparency , that would be the next phase .
“ They Said It ”
“ I haven ’ t heard anything at all . That ’ s what makes me a little nervous . They are running against the clock . I can ’ t say for sure that nothing is going on , but they are running out of time .”
CALENDAR
— New York State Assemblyman Joseph Giglio , who represents a Western New York district where the economy depends on Seneca Nation casinos , commenting to the Olean Times Herald on the pace of negotiations to renew a compact that expires December 9
November 6-7 : Casino eSports Conference New Jersey ; Resorts Atlantic City . Produced by Casino eSports Conference ( CEC ). For more information visit ceclive . com .
November 13-17 : SiGMA Europe , MMH Malta LTD , Il-Marsa , Malta . Produced by SiGMA Group . For more information , visit sigma . world .
November 22-23 : Eastern European Gaming Summit ( EEGS ), Inter Expo Center , Sofia , Bulgaria . Produced by AGIB . For more information , visit eegamingsummit . com .
November 23-24 : Balkan Entertainment and Gaming Exhibition ( BEGE Expo ) 2023 , Inter Expo Center , Sofia , Bulgaria . Produced by BEGE . For more information visit balkangamingexpo . com
December 4-6 : 49th Annual Global Symposium on Racing , Loews Ventana Canyon , Tucson , Arizona . Produced by University of Arizona ’ s Race Track Industry Program ,
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April 8-11 : Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention , Anaheim Convention Center , Anaheim , California . Produced by the Indian Gaming Association . For more information , visit indiangamingtradeshow . com .
8 Global Gaming Business NOVEMBER 2023