Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) has become the first laboratory to achieve accreditation in Maranhão, Brazil. The accreditation allows GLI to perform tests and certification for the gambling and lottery industry interested in working with lottery and fixed-odds betting operators in the state of Maranhão.

The milestone is the latest in a series of regulatory achievements for GLI in Brazil. Lottery of the State of Maranhão is the third jurisdiction in Brazil to accredit laboratories, and GLI is accredited in all and the first to be authorized in all.

Cassiano Pereira Junior, president of Maranhão Parcerias (Mapa), highlighted the importance of the partnership between the Maranhão State Lottery (Lotema) and GLI. “Every day we strive to make Lotema even better, providing greater security for its users. The partnership with GLI is a concrete way of achieving this goal, as its certification laboratories play an important role for the gaming and lottery industry, guaranteeing the conformity, security, and integrity of the products and systems used by Lotema,” Cassiano explained.

“We are grateful to the Lottery of the State of Maranhão for granting GLI the laboratory accreditation, becoming the first to be authorized in Maranhão. It is extremely gratifying to see how Lotema empower themselves by trusting the technical compliance process to provide transparency, integrity, and accountability to all the industry stakeholders through the certification process. The laboratory accreditation is the first step for a successful implementation of the certification based on jurisdictional standards, and the reason why we at GLI take this step very seriously and with great priority every time a new jurisdiction opens. We feel responsible for being part of the solution towards a fast and efficient implementation of regulations, thus supporting further local industry development and sustainable growth. We are grateful to Lotema and excited to be part of its thriving industry,” said Karen Sierra-Hughes, Vice President of Latin America, Caribbean, and Spain.

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GLI has been working with regulators, lotteries, and industry stakeholders across the Latin American and Caribbean region for more than 26 years in their efforts toward regulation, sustainable growth, and eradicating illegal gaming. In Brazil, GLI has been side by side with government entities and all industry stakeholders for nearly 20 years, participating in public hearings in the Senate, Chamber of Deputies, and State government level, and in recent years, adding strategic local representation to strengthen their local support.

Gaming Laboratories International (GLI®) has achieved another milestone, releasing the first and only gaming information security standard, “GLI Gaming Security Framework Module 1 (GLI-GSF-1): Gaming Information Security (GIS) Common Controls Audit.” Now the company has re-released the draft of the module for initial industry-wide comment.

“GLI developed the GSF to address the industry’s strong demand for a comprehensive framework for gaming security,” said Joseph Bunevith, GLI’s Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs. “To create the GLI-GSF, we drew on 35 years of knowledge and insights into the gaming industry and conducted a thorough review of global best practices for information security. We worked closely with Bulletproof Solutions and gathered feedback from industry stakeholders to establish this framework for gaming security.”

The draft of the GLI-GSF-1 is provided to industry stakeholders for review and comment. Stakeholders include wagering, gaming and lottery regulators, suppliers, test laboratories, security firms, operators, and industry trade associations. The previous comment period was to familiarize stakeholders with the CIS Controls, while this second comment period will introduce additional common controls specific to the gaming industry, along with Gaming Implementation Group indications.

The comment period is underway and concludes on August 31, 2024. Written comments are encouraged and should be recorded in the comment template linked below and submitted to the “GLI Compliance” mailbox at [email protected].
GLI-GSF-1 v1.0 Public Comment Draft
GLI-GSF-1 v1.0 Comment Template

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GLI will process the comments received from industry stakeholders and collaborate as needed to address their interpretation, evaluation, and resolution in the context of the revision to this module.

This module of GLI-GSF sets forth the common controls necessary for auditing a gaming organization. These common controls apply to all forms of gaming, effectively replacing the technical security controls previously established in GLI-27 for land-based gaming operations and, in the near future, will replace the technical security controls previously established in Appendix B of GLI-19 and GLI-33 for interactive gaming and event wagering as other modules are released.

This module of the GLI-GSF integrates the CIS Controls, developed by the Center for Internet Security (CIS), as foundational components to ensure robust security measures across all aspects of gaming operations. The CIS Controls represent a globally recognized set of cybersecurity best practices designed to help organizations bolster their security posture and defend against a wide range of cyber threats. These controls serve as foundational pillars for building a resilient and secure gaming environment, safeguarding against evolving cyber threats, and ensuring the integrity of gaming organizations. The CIS Controls are available for free download at www.cisecurity.org.

Each module in the GLI-GSF is a culmination of industry best practices and is continually updated based on industry feedback. The GLI-GSF was created using a collaborative approach that involved thousands of gaming industry stakeholders. This framework was intended to assist regulators by creating baseline security guidelines that they can adopt and/or utilize as they see fit. In addition to assisting regulators, this framework is of tremendous value to gaming organizations seeking comprehensive guidance and recommendations for enhancing security across all aspects of gaming operations, saving both time and expense.

Globally known lottery expert Kurt D. Freedlund has joined the lottery team at Gaming Laboratories International (GLI®) as Senior Lottery Solutions Account Executive.

Freedlund will work with GLI lottery customers providing world-class insights and strategy solutions regarding lottery products and operational modernization consulting support, governance, strategic planning and execution, procurement optimization, and business analysis.

“We are thrilled and excited to welcome Kurt to GLI. His experience and expertise in the lottery industry will be invaluable in continuing GLI’s world-class service and ongoing work to help our lottery clients succeed,” said GLI Vice President of Global Lottery Solutions Angela Wong.

Freedlund has a long history in the lottery industry. Most recently, he was the founder and CEO of KDF Consulting & Solutions, which aided various stakeholders in the lottery industry in addressing current issues impacting its future. He has also served as President of LottoInteractive Inc., where he actively represented the lottery industry in Washington D.C. to lobby for the rejection of the Restore the Wire Act legislation.

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Previously, he acted as the COO & General Counsel for the Georgia Lottery Corporation, overseeing all operations and legal matters. He also represented the Mega Millions Consortium in working with the MUSL attorney to create and implement the PowerBall-Mega Millions cross-selling initiative; the creation and implementation of the Georgia Lottery’s iLottery program, and the lottery’s regulatory oversight of the Coin Operated Amusement Machines.

He was Executive Deputy Director & General Counsel for the Illinois Lottery, where he acted as lead counsel for the creation of the Big Game (now known as Mega Millions).

His insights into the lottery industry have been featured in numerous gaming trade publications, and he has been a featured speaker at gaming and lottery tradeshows around the world. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from the Northwestern University School of Law, and he holds a B.S. in Political Science and History from Northwestern University.