Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) has extended by two years the transition period and final implementation deadline for suppliers and operators to become fully compliant with its Technical Standards 2.0 for electronic gaming machines.
The extension is outlined in an instruction signed by DICJ Deputy Director Lio Chi Chong on 29 December 2022 in which the regulator says it has agreed to extend the implementation deadline of Technical Standards 2.0 after an integrated study and to ensure the “healthy and sustainable development” of Macau’s gaming sector.
Under the new timeline, the final deadline for all EGMs on Macau’s gaming floors to be fully 2.0 compliant has been extended by two years, from 31 December 2024 to midday on 31 December 2026.
The DICJ has also eased back its timeline for the roll-out of 2.0 compliant machines, with a previous requirement for 40% of machines to be compliant by 31 December 2023 reset to 25%, increasing to 50% by end-2024 and 75% by end-2025.
“By noon on 31 December 2026 (Thursday), all gaming machines must comply with the stipulations in Rule 2.0,” the DICJ’s new instruction 1/2023 states.
“The execution of the remaining contents of Instruction No. 1 /2021 will remain unchanged.”
EGM Technical Standards 2.0, which governs the operation of electronic gaming machines in the SAR, was published in early 2021 and represents the first update to Macau’s EGM Technical Standards since version 1.1 was released in 2014.
IAG has previously identified 142 new additions to EGM Technical Standards 2.0 across 13 main categories when compared to Technical Standards 1.1, involving areas such as Program Storage Devices, Hardware, Random Number Generator, Meters, Game Play and Display of Time.
