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Minimum technical conditions for CHECKS
ORDER No. 404 dated 16 December 2020

on approval of the Minimum Technical Conditions for the verification of gaming equipment

On seeing Approval Report No. 49017/9 September 2020 of the Directorate General for Computerization and Monitoring of Gambling of the National Gambling Office, approved by the President of the National Gambling Office on 14 December 2020 and the letters of the Legislative Council No. R 2108/9 October 2020 registered with the National Gambling Office No. 60314/20 October 2020; Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. K1/1321/28 October 2020 registered with the National Gambling Office No. 65911/2 November 2020 and the Ministry of Justice No. 2/92780/16 November 2020 registered with the National Office for Gambling No. 69297/24 November 2020;

Having regard to:

Government Emergency Ordinance No. 20/2013 on the establishment, organisation and functioning of the National Gambling Office and amending and supplementing Government Emergency Ordinance No. 77/2009 regarding the organisation and operation of gambling, approved with amendments and completions by Law No. 227/2013 as subsequently amended and supplemented;

Government Decision No. 298/2013 on the organisation and functioning of the National Gambling Office as subsequently amended and supplemented;

art. 19(1) and (4) of the Government Emergency Ordinance No. 77/2009 regarding the organisation and operation of gambling, approved with amendments and completions by Law No. 246/2010 as subsequently amended and supplemented;

art. 57(6) of the Government Emergency Ordinance No. 57/2019 on the Administrative Code as subsequently amended and supplemented;

Considering that on 22 July 2019, the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Business Environment notified, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 concerning the procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of the rules on information society services, the draft‘minimum technical conditions for the verification of the gambling means’ and this notification received No. 2019/361/RO-H10, a status quo period of 3 months was established, i.e. until 23 October 2019, extended until 23 January 2020;

Pursuant to the provisions of art. 1(8) of the Government Emergency Ordinance No. 20/2013 on the establishment, organisation and functioning of the National Gambling Office and for the modification and completion of the Government Emergency Ordinance No. 77/2009 on the organisation and operation of gambling, approved with amendments and completions by Law No. 227/2013 as subsequently amended and supplemented;

The President of the National Gambling Office issues the following

ORDER

Article 1. From the date of entry into force of this Order, the minimum technical conditions for the verification of the gaming means, according to the Annex which constitutes an integral part of this Order, shall be approved.

Article 2. The conformity evaluation bodies licensed by the National Office for Gambling, the Romanian Bureau of Legal Metrology and the specialised structures within the institution will comply with the provisions of this order.

Article 3. This Order shall be published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I.

PRESIDENT

Constantin Cătălin Voinea-Mic

Annex

MINIMUM TECHNICAL VERIFICATION CONDITIONS

ON GAMING EQUIPMENT

Having regard to:

Government Emergency Ordinance No 20/2013 on the establishment, organisation and functioning of the National Office for Gambling and amending and supplementing Government Emergency Ordinance No 77/2009 regarding the organisation and operation of games of chance, as subsequently amended and supplemented;

Government Decision No 298/2013 on the organisation and functioning of the National Office for Gambling as subsequently amended and supplemented;

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 19(4) of Government Emergency Ordinance No 77/2009 on the organisation and operation of games of chance, as subsequently amended and supplemented,

the National Office for Gambling will be required to issue technical standards that should include the minimum technical requirements for checks on gaming equipment to be applied by the Romanian Bureau of Legal Metrology and conformity evaluation bodies, during the course of their duties.

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Purpose, objectives, scope and definitions

The minimum technical requirements for checks on gaming equipment establish the technical framework for the regulation of gaming equipment in relation to the conditions in which activity takes place, the minimum requirements necessary for it to function legally and the applicable procedures for carrying out technical checks on all machines, installations, devices, gaming tables and other gaming equipment – for traditional games.

Purpose of the document:

to establish a set of minimum technical requirements for gaming equipment that will cover security, correct operation and software and hardware integrity;

to ensure that players are correctly informed;

to monitor receipts and payments and ensure the declared win percentages and operation correspond to the win table, and ensure that the random number generator (RNG) is operating correctly;

to establish a set of criteria that will permit the Romanian Bureau of Legal Metrology and the conformity evaluation bodies to evaluate the conformity of slot machine type gaming equipment in an unitary, traceable manner that enables an audit to be performed of the way the evaluation has been performed.

Desired objectives:

to create an efficient and appropriate regulatory and technical checking mechanism for gambling equipment, in order to prevent abusive practices with a negative impact on players, as well as certain illegal practices;

to ensure the integrity of the gaming equipment and its correct operation, for all parties involved: players, organisers, authorities;

to ensure that players are protected against any possible physical injury;

to provide the conditions for a functional audit to be performed of the gaming equipment, so that it is possible to identify the defective function, attempted fraud and incomes obtained from operation;

to prevent fraudulent use of slot machine type gaming equipment;

to ensure more transparency in the technical checking of gambling equipment, higher economic efficiency;

to ensure appropriate security and protect players’ interests;

to ensure better conditions for correct operation of the market for economic operators undertaking gaming equipment manufacturing, distribution, repair and maintenance activities, importation, exportation, intracommunity purchasing, intracommunity delivery or other activities involving gaming equipment, for the purposes of marketing it or using it, in any form, on Romanian territory;

to ensure non-discriminatory third-party access to relevant information regarding gambling equipment subject to the technical checks performed by the Romanian Bureau of Legal Metrology and the licensed conformity evaluation bodies of the National Office for Gambling;

to develop specific accreditation schemes (national accreditation body) based on this document;

to promote, stimulate and ensure competition in the gambling market, as well as the safe operation of gambling equipment on Romanian territory.

Scope:

This document refers to the general requirements and specific requirements for technical checks of gaming equipment, which are covered by Article 19(1) of Government Emergency Ordinance No 77/2009 on the organisation and operation of games of chance, as subsequently amended and supplemented.

The document applies to the following entities:

a) the National Office for Gambling;

b) the Romanian Bureau of Legal Metrology and the licensed conformity evaluation bodies of the National Office for Gambling;
The minimum technical conditions for the verification of the gaming equipment establish the technical framework for the regulation of the gaming equipment regarding the conditions for carrying out the activity, the general technical requirements necessary for their legal operation, the applicable procedures for the exercise of the technical checks, as well as the minimum technical conditions for the verification of machines, installations, devices, gaming tables and other gaming equipment - for traditional games.

I. The purposes of the document are as follows:

1. to establish a set of minimum technical requirements for gaming equipment covering security, proper functioning, software and hardware integrity.

2. to ensure that players are correctly informed.

3. to monitor receipts and payments and ensure the declared win percentages and operation correspond to the win table, and ensure that the random number generator (RNG) is operating correctly.

4. to establish a set of criteria to enable the Romanian Bureau of Legal Metrology and the conformity evaluation bodies to evaluate the conformity of slot machine type gaming equipment in an uniform, traceable manner that enables an audit to be performed of the way the evaluation has been performed.

II. The objectives pursued are as follows:

1. to create an efficient and appropriate regulatory and technical checking mechanism for gambling equipment, in order to prevent abusive practices with a negative impact on players, as well as certain illegal practices;

2. to ensure the integrity of the gaming equipment and its correct operation, for all parties involved: players, organisers, authorities.

3. to ensure that players are protected against any possible physical injury.

4. to provide the conditions for an audit of the operation of the gaming equipment so that malfunctioning, attempted fraud and revenue from exploitation can be identified.

5. to prevent fraudulent use of the gaming equipment.

6. to ensure more transparency in the technical checks of gambling equipment, for a greater economic efficiency.

7. to ensure appropriate security and protect players’ interests;

8. to ensure better conditions for the proper functioning of the market for economic operators undertaking manufacturing, distribution, repair and maintenance of the gaming equipment, import, export, intra-Community acquisition, intra-Community delivery or other activities involving gaming equipment, for the purpose of marketing or use, in any form, on the territory of Romania;

9. to ensure non-discriminatory third-party access to relevant information regarding gambling equipment subject to the technical checks performed by the Romanian Bureau of Legal Metrology and the licensed conformity evaluation bodies of the National Office for Gambling;

10. to develop specific accreditation schemes (national accreditation body) based on this document;

11. to promote, stimulate and ensure competition in the gambling market, as well as the safe operation of gambling equipment on Romanian territory.

III. The scope of application is as follows:

1. This document refers to the general requirements and specific requirements imposed on the technical checks of the gaming equipment, which are covered by Article 19(1) of the Government Emergency Ordinance No. 77/2009 on the organisation and operation of gambling, approved with amendments and completions by Law No. 246/2010 as subsequently amended and supplemented.

2. The document applies to the following entities:

a) the National Gambling Office;

b) the Romanian Bureau of Legal Metrology and the licensed conformity evaluation bodies of the National Gambling Office;

c) economic operators;

For the purposes of this document, the following definitions apply:

‘gaming equipment’ means any assembly of elements, including the IT system – comprising software, hardware and means of communication – which serves or permits games of chance to be organised, played or participated in, whether it independently generates the random elements underlying the games of chance or whether its purpose is established by the manufacturer.

‘making available on the market’ means supplying a product for distribution, consumption or use on the market during the course of a commercial activity, whether free of charge or for a consideration;

‘placing on the market’ means making a product available on the market for the first time;

‘manufacturer’ means any legal person that manufactures a product or for which such a product is designed or manufactured and which places this product on the market in its own name or under its own brand;

‘manufacturer’s representative’ means any natural or legal person who/that has received a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on their/its behalf in connection with specific duties;

‘importer’ means any legal person introducing a product onto the market from a non-EU country;

‘distributor’ means any legal person in the distribution chain other than the manufacturer or the importer, which makes a product available on the market;

‘economic operators’ means the producer, their representative, the importer, distributor or holder of the gambling equipment.

‘technical specifications’ means a document setting forth the technical requirements to be met by a product, process or service;

‘accreditation’ – as per the definition provided for in Article 2(10) of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93;

‘national accreditation body’ – as per the definition provided for in Article 2(11) of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008, setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93;

‘conformity evaluation’ means the process of evaluation of whether it has been demonstrated, for a product, process, service, system, person or body, that the specified requirements have been met;

‘conformity evaluation body’ means a body that undertakes conformity evaluation activities, including calibration, testing, certification and inspection, including the Romanian Bureau of Legal Metrology;
d) Any legal person concerned.

IV. For the purposes of this document, the following definitions apply:

a) ‘gaming equipment’ means any set of elements, including the IT system comprising software, hardware and means of communication, which serves or permits the organization, conduct or participation in gambling, whether it independently generates the random elements underlying the gambling or whether its purpose is determined by the manufacturer;

b) ‘making available on the market’ means supplying a product for distribution, consumption or use on the market during a commercial activity, whether for a fee or free of charge;

c) ‘placing on the market’ means making a product available on the market for the first time;

d) ‘manufacturer’ means any legal person that manufactures a product or for which such a product is designed or manufactured and which markets the product concerned under its name or trademark;

e) ‘manufacturer’s representative’ means any natural or legal person who has received a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on their behalf in relation with specific tasks;

f) ‘importer’ means any legal person who places a product on the market from a third country;

g) ‘distributor’ means any legal person in the distribution chain other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes a product available on the market;

h) ‘economic operators’ means the producer, their representative, the importer, the distributor or the holder of the gambling equipment;

i) ‘technical specification’ means a document setting out the technical requirements that a product, process or service must meet;