Friday, 

August 11, 2006 

Part IV 

National Indian 

Gaming Commission 

25 CFR Part 547 

Technical Standards for ‘‘Electronic, 

Computer, or Other Technologic Aids’’ 

Used in the Play of Class II Games; 

Proposed Rule 


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46336 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 155 / Friday, August 11, 2006 / Proposed Rules 

NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING 

COMMISSION 

25 CFR Part 547 

RIN 3141–AA29 

Technical Standards for ‘‘Electronic, 

Computer, or Other Technologic Aids’’ 

Used in the Play of Class II Games 

AGENCY: National Indian Gaming 

Commission (NIGC or ‘‘Commission’’). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The proposed rule would add 

a new part to the Commission’s 

regulations establishing technical 

standards for Class II games—bingo, 

lotto, other games similar to bingo, pull 

tabs, or ‘‘instant bingo’’—that are played 

primarily through ‘‘electronic, 

computer, or other technologic aids.’’ 

The proposed rule would also establish 

a process for assuring the integrity of 

such games and aids before their 

placement in a Class II tribal gaming 

operation. No such standards currently 

exist. The Commission proposes this 

action in order to assist tribal gaming 

regulatory authorities and operators in 

ensuring the integrity and security of 

Class II games and gaming revenue. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

September 30, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Mail comments to 

‘‘Comments on Technical Standards,’’ 

National Indian Gaming Commission, 

1441 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20005, Attn: Michael Gross, Senior 

Attorney. Comments may be transmitted 

by facsimile to 202–632–0045, but the 

original also must be mailed or 

submitted to the above address. 

Comments may be sent electronically, 

instead of by mail or fax, to 

techstds@nigc.gov. Please indicate 

‘‘Class II technical regulations’’ in the 

subject line. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Gross, Senior Attorney, Office 

of General Counsel, telephone: 

202.632.7003. This is not a toll free call. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 

U.S.C. 2701–21 (‘‘IGRA’’), enacted by 

the Congress in 1988, establishes the 

National Indian Gaming Commission 

(‘‘NIGC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) and sets out 

a comprehensive framework for the 

regulation of gaming on Indian lands. 

The Act establishes three classes of 

Indian gaming. 

• ‘‘Class I gaming’’ means social 

games played solely for prizes of 

minimal value or traditional forms of 

Indian gaming played in connection 

with tribal ceremonies or celebrations. 

25 U.S.C. 2703(6). Indian tribes regulate 

Class I gaming exclusively. 

• ‘‘Class II gaming’’ means the game 

of chance commonly known as bingo, 

whether or not electronic, computer, or 

other technologic aids are used in 

connection therewith, including, if 

played in the same location, pull-tabs, 

lotto, punch boards, tip jars, instant 

bingo, and other games similar to bingo, 

as well as various non-house banked 

card games. 25 U.S.C. 2703(7)(A). 

Specifically excluded from Class II 

gaming are banking card games such as 

blackjack, electronic or 

electromechanical facsimiles of any 

game of chance, and slot machines of 

any kind. 25 U.S.C. 2703(7)(B). Indian 

tribes and the NIGC share regulatory 

authority over Class II gaming. Indian 

tribes can engage in Class II gaming 

without any state involvement. 

• ‘‘Class III gaming’’ includes all 

forms of gaming that are not Class I 

gaming or Class II gaming. 25 U.S.C. 

2703(8). Class III gaming thus includes 

all other games of chance, including 

lotteries and most forms of casino 

gaming, such as slot machines, roulette, 

and banking card games like blackjack. 

Class III gaming may be conducted 

lawfully only if the tribe and the state 

in which the tribe is located enter into 

a tribal-state compact for such gaming. 

Alternatively, a tribe may operate Class 

III gaming under gaming procedures 

issued by the Secretary of the Interior. 

Because of the compact requirement, 

states, Indian tribes, and the NIGC 

possess regulatory authority over Class 

III gaming. In addition, the United 

States Department of Justice and United 

States Attorneys possess exclusive 

criminal, and certain civil, jurisdiction 

over Class III gaming on Indian lands. 

The Commission has determined that 

it is in the best interests of Indian 

gaming to adopt technical standards that 

govern the implementation of 

electronic, computer, and other 

technologic aids used in the play of 

Class II games because no such 

standards currently exist. The technical 

standards seek to provide a means for 

tribal gaming regulatory authorities and 

tribal operators to ensure that the 

integrity of Class II games played with 

the use of electronic, computer, or other 

technologic aids is maintained; that the 

games and aids are secure; and that the 

games and aids are fully auditable, i.e. 

that they provide a means for the 

gaming authority and gaming operation 

to account for all gaming revenue. 

Development of the Proposed Rule 

Through Consultation With Indian 

Tribes 

In recognition of tribal sovereignty 

and the fundamental importance of 

standards to the operation and 

regulation of gaming on Indian lands 

under IGRA, the Commission developed 

a policy and process for consultation 

with Indian tribes that would provide 

opportunity for early and meaningful 

tribal input regarding formulation of 

these proposed regulations. 

In particular, while initially advising 

tribes of the Commission’s intention to 

develop standards, the Commission also 

actively consulted with tribes regarding 

formulation of the Commission’s firstever official Government-to-Government 

Tribal Consultation Policy. After several 

months of consultation with tribes, the 

Commission’s official Tribal 

Consultation Policy was adopted and 

published in the Federal Register on 

March 31, 2004 (69 FR 16973). The 

Commission purposely established this 

policy in order to have consultation 

policy guidelines in place for 

meaningful pre-rulemaking tribal 

consultation on these standards and 

other planned Commission rulemaking 

initiatives. 

The Commission’s official Tribal 

Consultation Policy expressly calls for 

the Commission, to the extent 

practicable and permitted by law, to 

engage in regular, timely, and 

meaningful government-to-government 

consultation with Indian Tribes when 

formulating proposed new or revised 

administrative regulations that may 

substantially affect the operation or 

regulation of gaming on Indian lands. 

To fulfill this policy commitment, the 

Commission devised a three-part plan to 

afford tribes a reasonable and 

practicable opportunity to consult with 

the Commission and to provide early 

input in formulation of regulations, 

before they were published as proposed 

new rules in the Federal Register and 

the actual rule-making process began. 

First, the Commission endeavored to 

consult in person at least twice with 

each gaming tribe between May 2003 

and March 2006 regarding development 

of these, and other, proposed 

regulations. During this time period, the 

Commission sent out over 500 separate 

invitations to individual tribes to 

consult with the Commission and 

provide input. Many tribes accepted and 

participated in separate government-togovernment consultation meetings with 

the Commission regarding the proposed 

regulations and other matters. While 

some tribes declined the Commission’s 

invitations, between May 2003 and 


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March 2006 the Commission conducted 

over 300 separate government-togovernment consultation meetings with 

individual tribes and their leaders or 

representatives. 

Second, the Commission established a 

joint Federal-Tribal Advisory 

Committee on March 31, 2004, 

composed of both Commission and 

tribal representatives to assist the 

Commission in formulating these 

regulations. In January 2004, the 

Commission requested all gaming tribes 

across the country to nominate tribal 

representatives to serve on this 

Advisory Committee. From the tribal 

nominations received, the Commission 

selected the following seven tribal 

representatives on March 31, 2004: 

Norm Des Rosiers, Gaming 

Commissioner, Viejas Band of 

Kumeyaay Indians; Joseph Carlini, 

Gaming Commission Executive Director, 

Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians; 

Kenneth Ermatinger, Gaming 

Commission Executive Director, Sault 

Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians of 

Michigan; Jamie Hummingbird, Gaming 

Commission Director, Cherokee Nation, 

Oklahoma; Mark Garrow, Gaming 

Commission Inspections Manager, St. 

Regis Mohawk Tribe; Melvin Daniels, 

General Manager, Muckleshoot Indian 

Bingo, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe; 

Charles Lombardo, Senior VicePresident for Gaming Operations, 

Seminole Tribe of Florida. 

To date, the Advisory Committee has 

held six (6) meetings: May 13, 2004 in 

Washington, DC; August 2–3, 2004, 

Washington, DC; September 13–14, 

2004, Cherokee, North Carolina; 

December 1–3, 2004, Oklahoma City, 

Oklahoma; January 12–13, 2005, Palm 

Springs, California; and March 11, 2005, 

Chicago, Illinois. During these 

committee meetings, all of which were 

open to the public, the committee 

discussed the various characteristics of 

Class II and Class III games of chance, 

their play, and related gaming 

technology and methods. In addition, 

the committee discussed, reviewed, 

critiqued and commented on 2 different, 

successive preliminary working drafts of 

the proposed Class II technical 

standards prepared by the Commission 

representatives on the Committee. The 

seven tribal committee representatives 

provided early tribal input and valuable 

insight, advice, and assistance to the 

Commission in developing each of the 

respective working drafts, as well as the 

current proposed regulations. 

The Commission’s establishment of 

the joint Federal-Tribal advisory 

committee was the subject of a legal 

challenge while the Commission was 

preparing the proposed rule for 

publication. On March 10, 2005, nearly 

one year after the Commission 

established the committee, the 

Confederated Salish and Kootenai 

Tribes of the Flathead Nation and the 

Santa Rosa Rancheria Indian 

Community filed suit against the 

Commission alleging, among other 

things, that several of the committee 

members were not eligible to participate 

on the committee. Following a hearing 

in Federal court, at which the request 

for temporary restraining order was 

denied, the Commission determined 

that it should proceed to publish the 

proposed rule for comment while the 

legal standing of the committee was 

further litigated. The Commission also 

sought clarification from those tribes 

nominating the committee members 

concerning the member’s role as an 

official representative of the tribe. As a 

result of this clarification, and, out of an 

abundance of caution, the Commission 

regretfully requested that two members 

of the Committee step down. 

The third component of the 

Commission’s effort to consult with 

tribes during the pre-rulemaking 

formulation phase of these proposed 

regulations was to make the various 

preliminary working drafts of the 

proposed regulations available to all 

tribes and their leaders for review and 

comment, independent of the joint 

federal-tribal Advisory Committee. In 

particular, while these proposed 

regulations were being formulated, the 

first and second preliminary working 

drafts were mailed to each tribe and its 

leaders, inviting written comment. The 

drafts were also posted on the 

Commission’s website for review and 

comment by all. Many tribes and 

members of the public submitted 

written comments on these respective 

working drafts. The tribal comments 

were shared with the members of the 

Advisory Committee for their review 

and carefully considered by the 

Commission in formulating these 

proposed regulations. 

In addition, the Gaming Standards 

Association, a casino-industry group 

comprised of game manufacturers and 

operators, and the National Indian 

Gaming Association, the largest Indian 

gaming trade group, assembled a 

meeting on December 16, 2004, in Las 

Vegas, Nevada, so that interested 

members of both organizations could 

review the technical standards and 

provide suggestions to the Commission. 

The Commission was invited, and it 

sent a staff member to listen to the 

discussion and to answer questions, if 

necessary. 

Beyond all of this, the Commission 

attended and addressed several different 

assemblies of tribal leaders and tribal 

gaming operators and regulators at 

meetings and conferences organized by 

state and regional tribal gaming 

associations, the National Indian 

Gaming Association, and the National 

Congress of American Indians between 

January 2003 and March 2005. At these 

meetings and conferences, the 

Commission advised tribal leaders of its 

intention and plan to develop these 

regulations and provided periodic 

updates regarding the progress and 

status of the regulations development. 

The Commission also made itself 

available at these meetings to answer 

any questions from tribal leaders 

regarding the proposed regulations or 

their formulation. 

Through each of these various means, 

the Commission actively endeavored to 

provide all tribes with a reasonable and 

practical opportunity over the past 26 

months to meet and consult with the 

Commission on a government-togovernment basis and provide early and 

meaningful tribal input regarding the 

formulation and implementation of 

these proposed regulations. 

Purpose and Scope 

The proposed Part 547 applies to 

Class II games played primarily through 

electronic, computer, or other 

technologic aids, or modifications of 

such games and aids. It does not apply 

to live session bingo. Class II games 

played through such technologic aids 

are widely used in Indian gaming 

operations, yet no uniform standards 

exist to govern their implementation. 

The proposed rule seeks to remedy that 

absence and establish technical 

standards for such games and aids. 

Again, the technical standards seek to 

provide a means for tribal gaming 

regulatory authorities and tribal 

operators to ensure that the integrity of 

Class II games played with the use of 

electronic, computer, or other 

technologic aids, is maintained; that the 

games and aids are secure; and that the 

games and aids are fully auditable. In so 

doing, the technical standards are 

modeled, when appropriate, on similar 

standards from experienced gaming 

jurisdictions not only in North America 

but around the world. The requirements 

for game accounting meters, for 

example, are modeled on Nevada’s 

requirements. 

There are, however, unique aspects of 

Class II gaming for which few models 

now exist, and none existed at the time 

the Commission began this project. 

Bingo, as IGRA defines it, is a multipleplayer game in which players compete 

against one another to be the first to 

cover a predetermined pattern of 


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numbers or other designations. In order 

to meet IGRA’s statutory requirements, 

electronic bingo implementations must 

allow multiple players in different 

locations, whether in one facility or in 

more than one, to play a common game. 

Manufacturers, therefore, have 

implemented bingo on client-server 

architectures. A common arrangement, 

but by no means the only one possible, 

is to have client machines on the casino 

floor as electronic player stations. These 

display bingo cards, allow the players to 

cover numbers when drawn, and pay 

any prizes won. The server, usually 

located off the floor, draws random 

numbers and passes them, along data 

communications lines, to the client 

machines for game play. Such clientserver arrangements are not common in 

other gaming jurisdictions, and they 

produce regulatory challenges with 

which most other gaming jurisdictions 

have not fully grappled. 

Chief among these challenges is 

securing games from unauthorized 

changes or tampering. In a stand-alone 

Class III slot machine, for example, the 

game software is typically located 

within the game cabinet itself, and there 

are many, well-established technical 

means for securing the software. In 

client-server implementations, by 

contrast, game software may be 

downloaded from the server to clients, 

or game software may exist 

simultaneously on clients and servers, 

with the clients acting as terminals 

receiving game information transmitted 

across data communication lines from 

the server. In either case, the wellestablished means of securing Class III 

game software may not be adequate. 

The proposed rule therefore 

implements minimum standards for 

mechanisms that can be used to verify 

the authenticity of game software, 

whether located on servers or clients or 

both, as well as minimum standards for 

when verification must occur and when, 

and by whom, games may be 

downloaded or changed. The proposed 

rule also provides general, minimum 

technical standards for servers, for 

clients, and standards common to both 

clients and servers, and it provides 

minimum standards for software storage 

media, money and credit handling, and 

data communications, all of which may 

require different treatment when using 

clients and servers rather than standalone games. 

That said, the proposed rule provides 

only minimum standards. Tribes and 

tribal gaming regulatory authorities may 

add any additional requirements, or 

more stringent requirements, needed to 

suit their particular circumstances. In 

addition, the proposed rule makes no 

attempt to foreclose the implementation 

of new technologies. 

In order to ensure compliance with 

the technical standards, the proposed 

rule borrows again from the established 

practices of tribal, state, and provincial 

gaming jurisdictions across North 

America. The proposed rule establishes, 

as a necessary prerequisite to a game 

and aid being offered to the public for 

play in a Class II gaming operation, a 

process of game submission by the 

manufacturer; review and analysis by a 

qualified, independent testing 

laboratory; and approval by the tribal 

gaming regulatory authority. 

Under the proposed rule, a tribe’s 

gaming regulatory authority will require 

all Class II games and aids, or 

modifications of such games and aids, to 

be submitted by the manufacturer to a 

testing laboratory for review and 

analysis. That submission includes a 

working prototype of the game and aid, 

all pertinent software, and the complete 

documentation and description of all 

functions and components. In turn, the 

laboratory will certify that the game or 

aids do or do not meet the requirements 

of the proposed rule, as well as any 

additional requirements adopted by the 

tribe’s gaming regulatory authority. The 

laboratory will provide a written 

certification and report of its analysis 

and conclusions to the tribal gaming 

regulatory authority for its approval or 

disapproval of the game or aid. The 

tribal gaming regulatory authority will 

retain the certification and report as 

long as the game remains available to 

the public for play on the casino floor. 

This will allow the commission to 

perform its regulatory oversight role. 

Finally, the Commission is cognizant 

of existing standards under the 

Minimum Internal Control Standards 

(MICS), 25 CFR part 542, some of which 

address equipment or technical issues. 

The proposed rule and the MICS 

therefore have small areas of overlap. 

The Commission does not intend by the 

proposed rule to alter or repeal part 542, 

and relevant parts of the proposed rule 

so state. 

Regulatory Matters 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

This proposed rule will not have a 

significant economic effect on a 

substantial number of small entities as 

defined under the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. Indian tribes 

are not considered to be small entities 

for the purposes of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act 

This proposed rule is not a major rule 

under 5 U.S.C. 804(2), the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act. This rule does not have an 

annual effect on the economy of $100 

million or more. This rule will not cause 

a major increase in costs or prices for 

consumers, individual industries, 

Federal, state or local government 

agencies or geographic regions and does 

not have a significant adverse effect on 

competition, employment, investment, 

productivity, innovation, or the ability 

of U.S.-based enterprises to compete 

with foreign-based enterprises. The 

Commission believes that the 

requirement for examination and testing 

by an independent testing lab will add 

only limited additional expense to 

Indian casinos operating Class II games 

and aids. The Commission has been 

informed that operations already do this 

as a matter of course. Likewise, the 

Commission does not anticipate 

significant additional costs for redesign 

and repurchase of Class II games and 

aids. Many manufacturers who sell 

Class II games and equipment are 

already building to similar standards for 

the machines they sell in Class III and 

non-Indian casino markets. Moreover, 

feedback from manufacturers to date 

indicates industry support for these 

standards. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

For these reasons as well, the 

Commission has determined that this 

proposed rule does not impose an 

unfunded mandate on state, local, or 

tribal governments or on the private 

sector of more than $100 million per 

year. Thus, it is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act, 2 U.S.C. 1501 et 

seq. The Commission has determined 

that this proposed rule may have a 

unique effect on tribal governments, as 

this rule applies to tribal governments, 

whenever they undertake the 

ownership, operation, regulation, or 

licensing of gaming facilities on Indian 

lands as defined by the Indian Gaming 

Regulatory Act. Thus, in accordance 

with section 203 of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act, the Commission 

implemented a small government 

agency plan that provides tribal 

governments with adequate notice, 

opportunity for meaningful 

consultation, and information, advice, 

and education on compliance. 

Again, the Commission’s plan 

included the formation of a tribal 

advisory committee and request for 

input from tribal leaders through 


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government-to-government 

consultations and through written 

comments to draft regulations that are 

provided to the tribes. Section 204(b) of 

the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

exempts from the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) meetings 

with tribal elected officials (or their 

designees) for the purpose of 

exchanging views, information, and 

advice concerning the implementation 

of intergovernmental responsibilities or 

administration. In selecting Committee 

members, consideration was placed on 

the applicant’s experience in this area, 

as well as the size of the tribe the 

nominee represented, geographic 

location of the gaming operation, and 

the size and type of gaming conducted. 

The Commission attempted to assemble 

a committee that incorporated diversity 

and was representative of tribal gaming 

interests. The Commission will meet 

with the Advisory Committee to discuss 

the public comments that are received 

as a result of the publication of this 

proposed rule and make 

recommendations regarding the final 

rule. The Commission also plans to 

continue its policy of providing 

technical assistance, through its field 

offices, to tribes to assist in complying 

with issues raised by the proposed rule. 

Takings 

In accordance with Executive Order 

12630, the Commission has determined 

that this proposed rule does not have 

significant takings implications. A 

takings implication assessment is not 

required. 

Civil Justice Reform 

In accordance with Executive Order 

12988, the Office of General Counsel has 

determined that the proposed rule does 

not unduly burden the judicial system 

and meets the requirements of sections 

3(a) and 3(b)(2) of the Order. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This proposed rule requires 

information collection under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 

U.S.C. 3501, et seq., and is subject to 

review by the Office of Management and 

Budget. The title, description, and 

respondent categories are discussed 

below, together with an estimate of the 

annual information collection burden. 

With respect to the following 

collection of information, the 

Commission invites comments on: (1) 

Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for proper 

performance of its functions, including 

whether the information would have 

practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the 

Commission’s estimate of the burden of 

the proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (3) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (4) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques, when 

appropriate, and other forms of 

information technology. 

Title: Process for Certification of 

Electronic, Computer, or other 

Technologic Aids used in the play of 

Class II games, proposed 25 CFR 547.4. 

Summary of information and 

description of need: This provision in 

the proposed rule establishes a process 

for assuring that electronic, computer, 

or other technologic aids used with the 

play of Class II games have been 

reviewed and evaluated by a qualified, 

independent testing laboratory prior to 

their approval by a tribal gaming 

regulatory authority and their placement 

on the floor in a Class II tribal gaming 

operation. The process helps to ensure 

the proper functioning of the equipment 

and the integrity, fairness, and 

auditability of games played. 

The process requires a tribe’s gaming 

regulatory authority to require that all 

Class II games played primarily through 

electronic, computer, or other 

technologic aids, or modifications of 

such games and aids, be submitted by 

the manufacturer to a qualified, 

independent testing laboratory for 

review and analysis. That submission 

includes a working prototype of the 

game and aid, all pertinent software, 

and complete documentation and 

descriptions of all functions and 

components. In turn, the laboratory will 

certify that the game or aids do or do not 

meet the requirements of the proposed 

rule and any additional requirements 

adopted by the tribe’s gaming regulatory 

authority. The laboratory will provide a 

written certification and report of its 

analysis and conclusions to the tribal 

gaming regulatory authority for its 

approval or disapproval of the game or 

aid. 

This process is necessary to ensure 

the fairness and integrity of Class II 

gaming. Technical standards such as 

those in the proposed rule are a 

fundamental part of Class III gaming and 

of non-Indian casino gaming throughout 

North America. No uniform standards 

exist for Class II gaming, however. The 

implementation of such standards will 

assist tribal gaming regulators in 

ensuring that games are implemented 

fairly, that all technologic aids are 

secure and function properly, and that 

the games and aids allow the tribe and 

the operator to properly account for 

gaming revenue. 

Respondents: The respondents are 

independent testing laboratories and 

developers and manufacturers of Class II 

games and technologic aids. The 

Commission estimates that there are 20 

such manufacturers and 5 such 

laboratories. The frequency of responses 

to the information collection 

requirement will vary. 

During the first 6 to 12 months after 

adoption of the proposed rule, all 

existing games or aids in Class II 

operations that fall within the rule must 

be submitted and reviewed if they are to 

continue in Class II operations. 

Following that period, the frequency of 

responses will be a function of the Class 

II market and the need or desire for new 

games and aids. Thus, the Commission 

estimates that the frequency of 

responses will range over an initial 

period of frequent submissions, settling 

down into infrequent and occasional 

submissions during periods when there 

are a few games, aids, or modifications 

brought to market, punctuated by fairly 

steady periods of submissions when 

new games and aids are introduced. The 

Commission estimates that submission 

will number approximately 150 during 

the first year after adoption and 

approximately 75 per year thereafter. 

Information Collection Burden: The 

preparation and submission of 

documentation supporting submissions 

by developers and manufacturers (as 

opposed to the game or aid hardware 

and software per se) is an information 

collection burden under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act, as is the preparation of 

certifications and reports of analyses by 

the laboratories. The amount of 

documentation or size of a laboratory 

certification and report is a function of 

the complexity of the game, equipment, 

or software submitted for review. Minor 

modifications of software or hardware 

that a manufacturer has already 

submitted and that a laboratory has 

previously examined is a matter of little 

time both for manufacturer and 

laboratory, while the submission and 

review of an entirely new game platform 

is time consuming. 

The practice of submission and 

review set out in the proposed rule, 

however, is not new. It is already part 

of the regulatory requirements in tribal, 

state, and provincial gaming 

jurisdictions throughout North America 

and the world. Manufacturers already 

have significant compliance personnel 

and infrastructure in place, and the very 

existence of private, independent 

laboratories is due to these 

requirements. 


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Accordingly, the Commission 

estimates that gathering and preparing 

documentation for a single submission 

requires, on average, eight hours of an 

employee’s time for a manufacturer. The 

Commission also estimates that 

following examination and analysis, 

writing a report and certification 

requires, on average, 12.5 hours of an 

employee’s time for a laboratory. The 

Commission estimates that the 

information collection requirements in 

the proposed rule will be a 1200-hour 

burden on manufacturers during the 

first year after adoption and a 600-hour 

burden thereafter. The Commission 

estimates that the information collection 

requirements in the proposed rule will 

be a 1875-hour burden on laboratories 

during the first year after adoption and 

a 940-hour burden thereafter. The 

following table summarizes: 

Provision Respondents Number of 

respondents 

Collections, 

1st year 

Hours per 

collection Total hours 

Collections, 

year 2 

forward 

Hours per 

collection Total 

25 CFR 546.4 .... Laboratories ....... 5 150 12 .5 1875 75 12 .5 937 .5 

Same .................. Manufacturers .... 20 150 8 1200 75 8 600 

Comments: Pursuant to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3507(d), the 

Commission has submitted a copy of 

this proposed rule to OMB for its review 

and approval of this information 

collection. Interested persons are 

requested to send comment regarding 

the burden, estimates, or any other 

aspect of the information collection, 

including suggestions for reducing the 

burden (1) directly to the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for 

National Indian Gaming Commission, 

725 17th St. NW., Washington DC, 

20503, and (2) to Michael Gross, Senior 

Attorney, National Indian Gaming 

Commission, 1441 L Street NW., 

Washington DC 20005. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

The Commission has determined that 

this proposed rule does not constitute a 

major Federal action significantly 

affecting the quality of the human 

environment and that no detailed 

statement is required pursuant to the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et. seq). 

List of Subjects in 25 CFR Part 547 

Gambling, Indian-lands, Indian-tribal 

government, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the Commission proposes to 

add new 25 CFR part 547 to read as 

follows: 

PART 547—MINIMUM TECHNICAL 

STANDARDS FOR GAMING 

EQUIPMENT USED WITH THE PLAY 

OF CLASS II GAMES 

Sec. 

547.1 What is the purpose of this part? 

547.2 How do these regulations affect state 

jurisdiction? 

547.3 What are the definitions for this part? 

547.4 How do I comply with this part? 

547.5 What are the rules of interpretation 

and of general application for this part? 

547.6 What are the minimum technical 

standards applicable to servers? 

547.7 What are the minimum technical 

hardware standards applicable to client 

machines used as Electronic Player 

Stations? 

547.10 What are the minimum technical 

software standards applicable to client 

machines used as Electronic Player 

Stations? 

547.11 What are the technical standards 

applicable to critical memory? 

547.12 What are the minimum technical 

standards for meters? 

547.13 What are the minimum standards for 

Electronic Player Station events? 

547.14 What are the minimum technical 

standards for last game recall? 

547.15 What are the minimum technical 

standards for money and credit 

handling? 

547.16 What are the minimum technical 

standards applicable both to clients and 

servers or to client-server 

implementations generally? 

547.17 What are the minimum technical 

standards for the Formal Application 

Configuration document and verification 

tool? 

547.18 What are the minimum technical 

standards for downloading Class II game 

software, paytables, peripheral software 

or other Download Packages in client—

server implementations? 

547.19 What are the minimum technical 

standards for changing available Class II 

game software or paytables in client—

server implementations? 

547.20 What are the minimum technical 

standards for game program storage 

media? 

547.21 What are the minimum technical 

standards for random number 

generation? 

547.22 What are the minimum technical 

standards for data communications? 

547.23 What are the minimum technical 

standards for encryption? 

547.24 What are the minimum standards for 

game artwork, glass, and rules? 

547.25 What are the minimum standards for 

interfacing to a casino monitoring 

system? 

547.26 How does a gaming operation apply 

for a variance from these standards? 

Authority: 25 U.S.C. 2706(b). 

§ 547.1 What is the purpose of this part? 

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 

U.S.C. 2703(7)(A)(i) permits the use of 

electronic, computer, or other 

technologic aids in connection with the 

play of Class II games. This part 

establishes the minimum technical 

standards governing the use of such 

aids. 

§ 547.2 How do these regulations affect 

state jurisdiction? 

Nothing in this part shall be 

construed to grant to a state jurisdiction 

in Class II gaming or to extend a state’s 

jurisdiction in Class III gaming. 

§ 547.3 What are the definitions for this 

part? 

For the purposes of this part, the 

following definitions apply: 

Application, A computer program, or 

group of programs, that operates on a 

computer system, including game 

programs that run on a server or client. 

Attract Mode, The period of time on 

an electronic player station between one 

play finishing and the next play 

commencing, or another mode being 

entered, and displaying features of the 

game or games available for play. 

Audit Mode, The mode where it is 

possible to view Electronic Player 

Station meters, statistics, etc. and 

perform non-player related functions. 

Cancel Credit, An action at an 

Electronic Player Station where some or 

all of the monetary entitlements of the 

player are removed and paid to a player 

after overt action taken by an attendant. 

Cashless Account, A file, record, or 

other database item maintained on a 

computer system that contains account 

identification information and a current 

amount held within the account. 

Cashless Transaction, A moement of 

money to or from a cashless account—

often to or from an Electronic Player 

Station. 

Cashless Wagering System, A system 

that securely maintains records of 

cashless accounts and caters for a wide 

range of account transactions, including 

open, close, PIN registration / 

modification / resetting, account 

identification / verification, deposits, 


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withdrawals, and transfers to and from 

Electronic Player Stations. 

Cashout Request, The mode where the 

Electronic Player Station dispenses 

coins, tokens, bills, vouchers, or their 

equivalents after the patron has pressed 

collect to redeem credits under a certain 

value. 

CD–ROM, A compact disk which 

contains fixed data or programs that can 

only be read by the equipment in which 

it is inserted. 

Chairman, The Chairman of the 

National Indian Gaming Commission 

pursuant to the Indian Gaming 

Regulatory Act, 25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq. 

Client, An computer, often an 

Electronic Player Station, that is 

controlled through local or wide area 

network by a master computer known as 

a server. 

Coin Validator, Equipment used to 

validate coins or tokens placed in an 

electronic player station. 

Commission, The National Indian 

Gaming Commission. 

Communication Protocol, A means or 

methodology for passing data and other 

messages between two or more 

computer components. Typical 

protocols enable means for 

communications to continue without 

loss or corruption of data in the case of 

errors over the medium with which the 

data is sent. 

Coupon, A voucher or ticket which 

enables transfer of promotional credits 

to an Electronic Player Station, whether 

cashable or playable only. 

CPU, The central processing unit of a 

computer. 

Critical Memory, Memory locations 

storing data specified in § 547.11(a) for 

an Electronic Player Station. 

Critical Memory Clear, The process a 

service technician goes through to reset 

the memory of an Electronic Player 

Station, which configures the Electronic 

Player Station into the ‘as new’ state. 

Cycling, Calling the random number 

generator in order to advance its state 

rather than to obtain an output. 

Data-link Layer, The lowest level of 

logical, as opposed to physical, 

communication between two or more 

computer devices. 

Disable (Client), Action taken either 

by the client or via instruction from the 

server or other network computer 

system to disable play and acceptance 

and payment of coins, tokens, cash, 

vouchers, or credits, but still permitting 

maintenance or auditing functions. 

Discretionary access controls, The 

ability to be able to restrict access to 

computing objects such as files, 

peripherals, programs on the basis of the 

privileges associated with a user 

account Disruption, Any form of misoperation, component failure, or 

interference to the Class II gaming 

equipment. 

Download Package, Approved data 

sent from a Download Server to a client 

or other component of the technologic 

aids used in the play of Class II games 

for such purposes as changing of the 

device software, loading or selecting a 

new paytable, changing configuration 

parameters such as tokenization, 

changing peripherals software or 

configuration, or requesting specific 

information from the device. 

Download Server, A computer device 

that delivers Download Packages or 

causes Download Packages to be 

actuated in a secure manner to 

technologic aids used in the play of 

Class II games. 

Electromagnetic Interference, The 

physical characteristic of an electronic 

device to emit electronic noise either 

into free air, onto the mains power lines, 

or communication cables. 

Electrostatic Discharge, Electrostatic 

Discharge (see Electrostatic 

interference). 

Electrostatic Interference, The 

physical property of being able to create 

electronic interference to a device by 

either discharging static electricity onto 

the surface of the unit or via a mains 

power or communication cable. 

Enable (client), An action taken to 

place the client, generally an Electronic 

Player Station, in a state where it can 

conduct gaming and money movement 

transactions. 

Entropy source, A hardware device or 

software algorithm designed to produce 

outputs derived from measures of 

‘‘truly’’ random events, such as thermal 

noise. 

EPROM, Electrically Programmable 

Read Only Memory—a storage area 

which may be filled with data and 

information, which once written is not 

modifiable, and which is retained even 

if there is no power applied to the 

machine. 

Extensible Protocol, A 

communications protocol which 

contains a mechanism that can be used 

to negotiate extensions to the protocol—

sometimes called options. 

Fault, An event that when detected by 

an Electronic Player Station causes a 

discontinuance of game play or other 

machine functions. 

Fault Mode, A mode where the 

Electronic Player Station has disabled 

itself, preventing game play or other 

functions, as a result of a fault condition 

occurring on the Electronic Player 

Station. 

Flash Memory, A computer chip with 

a read-only memory that retains its data 

when the power is turned off and that 

can be electronically erased and 

reprogrammed without being removed 

from the circuit board. 

Flash ROM, A flash memory device 

which contains fixed data or programs 

that can be read but not written to by 

the gaming equipment in which it is 

inserted. 

Game Software, The operational 

program(s) which control the play, 

display and results of Class II games and 

played on gaming equipment. 

Gaming Equipment, All electrical and 

mechanical physical components 

making up the equipment on which 

Class II games are played. 

Hardware, See Gaming Equipment 

Hopper, A device used to store and 

dispense coins. 

Idle Mode, The period of time after 

the completion of the previous game, or 

before the very first game after a 

memory reset, until the player begins to 

select options for the next game. 

Initial seeding, Initializing the RNG 

state 

Logic Area, A locked area of gaming 

equipment that houses electronic 

components that have the potential to 

significantly influence the operation of 

the Electronic Player Station 

MAC Filter, An access point that can 

be configured with filters that accept or 

reject data on the basis of the sender’s 

Media Access Control (MAC) address. 

All devices that participate in 802.11a, 

802.11b and 802.11g Wireless networks 

have a unique (MAC) address. The MAC 

address is present in every frame 

transmitted over the Wireless network. 

Magnetic Interference, A magnetic 

field which has the potential to affect 

the operation of an electronic device. 

Master Meter, A meter whose value is 

reset only when a memory reset is 

performed. This meter represents the 

total of all updates since the last 

memory reset. 

Meter, A non-volatile variable storing 

Electronic Player Station audit, 

accounting, and game play information. 

Modification, A new version of 

existing hardware or software, often 

consisting of relatively minor or discreet 

changes, used with the play of Class II 

games. 

Non-cashable credit, Credits given by 

an operator to a patron as part of a 

promotion, placed on an electronic 

player station through a voucher or 

electronic transfer, and capable of 

activating play but not being cashed out. 

Non-writable storage media, A storage 

device which contains fixed data or 

programs that can be read, but not 

written to, by the gaming equipment in 

which it is inserted. 

Number of RNG states, The number of 

settings that the RNG state can take on 


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before returning to the initial state. Also 

called RNG cycle. 

Par Sheet, An information sheet 

supplied by the equipment or game 

manufacturer detailing the mathematics 

and probabilities of a game. 

Paytable, The set of prizes available to 

players for achieving certain outcomes 

or patterns in the game on offer. 

Play of a game, A sequence of actions 

in the Electronic Player Station initiated 

by a player through a wagering of 

credits and terminated when all credits 

wagered have been lost or all winnings 

have been transferred to the Electronic 

Player Station’s total wins meter and the 

player’s credit meter. 

Printed Circuit Board, The piece of 

board used to connect together 

electronic components in a certain 

manner using tracks and holes to route 

the signals. 

Programmable Logic Device, An 

electronically configurable integrated 

circuit, usually used for hardware 

control purposes. 

Progressive Jackpot, An incremental 

prize that increases by a defined 

amount, each time a game is played on 

one of a group of interconnected 

electronic player stations. 

RAM, Random Access Memory. 

Random, Passing recognized 

statistical tests for randomness. 

Random Number Generator (RNG), A 

software module, hardware device or 

combination of these designed to 

produce outputs that are random. 

Removable/Rewritable storage media, 

Program or data storage devices that can 

be removed from the Class II gaming 

equipment and written to, or rewritten 

by the gaming equipment or by other 

equipment designed for that purpose. 

Re-seeding, Modifying the state of an 

RNG using external inputs 

Residual Credits, Credits remaining 

which are less than the value of one 

coin or token. 

RNG algorithm, The coded 

instructions which step an RNG’s state 

through its cycle and calculate the next 

output. 

RNG cycle, The number of settings 

that the RNG state can take on before 

returning to the initial state. 

RNG state, RNGs (other than entropy 

sources) produce outputs by an 

algorithm which modifies one or more 

variables through a long sequence. 

These variables constitute the RNG 

state. 

ROM, Read Only Memory. 

Scaling algorithm, The coded 

instructions which map an random 

number generator output onto a range 

desired by a caller. 

Server, A master computer station 

which controls multiple clients via a 

local or wide area network. 

Setup Mode, The initial stage of 

configuration mode where a technician 

can enter Electronic Player Station 

related data. 

SSID, Service Set Identifier. An 

alphanumeric string maintained by the 

Wireless Access Point that identifies the 

name of the specific Wireless network. 

An end station uses the SSID to 

distinguish between multiple wireless 

networks and to determine what 

authentication method and credentials 

it should use to gain a connection. 

System Account, A user account 

available on the server, usually secured 

by a username and password, that 

provides access to the operating system 

and resident software. 

Test/Diagnostics Mode, A mode on an 

electronic player station that allows 

various tests to be performed on its 

hardware and software. 

Testing Laboratory, An organization 

recognized by the Commission as 

suitable for evaluation of submitted 

gaming equipment and software for 

compliance with this part and part 546 

of this chapter. 

Touch Screen, A video monitor with 

a special surface that can activate the 

Electronic Player Station by the 

touching of the screen’s surface. 

Voucher Payment System, A system 

that securely maintains records of 

payment vouchers generated by 

Electronic Player Stations, validates and 

records successful or failed payments of 

vouchers by Electronic Player Stations, 

kiosks or cashier stations, and controls 

the purging of expired vouchers. 

WEP, Wired Equivalent Privacy. An 

early security standard intended to 

protect wireless traffic from 

unauthorized access and modification. 

WEP has fundamental design flaws and 

will not protect a Wireless network. 

Automatic tools that compromise WEP 

security on a busy network within a few 

hours are available. 

Wireless Access Point, A device that 

sends and receives wireless radio 

signals to and from wireless devices, 

rebroadcasting these signals to and from 

the Local Area Network to which the 

Wireless Access Point is connected. 

Wireless communication network, A 

system of multiple computer devices 

which communicate with each other by 

broadcasting their messages through the 

air without using a physical medium 

such as a wire or cable. 

WPA, Wi-Fi Protected Access. A 

security standard that overcomes some 

of the known problems with WEP. WPA 

uses stronger encryption and provides 

for user authentication. However, like 

WEP, WPA will not protect a wireless 

network. Other security standards (e.g. 

WPA2) are available and under 

development by various standards 

bodies. 

§ 547.4 How do I comply with this part? 

(a) Effective date. In order that 

manufacturers and operators have time 

to bring games and aids into 

compliance, this part shall be effective 

6 months following publication of the 

final rule in the Federal Register. Upon 

application by a tribal gaming regulatory 

authority, the Chairman may extend the 

effective date for one or more additional 

periods of 6 months for good cause 

shown. 

(b) Submission, testing, and approval. 

Except as provided in paragraph (d) of 

this section, no tribe shall offer for play 

or use in a tribal gaming operation any 

gaming equipment, game software, or 

modification of gaming equipment or 

game software unless: 

(1) The gaming equipment, game 

software, or modification has been 

submitted to a testing laboratory 

recognized by the Commission pursuant 

to § 546.9(f) of this chapter. 

(2) The submission conforms to the 

requirements of paragraph (c) of this 

section. 

(3) The testing laboratory tests the 

submission to the standards established 

by this part, and to any additional 

standards adopted by the tribal gaming 

regulatory authority, and provides a 

formal written report to the party 

making the submission, setting forth 

and certifying to its findings and 

conclusions. And 

(4) Following receipt of the 

laboratory’s report, the tribal gaming 

regulatory authority makes a finding 

that the gaming equipment, game 

software, or modification conforms to 

the standards established by this part, 

and to any additional standards adopted 

by the tribal gaming regulatory 

authority. The tribal gaming regulatory 

authority shall retain a copy of the 

laboratory’s report so long as the gaming 

equipment, game software, or 

modification that is the subject of the 

report remains available to the public 

for play in its gaming operation. 

(c) Submission requirements. 

Submissions to testing laboratories 

required by § 547.4(b) shall include the 

following: 

(1) A complete, comprehensive, and 

technically accurate description and 

explanation in both technical and lay 

language of the manner in which 

equipment operates. Documentation of 

client—server implementations shall 

identify: 

(i) The amount of time that the storage 

of the game records and significant 

event required to be kept by § 547.6(d) 


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through (e) may be maintained without 

causing a degradation in performance; 

(ii) The maximum number of 

enrollable client machines; and 

(iii) The number of client machines 

constituting a high or maximum load 

and whose collective operation will 

produce a degradation in system 

performance. 

(2) All source code: 

(i) Complete and able to be compiled, 

with resultant object code identical to 

that submitted for evaluation; 

(ii) If applicable, a resolution of 

differences in compiled software 

versions by the addition of ‘date’ and 

‘time’ stamps or other such compiler 

variations; 

(iii) If redundant sections of code 

exist, documentation of the areas of 

code that are redundant; and 

(iv) If code is made redundant via a 

dynamically settable parameter, 

documentation of each such parameter, 

the means of setting or resetting it, and 

all default states. 

(3) The necessary compilers and 

development environment to enable the 

software to be independently compiled 

and tested. 

(4) A copy of all executable software, 

including data and graphic information, 

and a copy of all source code for 

programs submitted on electronically 

readable, unalterable media including, if 

requested, a method of: 

(i) Examining the source code; 

(ii) Conducting computer-aided 

searches within the source code; 

(iii) Comparing two different versions 

of the source code and examining the 

differences between the two versions; 

and 

(iv) Verifying that the executable 

software that is to be used for testing has 

been compiled from the source code 

versions submitted. 

(5) Prototype equipment including all 

hardware and software components, and 

if the submitted equipment is a clientserver configuration: 

(i) A server fully loaded and 

configured (production mode) with the 

application to be used in production; 

and 

(ii) At least two clients or Electronic 

Player Stations, fully loaded and 

configured (production mode) with the 

application to be used in production; 

(iii) The communications equipment 

to link the server and clients; and 

(iv) If the equipment is to link to 

external systems such as a casino 

monitoring system, the hardware and 

software that enable the interface. 

(6) A Formal Application 

Configuration (FAC) document meeting 

the requirements of § 547.17(a) and an 

FAC verification tool meeting the 

requirements of § 547.17(b) through (g). 

(7) A par sheet or mathematical 

analysis of each game for each paytable 

submitted. 

(8) A copy of all graphical images 

displayed on the equipment or used in 

the game, including rules, instructions, 

and paytables. All artwork supplied 

shall be identified by a part number and 

the name or logo of the manufacturer. 

Successive versions of artwork shall be 

numbered sequentially. 

(9) Any other information, 

documentation, software, or equipment 

deemed necessary by the testing 

laboratory. 

(d) Emergency hardware and software 

changes. (1) Notwithstanding the 

requirements of paragraph (b) of this 

section, a tribal gaming regulatory 

authority may permit modified 

hardware or game software to be made 

available for play without prior 

laboratory review if, in its discretion, 

the modified hardware or game software 

is: 

(i) Necessary to correct a problem 

affecting the fairness, security, or 

integrity of a game; or 

(ii) Unrelated to game play. 

(2) If a tribal gaming regulatory 

authority authorizes modified game 

software or hardware to be made 

available for play or use without prior 

laboratory review, the tribal gaming 

regulatory authority shall require the 

hardware or software manufacturer to: 

(i) Immediately advise other users of 

the same hardware or software of the 

importance and availability of the 

update; 

(ii) Immediately submit, pursuant to 

the requirements of paragraph (c) of this 

section, the new hardware or software to 

a test laboratory for testing and 

verification; 

(iii) Provide the tribal gaming 

regulatory authority a temporary Formal 

Application Configuration meeting the 

requirements of § 547.17 for any new 

software. 

§ 547.5 What are the rules of interpretation 

and of general application for this part? 

(a) Minimum standards. A tribal 

gaming regulatory authority may 

establish and implement additional 

technical standards that are as stringent 

as, or more stringent than those set out 

in this part. 

(b) Only applicable standards apply. 

Gaming equipment and software used 

with play of Class II games shall meet 

all applicable requirements of this part. 

For example, if an Electronic Player 

Station lacks a hopper or the ability to 

print or accept vouchers, then the 

standards that govern those things do 

not apply. 

(c) Fairness. No gaming equipment or 

software used with the play of Class II 

games shall cheat, mislead, or 

disadvantage users. 

(d) Approved equipment and software 

only. All gaming equipment and 

software used with the play of Class II 

games shall be identical in all respects 

to a prototype reviewed and tested by a 

recognized gaming laboratory and 

approved for use by the tribal gaming 

regulatory authority pursuant to 

§ 547.4(b) or (d). Unapproved software 

shall not be loaded onto or stored on 

any program storage medium used with 

the play of Class II games. 

(e) Proper functioning. All gaming 

equipment and software used with the 

play of Class II games shall perform 

according to the manufacturer’s design 

and operating specifications. 

§ 547.6 What are the minimum technical 

standards applicable to servers? 

This section provides standards 

applicable to all servers used with play 

of Class II games. 

(a) General requirements. (1) Servers 

shall authenticate all communications 

as coming from an enrolled client 

machine. 

(2) Servers shall only process gaming 

transactions from games approved by 

the tribal gaming regulatory authority. 

(3) Servers shall be able to enroll and 

un-enroll client machines for gaming. 

(4) Servers shall be able to enable and 

disable specific client machines for 

gaming. 

(5) Servers shall ensure that only 

enrolled, enabled client machines 

participate in gaming. 

(6) The default condition for new 

client machines shall be un-enrolled 

and disabled. 

(b) Physical security. Servers shall be 

housed in a secure, dedicated room or 

in a secure locked cabinet. Access shall 

be restricted to persons authorized by 

the tribal gaming regulatory authority. 

Servers located on the casino floor shall 

also meet the applicable requirements of 

§ 547.7. 

(c) Logical/Software security. Nothing 

in this section shall be construed to 

alter, repeal or limit the applicability of 

§ 542.16(a) of this chapter. Servers used 

in the play of Class II games shall also 

meet the following requirements: 

(1) Servers shall use operating 

systems that have discretionary access 

controls and shall be configured so that 

access controls are used to prevent 

unauthorized access to the operating 

system, programs, data, and peripherals. 

(2) Servers shall be configured so that 

audit trails are maintained for login/ 

authentication successes and failures. 

The following information shall be 

recorded, if supported: 

(i) Date and time of the login attempt; 


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(ii) Username supplied; and 

(iii) Success or failure. 

(3) Logins using system accounts (e.g. 

administrator, root, etc.) shall be 

restricted to the console. 

Notwithstanding this, logins using 

system accounts may be made away 

from the console for the purpose of 

remote support, provided that such 

remote access meets the requirements of 

paragraph (c)(9) of this section. 

(4) Generic user accounts are 

prohibited. 

(5) Accounts shall be restricted to 

authorized personnel, as specified by 

the tribal gaming regulatory authority. 

(6) Account passwords shall only be 

transmitted in encrypted or hashed form 

meeting the requirements of § 547.23(b) 

through (c). 

(7) Application passwords shall be 

stored in an encrypted or hashed form 

meeting the requirements of § 547.23(b) 

through (c). 

(8) Only software essential to the 

operation of the server shall be loaded 

onto the server. 

(9) Remote access to enable dynamic 

debugging may be permitted by the 

tribal gaming regulatory authority 

pursuant to § 542.16(e) of this chapter. 

To support this facility, servers shall: 

(i) Provide a mechanism to enable and 

disable remote access, which shall be 

disabled by default; and 

(ii) Log all successful and 

unsuccessful attempts at remote access. 

Nothing in this requirement shall be 

construed to alter, repeal, or limit the 

applicability of § 542.16(e)(1) of this 

chapter. 

(d) Game record information. The 

server shall store the following records 

for each game played: 

(1) Client ID; 

(2) Game start time and date; 

(3) Game identifier (version); 

(4) Game end time; 

(5) Total amount bet by all 

participants in game; 

(6) Total amount won by all 

participants in game; and 

(7) Final game result, including 

progressive prizes awarded and, for 

bingo, game number and numbers or 

designations drawn, in the order drawn. 

(e) Significant events. The server shall 

store the following significant events: 

(1) Server shutdown; 

(2) Server startup; 

(3) Gaming application startup; 

(4) Gaming application shutdown; 

(5) Client enrolled; 

(6) Client un-enrolled; 

(7) Client enabled; 

(8) Client disabled; 

(9) Client tamper detection; 

(10) Client signature check and result; 

(11) Client application restart; 

(12) Client application download; 

(13) Server parameter change; 

(14) Client parameter change; 

(15) Game created; 

(16) Game enable; 

(17) Game disable; 

(18) Game deleted; 

(19) Any instance of an aborted game.; 

(20) Large (jackpot) win; 

(21) Large win (jackpot) approved/ 

rejected; 

(22) Progressive parameter change; 

(23) Progressive created; 

(24) Progressive enabled; 

(25) Progressive disabled; 

(26) Progressive deleted; 

(27) Progressive win; 

(28) Progressive win approved/ 

rejected; 

(29) Client doors open; 

(30) Client doors closed; 

(31) Client hopper refill; 

(32) Client hand-pay; 

(33) Data-link level connection 

between client and server broken. This 

requirement does not refer to temporary 

perturbations of communications where 

‘‘temporary’’ means a disruption of less 

than 10 seconds; and 

(34) Data-link level connection 

between client and server is established. 

(f) Storage requirements. Game 

records, significant events, and remote 

access logs shall be maintained for a 

period of one year from the date the 

games are played. 

(g) Alternate storage requirements. 

Game records, significant events, and 

remote access logs may be kept in an 

archived manner, on the server or 

elsewhere, provided that the 

information reconciles across all forms 

of replicated storage and that the 

information can be produced within 24 

hours upon request. In any event, game 

records and significant events for the 

previous 72 hours shall be immediately 

accessible. 

(h) Servers acting as progressive 

controllers. This paragraph (h) applies 

to progressive controllers, or servers 

acting as progressive controllers, used 

with the play of Class II games. 

(1) Modification of progressive 

jackpot parameters shall be secure. Such 

parameters include, at a minimum: 

(i) Increment value; 

(ii) Secondary pool increment(s); 

(iii) Reset amount(s); 

(iv) Maximum value(s); and 

(v) Identity of participating Electronic 

Player Stations. 

(2) No parameters shall be modified 

for an active progressive jackpot unless 

the jackpot has been won, or as 

otherwise authorized by the tribal 

gaming regulatory authority. 

(3) If the tribal gaming regulatory 

authority authorizes modification before 

a progressive jackpot is won, the server 

or controller shall: 

(i) Halt the operation of the 

progressive jackpot(s); 

(ii) Allow the parameter 

modifications; and then 

(iii) Restart the progressive jackpot(s). 

(4) No progressive jackpot shall be 

returned to its reset amount before it is 

won except as authorized by the tribal 

gaming regulatory authority. In any 

event, no progressive jackpot shall be 

reset before it is won unless the 

accumulated jackpot amount is 

transferred to another active progressive 

jackpot. 

(5) The server or other progressive 

controller shall provide a means of 

creating a progressive balancing report 

for each progressive it controls. At a 

minimum, that report shall provide 

balancing of the changes in coin-in 

meters for all participating Electronic 

Player Stations versus current 

progressive jackpot amount(s), plus 

progressive jackpots won. In addition, 

the report shall account for, and not be 

made inaccurate by, unusual events 

such as: 

(i) Electronic Player Station critical 

memory clears; 

(ii) Modification, alteration, or 

deletion of progressive jackpots. 

(iii) Offline equipment; or 

(iv) Multiple site jackpots. 

§ 547.7 What are the minimum technical 

hardware standards applicable to client 

machines used as Electronic Player 

Stations? 

This section provides minimum 

hardware standards for all client 

machines or servers located on the 

casino floor and used as Electronic 

Player Stations for the play of Class II 

games. 

(a) FCC certification. Electronic Player 

Stations shall have obtained the relevant 

FCC certification(s), or the USA 

equivalent, required for equipment of its 

type prior to approval by the tribal 

gaming regulatory authority. 

(b) UL certification. Electronic Player 

Stations shall have obtained the relevant 

UL certification(s), or the USA 

equivalent, required for equipment of its 

type prior to approval by the tribal 

gaming regulatory authority. 

(c) Power interconnections. There 

shall be no mains ground 

interconnections via data cabling 

between devices powered from different 

wall outlets. RS–422, which is designed 

to operate with a floating ground, may 

be used provided that any shield or 

signal grounds are not connected to the 

mains ground. 

(d) Power supplies. (1) Electronic 

Player Stations shall employ power 


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supply filtering sufficient to permit 

continued operation at voltages ±10% of 

110v. 

(2) Electronic Player Stations shall 

employ power supply filter sufficient to 

ensure that none of the following 

damage or inhibit their operation or 

affect the outcome or integrity of any 

game, progressive award, or voucher, 

coupon, or cashless trans 

(i) Surges or dips of ±20% of 110v of 

the supply voltage; 

(ii) Repeated switching on and off of 

the AC power supply; or 

(iii) Jiggling the AC cord at the wall 

outlet. 

(3) Electronic Player Stations may 

handle the power variations listed in 

paragraph (d)(2)(i) through (iii) of this 

section by intentionally shutting down 

or going into sleep mode. 

(4) All ratings of fuses, if any, shall be 

clearly stated on or in close proximity 

to the fuse holder, and switches on the 

power supply shall show On/Off 

positions. 

(e) Printed Circuit Boards. (1) Printed 

circuit boards that are specially 

manufactured or proprietary and not offthe-shelf shall display a unique 

identifier such as a serial number and 

revision number, which shall be 

updated to reflect new revisions or 

modifications of the board. 

(2) Switches or jumpers on all circuit 

boards that have the potential to affect 

the outcome or integrity of any game, 

progressive award, or voucher, coupon, 

or cashless transaction shall be capable 

of being sealed. 

(f) Labeling. External key-switches, 

locks (other than for doors), switches, 

and buttons shall be securely labeled, 

using stickers or otherwise, according to 

their function or the series of events 

they initiate. 

(g) Electrostatic Discharge. (1) 

Electronic Player Stations shall be 

constructed so that static discharges of 

±15–25 kV for air discharges and of 

±7.5–10 kV for contact discharges may 

cause a temporary disruption but shall 

not otherwise damage or inhibit 

operation or affect the outcome or 

integrity of any game, progressive 

award, or voucher, coupon, or cashless 

transaction. 

(2) Electronic Player Stations 

accessible to the public shall be 

constructed so that they exhibit total 

immunity to human body electrostatic 

discharges on all areas exposed to 

contact, i.e., static discharges of ±15 kV 

for air discharges and ±7.5 kV for 

contact discharges shall not damage or 

inhibit operation or affect the outcome 

or integrity of any game, progressive 

award, or voucher, coupon, or cashless 

transaction. 

(h) Radio Frequency Interference. 

Electronic Player Stations shall be 

constructed so that commonly used 

electromagnetic emitting devices such 

as mobile phones or walkie talkies, even 

if such devices are placed upon, or 

immediately outside of, the cabinet, 

shall not damage or inhibit operation or 

affect the outcome or integrity of any 

game, progressive award, or voucher, 

coupon, or cashless transaction. 

(i) Magnetic Interference. Electronic 

Player Stations shall be constructed so 

that the application of magnetic 

interference of up to 10 Gauss at a 

distance of 5 cm from any surface shall 

not damage or inhibit operation or affect 

the outcome or integrity of any game, 

progressive award, or voucher, coupon, 

or cashless transaction. 

(j) Cabinet and housing construction 

and security, generally. (1) Cabinets and 

housings shall be of a robust 

construction designed to resist 

determined illegal entry and to protect 

internal components. 

(2) Cabinets and housings shall be 

reasonably resistant to the extremes of 

the casino operating environment, such 

as liquid spills, smoke, and heat, such 

that these conditions are not capable of 

affecting the outcome or integrity of any 

game, progressive award, or voucher, 

coupon, or cashless transaction. 

(3) All doors, hinges, locks, seals and 

holes, gaps, or slots in the cabinet or 

housing exterior shall be of a robust 

construction designed to resist 

determined illegal entry and to protect 

internal components. 

(4) All protuberances and attachments 

such as buttons, identification plates, 

and labels shall be sufficiently robust to 

avoid unauthorized removal. 

(k) Construction and security of 

locked areas within cabinets, logic 

areas. (1) All components other than 

those with which the player interacts 

directly, such as buttons and entry slots 

for bills, vouchers, and coins, shall be 

located within the cabinet, which shall 

be locked, or in a separate locked area 

within the cabinet. Bill and coin 

validators shall be located within the 

cabinet. 

(2) Except for logic areas and locked 

areas that only provide access to 

lighting, locked areas within a cabinet 

shall be equipped with door access 

detection devices that meet the 

requirements of paragraph (m) of this 

section. 

(3) Locked areas within a cabinet shall 

be of a robust construction designed to 

resist determined illegal entry and to 

protect internal components. 

(l) Security of locked areas within 

cabinets. (1) The following components 

shall be housed in a separate, 

independently locked area within the 

cabinet: 

(i) CPU’s and any other electronic 

components involved in the operation, 

calculation, or determination of game 

play and game results, voucher or 

coupon issuance or redemption, 

progressive parameters, or cashless 

transactions; 

(ii) All electronics involved in the 

calculation of game display and 

components housing display program 

storage media; 

(iii) All program media involved in 

the operation, calculation, or 

determination of game play and game 

results, voucher or coupon issuance or 

redemption, progressive parameters, or 

cashless transactions; 

(iv) Communication controller 

electronics and components housing the 

communication program storage media; 

(v) Interfaces and drivers for metering 

systems; and 

(vi) Interfaces to peripherals with 

money-handling or credit transfer 

capabilities. 

(2) When there are multiple locked 

areas within a cabinet, access to one 

shall not be possible from another 

except by use of a key. 

(m) Door access detection. All locked 

areas, including the main cabinet door 

but excluding logic areas, shall be 

equipped with a sensor or other means 

to detect an open door. In addition: 

(1) The door open sensor, and its 

components or cables, shall be secure 

against attempts to disable them or 

interfere with their normal mode of 

operation. 

(2) It shall not be possible to disable 

a door open sensor, or access 

components within, without first 

properly opening the door. 

(3) A door open sensor that is 

disconnected, tampered with, or fails 

shall be interpreted as an open door. 

(n) Touch screens. Shall be: 

(1) Resistant to scratching; 

(2) Accurate, and, once calibrated, 

shall maintain that accuracy for the 

manufacturer’s recommended 

maintenance period; 

(3) Capable of re-calibration without 

access to the machine cabinet other than 

through the main door. 

(o) Tower lights. Electronic Player 

Stations shall have a light or lights 

mounted on the top of its cabinet that 

automatically illuminates when various 

conditions occur such as errors, alerts, 

hand-pay jackpots, and call attendant 

requests from players. Required tower 

light states are left to the discretion of 

the tribal gaming regulatory authority. 

(p) Audible alarms. An audible alarm 

is not required if a tower light is 

available to signal errors, alerts, handpay jackpots etc. 


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(q) Bill validators. Nothing in this 

subsection is intended to alter, repeal, 

or limit the applicability of 

§§ 542.7(g)(1)(i), 542.21(e), 542.31(e), or 

542.41(e) of this chapter. 

(1) Bill validators shall be of a robust 

construction designed to resist 

determined illegal entry, vandalism, and 

fraud and to be reasonably resistant to 

the extremes of the casino operating 

environments, such as liquid spills, 

smoke, and heat. In any event, bill 

validators shall be constructed so that 

physical tampering with the validator 

leaves evidence of such tampering. 

(2) Bill validators shall be able to 

detect the entry of valid bills, vouchers, 

coupons, or other equivalents and to 

provide a method to enable the client 

software to interpret and act upon valid 

or invalid input. 

(3) In so doing, bill acceptors shall: 

(i) Be electronically based and 

incorporate multiple, sophisticated 

detection methods to validate bills; 

(ii) Accept only valid bills, vouchers, 

coupons or equivalents; 

(iii) Reject and return all invalid bills, 

vouchers, and coupons or equivalents to 

the player; and 

(iv) Register the proper number of 

credits on the credit meter. 

(4) All accepted bills shall be 

deposited into a secure container or 

stacker that: 

(i) Sits within its own locked area 

within the main cabinet; and 

(ii) Is itself locked with a key that 

opens no other lock. 

(5) Bill validators or clients have 

sensors to indicate stacker full, stacker 

door open/closed, stacker removed, or 

bill jam. 

(6) Bill validators shall provide a 

means through which the client may 

detect potential cheating such as 

counterfeit bills or bill yo yos. 

(7) Bill validators shall employ a 

reliable means of transmitting credit 

values to the client. Pulse stream 

interface or serial communication 

without error detection and correction 

are not reliable communication 

methods. 

(8) Ball validators shall be disabled 

when the cable connecting it to the 

client machine is disabled. 

(9) A bill validator’s tolerance level 

for accepting bills of varying quality and 

the alteration of a bill validator’s 

checking procedures shall not occur 

without access to the Electronic Player 

Station and under conditions specified 

by the tribal gaming regulatory 

authority. In any event, it shall not be 

possible to disable validation features. 

(10) Access to bill validators shall 

only occur under conditions specified 

by the tribal gaming regulatory authority 

and shall cause the Electronic Player 

Station to enter disabled mode. In any 

event, access in the field shall be 

limited to: 

(i) Access required to clear a bill jam, 

which shall not provide access to the 

bill stacker unless that is the location of 

the jam; 

(ii) Selection of bill, coupons, 

vouchers, or their equivalents, and their 

limits; 

(iii) Changing approved EPROMs or 

downloading approved software; 

(iv) Maintenance, adjustment, and 

repair per approved factory procedures; 

or 

(v) Options that set the direction or 

orientation of acceptance. 

(11) Bill validators shall be designed 

to minimize the possibility of a loss of 

credits if a power outage occurs during 

acceptance. In no event shall there be 

during acceptance a window of time 

longer than one second in which a 

power outage causes a loss of credits. 

(12) Bill validators shall have a means 

of self verification, which it shall 

perform at each power up. 

(13) If a bill validator only accepts 

bills fed in a certain direction or 

orientation, this shall be clearly 

indicated by sufficient instruction such 

as a label with a graphical picture. 

(14) Bill validators shall not accept 

bills, vouchers, or their equivalents if 

any part of the validator is missing, 

including the stacker. 

(r) Coin slots, validators. (1) Coin slots 

and coin validators shall be of a robust 

construction designed to resist 

determined illegal entry, vandalism, and 

fraud and to be reasonably resistant to 

the extremes of the casino operating 

environment such as liquid spills, 

smoke, and heat. In any event, coin slots 

and coin validators shall be constructed 

so that physical tampering leaves 

evidence of such tampering. 

(2) Coin validators shall be able to 

detect the insertion of valid coins and 

tokens and to provide a method to 

enable the client to interpret and act 

upon valid or invalid input. 

(3) In so doing, coin acceptors shall be 

electronically based and incorporate 

sophisticated detection methods, 

accepting only valid coins and tokens 

and rejecting and returning all others to 

the player. 

(4) Coin validators shall provide a 

means through which client may detect 

potential cheating such as counterfeits 

or coin yo yos. 

(5) Access to coin validators that use 

flash memory or are otherwise 

reprogrammable in the field shall be 

permitted only under conditions 

specified by the tribal gaming regulatory 

authority. 

(s) Coin diverter chutes. (1) Coin 

chutes and diverter mechanisms shall 

be constructed to ensure that coins 

inserted into the client machine are 

deposited into the hopper, the cash box 

or the coin tray without jams or spillage 

onto the internal floor of the machine. 

Coin chutes and diverters shall be 

constructed so that physical tampering 

leaves evidence of such tampering. 

(2) Means shall be provided to enable 

the client to determine a coin’s direction 

of travel so as to detect yo-yo-ing. 

(3) There shall be sufficient closed 

loop control to enable client to 

determine: 

(i) If a coin is traveling to a cash box 

or to a hopper; 

(ii) If a coin diverter has failed; and 

(iii) If an internal coin jam has 

occurred. 

(t) Hoppers. (1) Coin hoppers shall be 

located behind the locked main door or 

within another locked area. 

(2) Coin hoppers shall have or provide 

a means to enable the client to identify 

and act upon the following conditions: 

(i) Hopper full; 

(ii) Hopper empty; 

(iii) Hopper jam; 

(iv) Extra coin(s) paid/runaway 

hopper. 

(u) Printers. (1) Printers shall be 

located within the main cabinet but not 

in the logic area or the cash box area. 

(2) Printers shall have mechanisms to 

allow software to interpret and act upon 

the following conditions: 

(i) Out of paper/paper low; 

(ii) Printer jam/failure; and 

(iii) Disconnected. 

(v) External mechanisms affecting 

play. There shall be no external 

mechanisms such as DIP switches or 

jumpers that can affect the outcome of 

a play unless capable of being sealed by 

the tribal gaming regulatory authority. 

§ 547.10 What are the minimum technical 

software standards applicable to client 

machines used as Electronic Player 

Stations? 

This section provides general software 

standards for clients used as Electronic 

Player Stations for the play of Class II 

games. 

(a) Door monitoring. Electronic Player 

Station shall be able to detect access to 

the following: 

(1) The main cabinet door; 

(2) Belly door(s), if different than the 

main cabinet door; 

(3) Drop box door(s); 

(4) Bill acceptor doors; and 

(5) Communication boards, if 

accessible without opening a door. 

(b) Hopper monitoring. The Electronic 

Player Station software shall be able to 

identify the following events, at a 

minimum: 


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(1) Hopper full; 

(2) Hopper empty; 

(3) Hopper jam; and 

(4) Extra coin(s) paid/runaway 

hopper. 

(c) Information displays. (1) During 

the play of any game, the Electronic 

Player Station shall display all game 

results so that the player may see and 

comprehend them. This display shall 

also include: 

(i) The amount wagered; and 

(ii) The credit meter balance. 

(2) Between plays of any game and the 

start of the next play, or the player 

selects a new game option such as wager 

amount or card selection, whichever is 

earlier, and when there are credits on 

the credit meter, the Electronic Player 

Station shall display: 

(i) The total credits wagered and all 

prizes and total credits won for the last 

play; 

(ii) The final results for the last game 

played, including alternate displays of 

results, if any; and 

(iii) The default number of credits that 

will be wagered on the next play. 

(3) Prior to the play of any game, 

when the player has selected or changed 

game options such as wager amount or 

bingo card, the Electronic Player Station 

shall remove the results of the previous 

game or otherwise distinguish them 

from the new selections. 

(4) Following cash out payable from 

the hopper and until the start of the next 

play, the Electronic Player Station shall 

display the metered value of coins or 

tokens paid in dollars and cents or in 

credits, if the coin denomination is an 

exact multiple of the credit tokenization 

value. 

(5) Following cash out payable as a 

cancel credit and until the start of the 

next play, the Electronic Player Station 

shall display the metered value of the 

credits cancelled in dollars and cents or 

in credits, if the amount of the cancel 

credit is an exact multiple of the credit 

tokenization value. 

(6) Attract modes may be displayed if 

there are credits on the credit meter, 

provided that there is a means for the 

player to interrupt and return to the 

previous display. 

(7) Help screens may be displayed 

during game play provided that there is 

a means for the player to interrupt and 

return to the previous display. 

(d) Touch screen calibration and 

implementation. (1) The Electronic 

Player Station shall have software recalibrating capability unless the touch 

screen is designed never to require recalibrating. 

(2) If opening the main Electronic 

Player Station door affects touch screen 

calibration, there shall be a means to 

determine the accuracy of calibration 

when the door is closed again. 

(3) Touch screen button icons shall be 

sufficiently separated to reduce chances 

of selection errors due to calibration or 

parallax errors. 

(4) There shall be no hidden or 

undocumented buttons or touch points 

anywhere on the screen except as 

provided for in the game rules. 

(e) Game initiation and play. (1) Every 

game played on an Electronic Player 

Station shall follow and not deviate 

from a constant set of rules. Any change 

in rules constitutes a different game. 

Allowing variations in the size of a 

wager is not a change in rules. 

(2) No game shall commence, and no 

money or credit shall be accepted, on an 

Electronic Player Station in the presence 

of any fault condition or open door, or 

while the Electronic Player Station is in 

test, audit, or lock-up mode. 

(3) Credits wagered shall only come 

from the credit meter, which shall be 

decremented at the start of play. 

(4) The player shall initiate play of a 

game on an Electronic Player Station by 

pressing a button or similar input 

device. No Electronic Player Station 

shall automatically initiate game play. 

(5) The value of prizes awarded as a 

result of any game shall be paid in full 

and not truncated or rounded. 

(f) Audit mode. (1) Each Electronic 

Player Station shall have an audit mode, 

which shall provide access to the 

following information, at a minimum: 

(i) All meters required by § 547.12; 

(ii) Last game recall information 

required by § 547.14; 

(iii) Terminal identification; 

(iv) Software version or game 

identification; and 

(v) Any other game statistics 

maintained solely by the Electronic 

Player Station and not transferred to and 

maintained by the server or casino 

monitoring system. 

(2) Audit mode shall be accessible by 

a secure method, such as a key-switch, 

entry of a card into a card reader and 

verification by PIN, or from within the 

interior of the Electronic Player Station 

cabinet. 

(3) Meters shall be accessible by an 

authorized person at any time, except 

during a payout from a hopper, during 

a cancel credit, or during play (except 

where play is interrupted by a fault 

condition). 

(4) The Electronic Player Station shall 

disable all credit acceptance while in 

audit mode, except during coin, bill, or 

other credit acceptance testing. 

(g) Test or diagnostic mode. (1) Test 

mode on an Electronic Player Station 

may be entered via an appropriate 

instruction during Audit Mode or 

automatically upon opening the main 

cabinet door. 

(2) The Electronic Player Station shall 

clearly indicate when it is in test mode. 

(3) Test games run in test mode, if 

implemented, shall: 

(i) Not increment any meters other 

than a temporary on-screen credit meter; 

(ii) Only be available after entering a 

specific test game mode within door 

open mode; and 

(iii) Be clearly indicated as such and 

not as normal game play. 

(4) The Electronic Player Station shall 

disable all credit acceptance while in 

test mode, except during coin, bill, or 

other credit acceptance testing. 

(5) Exiting test mode shall terminate 

all tests, unless further input is 

required, which shall be clearly 

indicated by Electronic Player Station 

software. 

(h) Multi-game machines. Electronic 

Player Stations that offer multiple games 

for play shall: 

(1) Present a game selection screen 

that displays: 

(i) The available games; 

(ii) The means of selecting among 

them; and 

(iii) The full amount of the player’s 

credit balance; 

(2) Identify the game selected or being 

played; 

(3) Not compel the play of a game 

after its selection; and 

(4) Not start a new game before the 

current play is complete and all relevant 

meters have been updated. 

(i) Separate storage, machine specific 

information. Electronic Player Station 

software shall be designed so that 

machine specific information such 

machine address or other configurable 

parameters is stored within in a separate 

device (EPROM, Flash or file for disk 

machines) as game and system software. 

(j) Program interruption and 

resumption. (1) Electronic Player 

Station software shall be designed so 

that upon any loss of power it is able to 

return to the state it was in prior to the 

interruption. 

(i) If in a test mode at interruption, the 

Electronic Player Station shall, on 

power up, complete any test that 

incorporates credits entering or leaving 

the machine (e.g. a hopper test) prior to 

resumption of normal operation. 

(ii) If in a fault condition at 

interruption, the Electronic Player 

Station shall, on power up, display the 

applicable fault message and remain 

locked-up, unless: 

(A) The power down is part of an 

error reset procedure; or 

(B) The Electronic Player Station 

checks for the fault condition on power 

up and detects no fault. 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with PROPOSALS
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(2) Electronic Player Station software 

shall be designed so that upon any loss 

of power, it shall, at a minimum: 

(i) Turn off and brake the hopper; 

(ii) Maintain the integrity of data 

stored in critical memory; and 

(iii) Complete its power-down 

routine. 

(3) Electronic Player Station software 

shall be designed so that upon program 

resumption after a loss of power, it: 

(i) Successfully completes any 

program resumption routine, including 

self tests, before beginning any 

communications to an external device; 

(ii) Tests itself for possible corruption 

due to failure of the program storage 

media using a minimum 16-bit Cyclic 

Redundancy Check (CRC) check; 

(iii) Checks the integrity of critical 

memory; 

(iv) Tests any power down routine for 

correct completion and displays an 

appropriate message if incorrect 

completion detected; and 

(v) Detects any change in the software 

since loss of power. If a change has been 

detected, the Electronic Player Station 

shall lock-up and display an appropriate 

message until it is reset by an 

authorized person. 

(4) Electronic Player Station software 

shall be designed so that when disabled 

in a non-fault condition during play, for 

example by the server, but without loss 

of power, it finishes the current play 

and allows the player to cash out. 

(k) Simultaneous inputs. The 

simultaneous or sequential activation of 

various inputs (such as buttons on the 

button panel), whether or not 

intentional, shall not adversely affect 

the integrity of any game. 

§ 547.11 What are the technical standards 

applicable to critical memory? 

This section provides specific 

standards for the contents and 

maintenance of critical memory, which 

stores data essential for the play of Class 

II games. 

(a) Critical memory, location and 

contents. Critical memory may be stored 

on a server or on a client used as an 

Electronic Player Station and shall 

maintain all of the following data: 

(1) Auditing meters; 

(2) Current credits; 

(3) Electronic Player Station and game 

configuration data; 

(4) Last game recall information 

required by § 547.14; 

(5) Game recall information for the 

current game, if incomplete; 

(6) Software state (the last normal 

state the Electronic Player Station 

software was in before interruption); 

(7) RNG seed(s); 

(8) Encryption keys; 

(9) Progressive jackpot parameters and 

current values, if maintained within the 

client or server; 

(10) The five most recent cashless 

transactions; and 

(11) The five last ticket transactions 

(redeem or print). 

(b) Maintenance. (1) Critical memory 

shall be implemented with a level of 

redundancy such that failure of a single 

component will not mean the loss of 

any data. 

(2) In the event of a disruption during 

updates, there shall be a means of 

defining which of the multiple available 

copies of data in critical memory is 

correct. 

(3) Software shall ensure that updates 

to meters in critical memory are 

successful and that any error(s) in one 

logical copy of the meters is not 

propagated through to other copies. 

(4) Critical memory shall be 

maintained using a methodology that 

enables errors to be identified and acted 

upon. 

(c) Validity checks, detection of 

corrupt memory. (1) The validity of 

critical memory in an Electronic Player 

Station shall be checked after: 

(i) Every restart; 

(ii) Each of the following transactions: 

(A) Bill input; 

(B) Jackpot win; 

(C) Progressive jackpot win; 

(D) Door closed; and 

(E) Any reconfiguration, download, or 

change of game paytable or 

denomination requiring operator 

intervention or action; 

(iii) Every cashless transfer; 

(iv) Every voucher print/redeem; and 

(v) Before and after a game play. 

(2) Notwithstanding the requirements 

of paragraph (c)(1) of this section, 

critical memory may be partitioned, and 

each partition may be verified 

independently when relevant data is to 

be changed. 

(3) Following any restart, the 

Electronic Player Station shall check the 

validity of critical memory and then 

perform a comparison check of all 

logical copies of critical memory. 

(d) Recoverable critical memory 

failures. (1) If upon any validity check 

failure at least one logical copy of 

critical memory is good, the software 

may recover critical memory data and 

continue game play provided: 

(i) All logical copies of critical 

memory are recreated using the good 

logical copy as a source; and 

(ii) The Electronic Player Station 

software verifies that the recreation of 

critical memory was successful. 

(2) If verification of recreated critical 

memory identifies a permanent physical 

memory failure, the error shall be 

handled as an unrecoverable critical 

memory failure pursuant to paragraph 

(e) of this section. 

(e) Unrecoverable critical memory 

failures. (1) If upon any validity check 

all logical copies of critical memory are 

corrupt, or if any verification identifies 

a permanent physical memory failure, 

the software shall flag a critical memory 

storage error. 

(2) Critical memory storage errors 

shall not be cleared automatically and 

shall require a full critical memory 

storage clear. 

(3) If the Electronic Player Station is 

so designed that after an unrecoverable 

memory failure it is possible to view all 

logical copies of meters, including the 

customer’s credit meter, the Electronic 

Player Station shall highlight which are 

expected to be valid and which corrupt. 

(4) A processor installed from another 

Electronic Player Station, or a processor 

that has never been used, shall be 

considered an unrecoverable critical 

memory failure. 

(f) Critical memory resets or clears. (1) 

All methods of clearing meters or other 

critical memory data shall: 

(i) Require access to the logic area of 

the Electronic Player Station or other 

secure means authorized by the tribal 

gaming regulatory authority; and 

(ii) Initialize all bits in critical 

memory to their default states. 

(2) The default display after a critical 

memory reset, or upon entering game 

play mode, shall not be a winning 

pattern or game. 

(3) Any configuration setting entered 

during setup mode immediately 

following a critical memory reset shall 

not be able to be changed after the 

machine leaves setup mode. 

(g) Non-critical memory. Electronic 

Player Stations shall check non-critical 

memory upon power up. 

§ 547.12 What are the minimum technical 

standards for meters? 

This section provides standards for 

meters on Electronic Player Stations 

used in the play of Class II games. 

Nothing in this section requires the use 

of electromechanical meters. Nothing 

prohibits the use of electromechanical 

meters, provided that they meet the 

requirements of this section. 

(a) Meter width. (1) Accounting meters 

shall be at least eight decimal digits or 

32 bits wide. 

(2) Count meters shall be at least six 

decimal digits or 24 bits wide. 

(3) Credit meters shall have sufficient 

digits or bits to display the maximum 

prize attainable for the game, including 

cashless transfers or other external 

payments to the credit meter, but not 

hand-pay jackpots. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 155 / Friday, August 11, 2006 / Proposed Rules 46349 

(b) Rollover. Meter rollover to zero 

shall not corrupt data. 

(c) Meters displayed on the game 

screen. (1) Meters displayed on the 

game screen shall be displayed in a 

format which is clearly visible to the 

player and easily distinguished from the 

rest of the game. 

(2) A display may alternate between 

dollars and cents and credits, provided 

that both values are clearly visible and 

easily distinguished from one another. 

Such a display shall not alternate during 

play or during the incrementation of the 

win meter or credit meter following a 

win. 

(d) Credit meter display and function. 

(1) The credit meter shall be 

prominently displayed at all times in all 

modes except: 

(i) Audit, configuration, and test 

modes; and 

(ii) Temporarily, during alternate 

displays of game results. 

(2) When wagered, credits shall be 

immediately deducted from the credit 

meter. 

(3) Every prize won shall be added to 

the player’s credit meter, except for 

hand-pays, cancel credits, progressives, 

or non-cash prizes. Progressives may be 

added to the credit meter if: 

(i) The credit meter is maintained in 

dollars and cents, or 

(ii) The progressive meter is 

incremented in number of credits, or 

(iii) The prize in dollars and cents is 

converted to credits on transfer to the 

player’s credit meter in a manner that 

does not mislead the player or cause 

accounting imbalances; and 

(iv) The Electronic Player Station can 

accommodate payments that are not 

direct multiples of the game’s 

denomination, pursuant to § 547.15(j); 

and 

(v) The progressive prize is less than 

$1,200, or other amount specified by the 

tribal gaming regulatory authority. 

(4) If the credit meter displays credits 

while maintaining a balance that 

includes odd cents, then the credit 

meter shall display the remaining odd 

cents when the balance drops below one 

credit. 

(5) Meters displayed to the player may 

be incremented or decremented using 

visual effects, but the internal storage of 

these meters shall be immediately 

updated in full. 

(e) Required meters. (1) The following 

meters shall be implemented in 

Electronic Player Stations, as applicable: 

Title Description Type 

(i) Coin In ..................... The total value of all wagers, whether from the insertion of coin or tokens, currency, deduction from a credit meter or any other means.Accounting. 

(ii) Coin Out .................. The total value of all amounts directly paid by the machine as a result of winning wagers, 

whether made from the hopper, to a credit meter, or any other means.

Accounting. 

(iii) Coins Dropped ....... The total value of coins or tokens diverted to the drop .............................................................. Accounting. 

(iv) Jackpot ................... The total value of jackpots paid by an attendant and not capable of being paid by the machine itself. This does not include progressive amounts. This meter is only to include 

awards resulting from a specifically identified amount listed in the manufacturer’s par sheet.

Accounting. 

(v) Canceled Credits .... The total value paid by an attendant resulting from a player initiated cash-out that exceeds 

the physical or configured capability of the machine to make the proper payout amount.

Accounting. 

(vi) Physical Coin In ..... The total value of coins or tokens inserted into the Electronic Player Station ........................... Accounting. 

(vii) Physical Coin Out The total value of coins or tokens paid out by the hopper ......................................................... Accounting. 

(viii) Bill In .................... The total value of the currency accepted .................................................................................... Accounting. 

(ix) Bill Out ................... The total value of currency dispensed, if the Electronic Player Station has a currency dispenser.Accounting. 

(x) Bill in Count ............ The total number of each bill denomination accepted ................................................................ Count/Accounting. 

(xi) Voucher In ............. The total value of all wagering vouchers and payout receipts accepted by the machine ......... Accounting. 

(xii) Voucher Out .......... The total value of all wagering vouchers and payout receipts issued by the machine .............. Accounting. 

(xiii) Cashless In .......... The total value of cashable credits electronically transferred to the Electronic Player Station 

from a cashless wagering system.

Accounting. 

(xiv) Cashless Out ....... The total value of cashable credits electronically transferred from the Electronic Player Station to a cashless wagering system.Accounting. 

(xv) Games Played ...... The cumulative number of games played since the last critical memory clear .......................... Count. 

(xvi) Cabinet Door 

Open.

The number of times the front cabinet door has been opened .................................................. Count. 

(xvii) Drop Door Open .. The number of times the drop door or the bill acceptor door has been opened ....................... Count.

(xviii) Attendant Paid 

Progressive Payout.

The total value of credits paid by an attendant as a result of progressive awards that are not 

capable of being paid by the machine itself.

Accounting. 

(xix) Machine Paid Progressive Payout.The total value of credits paid as a result of progressive awards paid directly by the machine Accounting. 

(xx) Games Won .......... The cumulative number of all games won .................................................................................. Count. 

(xxi) Games Lost .......... The cumulative number of all games lost ................................................................................... Count. 

(2) When an Electronic Player Station 

offers multiple paytables for play, the 

following meters shall be implemented, 

for each paytable, and the meter 

information shall be available both at 

the Electronic Player Station and the 

server: 

Title Description Type 

(i) Coin In ..................... The total value of all wagers for this paytable ............................................................................ Accounting. 

(ii) Machine Paid 

Paytable.

The total value of all amounts for this paytable directly paid by the machine as a result of 

paytable winning wagers.

Accounting. 

(iii) Machine Paid Progressive.The total value of credits for this paytable paid directly to the machine as a result of progressive awards.Accounting. 

(iv) Attendant Paid 

Paytable.

The total value of all amounts for this paytable paid by an attendant as a result of paytable 

winning wagers.

Accounting. 


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46350 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 155 / Friday, August 11, 2006 / Proposed Rules 

Title Description Type 

(v) Attendant Paid Progressive.The total value of credits for this paytable paid by an attendant as a result of progressive 

awards.

Accounting. 

(vi) Games Won ........... The cumulative number of games won for this paytable ............................................................ Count. 

(vii) Games Lost ........... The cumulative number of games lost for this paytable ............................................................. Count. 

(3) If an Electronic Player Station 

supports promotional coupons or noncashable credits, the following meters shall be implemented: 

Title Description Type 

(i) Non-Cashable Promotion In.The total value of non-cashable credits placed on the Electronic Player Station by insertion 

of a promotional coupon or electronically transferred to the Electronic Player Station from 

a promotional account by means of an external connection between the machine and a 

cashless wagering system.

Accounting. 

(ii) Cashable Promotion 

In.

The total value of cashable credits placed on the Electronic Player Station by insertion of a 

promotional coupon or electronically transferred to the electronic player station from a promotional account by means of an external connection between the machine and a 

cashless wagering system.

Accounting. 

(iii) Non-Cashable Promotion Out.The total value of non-cashable credits redeemed by an Electronic Player Station issuing a 

promotional coupon or electronically transferred from the electronic player station to a promotional account by means of an external connection between the machine and a 

cashless wagering system.

Accounting. 

(iv) Cashable Promotion Out.The total value of cashable credits redeemed by an Electronic Player Station issuing a promotional coupon or electronically transferred from the electronic player station to a promotional account by means of an external connection between the machine and a 

cashless wagering system.

Accounting. 

(f) Meter updates. (1) Meters shall be 

updated upon the occurrence of the 

metered event. 

(2) Updating multiple meters shall 

occur before display on the Electronic 

Player Station or response to a meters 

request from a casino monitoring 

system. 

§ 547.13 What are the minimum standards 

for Electronic Player Station events? 

This section provides standards for 

events such as faults, deactivation, door 

open or other changes of states, and 

lockup on Electronic Player Stations 

used in the play of Class II games. 

(a) Faults, generally. 

(1) The following faults are to be 

treated as events: 

Fault Definition and action to be taken 

(i) Coin Yo-Yo ................................. Inserted coin detected moving in the incorrect direction. 

(A) A single coin yo-yo may be treated as an information only event. 

(B) Consecutive coin yo-yos are to lead to an Electronic Player Station fault condition. 

(ii) Coin-in Jam ................................ Coin detected not moving—e.g. sensors are continually blocked. 

(iii) Coin to Cashbox or Diverter 

Fault.

Multiple coins detected going to the cashbox instead of the hopper, or vice-versa. 

(iv) Hopper Empty ........................... Coins not passing a hopper output sensor within a specified time. 

(v) Hopper Jam ............................... The hopper output sensor(s) are blocked. 

(vi) Extra Coin Paid ......................... Single coin passed hopper sensor after hopper payout completed. 

(vii) Hopper Run-away .................... Multiple coins passing hopper sensor. 

(viii) External Peripheral Controller 

Fault/Disconnect.

Any peripheral controller fault or communications failure. 

(ix) Printer Paper Low ..................... The printer paper will soon be exhausted. 

(A) Lock up the Electronic Player Station upon completion of a predetermined number of tickets calculated 

to ensure ‘‘Paper Out’’ is not possible. If a paper-out sensor is also provided then ‘‘Paper Low’’ results 

only in a message. 

(B) Note that if an Electronic Player Station has a printer it shall have a Paper Low or Paper Out sensor, 

or both. 

(x) Printer Paper Out ...................... The printer paper has been exhausted. The Electronic Player Station shall lock-up until the paper out state 

is cleared. 

(xi) Printer Jammed ........................ The printer paper is not feeding correctly. 

(xii) Low CMOS RAM Back-up Battery.Back-up RAM Battery has reached a voltage where back-up will become unreliable soon. 

(A) A message stating that the repairer shall be called shall be displayed. 

(B) The Electronic Player Station shall lock-up. 

(xiii) Critical RAM Errors, Mismatch Some critical RAM error has occurred: When a non-correctable RAM error has occurred, the data on the 

Electronic Player Station can no longer be considered reliable. Accordingly, any communication to external devices shall cease immediately, and an appropriate message shall be displayed. 

(xiv) EEPROM Error ....................... An EEPROM error has occurred. 

—As for Critical RAM errors—

(xv) Program storage medium fault The software has failed its own internal security check. 

Any communication to external devices shall cease immediately. 

An appropriate message shall be displayed, if possible. 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 155 / Friday, August 11, 2006 / Proposed Rules 46351 

Fault Definition and action to be taken 

No modifications to critical meters in RAM shall be possible. 

The Electronic Player Station shall lock-up until corrected. 

(xvi) Progressive communications 

lost.

Communications with the device or system that is controlling the progressive(s) has failed. 

(xvii) Progressive levels mismatch .. An Electronic Player Station or server has a different number of progressive levels configured than the device or systems that is controlling the progressive(s). 

(xviii) Game meter/progressive 

meter mismatch.

There is a difference in progressive amount between an in-machine game meter and the progressive controller. 

(2) Upon the occurrence of any fault 

identified in paragraph (a)(1) of this 

section, the Electronic Player Station 

shall, unless otherwise specified in 

paragraph (a)(1) of this section: 

(i) Display a message that the event 

has occurred; 

(ii) Disable all player inputs, 

including coin and bill input, except the 

service call button, if any; 

(iii) Sound an identifiable alarm for at 

least 1.5 seconds or illuminate the tower 

light; 

(iv) Save any incomplete game play in 

its current condition; and 

(v) If in hopper payout, the turn off 

and brake the hopper. 

(3) Upon clearing any fault identified 

in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the 

Electronic Player Station shall: 

(i) Remove the event message; 

(ii) Enable all player inputs; 

(iii) Turn off the alarm or tower light; 

and 

(iv) Recommence game play from the 

beginning of the play, or from the point 

at which interruption occurred, using 

saved data, and conclude normally. 

(b) Door open/close events. (1) The 

following door open or close conditions 

are to be treated as events: 

Event Definition 

(i) Electronic Player Station Door 

Open.

The main cabinet door is open. 

(ii) Cash box Door Open ................. The cash box door is open. 

(iii) Other Secure Area Accessed ... Any other secure area has been accessed. 

(iv) Electronic Player Station Door 

Closed.

The main cabinet door has closed. 

(v) Cash box Door Closed .............. The cash box door has closed. 

(vi) Other Secure Area Secured ..... Previously accessed secure area has been secured. 

(2) The Electronic Player Station shall 

perform the following on any door open 

event: 

(i) Save any software state prior to 

door opening; 

(ii) Save any game play in its current 

incomplete condition; 

(iii) Indicate that a door is open; 

(iv) Disable all credit input, but credit 

input may be enabled for the duration 

of any credit input test or hopper test; 

(v) Disable all game play; 

(vi) Disable and brake hopper if the 

hopper is running, but the hopper may 

be enabled for the duration of a hopper 

test; 

(vii) Disable all player inputs, but 

player inputs may be enabled in door 

open/test mode; 

(viii) Disable cash out; and 

(ix) Sound an identifiable alarm for at 

least 1.5 seconds or illuminate the tower 

light. 

(3) The Electronic Player Station shall 

perform the following when all doors 

are closed: 

(i) Return to the software state saved 

upon door open; 

(ii) Indicate, for 10 seconds or until 

the next game play, that the doors are 

closed; 

(iii) Enable player inputs; 

(iv) Turn off alarm or tower light; and 

(v) Recommence game play from the 

beginning of the play, or from the point 

at which interruption occurred, using 

saved data, and conclude normally. 

(c) Bill validator events. (1) The 

following bill validator events shall be 

treated as faults: 

(i) Bill door open open/closed 

(ii) Bill container or stacker removed 

(iii) Fault 

(iv) Bill jam 

(v) Bill Yo-Yo 

(vi) Bill container or stacker full 

(vii) Bill validator cable disconnected 

(viii) Bill validator self-check failure 

(2)(i) Upon the occurrence of any fault 

identified in paragraph (c)(1) of this 

section, the Electronic Player Station 

shall: 

(A) Display a message or other 

indication that the event has occurred; 

(B) Sound an identifiable alarm for at 

least 1.5 seconds or illuminate the tower 

light; and 

(C) Disable bill input. 

(ii) Game play may continue, except 

upon the occurrence of a bill jam or 

door open, container or stacker 

removed, or cable disconnected event, 

in which case the Electronic Player 

Station shall disable all player inputs 

and the ability to cash out. 

(3) Bill validator faults may not be 

automatically cleared but shall require 

operator intervention. 

(4) Upon clearing any fault identified 

in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the 

Electronic Player Station shall, as 

appropriate: 

(i) Remove the event message; 

(ii) Turn off the alarm or tower light; 

and 

(iii) Enable bill input, all player 

inputs, and cash out. 

(d) Non-fault events. For the following 

non-fault events, the Electronic Player 

Station shall take the following actions: 

Event Action 

(1) Electronic Player Station Power 

Off During Play.

(i) Game play shall be saved in its current incomplete condition (wins shall only be paid on subsequent 

power up). 

(2) Power Off During Play .............. (ii) If in hopper payout, disable and brake hopper. 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with PROPOSALS
46352 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 155 / Friday, August 11, 2006 / Proposed Rules 

Event Action 

(3) Electronic Player Station Power 

On.

(i) Enable player inputs. 

(ii) Recommence game play from the beginning of the play, or from the point at which interruption occurred, using saved data, and conclude normally. 

(4) Linked Progressive Award ........ (i) Display appropriate message. 

(ii) Unless the prize is transferred to the player’s credit meter, lock-up until the award paid by attendant. 

(5) Jackpot Win ............................... For any prize equaling or exceeding an amount set by the tribal gaming regulatory authority, lock-up until 

the award paid by attendant. 

(6) Maximum Hopper Pay out Exceeded.Lock up until cancel credit and full amount paid manually. 

§ 547.14 What are the minimum technical 

standards for last game recall? 

This section provides standards for 

last game recall information on 

Electronic Player Stations used in the 

play of Class II games. 

(a) Game recall, generally. (1) The 

Electronic Player Station shall make 

game recall information retrievable at all 

times upon the operation of an external 

key-switch, entry of an audit card, or 

other similar method. 

(2) The Electronic Player Station shall 

be able to show the player the results of 

recalled games as the player originally 

saw them and enable the tribal gaming 

regulatory authority or operator to 

clearly identify the game sequences and 

results that occurred. 

(3) The Electronic Player Station 

shall, upon return to normal game play 

mode, restore the display to the 

positions, forms and values displayed 

before access to the game recall 

information. 

(b) Game recall information. 

Electronic Player Stations shall be able 

to display the following information for 

the last five games played and shall 

display all values, even if zero: 

(1) The total number of credits at the 

start of play, less credits bet; 

(2) The total number of credits bet; 

(3) The total number of credits at the 

end of play; 

(4) The total number of credits won as 

a result of the game recalled, and the 

value in dollars and cents for 

progressive prizes, if different; 

(5) The total number of credits added, 

separated by coins or tokens, bills, 

vouchers and cashless transfer, since the 

end of the previous play and through to 

the end of the last play; 

(6) The total number of credits 

redeemed, separated by coins or tokens, 

vouchers, and cashless transfer, since 

the end of the previous play and 

through to the end of the last play; 

(7) The total value of cancelled 

credits, in dollars and cents, since the 

end of the previous play and through to 

the end of the last play; 

(8) The value of all accounting meters 

as at the end of the last play; 

(9) For bingo games and games similar 

to bingo only: 

(i) The card(s) used by each player; 

(ii) The number of the bingo game 

played; 

(iii) The numbers drawn, in the order 

that they were drawn; 

(iv) The numbers and prize patterns 

covered on each card; 

(v) The patterns slept during the 

game; 

(vi) All prizes won and winning 

patterns; and 

(vii) The number of the card on which 

prizes were won; 

(10) For pull-tabs games only: 

(i) The result(s) of each pull-tab, 

displayed in the same pattern as on the 

tangible pull-tab; and 

(ii) All prizes won. 

(11) Any other information necessary 

to fully reconstruct the last five plays. 

(c) Voucher and credit transfer recall. 

Notwithstanding the requirements of 

any other section in this part, an 

Electronic Player Station shall have the 

capacity to: 

(1) Display the information specified 

in § 547.15(h)(3)(ii) through (vi) for the 

last five vouchers printed and the last 

five vouchers accepted; and 

(2) Display a complete transaction 

history for the last five cashless transfers 

made and the last five cashless transfers 

accepted. 

§ 547.15 What are the minimum technical 

standards for money and credit handling? 

This section provides standards for 

money and credit handling by 

Electronic Player Stations used in the 

play of Class II games. 

(a) Credit acceptance, generally. (1) 

The Electronic Player Station shall 

disable all credit acceptance in the 

presence of any fault or while in audit 

or test mode, except for coin, bill, or 

other credit acceptance testing. 

(2) The Electronic Player Station shall 

register the correct number of credits on 

the credit meter upon any credit 

acceptance. 

(b) Credit acceptance, coins and 

tokens. (1) The Electronic Player Station 

shall register the actual value or number 

of credits on the credit meter upon 

insertion of a valid coin or token. 

(2) The Electronic Player Station shall 

accurately count each valid coin token 

at the highest speed in which the coins 

or tokens may be fed into the Electronic 

Player Station. 

(3) The Electronic Player Station shall 

reject coins or tokens deemed invalid by 

the validator. 

(4) If a hopper is present, the 

Electronic Player Station shall: 

(i) Cause the diverter to direct coins 

to the cash box when the hopper is full; 

and 

(ii) Continually monitor the hopper 

full detector to determine whether a 

change in diverter status is required. If 

the state of the detector changes, the 

diverter shall operate as soon as 

possible after the state change without 

causing a disruption of coin flow or 

creating a coin jam. 

(c) Credit acceptance, bills. (1) The 

Electronic Player Station shall always 

register bills, coupons, vouchers, or 

their equivalents on the credit meter if 

they are input during game play. 

(2) The Electronic Player Station shall 

not register credits on the credit meter 

until: 

(i) The bill, coupon, voucher or other 

equivalent has passed the point where 

it is accepted and stacked; and 

(ii) It has received a ‘‘stacked’’

message from the bill acceptor. 

(3) The Electronic Player Station shall 

have a means of handling simultaneous 

insertion of bills (and vouchers and 

their equivalents) into the bill acceptor 

and coins (or tokens) into the coin slot, 

such that the proper number of credits 

is always registered. In complying with 

this requirement, the Electronic Player 

Station may reject and return either the 

bill or coin or both. 

(d) Credit acceptance, vouchers. 

Nothing in this paragraph (d) is 

intended to alter, repeal, or limit the 

applicability of §§ 542.13(n), 542.21(f), 

542.31(f), or 542.41(f) of this chapter. 

(1) The Electronic Player Station shall 

be able to detect the entry of a valid 

voucher. 

(i) If valid, the voucher serial number 

is transmitted to the voucher validation 

system. 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 155 / Friday, August 11, 2006 / Proposed Rules 46353 

(ii) If not valid, the voucher shall be 

rejected and returned to the player. 

(2) The voucher payment system shall 

verify the authenticity of the voucher 

and ensure that payment is pending. If 

the voucher is valid: 

(i) The voucher payment system will 

communicate a success message, 

including the amount to be paid, back 

to the Electronic Player Station. 

(ii) The Electronic Player Station will 

determine if it can accept or handle the 

amount transferred. 

(A) If it cannot, the Electronic Player 

Station shall send a reject message to 

the voucher payment system and return 

the ticket to the player. 

(B) If it can accept or handle the 

amount transferred, the Electronic 

Player Station shall register credits on 

the credit meter, stack the voucher, and 

handle odd cents pursuant to paragraph 

(j) of this section. 

(e) Credit redemption generally. 

Electronic Player Stations shall allow 

players to cash out or redeem credits at 

any time other than: 

(1) During the play of a game; 

(2) While the Electronic Player Station 

is in audit mode or any test mode; 

(3) While any door open condition 

exists; 

(4) While the credit meter or total 

wins meter is incrementing; 

(5) While the Electronic Player Station 

is disabled; and 

(6) While any fault condition exists, 

excluding: 

(i) Ticket printer failure or printer 

paper error; 

(ii) Progressive controller failure; 

(iii) Bill acceptor full. 

(f) Credit redemption, cancel credit / 

hand-pay jackpots. (1) A cancel credit / 

hand-pay shall occur: 

(i) In the absence of a voucher printer 

and upon the occurrence of a jackpot 

larger than the maximum jackpot 

payable from the hopper, as determined 

by the tribal gaming regulatory 

authority; 

(ii) In the absence of a voucher printer 

and upon the occurrence of a cash out 

request when the credits registered on 

the credit meter exceed the maximum 

amount payable from the hopper, as 

determined by the tribal gaming 

regulatory authority; 

(iii) In the absence of a functioning 

voucher printer and hopper, upon the 

occurrence of any cash out request; 

(iv) Upon a manual override to force 

a cancel credit or hand-pay when a 

voucher is not wanted; and 

(v) When the amount on the credit 

meter is not a direct multiple of the coin 

value contained within the hopper—in 

this case, the Electronic Player Station 

may dispense all possible coins from the 

hopper and leave only the final odd 

cents or residual credit; 

(vi) Upon the occurrence of a jackpot, 

or combination of prizes awarded in a 

single game, of $1,200 or more; or 

(vii) Upon the any other circumstance 

required by the tribal gaming regulatory 

authority. 

(2) Upon the occurrence of a cancel 

credit or hand-pay jackpot, the 

Electronic Player Station shall: 

(i) Automatically lock-up and display 

a ‘‘call attendant’’ or other message 

describing the condition; 

(ii) Remain in the lock-up state until 

the credits have been cancelled by 

manual intervention or the player exits 

from the cancel credit state and resumes 

play, except that the player shall not be 

able to exit upon the occurrence of a 

jackpot, or combination of prizes 

awarded in a single game, of $1,200 or 

more and requiring the issuance of a W–

2G; 

(iii) Display the cancel credit handpay amount in dollars and cents; and 

(iv) When cancel credit or hand-pay 

has been completed, the credit meter 

shall be set to zero, the lock-up state 

exited, and the cancel credit meter 

incremented by the amount cancelled or 

paid. 

(g) Credit redemption, coins or tokens 

from the hopper. (1) Once initiated, the 

player shall not be able to cancel, pause, 

or otherwise control payment from the 

hopper. 

(2) Each coin paid from the hopper 

shall be registered on the physical coin 

out meter and be decremented from the 

player’s credit meter. 

(h) Credit redemption, vouchers. 

Nothing in this paragraph (h) shall alter, 

repeal, or limit the applicability of 

§ 542.13(n) of this chapter. In addition, 

credit redemption by ticket voucher 

shall conform to the following: 

(1) An Electronic Player Station may 

redeem credits by printed voucher when 

it communicates with a voucher 

payment system that validates the 

voucher. 

(2) An Electronic Player Station that 

redeems credits with printed vouchers 

shall either: 

(i) Maintain an electronic record of all 

information required by 

§ 547.15(h)(3)(ii) through (vi); or 

(ii) Generate two identical copies of 

each voucher printed, one to be 

provided to the player and the other to 

be retained within the machine for audit 

purposes. 

(3) Valid vouchers shall contain the 

following: 

(i) Gaming operation name, city and 

state, reservation, or territory; 

(ii) Electronic player station number 

or printer station number, as applicable; 

(iii) Date and time of issuance; 

(iv) Alpha and numeric dollar 

amount; 

(v) A sequence number; 

(vi) A validation number, although 

(A) No ticket validation number shall 

be repeated, even upon a total 

replacement of the electronic player 

station, and 

(B) Ticket validation numbers shall 

have some form of checkcode or other 

form of information redundancy to 

prevent prediction of subsequent 

validation numbers without knowledge 

of the checkcode algorithm and 

parameters; 

(vii) A second printing of validation 

number on the leading edge of the 

voucher or coupon; (viii) A bar code or 

other form of machine readable 

markings, which shall have enough 

redundancy and error checking to 

ensure that 99.9% of all misreads are 

flagged as errors; 

(ix) Transaction type or other method 

of differentiating ticket types; and 

(x) Expiration period or date when 

voucher or coupon will expire. 

(i) Cashless credit transfers. (1) 

Transfers from a cashless account may 

not exceed the balance of that account. 

(2) The Electronic Player Station 

software shall be designed to have a 

secure method of identifying a cashless 

account in order to redeem credits and 

transfer them to that account, even in 

the event a player’s account card has 

been abnormally removed or there is a 

loss of power. 

(j) Credit transfers not multiples of 

game denomination. For games not 

metered in dollars and cents, the 

Electronic Player Station shall handle 

credit transfers from voucher systems or 

cashless systems that are not multiples 

of the game denomination in one of the 

following ways: 

(1) Reject the transfer and any 

voucher input. 

(2) Redeem the odd cents by printing 

a voucher by cashless transfer back to 

the cashless system. The Electronic 

Player Station may redeem the odd 

cents immediately or after the player 

finishes playing, provided in the latter 

case that the odd cents are displayed to 

the player in accordance with 

§ 547.12(d)(4). 

(k) Cards used as account identifiers. 

Nothing in this paragraph (k) is 

intended to alter, repeal, or limit the 

applicability of § 542.13(o) of this 

chapter. 

(1) Multiple-use Simple Magnetic 

Stripe Cards. If the card media is a 

simple magnetic stripe card designed for 

repeated, rather than single, use in the 

manner of a voucher, additional security 

protection to that of reading the 


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magnetic stripe is required. At a 

minimum, the entry of a PIN, selectable 

by the patron, is required when an 

amount of money can be withdrawn 

from an account. 

(2) Card Locking Mechanisms. Except 

if an amount debited from a card or 

account is placed directly on the credit 

meter and no further transactions are 

required from the card or account, the 

Electronic Player Station shall activate a 

locking mechanism to retain a card 

within the reading device, and lock a 

card into the unit once inserted, until 

one of the following conditions is met: 

(i) The player has requested a collect 

of remaining credits and all updating of 

meters and account records has been 

successfully completed. 

(ii) The player has a zero credit 

balance and updating of all meters and 

account records has been completed 

successfully. 

(iii) An invalid card condition has 

been cleared by an approved method. 

(iv) A power or communications 

failure of the Electronic Player Station. 

In this instance, the meter and 

accounting information shall be updated 

by the cashless system before logically 

releasing the card. 

§ 547.16 What are the minimum technical 

standards applicable both to clients and 

servers or to client-server implementations 

generally? 

This section provides minimum 

software standards common both to 

servers and clients, wherever located, 

and used in the play of Class II games. 

It also provides minimum standards for 

client-server implementations used in 

the play of Class II games. 

(a) Client enable / disable 

requirements. (1) Electronic Player 

Stations shall be in a disabled state 

following: 

(i) An application start or restart; 

(ii) A system start; and 

(iii) A system start from a standby, 

sleep, or hibernating mode. 

(2) Electronic Player Stations shall 

remain in the disabled state until they 

receive an ‘‘enable’’ command from the 

server. 

(3) Electronic Player Stations shall not 

immediately enable on receipt of a 

server ‘‘enable’’ command if a door open 

or other disabled state is still present 

when the enable instruction is received 

from the server, but may enable itself 

after all alarms are cleared. 

(b) Automatic operation of programs. 

Software used with play of Class II 

games shall automatically restart, 

without the need for operator 

intervention, when the computer on 

which they operate starts or restarts. 

(c) Load requirements. (1) Under high 

or maximum loads: 

(i) The server or client shall not 

provide misleading information to 

players. 

(ii) Information stored in the client or 

server shall not become corrupted. 

(iii) Random number generators shall 

continue to perform correctly. 

(iv) Game outcome decisions shall not 

be affected except for speed 

degradation. 

(2) The client-server system shall 

function correctly after it has recovered 

from an excessive load. 

(3) Recovery from excessive load may 

involve a system restart. 

(d) Memory requirements. (1) Servers 

and clients may implement memory in 

any form, including random access 

memory of any kind, writeable flash, 

memory sticks, PCMCIA memory, and 

writable disks. 

(2) Memory data storage shall be 

capable of preserving its contents for at 

least 90 days with power removed. 

(3) Memory backup power sources, 

which may be rechargeable or nonrechargeable, shall meet the following 

conditions: 

(i) Shall have the ability to fully 

recharge within 24 hours, if 

rechargeable; and 

(ii) Shall have a life span of at least 

five years. 

(4) Random access memory that uses 

an off-chip battery backup shall provide 

a method for the Electronic Player 

Station software to: 

(i) Check for battery low/battery fail 

conditions on every power up and, at a 

minimum, every 24 hours; and 

(ii) Interpret and act upon a battery 

low/battery fail condition. 

(e) Network requirements. (1) Network 

infrastructure shall ensure that only 

gaming-related equipment can make a 

data-link layer connection to server or 

clients. For the purposes of this 

subsection, ‘‘gaming-related equipment’’

means: 

(i) Casino monitoring systems; 

(ii) Cashless gaming systems; 

(iii) Voucher payment systems; 

(iv) Player tracking systems; 

(v) Progressive jackpot systems or 

controllers; or 

(vi) Any other gaming-related 

equipment approved by the tribal 

gaming regulatory authority. 

(2) If servers or clients are also 

connected to non-gaming computers, 

data may only transfer from the servers 

and clients to the non-gaming 

equipment. This shall be implemented 

through: 

(i) Internal controls approved by the 

tribal gaming regulatory authority; and 

(ii) Configuration of firewall devices 

so that only the servers and clients can 

establish the connection to be used for 

the data transfer. 

(3) The network infrastructure shall 

report an event each time a data-link 

level connection is established or 

broken to a client or server. These 

events may be raised at the server, 

casino monitoring system or network 

control terminal. 

(f) Communications protocol 

requirements. The following 

requirements apply to the 

communications within the clientserver domain: 

(1) Extensible protocols are permitted 

provided that any recipient shall 

explicitly reject options, commands, 

and responses that it does not support. 

(2) The communications protocol 

shall be designed to support delivery of 

all data, including after a restart of a 

system component. The protocol is not 

required to support delivery in the case 

of a total failure of a system before all 

data is sent. 

(3) The protocol shall ensure the 

correct delivery of data to the 

application in the order that the data 

was sent and without loss or 

duplication. 

(4) The communications protocol 

shall be designed and implemented so 

there is no noticeable degradation of 

data integrity at bit error rates of 1 in 

106. 

(g) Failure/recovery requirements. (1) 

Client-server domains used in the play 

of Class II games shall provide a level 

of redundancy and a means of recovery 

such that the occurrence of any of the 

following will not lead to the loss of, or 

prevent recovery of, data stored in 

critical memory, including credit 

balance: 

(i) Catastrophic client failure or 

failure of primary client components 

such as hard disks or other primary 

storage devices; 

(ii) Catastrophic server failure, 

including replacement of server 

hardware or primary components; and 

(iii) Total power failure, unless 

duplicated uninterruptible power 

supplies (UPSs) of requisite capacity are 

part of the domain specifications. 

§ 547.17 What are the minimum technical 

standards for the Formal Application 

Configuration document and verification 

tool? 

This section provides minimum 

standards for the Formal Application 

Configuration (FAC) document and 

verification tool required for submission 

of equipment, software, or modifications 

of equipment or software used with the 

play of Class II games to a test laboratory 

and to a tribal gaming regulatory 

authority pursuant to § 547.4(b)(2)–(4); 

for verification of game software on 

clients and servers pursuant to 


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§ 547.18(a)(6) and § 547.19(b)(3); and 

EPROM control standards pursuant to 

§ 542.13(g) of this chapter. 

(a) Contents of the FAC document. (1) 

The Formal Application Configuration 

(FAC) document shall include a detailed 

file and directory listing of all of the 

following software, as applicable: 

(i) .EXE, .DLL, .JAR and other 

executable files and their necessary 

components; 

(ii) Scripts; 

(iii) Stored database procedures; 

(iv) Fixed parameter files affecting 

any game outcome, game mathematics, 

game denomination, or available prizes 

(excluding parameters expected to 

periodically change); 

(v) Batch files; 

(vi) Fixed data and graphic 

information; 

(vii) Reports used to verify the correct 

working of the game software; 

(viii) Compressed files expanded to be 

any of these; and 

(ix) Any other software required by 

the tribal gaming regulatory authority. 

(2) For all software listed in paragraph 

(a)(1) of this section, the FAC document 

shall include a signature or hash value 

calculated using an algorithm that meets 

the requirements of § 547.23(c). If the 

algorithm uses signature seeds 

(algorithm coefficients), each FAC 

record shall contain the signature result 

for each seed maintained by the 

verifying tool. Alternatively, the FAC 

document may contain a list of 

controlled directories and a signature 

value for each such directory as 

calculated by the verification tool. 

(3) The FAC document shall identify 

all files that, if discovered to be altered 

or missing by the verification tool, 

require a shutdown of the server or 

client. 

(4) The FAC document shall be 

labeled with a unique identifier 

indicating the software with which it is 

associated. 

(5) The FAC document shall describe 

in detail the verification tool associated 

with it. 

(b) FAC verification tool, generally. 

No particular implementation is 

required, unless required by the tribal 

gaming regulatory authority. 

Verification tools may include thirdparty program storage (ROM) 

verification devices; commonly 

available third-party signature 

algorithms; hashing formulas such as 

SHA–1, provided that they use a seed of 

not less than four digits as a part of the 

calculation; or any other 

implementation that meets the 

requirements of this section and 

contains or is able to access the listing 

of game software files, directories, and 

signatures presented in the FAC 

document for the purposes of 

comparison and verification. 

(c) FAC verification tool, general 

methodology. The FAC verification tool 

shall be capable of: 

(1) Searching through the directory 

structure of the game program storage 

media; 

(2) Performing and reporting signature 

checks on files individually or on entire 

directories in the game software using 

an algorithm that: 

(i) Meets the hashing requirements 

specified § 547.23(c); 

(ii) Processes individual software 

components, fixed data components, 

and entire software suites; and 

(iii) Is capable of using a seeding 

methodology that will allow for a 

random or manually selected seed as 

part of the signature calculation—if the 

algorithm requires signature seeds, these 

shall be manually entered or selected 

from an external device or randomly 

selected from a pool of seeds and 

checksums; 

(3) Comparing files and directories in 

the game software, or their signatures, 

with the files and directories, or their 

signatures, in the FAC listing provided 

in the FAC document. 

(4) Reporting file names, time and 

date stamps, and size for all files and 

directories; 

(5) Reporting the following error 

conditions, which shall be logged and 

reported to the tribal gaming regulatory 

authority: 

(i) Mismatching or modified files and 

directories; 

(ii) Files or directories present in the 

game software but not in the FAC 

listing; and 

(iii) Files or directories present in the 

FAC listing but not the game software; 

(6) And any other requirements 

specified by the tribal gaming regulatory 

authority. 

(d) FAC verification tool, specific 

requirements. Notwithstanding the 

requirements of paragraphs (b) through 

(c) of this section, the implementation of 

the verification tool shall meet the 

following requirements: 

(1) The verification tool shall not be 

spoofed by a program or thread 

operating on the hardware and software 

under test; and 

(2) The FAC listing in, or available to, 

the verification tool shall be encrypted 

using a methodology that satisfies the 

requirements of § 547.23(b). 

(e) FAC verification tool, external 

locations. (1) The verification tool may 

reside on a medium external to the Class 

II client-server implementation. 

(2) [Reserved] 

(f) FAC verification tool located on a 

server. The verification tool may reside 

on a server. In such a case: 

(1) The server shall contain the FAC 

listings for each client. 

(2) The server shall initiate 

verification of the client by passing the 

FAC without signatures to the client. 

(3) The client shall pass the signature 

results to the server for verification. 

(4) Errors and warnings identified 

during the test shall be logged on the 

server or an external monitoring system 

and reported to the screen of the server. 

Failure or error on critical software files 

does not require that the device be 

immediately disabled unless the check 

failure occurs immediately after the 

software download verification required 

by § 547.18(a)(6). 

(g) FAC self-verification. A server or 

client may self verify, i.e. use a 

verification located on that server or 

client for the purpose of checking the 

software it contains, provided that: 

(1) One or more base devices at the 

beginning of a chain of security verify 

peer devices, and the base device(s) are 

themselves verified by some external 

means. An example of such a technique 

is when the Boot ROM for a PC is 

modified to check running versions of 

software before enabling this software to 

run; the Boot ROM could be in a 

removable EPROM which could be 

verified by an external EPROM verifier. 

(2) The verification tool is itself 

verified by the gaming laboratory and 

the tribal gaming regulatory authority as 

secure from tampering or compromise. 

(3) Self-verification is implemented 

only in addition to, not in lieu of, other 

verification tool options allowed by 

paragraphs (e) and (f) of this section. 

(h) Running the FAC verification tool. 

The FAC verification tool shall be run 

to verify the authenticity of Class II 

game software and paytables: 

(1) Following the addition, removal, 

or change of game software or paytables 

pursuant to § 547.19; 

(2) Following the download of game 

software or paytables pursuant to 

§ 547.18; 

(3) Pursuant to EPROM control 

standards adopted by the tribal gaming 

regulatory authority in accordance with 

§ 542.13(g) of this chapter; 

(4) After recovery from any power 

failure or upon power up; and 

(5) At any other time required by the 

tribal gaming regulatory authority. 

(i) Verification of non-interrogatable 

devices. Program devices that cannot be 

interrogated, such as Smart cards, may 

be used provided they are able to be 

verified by the following FAC 

methodology: 

(1) A challenge is sent by the peer 

device, such as a hashing seed, to which 


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the device must respond with a 

checksum of its entire program space 

using the challenge value. 

(2) The challenge mechanism and 

means of loading the software into the 

device is verified by the independent 

testing laboratory and approved by the 

tribal gaming regulatory authority. 

§ 547.18 What are the minimum technical 

standards for downloading Class II game 

software, paytables, peripheral software or 

other Download Packages in client-server 

implementations? 

This section provides standards for 

the downloading of Class II games or 

paytables to clients or servers on the 

casino floor for patron play. 

(a) Downloads. (1) Downloads of 

games, paytables, peripheral software or 

other download packages shall be 

conducted only as authorized by the 

tribal gaming regulatory authority. 

(2) Downloads of download packages 

shall be conducted only from an 

approved Download Server. The 

Download Server may be the main game 

server or a separate computer device, in 

which case that device must meet the 

server standards of section § 547.6 and 

be separately approved by the tribal 

gaming regulatory authority. 

(3) Downloads conducted during 

operational periods shall be performed 

in a manner which will not affect play 

on Electronic Player Stations that are 

not the subject of the download. 

(4) Downloaded games shall not be 

played in more than one configuration 

on any given Electronic Player Station 

during any one gaming day, unless 

separate metering for each configuration 

can be maintained. 

(5) Downloads shall use a secure 

protocol that will deliver the download 

data without alteration or modification, 

even if errors occur during 

communication. 

(6) The software, paytables, peripheral 

software or other download packages 

shall be verified following download 

using a FAC verification tool and new 

Formal Application Configuration 

conforming to § 547.17. 

(7) The integrity of the master meter 

set and critical memory shall be 

maintained after a download. 

(8) Power loss or communications loss 

during a download shall result either in 

recommencement or continuation of 

download and not require operator 

intervention. 

(9) The server shall log each 

download of any Download Package. 

(10) Each log record shall contain as 

a minimum: 

(i) The time and date of the initiation 

of the download; 

(ii) The time and date of the 

completion of the download; 

(iii) The client player station(s) to 

which software was downloaded; 

(iv) The version(s) of download 

package and any embedded software 

downloaded. Logging of the unique FAC 

identifier will satisfy this requirement; 

(v) The user who initiated the 

download; 

(vi) The outcome of the FAC 

verification following the download 

(success or failure). 

(11) Download logs shall be retained 

for a period of one year from the date 

of the download. These logs may be 

kept in an archived manner, on the 

server or elsewhere, provided that the 

information reconciles across replicated 

storage and that the information can be 

produced within 24 hours upon request. 

In any event, download logs for the 

previous 72 hours shall be immediately 

accessible. 

(b) Interim Storage or actuation of 

Download Packages. If Download 

packages are loaded to interim storage 

and not to the Electronic Player Station 

or peripheral for immediate activation, 

then the interim storage shall be: 

(1) A component within the logic area 

of the client device; or 

(2) A separate device, such as a 

processor board, that resides within a 

logic area of the client device and meets 

the requirements of: 

(i) Section 547.5; 

(ii) Section 547.10(a), if residing in a 

separate cabinet; 

(iii) Section 547.11; 

(iv) Section 547.1(d); 

(v) Section 547.16(g); and 

(vi) Section 547.17. 

(c) Actuation of Download Packages. 

(1) Actuation of Download Packages 

shall be conducted only as authorized 

by the tribal gaming regulatory 

authority. 

(2) Actuation of Download Package 

shall not be permitted if an error or tilt 

condition exists on the destination 

device or Electronic Player Station. 

(3) If the actuation process involves 

transfer of data from interim storage to 

the Electronic Player Station, the 

communications method must meet the 

requirements of paragraph (a)(5) of this 

section, and cryptographic protection is 

not necessary if the data transfer is 

contained within one logic area. 

(4) The server shall permanently log 

each instance of package actuation as 

required by paragraphs (a)(9) and (10) of 

this section. 

(d) Download of peripheral software. 

Peripherals, such as bill acceptors, may 

have their software, firmware or 

configuration updated by the client 

device provided: 

(1) The Download Package containing 

the peripheral software has been 

previously approved by the tribal 

gaming regulatory authority. 

(2) The process of transfer the 

peripheral software is secure and meets 

the specification of the communication 

protocol to the peripheral. 

§ 547.19 What are the minimum technical 

standards for changing available Class II 

game software or paytables in client-server 

implementations? 

This section provides standards for 

adding, removing, or swapping to 

different Class II games and paytables 

on client-server implementations by a 

method other than the download of 

software. Downloadable software is the 

subject of § 547.18. The actions 

described in this section may be 

initiated by command at the client 

station, external command initiated by 

the server, or actuation of a Download 

Package previously downloaded that 

performs approved reconfiguration 

commands or other methods approved 

by the tribal gaming authority. 

(a) Adding or changing games or 

paytables, authorization. Game software 

and paytables shall be added to, or 

changed on, a client-server 

implementation and made available to 

patrons for play only as authorized by 

the tribal gaming regulatory authority. 

(b) Adding or changing games or 

paytables, process. (1) All Electronic 

Player Stations that are to have game 

software or paytables added or changed 

shall be disabled for play before the 

addition or change occurs. 

(2) An updated Formal Application 

Configuration meeting the requirements 

of § 547.17 shall be installed or 

otherwise made available for use by the 

FAC verification tool to verify the 

changed game software or paytables. 

(3) The added or changed game 

software or paytables shall be verified 

on the server or Electronic Player 

Station, as applicable, using a FAC 

verification tool and new Formal 

Application Configuration that 

conforms with § 547.17 prior to reenabling the Electronic Player Stations 

or clients for play. 

(c) Display following change. 

Immediately following reenabling, the 

Electronic Player Station shall; 

(1) Reset the win meter to zero; 

(2) Reset any player options selected 

(e.g. bet amount, lines played, etc.) to 

the minimum available value and apply 

this value or values to appropriate onscreen displays; and 

(3) Change, if necessary, the display of 

the game screen to a non-winning result 

or combination. 

(d) Deleting paytables, authorization. 

(1) Paytables shall only be deleted from 

a client—server implementation as 


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authorized by the tribal gaming 

regulatory authority. 

(2) The remaining game software and 

paytables shall be verified on the server, 

Electronic Player Stations, or clients, as 

applicable, using a FAC verification tool 

and new Formal Application 

Configuration that conforms with 

§ 547.17. 

(e) Deleting games, authorization and 

requirements. (1) Games shall be deleted 

from a client—server implementation 

only as authorized by the tribal gaming 

regulatory authority. 

(2) In any event, games shall be 

deleted only if: 

(i) There are no incomplete instances 

of the game outstanding; and 

(ii) All Electronic Player Stations that 

are to have game software or paytables 

deleted shall be disabled for play before 

the deletion occurs. 

(3) The remaining game software and 

paytables shall be verified on the server, 

Electronic Player Stations, or clients, as 

applicable, using a FAC verification tool 

and new Formal Application 

Configuration that conforms with 

§ 547.17. 

(f) Audit trail. An automatic audit trail 

of all game software and pay table 

changes shall be maintained and shall 

include, at a minimum: 

(1) The identity of the person making 

the change(s), if the client-server 

implementation requires identification 

or log-in for the person(s) making 

changes; 

(2) The time and date of the change(s); 

(3) The type of change(s), (e.g. 

addition, change, or deletion of game / 

pay table); and 

(4) Application parameters or 

variables. 

§ 547.20 What are the minimum technical 

standards for game program storage 

media? 

This section provides minimum 

standards for removable, (re-)writable, 

and non-writable storage for programs 

used with the play of Class II game 

software. 

(a) Removable program storage media. 

(1) All removable program storage 

media such as ROMs, EPROMs, Flash 

ROMs, CD-ROMs, DVDs etc. shall be 

clearly marked with sufficient 

information to identify the software and 

version or revision level contained. 

(2) All removable program storage 

media shall maintain an internal 

checksum or signature of its contents. 

Verification of this checksum or 

signature is to be performed after every 

restart and, if the verification fails, the 

Electronic Player Station shall enter a 

fatal error state. 

(b) Non-writeable program storage 

media. (1) All EPROMs and 

Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs) that 

have erasure windows shall be fitted 

with covers over their erasure windows. 

(2) All unused areas of EPROMs shall 

be written with the inverse of the erased 

state, e.g., zero bits (00 hex) for most 

EPROMs, random data, or repeats of the 

program data. 

(3) Flash memory storage devices 

intended to have the same logical 

function as ROM, i.e. not to be 

dynamically written, shall be write 

protected or otherwise protected from 

unauthorized modification. 

(4) Re-writeable CD-ROMs shall not 

be used. 

(5) The write cycle shall be closed or 

finished for all CD-ROMs such that it is 

not possible to write any further data to 

the CD. 

(6) Write protected hard disks are 

permitted if the means of enabling the 

write protect is easily viewable and can 

be sealed in place. 

(c) (Re-)Writeable program storage 

media. (1) (Re-)writable program 

storage, such as hard disks, Flash 

memory, writable CD-ROMs, and 

writable DVDs, may be used provided 

that the verification requirements of 

§ 547.19(b) and § 547.18(a)(6) are met. 

(2) Program storage is structured so 

there is an obvious separation of fixed 

data (e.g. program, fixed parameters, 

DLLs) and variable data. 

(d) Identification of program storage 

media. All discrete program storage 

media (e.g. EPROM, CD-ROM) shall be 

uniquely identified, displaying: 

(1) Manufacturer; 

(2) Game name; 

(3) Game development number or 

variation; 

(4) Version number; 

(5) Jurisdiction; 

(6) Type and size of media; and 

(7) Location in Electronic Player 

Station, if critical (e.g. socket position 3 

on PCB). 

§ 547.21 What are the minimum technical 

standards for random number generation? 

This section provides minimum 

standards for random number generators 

(RNGs) used with the play of Class II 

games and for cryptography. 

(a) Properties. All RNGs shall produce 

output having the following 

cryptographic properties: 

(1) Statistical randomness; 

(2) Unpredictability; and 

(3) Non-repeatability. 

(b) Statistical Randomness. (1) 

Numbers produced by an RNG shall be 

statistically random individually and in 

the permutations and combination used 

in the application under the rules of the 

game. For example, if a Bingo game with 

75 balls has a progressive winning 

pattern of the five numbers on the 

bottom of the card and the winning of 

this prize is defined to be the five 

numbers are matched in the first five 

balls drawn, the likelihood of each of 

the 75C5 combinations are to be verified 

to be statistically equal. 

(2) Numbers produced by an RNG 

shall pass the statistical tests for 

randomness to a 99% confidence level, 

which may include: 

(i) Chi-square test; 

(ii) Equi-distribution (frequency) test; 

(iii) Gap test; 

(iv) Poker test; 

(v) Coupon collector’s test; 

(vi) Permutation test; 

(vii) Run test (patterns of occurrences 

shall not be recurrent); (viii) Spectral 

test; 

(ix) Serial correlation test potency and 

degree of serial correlation (outcomes 

shall be independent from the previous 

game); and 

(x) Test on subsequences. 

(c) Unpredictability. (1) It shall not be 

feasible to predict future outputs of an 

RNG, even if the algorithm and the past 

sequence of outputs are known. 

(2) Unpredictability shall be ensured 

by re-seeding or by continuously cycling 

the RNG, and by providing a sufficient 

number of RNG states for the 

applications supported. 

(i) Re-seeding may be used where the 

re-seeding input is at least as 

statistically random as, and 

independent of, the output of the RNG 

being re-seeded. 

(ii) The number of RNG states shall be 

larger than the number of possible 

outcomes in the application for which 

the RNG is used by at least a factor of 

108.

(d) Non-repeatability. The RNG shall 

not reproduce the same output stream 

that it has produced before, nor shall 

any two instances of an RNG produce 

the same stream as each other. This 

property shall be ensured by initial 

seeding that comes from: 

(1) A source of ‘‘true’’ randomness, 

such as a hardware random noise 

generator; or 

(2) A combination of timestamps, 

parameters unique to a server or 

Electronic Player Station, previous RNG 

outputs, etc. 

(e) General requirements. (1) Game 

software that calls an RNG to simulate 

an event of chance shall immediately 

use the output returned in accordance 

with the game rules. 

(2) RNG outputs shall not be 

arbitrarily discarded or selected. 

(3) Where a sequence of outputs is 

required, the whole of the sequence 

shall be used in accordance with the 

game rules. 


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(f) Scaling algorithms and scaled 

numbers. An RNG that provides output 

scaled to given ranges shall: 

(1) Meet the requirements of 

paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section 

and be independent and uniform over 

the range; 

(2) Provide numbers scaled to the 

ranges required by game rules, and 

notwithstanding the requirements of 

paragraph (e)(2) of this section, may 

discard numbers that do not map 

uniformly onto the required range but 

shall use the first number in sequence 

which does map correctly to the range; 

(3) Be capable of producing every 

possible outcome of a game according to 

its rules; and 

(4) Use an unbiased algorithm. A 

scaling algorithm is considered to 

unbiased if the measured bias is no 

greater than 1 in 100 million. 

(g) RNGs used for cryptography. (1) 

RNGs used for cryptography shall: 

(i) Be separate from RNGs used for 

other purposes; 

(ii) Be accessible only by the 

components that implement the security 

functionality; 

(iii) Not weaken security by providing 

a point of attack on the security 

protocols that it supports; 

(iv) Have a number of states at least 

as great as the encryption strength—for 

example, an RNG using 128 bit 

encryption shall have at least 2128 states; 

(v) Make use of an entropy source in 

its initial and ongoing seeding, unless a 

security protocol requires that a 

recipient’s (pseudo) RNG supplied with 

correct key information reproduces the 

same sequence as the sender’s RNG; and 

(vi) Be re-seeded at a rate that makes 

cryptoanalytic attack impractical. 

(2) RNG components used for 

cryptography shall notify callers in the 

event of a malfunction. 

(3) Security system components 

reliant on RNG outputs shall cease to 

operate when a fault is detected in the 

operation of the RNG and security can 

no longer be assured. 

§ 547.22 What are the minimum technical 

standards for data communications? 

This section provides minimum 

standards for data communications with 

gaming equipment, or components, used 

with the play of Class II games. This 

section also provides minimum 

standards for communications between 

the Class II gaming equipment and any 

equipment external to it. 

(a) Electrical requirements. (1) 

Communication interfaces on Electronic 

Player Stations shall have at least 3 Kv 

of line isolation to achieve mains power 

static discharge immunity from 

lightning and other static discharges. 

(2) When subjected to electrostatic 

discharges, Electronic Player Stations 

shall not interfere with the operation of 

any other attached equipment via local 

data communications cabling. 

(3) When subject to disruption of the 

mains power, Electronic Player Stations 

shall not interfere with the operation of 

any other attached gaming device via 

local data communications cabling. 

(4) Electronic Player Stations and 

successive devices in any 

communications chain shall be powered 

from different sources. 

(5) There shall be no mains ground 

interconnections via data cabling 

between Electronic Player Stations 

powered from different supply circuits 

unless adequate line isolation is in 

place. Note that RS–232–C may be used 

only if the two communicating devices 

are powered from the same supply 

circuit and the cable length between the 

two devices is less than 15 feet. 

(b) Functional requirements, 

generally. (1) Data communications 

shall be designed to allow transfer of 

game play financial information and 

event data to a casino operating system 

on a regulator schedule or on demand. 

(2) After gaming equipment has been 

de-activated, activating the gaming 

equipment requires manual intervention 

by the gaming operator, except that: 

(i) An Electronic Player Station may 

automatically re-activate upon 

restoration of communications 

following a communications failure, 

unless it determines that lock-up state 

should apply due to some other cause; 

and 

(ii) If gaming equipment is 

automatically de-activated at the end of 

the venue’s current session (e.g., an 

automatic deactivation date/time 

calendar exists), it is permissible for the 

casino monitoring system to 

automatically re-activate the gaming 

equipment when the next permitted 

session commences. 

(3) When more than one Electronic 

Player Station or client communicates 

using the same transmission medium, 

the communications port shall operate 

at a communication speed within a 1% 

tolerance of the required 

communications speed, unless the 

specific communications protocol 

allows a greater tolerance. 

(c) Protocol requirements. (1) All 

communications shall be made via a 

protocol-based communications scheme 

unless otherwise authorized by the 

tribal gaming regulatory authority. 

(2) Communications protocols shall 

include: 

(i) Error control; 

(ii) Flow control; and 

(iii) Link control (remote connection). 

(3) For serial communication links, 

data communications shall make use of 

suitable error detection algorithms. At a 

minimum, Cyclic Redundancy Checks 

(CRCs) shall be used for this purpose. 

The use of only parity or simple 

checksum byte is not acceptable. 

(4) Data communications shall be able 

to withstand varying error rates. 

(d) Communications failures and 

recovery. (1) During any 

communications failure and recovery, 

no data shall be lost, duplicated, 

modified or re-ordered. 

(2) Failures and re-establishment of 

communications shall be logged as 

events by the Electronic Player Station 

or server. 

(3) On program resumption, e.g., after 

a power restart of the equipment, any 

communications to an external device 

shall not begin until the program 

resumption routine, including self-tests, 

is completed successfully. 

(4) When a non-correctable critical 

storage error has occurred, the data on 

the Electronic Player Station can no 

longer be considered reliable. 

Accordingly, any communication to 

external devices shall cease 

immediately and an appropriate 

message shall be displayed. 

(e) Wireless communications. 

Wireless communications may be used 

within and to Class II gaming equipment 

provided the following requirements are 

met: 

(1) Wireless access points must be 

installed so the general public cannot 

physically access them. 

(2) External switches that reset device 

configuration to a default state must be 

disabled unless that default state meets 

the requirements of this paragraph (e). 

(3) Open or unencrypted Wi-Fi 

communications are prohibited. 

(4) 802.11i in combination with 

802.1X and Radius authentication 

servers is an acceptable method for 

securing wireless communications. The 

device/user authentication mechanism 

must employ digital certificates, twofactor methods or similarly strong 

techniques. Use of simple passwords is 

not acceptable. 

(5) WPA and WEP are not acceptable 

methods for securing wireless 

communications. 

(6) VPNs shall be used for end-to-end 

communication, and any wireless 

portion of the connection must meet the 

requirements of this paragraph (e). 

(7) The portions of the network that 

contain wireless access points must be 

separated from the rest of the network 

by firewalls. 

(8) Wireless access points must have 

MAC filtering capabilities. MAC filters 

on Wireless Access Points must be 


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enabled (only devices using registered 

MAC addresses can connect). 

(9) The SSID in 802.11 networks must 

be changed to be different to the default 

factory setting. 

(10) The SSID in 802.11 networks 

must not be broadcast in response to 

broadcast probe requests. 

(11) Peer-to-peer networking (a.k.a. 

ad-hoc mode) shall be disabled on all 

wireless devices, except for the purpose 

of communicating with peripheral 

devices in a small-radius personal area 

network. 

(12) The Beacon Interval in 802.11 

networks must be increased to the 

maximum value of 67 seconds. 

(13) Access through SNMP must be 

restricted: 

(i) SNMP must be disabled unless it 

is in active use through a network 

management system. 

(ii) SNMP and SNMP v2 are not 

acceptable. 

(iii) If SNMP v3 is proposed, the 

configuration must change read and 

write community strings away from 

default values (typically ‘‘public’’ and 

‘‘private’’ respectively). 

(14) DHCP must be disabled, which 

means statically configuring IP 

addresses into end devices. 

(15) Username and passwords must be 

changed from factory default. 

(16) Insecure usernames and 

passwords (e.g. anonymous/anonymous) 

must be deleted from any Wireless 

Access Point. 

(17) Wireless communications may 

not be used to circumvent restrictions 

limiting gambling to the casino floor or 

other designated areas. Implementation, 

therefore, of wireless communications 

may require the tribal gaming regulatory 

authority to implement requirements for 

blocking capabilities in various 

locations. 

§ 547.23 What are the minimum technical 

standards for encryption? 

This section provides minimum 

standards for encryption and hashing in 

client-server implementations used with 

the play of Class II games. 

(a) Encryption generally. (1) 

Communications across public areas 

shall be encrypted. 

(2) Communications across publicly 

accessible networks shall be encrypted. 

These include Ethernet networks or any 

networks that use routers, all wireless 

communications, communications 

across wide area networks. 

(3) Proprietary or closed loop 

networks need not be encrypted but 

shall be physically secure such that 

intrusion is detectable. 

(4) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a)(1) 

through (3) of this section, 

communications containing any of the 

following need not be encrypted but 

must be protected against illicit 

alteration, unless contained within a 

single logic area: 

(i) Software uploads and downloads; 

(ii) Game outcome information; and 

(iii) Progressive jackpot meters, 

parameters, configuration, and win 

messages. 

Note that message authentication 

codes based upon hashing algorithms 

that meet the requirements of paragraph 

(c) of this section are sufficient to meet 

this requirement. 

(5) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a)(1) 

through (3) of this section, 

communications containing any of the 

following shall be protected from 

eavesdropping i.e. encrypted, and from 

illicit alteration unless the 

communication is contained within a 

single logic area: 

(i) RNG seeds and outcomes; 

(ii) Encryption keys, where the 

implementation chosen requires 

transmission of keys; 

(iii) PINs; 

(iv) Passwords; 

(v) Ticket voucher transactions; 

(vi) Transfers of money to/from player 

accounts, pursuant to § 542.13(o)(3)(iii) 

of this chapter; 

(vii) Transfer of money between 

gaming equipment, pursuant to 

§ 542.13(o)(3)(iii) of this chapter; 

(viii) Player tracking information; 

(6) If key data files containing pull 

tabs game results are maintained on a 

disk on the server and/or clients, the 

files shall be encrypted. 

(b) Encryption algorithm. Any 

encryption required by this part shall 

use an algorithm that meets the 

following requirements: 

(1) Encryption algorithms are to be 

demonstrably secure against 

cryptanalytic attacks. Encryption 

algorithms that media reports have 

demonstrated to be broken are not 

demonstrably secure. The following 

algorithms are demonstrably secure: 

(i) SSL/TLS (Using a Public Key 

algorithm); 

(ii) IPSec—(Potentially a ‘‘Hardware’’

solution); 

(iii) Triple DES (Symmetric algorithm 

using a 112 bit key); 

(iv) IDEA (Symmetric algorithm using 

a 128 bit key); 

(v) Blowfish (Symmetric algorithm 

using a 448 bit key); 

(vi) Twofish (Symmetric algorithm 

using a 128-bit, 192-bit or 256-bit key); 

and 

(vii) AES (Symmetric algorithm using 

a 128-bit, 192-bit or 256-bit key). 

(2) The minimum width (size) for 

encryption keys is 112 bits for 

symmetric algorithms and 1024 bits for 

public key algorithms. 

(3) If a symmetric algorithm is chosen, 

a key rotation methodology ensuring 

encryption keys are changed no less 

than every 30 days shall be adopted. 

The key rotation process shall be 

automated. 

(4) There shall be a secure method 

implemented for changing the current 

encryption key set. An example of an 

acceptable method of exchanging keys is 

the use of public key encryption 

techniques to transfer new key sets. 

(5) Other proprietary encryption and 

authentication methods, including the 

use of a Virtual Private Network (VPN), 

are permissible provided they provide 

protection against eavesdropping and 

illicit modification equivalent to the 

methods described paragraphs (a) and 

(b) of this section. 

(c) Hashing algorithms. Any hashing 

required by this part shall use an 

algorithm having the following 

characteristics: 

(1) The hashing algorithm shall 

combine the entire contents of the files 

or data being processed. 

(2) The hashing algorithm shall 

combine the bits in a complicated and 

cross-interactive manner. 

(3) The hashing algorithm shall detect 

at least 99.998% of all possible altered 

files or data. 

(4) The hashing algorithm shall be 

cryptographically strong, i.e. by looking 

at the hash result there is no practical 

way, in a given period of time, to derive 

any part of the original data. 

(5) If the hashing algorithm uses seeds 

(algorithm coefficients), the ‘‘seed’’

information shall influence the behavior 

of the algorithm in a non-trivial way. 

§ 547.24 What are the minimum standards 

for game artwork, glass, and rules? 

This section provides standards for 

the display of game artwork, the 

displays on belly or top glass, and the 

display and disclosure of game rules, 

whether in physical or electronic form. 

(a) Rules, instructions, and pay tables, 

generally. The Electronic Player Station 

shall at all times display, or make 

readily available to the player upon 

request, the following: 

(1) Game name, rules, and options 

such as number of coins wagered stated 

clearly and unambiguously, without the 

capability to mislead. all prizes 

advertised shall be available to win; 

(2) Denomination; 

(3) Instructions for play on, and use 

of, the Electronic Player Station, 

including the functions of all buttons; 

(4) A paytable or other explanation, 

sufficient to allow a player to determine 

the correctness of all prizes awarded, 

including. 


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(i) The range and values obtainable for 

any variable prize; 

(ii) Whether the value of a prize 

depends on credits wagered; 

(iii) The means of division of any 

pari-mutuel prizes; and 

(iv) The paytable or other explanation 

need not, however, that subsets of 

winning patterns are not awarded 

additional pays (e.g. five in a row does 

not also pay three in a row or four in 

a row) unless there are exceptions, 

which shall be clearly stated. 

(b) Disclaimers. The Electronic Player 

Station shall at all times display: 

(1) ‘‘Malfunctions void all pays and 

plays’’

(2) ‘‘Actual Win Determined by Bingo 

[or other applicable Class II game] Play. 

Pay Table Lines and Reels for 

Entertainment Only.’’

(c) Stickers. Stickers may be used on 

Electronic Player Stations provided that 

they: 

(1) Do not shrink or peel with time or 

heat; 

(2) Are not easily removed; 

(3) Meet applicable part number 

requirements, which may be affixed to 

the sticker backing or surroundings 

when size limitations occur. 

§ 547.25 What are the minimum standards 

for interfacing to a casino monitoring 

system? 

The section provides general 

standards for a client-server 

implementation used with the play of 

Class II games to interface with a casino 

monitoring or accounting system. This 

section also provides general standards 

for servers acting as monitoring or 

accounting systems. 

(a) Monitoring or accounting system 

interface, generally. (1) Client-sever 

implementations used with the play of 

Class II games shall be interfaced to an 

on-line monitoring system that 

processes security, maintenance and 

financial data and provides accounting 

data to the operator. An on-line 

monitoring system is required in all 

cases where remote monitoring is 

allowed. 

(2) Data communications with the 

casino monitoring system shall meet the 

requirements of § 547.22. 

(3) An on-line monitoring system may 

be located locally within a facility or 

remotely outside of the facility. 

(4) The on-line monitoring at the 

minimum shall provide a statistical 

analysis for verification of correct 

performance/return to player for each 

Electronic Player Station. 

(b) Servers acting as monitoring or 

accounting systems. The components or 

functions of an on-line monitoring 

system may be embedded within the 

game server. If so, the following 

requirements apply: 

(1) The server shall not permit the 

alteration of any information. 

(2) The server shall have a backup and 

archive utility to allow the operator to 

save data in critical memory in the 

event of a system failure. In the event 

of a catastrophe that results in a failure 

whereby the servers cannot be restarted, 

it shall be possible to reload the system 

to a backup point and to fully recover 

the contents of that backup. 

§ 547.26 How does a gaming operation 

apply for a variance from these standards? 

(a) Tribal gaming regulatory authority 

approval. (1) A tribal gaming regulatory 

authority may approve a variance from 

the requirements of this part for a 

gaming operation if it has determined 

that the variance will achieve a level of 

security and game integrity sufficient to 

accomplish the purpose of the standard 

it is to replace. 

(2) For each enumerated standard for 

which the tribal gaming regulatory 

authority approves a variance, it shall 

submit to the Commission Chairman, 

within 30 days, a detailed report, which 

shall include the following: 

(i) A detailed description of the 

variance; 

(ii) An explanation of how the 

variance achieves a level of security 

sufficient to accomplish the purpose of 

the standard it is to replace and of any 

equipment or software to be 

implemented with the variance; 

(iii) An evaluation of the variance 

from an independent testing laboratory 

recognized by the Commission pursuant 

to § 546.9(f) of this chapter; and 

(iv) Evidence that the tribal gaming 

regulatory authority has approved the 

variance. 

(3) In the event that the tribal gaming 

regulatory authority or the tribe chooses 

to submit a variance request directly to 

the Chairman, it may do so without the 

approval requirement set forth in 

paragraph (a)(2)(iv) of this section. 

(b) Review by the Chairman. (1) 

Following receipt of the variance 

approval, the Chairman or his designee 

shall have 60 days to concur with or 

object to the approval of the variance. 

(2) Any objection raised by the 

Chairman shall be in the form of a 

written explanation and be based upon 

the following criteria: 

(i) There is no valid explanation of 

why the gaming operation should have 

received a variance approval from the 

tribal gaming regulatory authority on the 

enumerated standard; or 

(ii) The variance as approved by the 

tribal gaming regulatory authority does 

not provide a level of security or game 

integrity sufficient to accomplish the 

purpose of the standard it is to replace. 

(3) If the Chairman fails to object in 

writing within 60 days after the date of 

receipt of a complete submission, the 

variance shall be considered concurred 

with by the Chairman. 

(4) The 60-day deadline may be 

extended, provided such extension is 

mutually agreed upon by the tribal 

gaming regulatory authority and the 

Chairman. 

(c) Curing Chairman’s objections. (1) 

Following an objection by the Chairman 

to the issuance of a variance, the tribal 

gaming regulatory authority shall have 

the opportunity to cure any objections 

noted by the Chairman. 

(2) A tribal gaming regulatory 

authority may cure the objections raised 

by the Chairman by: 

(i) Rescinding its initial approval of 

the variance; or 

(ii) Rescinding its initial approval, 

revising the variance, approving it, and 

resubmitting it to the Chairman. 

(3) Upon any re-submission of a 

variance approval, the Chairman shall 

have 30 days to concur with or object 

to the re-submitted variance. 

(4) If the Commission fails to object in 

writing within 30 days after the date of 

receipt of the re-submitted variance, the 

re-submitted variance shall be 

considered concurred with by the 

Chairman. 

(d) Appeals. (1) Upon receipt of 

objections to a re-submission of a 

variance, the tribal gaming regulatory 

authority shall be entitled to an appeal 

to the full Commission in accordance 

with the following process: 

(i) Within 30 days of receiving an 

objection to a re-submission, the tribal 

gaming regulatory authority shall file its 

notice of appeal. 

(ii) Failure to file an appeal within the 

time provided by this section shall 

result in a waiver of the opportunity for 

an appeal. 

(iii) An appeal under this section 

shall specify the reasons why the tribal 

gaming regulatory authority believes the 

Chairman’s objections should be 

reviewed, and shall include supporting 

documentation, if any. 

(iv) The tribal gaming regulatory 

authority shall be provided with any 

comments offered by the Chairman to 

the Commission on the substance of the 

appeal, and the tribal gaming regulatory 

authority shall have the opportunity to 

respond to any such comments. 

(v) Within 30 days after receipt of the 

appeal, the Commission shall render a 

decision based upon the criteria 

contained within paragraph (b)(2) of this 

section unless the tribal gaming 

regulatory authority elects to wave the 


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30-day requirement and to provide the 

Commission with additional time, not to 

exceed an additional 30 days, to render 

a decision. 

(vi) In the absence of a decision 

within the time provided, the tribal 

gaming regulatory authority’s 

resubmission shall be considered 

concurred with and become effective. 

(2) The tribal gaming regulatory 

authority may, without resubmitting the 

variance, appeal the Chairman’s 

objection to the approval of a variance 

to the full Commission by filing a notice 

of appeal within 30 days of the 

Chairman’s objection and complying 

with the procedures set out in paragraph 

(d)(1) of this section. 

(e) Effective Date of variance. The 

gaming operation shall comply with 

standards that achieve a level of security 

or game integrity sufficient to 

accomplish the purpose of the standard 

it is to replace until such time as the 

Chairman objects to the Tribal gaming 

regulatory authority’s approval of a 

variance as provided in paragraph (b) of 

this section. 

(f) Discretion. Concurrence in a 

variance by the Chairman or by the 

Commission is discretionary and 

variances will not be granted routinely. 

The gaming operation shall comply with 

standards at least as stringent as those 

set forth in this part until such time as 

the Chairman or the Commission 

concurs with the tribal gaming 

regulatory authority’s approval of the 

variance. 

Dated: August 1, 2006. 

Philip N. Hogen, 

Chairman. 

Cloyce V. Choney, 

Associate Commissioner. 

[FR Doc. 06–6787 Filed 8–10–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7565–01–P 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with PROPOSALS