Request for Feedback about B3W Affiliation

[CityGuard]

There was an error reported in October 2006 impacting software from B3W Group. Although the error was reported to have been resolved shortly after it originally arose, there was a recent discussion about B3W that raised this historical issue. I feel it is important to take the software function question seriously, and therefore followed up with B3W Group about the historical report and their existing testing.

There have been significant changes in the quality assurance process followed by the B3W Group since the error of five years ago. The group’s software now undergoes thorough testing by a third party. The testing examines the full gamut of technical areas, including the security of communication protocols used for player data, comprehensive logging of player activity and game activity, backup procedures, financial transaction recording, the random number generator, game transparency including accuracy of rule descriptions and paytables, and other criteria. The testing agency is the Malta Lotteries and Gaming Association. In addition to confirmation from B3W Group that they have undergone these tests, the topics examined are publicly available on the LGA website, as is documentation that B3W has passed these tests.

The testers have a range of training and certifications specialized in the areas they are testing. For the database and IT infrastructure testing, certifications of the testers include: Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA); Certified in Risk & Information Systems Control (CRISC); Licensed Penetration Testers (by EC Council); plus CISCO and Microsoft certifications. Additional tester specialization included algorithmic and combinatorial mathematics expertise for game testing, attorneys for legal compliance and player protection standards, and ACCA certification for financial aspects.

Based on the research I have done, it is my impression that the external testing for B3W software is thorough and that it is conducted by people who are genuinely trained for this type of investigative work.

When following up on this, I also followed up on questions about the similarity of some games from Casino4U with the games produced by B3W. The answer was direct: Casino4U had stolen the intellectual property of B3W Group, that there is no association between the two companies except that Casino4U had stolen from B3W. Because of having their software designs stolen, several affiliate sites incorrectly list B3W as the provider for some of the casinos using Casino4U software. B3W is trying to correct this by contacting the affiliates with incorrect information on their sites, but not everyone has made updates.

I view that this information addresses all of the concerns that I have identified. I'd appreciate feedback on whether there is any information I'm missing because I'd like to make sure everything is solid here.

[CityGuard]

I'm bumping this request for anyone who missed it over the New Year's holiday. After checking into B3W, everything looks solid to me and I want to make sure it looks in order to you as well. Let me know if you have any new information or any unanswered questions - I'd appreciate your thoughts.

[grem]

Why did they take so long to address the issues about casino4u?

What was the problem 5 years ago with testing?

[CityGuard]

Why did they take so long to address the issues about casino4u?

When there is a serious legal issue like theft of intellectual property, I think the general response from most businesses is to handle it with a high level of privacy. So my sense is that they responded rapidly behind the scenes as soon as they were made aware of the theft, but that they adopted the common approach of privacy because of the legal nature of the issues involved.

I don't think they realized at the time that some affiliates thought the Casino4U sites were actually theirs, so now that they understand how confusing the situation is to some people they understand the need to share more publicly in order to correct the misinformation.

What was the problem 5 years ago with testing?

At the time, there was an bug in a video poker game that resulted in wins not occurring at the statistically-correct rates. In other words, video poker players didn't win as often as they should have. Although it was quite far back historically, this is serious issue to me so that is why we looked at the current software testing so thoroughly.