Section 3000.288  Minimum Duties of Independent Outside Testing Laboratories

a)         As a condition of licensure, a licensed independent outside testing laboratory is obligated to do the following:

1)         Provide support contacts to the Board who are available 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

2)         Provide written reports regarding casino testing and test results submitted, which include, at a minimum:

A)        All testing performed;

B)        A description of the products tested;

C)        The unique identification code or signature, as approved by the Administrator, assigned to the product;

D)        A secure hash using a cryptographic function designated by the Administrator;

E)        A list of pay tables or other settings on the tested product, if applicable;

F)         A description of the modifications between the tested product and previous versions of the tested product, if applicable; and

G)        A list of components with which the product was verified to be compatible.

3)         Provide the Board and its staff with real-time online access to all casino testing services, reports and documents via secure communication protocol and allow the Board to view updated reports of all pending, approved and obsolete video gaming terminals and any terminals for which the Administrator's approval has been revoked (see 11 Ill. Adm. Code 1800.940(d)).

4)         Disclose all locations of any laboratory or factory at which independent outside testing services may be conducted.  Upon request of the Board, the licensed independent outside testing laboratory shall reimburse the Board for all travel costs, in accordance with CMS travel regulations (80 Ill. Adm. Code 1800), incurred by up to two Board employees to inspect each laboratory or facility annually.

5)         Assign a unique identification code or signature, as approved by the Administrator, and a secure hash using a cryptographic function designated by the Administrator to all Critical Program Storage Media upon testing.  For purposes of this subsection (a)(5), "Critical Program Storage Media" means any program storage media containing software that is involved in, or that significantly influences, the operation and calculation of game play, game display, game result determination, game accounting, revenue or security.

A)        Software in program storage media includes, but is not limited to:

i)          game accounting software;

ii)         system software; and

iii)        peripheral firmware devices.

B)        Critical Program Storage Media shall be verified utilizing an external third-party methodology approved by the Administrator.

C)        Critical Program Storage Media may be required, as determined by the Administrator, to have security seals attached.

6)         Conduct its operations in a manner that does not reflect adversely on the security or integrity of gaming in the State of Illinois.

7)         Conduct its operations in a manner that deals fairly with other licensees of the Board.

8)         Conduct its operations in accordance with Section 3000.110.

b)         In addition to the violations in Section 3000.110, any violation of the requirements of this Section may result in discipline in accordance with Section 3000.110.

c)         Any licensed independent outside testing laboratory that fails to maintain its accreditation in accordance with Section 3000.287(a) shall have its license suspended until such time as the independent outside testing laboratory reobtains its qualifications.

(Source:  Added at 44 Ill. Reg. 521, effective December 30, 2019)