The Greening of Gaming Machines

Just about every niche in the travel industry is working to establish green guidelines for building and operations. Believe it or not, the same is happening in gaming. In fact, Leonardo Academy is developing a national standard for sustainable gaming and green casinos, under the rules of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The standard is a work in progress and is currently in the public comment phase. Currently, anyone is welcome to submit comments on the voluntary LEO-8000 Standard for Sustainable Electronic Gaming Machines. That's right, there is an effort underway to reduce the environmental impact of gaming machines. Click here to access the draft standard. I took a look at the 31-page standard and it addresses many subject areas.

Areas discussed in the standard include: the material used in the making of gaming machines and its recyclability; whether or not suppliers have a formal, third-party certifiable sustainability program; the quality of the solvents, sealants and adhesives used; the level of mercury in light bulbs; whether or not the supplier has a take-back program; the water and energy impact of a machine; and how well suppliers treat their employees. As part of the standard, suppliers can earn up to 200 points--a Platinum rating. A good chunk of those points (40 points) are for energy efficiency. According to Leonardo Academy, suppliers can use this standard to evaluate and improve the sustainability of the electronic gaming machine they manufacture. Buyers of electronic gaming machine can use this draft standard in the procurement of electronic gaming machines, by referencing this standard to easily define the requested level of sustainability performance.

All comments on the voluntary standard are due by May 31, 2011. Click here for more information. After reading the standard, I guarantee you will never look at a slot machine the same again.