Testing, Testing, 1-2-3

It’s a new era for BMM Testlabs, but the future will be driven by the company’s history, experience and commitment to integrity

For global testing and compliance giant BMM Testlabs, 2026 represents something of an eclipse, a time where the past and future coalesce for a brief moment before the future continues on its usual trajectory while the past recedes back into the sunset.

Private equity firm The Visualize Group completed its acquisition of BMM in early March, a deal that has been touted as “the first-ever control acquisition of a major regulated gaming testing laboratory,” according to a release announcing the transaction close.

With regard to the past, BMM over the last 45 years has built an impressive collection of over 700 regulatory and business licenses around the world, which have in turn cemented its position as one of the gaming industry’s leading testing, inspection, compliance and certification (TICC) providers. Its technical expertise spans from land-based to digital, commercial to tribal, domestic to international and everything in between.

But this history and experience will not be swept away in the future under new ownership—to the contrary, it is precisely that history and trust that will help boost BMM to its next chapter and beyond, according to CEO Martin Storm. In a release, Storm called the closing of the Visualize acquisition “the beginning of an exciting and ambitious new chapter” for the company, following approval from regulators around the world. 

“Do your market research—it’s the best way to get informed, understand what’s required to make your product successful.”
—Kirk White, President, Land-Based Gaming and Inspections, BMM Testlabs

“With Visualize’s support, we can now invest aggressively in our people, our technology, and our global footprint in ways that were not previously possible,” Storm said. “Our customers should expect faster turnaround times, expanded jurisdictional coverage, deeper technical capabilities, and a level of service and partnership that no other testing laboratory in the world can match. We are building the definitive platform for gaming compliance, and we are just getting started.”

From Visualize’s perspective, Managing Director C.C. Melvin Ike called BMM a “clear expression” of the firm’s goal of acquiring “irreplaceable businesses in markets where regulatory complexity creates durable, defensible demand.” He described the TICC sector as being “structurally underpenetrated by institutional capital,” and said the firm looks forward “to backing the entire BMM team, supporting the customers that drive the industry, and preserving the trust of the regulators that protect it.”

Land, Ho!

The evolution of BMM has largely coincided with the evolution of the gaming industry itself, which is expanding and innovating like never before. Yet at the same time, many of the foundations of this growth have been laid by the land-based sector, and that remains a core priority for BMM moving forward. Helping to merge these past and future chapters is Kirk White, the company’s president of land-based gaming and inspections.

White, who recently celebrated his 31st year with BMM, has seen much change over that time from his perch in Melbourne, about 8,100 miles away from Las Vegas. He says the complexity of land-based products and the globalization of the industry have been two of the most notable developments from a testing standpoint.

“When I started in the business, the games were very basic—you know, five-reel strips, 20 positions on each real strip, basic features,” White says. “Now, there’s the complexity of hundreds of reel strips, many thousands of symbols on each strip, many different pay tables, many different types of bonus features. So, the complexity is one of the big changes.”

“Our customers should expect faster turnaround times, expanded jurisdictional coverage, deeper technical capabilities, and a level of service and partnership that no other testing laboratory in the world can match.”
—Martin Storm, President and CEO, BMM Testlabs

The land-based sector has moved beyond just slots over the years and now serves many different platforms, including video lottery terminals, electronic table games, historical horse racing, betting kiosks, Class II games, and more. Additionally, the advent of digital gaming and suppliers’ subsequent quest for omnichannel products has only added to the complexity of testing and certification, according to White.

“I think the biggest technological change now is the crossover between land-based and digital and digital and land-based,” he says. “How does that work? How do omnichannel products work, the technology behind that?…It’s going to be interesting to see how the next five years look in terms of that. Because that’s one of the biggest challenges for everyone. The more complicated it is, the harder it is to develop, to test, to communicate to regulators so you can get the products approved.”

When it comes to expansion, White recalls the early days in Australia, when he was “managing two or three customers, one regulator, and 20-30 people” in Victoria. Now, BMM offices span 16 countries across six continents, and the number of stakeholders has grown tremendously.

“There’s been a lot of introduction of new technical requirements because different places have their own requirements,” White says. “So there’s diversity in technical requirements for products to meet. And I think from our perspective too, the globalization of regulated gaming, which comes in line with all these new standards, meant that as a business, we had to evolve.”

One aspect of that evolution has come here in the U.S.—BMM announced last September that it has secured full Class III access across the country, a journey the company says was about 25 years and $20 million in the making.

The U.S. land-based industry has set new gross gaming revenue records every year since 2020, culminating most recently in 2025’s total of $51 billion, according to the American Gaming Association. On the tribal side, the National Indian Gaming Commission reported that U.S. Indian casinos generated GGR of $46.2 billion for fiscal year 2025, meaning the combined commercial and tribal industry is nearing the $100 billion mark.

Completing the U.S. license collection was an important milestone because it allows BMM to work with the industry’s biggest suppliers, which also have global ambitions for their products.

“When we got full market licensing last year, that basically was a signal to say, ‘Look guys, now we can cover all the U.S., but more importantly, we’ve already done the global licensing piece, Europe and Australia and everywhere else, so now we can service you globally.’ Because the way it works is that a large manufacturer might develop a product and go all U.S. If it’s successful, then they want to transfer that globally. So then, we’re connecting the dots as a global partner now, and that’s a big thing for us.”

Defending Digital

For BMM, its institutional knowledge also crosses over into the digital and cyber worlds as well, and those sectors will be pivotal in its future growth both in the U.S. and around the world. These efforts are being spearheaded by another company veteran, Marzia Turrini, who held a number of international roles at BMM before stepping into her current role as global president of iGaming and cybersecurity in 2025.

Given the rapid pace of digital gaming innovation, Turrini says the industry continues to evolve at an extraordinary rate. As new games and platforms become more sophisticated, the complexity of the technology, and the testing required to ensure compliance, continues to grow.

“In the last year-and-a-half, we’ve seen a lot of math complexity growing,” Turrini says. “So the math is much more complicated than it used to be.”

As the industry expands and becomes more complex, the need for state-of-the-art cybersecurity to help protect businesses and their players has never been more important. Cybercrime has become one of the most pressing issues for the gaming industry this decade, both online and land-based.

“Generic cybersecurity providers might know a lot of industries, but they’re not specialized in gaming. At BIG Cyber, we really focus on the gaming industry.”
—Marzia Turrini, President, iGaming and Cybersecurity, BMM Testlabs

According to data from Gitnux, the average cost of a casino data breach reached $4.5 million in 2023, and the number of U.S. states that implemented new cyber regulations increased from five to 22 from 2020 to 2024. Many of the biggest names in the industry, including MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings, IGT and more have reported cyberattacks in recent years.

“A cyberattack isn’t just a financial risk; it’s a reputational risk. While businesses may recover financially, rebuilding trust is far more difficult. Strong cyber-defense protects your reputation, your customers, and ultimately your business continuity,” Turrini says.

Turrini leads BMM’s BIG Cyber subsidiary, although she prefers the term “cyber defense” to cybersecurity, in the sense that attempted attacks are inevitable and a swift and effective response is the most important priority. Every company in today’s world needs effective cyber tools, she says, but BMM’s singular focus on gaming is what differentiates it.

“Gaming is our specialty; we have 45 years experience serving the gaming industry,” Turrini says. “We understand the industry’s unique security challenges, from physical security to digital infrastructure. While many cybersecurity firms serve a wide range of industries, we focus exclusively on gaming. That specialized expertise helps us deliver the right solutions for our customers.”

A Half-Century Later

As BMM nears its 50th anniversary, much has changed over those years, both for the company and the industry itself. The products are more sophisticated, more technically complex, the players are more discerning, and regulators are more exacting as new jurisdictions continue to come online. A new ownership group is also presiding over it all.

But for both White and Turrini, collaboration and communication remain the most important considerations for clients, just as they always have. The TICC journey is case-by-case and not one-size-fits-all, and more work and planning that is done in the early stages will pay dividends down the line.

Fast yet responsible speed to market has always been the end goal, and that remains the case, from the smallest upstarts to the biggest stalwarts and everyone in between.

“Customers that communicate very often and establish a good dialogue with the testing and technical teams are those that are very successful, and able to get their products to market quicker,” Turrini says. “We learn more from them, they learn from us, and that’s through communication at the end of the day. When communication is not fluid, that’s when there are delays.”

“Everyone’s increasing their product complexity,” White says. “Regulations are very different around the world, and the complexities vary depending on the location and the type of product you have. Do your market research—it’s critical to be informed and understand what is required for product certification; this supports a successful product journey for market release.

But at the end of the day, Storm says, the success of BMM and its service to suppliers really all boils down to trust.

“Our mission has never been simply to test products. It’s to give our customers and regulators confidence. That confidence is built on trust—trust in our people, trust in our technical expertise, trust in our independence, and confidence in our commitment to doing things the right way. For 45 years, that trust has helped move gaming forward, and it will continue to guide everything we do.”