The Association of Certified Gaming Compliance Specialists (ACGCS) certification was born out of the need for specific compliance training for gaming according to the company’s CEO and founder, Dr. Ian Messenger.

Messenger explained the ACGCS’ reasons for creating its certification and its partnership with Dalhousie University during an interview with SBC’s Media Manager, Charlie Horner, at the recent Canadian Gaming Summit in Toronto.

He said: “The curriculum has been designed from the ground up specifically for the gaming sector. So whilst many other compliance certifications focus on topics like money laundering, fraud, and regulatory compliance, we focus specifically on gaming. 

“We cover those topics from a gaming perspective, but we also cover things like loan sharking, match-fixing sports betting responsible gaming, these these topics that don’t exist in any other certification.”

The organisation’s certification is a 35-hour self-study course which is exam-based through the ACGCS learning management system.

The ACGCS first entered into a partnership with Dalhousie University in 2023 and created a micro-credential version of its certification that has an academic background.

It also offers a micro-credential version of the certification split across 12 modules through a partnership with Dalhousie University which it first entered in 2023. 

Messenger explained the benefits of the organisation’s partnership with Dalhousie and also the importance of having academic accreditation associated with its certification.

He said: “It’s very important to us because what it does is it showcases the strength and the integrity of the certification.”

“We’ve worked in a very enriched environment going through an academic process, it adds a lot of value. We find that many of our target audience like the fact we have a micro-credential [and] that on their resume and their training record they can show that they have a university-level qualification in casino gaming compliance.”

Messenger added that the ACGCS is in discussions with the university to launch a postgraduate certificate and a master’s program in casino gaming compliance.

Looking ahead to the future, Messenger also reflected on the need for ACGCS to offer more region-specific training as the current certification is designed to be “international in nature”.

“We have a client base from all six continents,” he explained. “We are going to be adding more tailored content [and] we are going to be creating more bolt-on modules and short courses to cover individual jurisdictions.”