Security

WLA POSITION ON COVID-19 FOR WLA-SCS AUDITS

Taking into consideration the spread of Covid-19 and the related difficulties in travelling, the WLA SRMC have made the decision to temporarily relax the requirements with regards to WLA-SCS certification audits. Until further notice the following applies:

Annual review audits can be performed remotely. Auditors are requested to specify in the recommendation field of the Assessment Form if the audit has been performed remotely.
Re-certification audits can be postponed, if necessary. Auditors and certified entities are requested to inform the WLA if the re-certification audit is postponed due to Covid-19.
When an Operator’s business operations is completely disrupted and is unable to sell any of its products offerings at all due to the Covid-19 outbreak, members can ask for a special extension of the certificate validity.

The WLA Security Control Standard:2016 (WLA-SCS:2016)

The security of a lottery plays a critical role in maintaining the confidence and trust of the public in its lottery games. It is vital, therefore, that a lottery organization develops and maintains a visible and documented security environment in order to achieve and sustain public confidence in its operations.

The WLA SCS is the lottery sector's only internationally recognized security standard. The WLA SCS couples a comprehensive information security management baseline incorporating ISO/IEC 27001:2013, a leading international standard for information security management, with additional lottery-specific security controls representing current best practice. The WLA SCS is designed to assist the lottery sector around the globe in obtaining a level of security controls in line with generally accepted best practices, to enable an increased reliance on the integrity of lottery operations. The WLA SCS specifies the required practices for an effective security management structure by which a lottery may maintain the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of information vital to its secure operation.

Lottery and gaming organizers have a business need to develop environments that maintain a visible and documented security and integrity position so as to retain the confidence of players and other stakeholders alike. The WLA Security Control Standard (WLA-SCS) is designed to help lottery and gaming organizers around the world achieve levels of control that are in accordance with both generally accepted information security and quality practices as well as specific industry requirements. Certification to the WLA-SCS provides an objective measure of a lottery and gaming organizer’s security control and risk management performance.

The WLA-SCS has been prepared by the WLA Security and Risk Management Committee (WLA SRMC), which includes representatives and security specialists from lottery and gaming organizers from around the world. By comparing current security and integrity practices used in the industry with those approved by lottery experts, a solid security and risk management framework for lottery and gaming organizers has been established. The WLA SRMC reviews all security control standards for use by the lottery and gaming sector, acts as a focal point for the sector on security issues and oversees the certification process whereby lottery and gaming organizers’ compliance with the WLA-SCS is verified.