GMOOCA

Guides

G2S, explained

G2S was designed to replace the one-cable-per-machine model of SAS with machines that live on a network. It's powerful, but you're unlikely to meet it outside a large casino.

Updated . Written by GMOOCA in plain language; not an official specification.

What G2S is

G2S stands for Game to System. It’s an open standard published by the Gaming Standards Association (GSA), an industry group made up of manufacturers, casino operators and system suppliers. It first appeared in the mid-2000s.

Where SAS is a back-and-forth over a single serial cable, G2S machines connect to an ordinary computer network, the same kind of Ethernet you have at home. Messages are longer and more descriptive, and either side can start the conversation.

Three slot machines and a host system all connected to a network switch. Machine Machine Machine Network Host systemone or many
G2S machines share one network. Several systems can talk to the same machine, each about its own job.

How it differs from SAS

SAS G2S
Connection One serial cable per machine Standard network (Ethernet)
Who starts the conversation Always the host Either side
Systems per machine Usually one Several, each with its own role
Typical use Nearly every machine, casino or not Newer machines in larger casinos
Changing a game or setting At the machine Can be done remotely, if allowed

The biggest practical difference is that last row. G2S was built so a casino could change a machine’s denomination, settings or even its game from a back office, without opening the cabinet. That’s the idea behind what the industry calls server-based gaming.

Why most owners won’t use it

G2S is real and in use, but adoption has been slower than SAS. Many casinos still run SAS for accounting even on machines that support both. For a home owner, G2S usually isn’t an option at all:

  • Plenty of machines don’t support it, especially older cabinets.
  • On machines that do, it often needs to be enabled or licensed by the manufacturer or the original operator.
  • It needs a G2S host system to talk to, and those have historically been built for large casinos.

If your machine supports SAS, SAS is where you’ll get results today.

What GMOOCA is doing with G2S

GMOOCA Gaming Manager 2 includes a G2S host, so operators with newer equipment can manage SAS and G2S machines from the same screen. The current release, 2.3, is focused on making that host connect to machines exactly the way a real casino system does: joining, taking ownership of a machine’s devices, collecting meters every minute, and handling tickets.

That work is in internal testing on our bench. For most home owners, SAS is still the place to start. You can follow G2S progress on the projects page.