After more than two decades expanding BMM globally and opening the U.S. Class III certification market to competition, Storm reflects on resilience, independence, and the company’s next chapter with The Visualize Group.
For 45 years, BMM Testlabs has helped shape the global gaming industry. Over the past two decades, Chairman, President, and CEO Martin Storm has led the company through international expansion, major regulatory milestones, and the creation of BMM Innovation Group, bringing security and training into its compliance portfolio. Following a strategic private equity investment earlier this year, Storm reflects on the journey that brought BMM to this point, and what comes next.
CC: BMM is celebrating its 45th year serving the gaming industry. How did the company get started?
Storm: “Well, we certainly didn’t start in a garage in New Jersey doing slot machine testing. I’m sure they had a special license to do that. BMM began as a registered gaming lab in Melbourne, Australia, when Victoria’s first casino, Crown, opened in 1992. We worked alongside the government, Crown, and suppliers to help establish the first-ever formal technical standards for gaming products. Those standards later became the foundation for the slot machine and systems standards used globally today. BMM never felt that it was the role of a gaming lab to own or profess to own gaming standards, so we wrote and provided them to regulators.
“From the beginning, BMM’s role was to support suppliers and regulators and help the industry grow responsibly. That purpose still guides us today.”
CC: Martin, BMM has supported the gaming industry since 1981. What makes the company’s story so strong today?
Storm: “BMM is the world’s longest-established independent gaming test lab, and that history matters.
“For more than four decades, we’ve helped make sure gaming products are safe, fair, and compliant before they reach players. Today, we support regulators, suppliers, and operators in more than 700 jurisdictions worldwide and work with more than 1,000 customers across the industry.
“What makes BMM special is trust. Regulators trust our independence. Suppliers trust our technical work. Operators trust us to help them meet their compliance responsibilities.
“Our mission is to transform gambling industry compliance, and our vision is to protect all who gamble. Everything we do supports those goals.”
CC: You’ve led BMM for more than 20 years. How has the company changed during your time as CEO?
Storm: “When I joined BMM, it was already respected in the industry, but it operated only in Australia. I saw an opportunity to expand the company globally and provide an alternative to what was becoming an effective monopoly.
“Over time, we built a presence across North America, Africa, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. We strengthened our relationships with regulators worldwide and expanded our work with Tribal gaming in the United States.
“In 2005, we moved our headquarters to Las Vegas because we believed the U.S. market would be critical to the future of gaming.
“But due to artificial barriers to entry in the United States, BMM grew slowly, in small increments, over many years. For a long time, the U.S. lab market felt like a football game with only one team on the field, and naturally, that team was celebrated as if it were the greatest of all time.
“But we always knew who we were, what we stood for, and what our mission was for the public and the industry. Like the tortoise in the classic story, I committed BMM to outlasting the hare. And here we are.
“Today, BMM operates from 16 locations across six continents. We’ve grown from a testing lab into a global compliance leader.
CC: Before joining BMM, your background was in building technology companies. How did that shape your leadership approach?
Storm: “Before BMM, I had a long career in the IT industry, including companies like Oracle, and then built and sold a technology business that I IPO’ed. I was semi-retired when BMM’s owners asked me to advise the company on its growth path.
“After reviewing the business, I saw strong potential for global growth. I became CEO and later bought the company myself because I believed in its future.
“From the beginning, my focus was on expanding internationally and building long-term relationships with regulators and customers. That strategy helped us grow from Australia into a regional provider and then into a global leader in product compliance.”
CC: In 2022, you launched BMM Innovation Group, known as BIG. Why was that the right move?
Storm: “The gaming industry is changing quickly. Compliance today is about much more than testing products.
“Operators and suppliers now need support with security, responsible gaming education, and gambling-related protections. Regulators also want guidance as new technologies enter the market.
“We created BMM Innovation Group to bring those services together. Today, BIG includes BMM Testlabs, BIG Cyber, and RG24seven Virtual Training. Soon, we will grow again.
“Together, our businesses help customers protect their reputation, their revenue, their regulatory relationships, and the public. That’s where the industry is heading. I’m very proud that BMM has been the consecutive winner of the important Vixio Global Regulatory Award for ‘Testing Service or Solution Provider of the Year’ in 2024 and 2025.”
CC: RG24seven Virtual Training is an important part of the group. What role does education play in compliance?
Storm: “Education is essential to strong compliance programs and is one of the most effective ways to strengthen the industry over time.
“That’s why we launched RG24seven Virtual Training® as a free service. Our platform provides the best compliance-grade training for gaming employees worldwide. We offer RG-ONETM as an introductory, free-of-charge education program, and RG-CERTIFIEDTM as a comprehensive, paid-for service that importantly certifies its learners.
“On a more personal note, I grew up with an addicted gambling parent that caused some real challenges in our family. RG24seven is my way of giving back to the industry and ensuring that every learner understands the importance of responsible gaming.”
CC: BMM recently achieved full access to the U.S. Class III certification market. How important was that milestone?
Storm: “The greatest challenge of the last 25 years wasn’t finding great staff, building leadership, servicing great customers, expanding globally, or even becoming the best gaming lab in the world. The greatest challenge was doing business in the United States.
“Unlike anywhere else in the world, I found some in the U.S. regulatory market purposely limited qualified competition in the gaming test lab market, except for one established domestic lab.
“No other gaming lab in the last 40 years was able to break that barrier. But we did, with the help of many great gaming leaders and lawyers, especially Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. and Lloyd Levenson.
“It cost me personally more than US$20 million and 23 years to get there. Now, with the U.S. market fully open to us for the first time, it’s ready, set, go for BMM.”
CC: The recent investment by The Visualize Group is another major milestone. What does this partnership mean for BMM?
Storm: “In 2019, I developed a vision for BMM to extend our compliance capabilities beyond product certification services into broader gaming compliance and regulatory technologies.
“The COVID pandemic set that vision back about three years. But when I met C.C. Melvin Ike from The Visualize Group, I knew I had found someone who believed in that vision and was ready to support that strategy.
“The Visualize Group specializes in regulated, mission-critical services businesses. Their investment supports continued growth, technology development, and global expansion.
“Together, we are accelerating the next phase of BMM’s growth.”
CC: Finally, what excites you most about the future of BMM Innovation Group?
Storm: “What excites me most is the opportunity to continue supporting the entire gaming ecosystem: regulators, suppliers, operators, and players. It is especially challenging and exciting to help customers navigate the accelerating pace of technological change in gaming and provide a range of services that address those challenges. We do this by focusing on the business, technology, and product impacts in compliance and certification. We feel it’s a sophisticated, yet personal approach.
“Personally, I’ve always believed this work is more than a job. I don’t have a job. I have a calling, and I get to help develop and support talented staff and leadership.
“Each year, I spend three weeks on airplanes and eight days in airports, traveling roughly 28 weeks annually to visit our offices, staff, and customers; always with my trusted carry-on. Over 25 years, that has added up to significant time away from my family, but I’ve stayed organized, disciplined, focused, and committed to delivering meaningful outcomes every day. I am a man at work, on a journey I love, working with people I respect, and I think people feel that.”
