People are spending more time online than ever, and businesses are realising that a strong online presence is essential to keeping a competitive edge and retaining consumers. The gaming and gambling industries are expanding quickly in response to the digital acceleration and transformation of recent years; this year, all gambling-related revenue in the United States alone is anticipated to surpass $44 billion, and by 2023, the gaming industry anticipates that there will be over 3.07 billion players (including online players) worldwide. With billions of players and lucrative gambling markets, the sectors make for attractive prey for scammers.
Businesses, especially those in the online and mobile gaming and gambling sectors, face a number of challenges, including preventing fraud and money laundering, guaranteeing regulatory compliance, and providing a seamless customer onboarding experience—all while protecting the privacy and security of their customers. In order to lower the risks associated with the internet, notably the prevention of underage gambling, gaming and gambling firms must use the proper risk mitigation tactics and technologies. That’s why online gaming safety has become very important in the present time.
Where are we now?
Businesses would typically employ techniques like delivering a copy of a passport or a proof of address when conducting identity verification or onboarding, along with manual inspections. These antiquated procedures can be time-consuming, annoying, and generate a bad user experience for clients who might be inclined to switch to a rival. Customers (or “players”) in the gaming industry are notorious for having among of the lowest tolerance levels for onerous ID checks, and a bad onboarding process can result in a 45% player dropout rate. Relying on historical data to confirm identification not only turns off the modern digital consumer but can also prevent large groups from using the services they desire.
In the past ten years, gaming has mainly moved online, opening up exciting new options for both operators and their customers. It entails improved platform accessibility from any location, at any time, as well as the capacity to make decisions and modifications in real-time. Operators have reaped the benefits in spades, being able to engage customers more effectively, give new rewards instantly, and add real-time decisions to improve the user experience.
As a result of this change, stricter controls have been put in place, with a focus on 2+2 checks, address verification, and age verification.
Issues Online Gaming & Gambling Operators Face
Whether it’s through an organization’s systems to steal data or launder money, or using a gaming platform for online gaming scams to target players with social engineering, malware, and phishing scams, fraudsters are shrewd and willing to exploit any found vulnerabilities. They then use the stolen PII data for synthetic identity fraud. More so, the possibility for online gambling fraud and money laundering has expanded due to the expanding use of cryptocurrencies across these businesses, notably with online casinos.
Every year, online gaming and gambling platforms welcome thousands of new and returning players while adhering to rules set forth by the sector. Dependence on outdated or incorrect verification methods is likely to lead to fraud, disgruntled clients, noncompliance, and the (unwitting) facilitation of financial crime.
Traditional Data Sources:
Due to a lack of information, traditional data sources for identity proofing cannot guarantee that a person’s identification will be validated. This is especially true when it comes to the world’s underbanked or unbanked populations (or thin-file consumers), who generally lack traditional documentation like energy bills or banking history. This is due to the expansion of the digital-first economy.
With the correct identity proofing technology, businesses may expand their client base to include people who may have previously been excluded by using a consent-based study of customers’ digital traces to verify identities.
Regulatory Requirements:
Companies must be aware of several mandates to maintain compliance, ranging from industry-specific directives to global Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards like 6AMLD. This can be difficult, though, as laws are frequently amended or added to, making it challenging to stay current. Additionally, as compliance standards tend to differ by country, online gaming and gambling businesses that cater to a global clientele must be aware of and compliant with local laws.
Onboarding customer:
In today’s digital environment, clients have high expectations for a seamless onboarding experience, regardless of the service they are using. Unhappy customers are never good for the company. Customers are likely to stop participating or leave if the process takes too long or is too difficult.
The solution to Comply with Online Gaming and Gambling Laws:
Online gaming and gambling platforms cannot afford to employ identity proofing systems that are inefficient or ineffective as part of their organization’s control architecture given the constantly expanding business and the always demanding clients. This is why it’s critical to have a reliable online gaming verification with KYC and identity verification solution that can be swiftly deployed and integrated into existing systems. Online gaming and gambling companies will be able to safely prevent fraud, comply with rapidly changing legislation, and guarantee a seamless player onboarding by adopting a scalable no-code solution that enables rapid implementation and go-to-market.
