Gaming in a Digital Era: Staying Ahead of Fraud without Sacrificing User Experience

In today’s expansive and dynamic digital gaming and gambling world, the challenges are as intricate as the games themselves.

On the one hand, gaming has never been more popular. It’s estimated that 70 percent of US residents participated in some form of gambling in the past year, generating more than $60 billion in revenue in 2022.

At the same time, balancing a frictionless onboarding process with accurate age verification while maintaining compliance in a fast-moving regulatory landscape can prove challenging, resulting in high drop-off and abandonment rates across the industry.

Moreover, consumers have plenty of options, and this competitive landscape means that when platforms miss the mark, they risk gamers and gamblers swiping to the competition.

That’s why gaming and gambling platforms must safeguard against money laundering and fraud while reducing friction and enhancing CX without compromise.

Regulation In the Gaming Industry

The U.S. gaming industry is one of the most heavily regulated and controlled business sectors globally. In addition to comprehensive and stringent state gaming regulations, most U.S. gaming operations are subject to federal anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) requirements.

Therefore, both offline and online casinos and gambling enterprises need to be well-versed with the PEP screening requirements of their respective regions.

Neglecting this duty can result in severe financial penalties. Anti-money laundering fines surged 50 percent last year, and banks and other financial institutions were fined almost $5 Billion for anti-money laundering infractions, breaching sanctions, and failings in their know-your-customers systems in 2022.

Through diligent checks, gaming platforms and gambling entities adhere to AML rules, deterring illicit acts and preserving the confidence of their clients and regulators.

Simply put, no legitimate gaming or gambling platform wants to be on the receiving end of multi-million dollar fines or to make it easy for criminals to clean dirty money through their accounts. However, while these platforms need to crack down on fraud, they also face pressure to reduce friction and enhance CX.

Fighting Fraud Without Compromising UX

Gaming platforms cater to consumers eager to place significant bets, yet these same consumers quickly switch to platforms offering superior experiences. It’s not uncommon for users to engage with multiple competing platforms simultaneously.

Any impediment to an app’s functionality or ease of use can deter users. On average, customers switch between three or four betting apps on their phones, and more than half of users say UX is the main factor when determining their favorite app.

While adhering to regulations is vital, operators must avoid introducing unwarranted friction, especially at pivotal moments in the gaming journey.

In other words, speed and functionality are table stakes in this competitive ecosystem, and entertainment value and design are key to capturing their attention and loyalty.

Operators must offer an efficient UX across the gaming lifecycle – from onboarding to cashing out.

This starts with the onboarding process.

Players want immediate access, and with in-play betting, slow, manual onboarding can mean the difference between a winning bet and player regret.

Effective user interfaces significantly reduce the “time to play,” ensuring players can transition swiftly from the decision to gamble to actual gameplay. Operators require tools that facilitate swift digital onboarding and payment processing without additional hurdles.

By addressing prevalent challenges in the gaming sector, industry-leading solutions foster an enriched player experience across all channels. Advanced machine learning tools champion responsible gambling and promptly detect and prioritize suspicious activities.

Tips to Get Started

There are several steps that gaming and gambling platforms can take to prioritize regulatory compliance without compromising customer experience.

• Accelerate customer acquisition: Initiate automated, risk-based workflows that fast-track decision-making for trusted identities and apply additional authentication measures only as needed. Automating the authentication of government-issued IDs not only elevates user acquisition but also refines the customer experience.
• Go beyond basic identity matching: Confirm customers are who they claim to be with email and mobile device intelligence. Instantly validate an identity and assess underlying risk—without compromising the player experience.
• Automate initial and continuous screening: Evaluate customers with prioritized alerts for new matches found on updated watchlists.
• Promote responsible gambling: Automatically flag suspicious activity and prioritize critical alerts using our advanced machine learning.

This may sound challenging, but you don’t have to tackle it alone. IDology is your fraud prevention and UX optimization partner.

Our industry-leading solutions alleviate the most common problems within the gaming industry and help drive a positive player experience across any channel. IDology automates identity verification to enable streamlined onboarding and deliver robust step-up verification without compromising UX. Promote responsible gambling, automatically flag suspicious activity, and prioritize critical alerts using our advanced machine learning.

For more information, download our white paper, “Balancing Growth with Fraud Prevention & Compliance in Online Gaming,” or speak to a trust expert today.