The future of compliance: an interconnected environment

As is often the case in the gaming industry, innovations from other sectors can take a while to filter through to ours but, once they do, their disruptive technology can really begin to take hold. We’re especially seeing this happen as new technology becomes available in the registration and payments space, and it has the power to radically improve user experience, customer compliance, and reduce levels of problem gambling as it is adopted industry-wide.

The principal poster-child in this space is payments provider Trustly. With this (originally Swedish) model, players go through a process of first registering with their bank, then given a unique bank ID and, after entering it, journey through a rapid process that enables them to play and withdraw almost instantly, all in a highly secure environment.

To illustrate the significance of this innovation, I’ll take you through the process. Let’s say a player enters their preferred gaming site and is immediately able to play any game of their choice, all without the need to register. Thanks to the ability to register with their online banking credentials and two-factor authentication, a player’s identity is age verified with all the necessary KYC registration details automatically pulled from their account to fulfil the relevant checks – leaving the operator to establish an account in the background while players gets on with instantly enjoying their favourite games.

Join the dots

Interconnectivity is, quite simply, the future. Similar to the internet of things, which powers your smart-home (think Alexa), a future egaming environment will seamlessly connect your gaming account with your bank account, and your full identification credentials. As the Swedish market gears up for re-regulation, we’re seeing this phenomenon take off in real time. Swedish online gaming licensees will be required to put in place a unique eligibility code for players each time they log in to their account.

Under the new standards, gaming companies operating in Sweden will be required to put in place software which assigns each player a unique eligibility code every time they log in to the respective operators’ website. All licence applicants will need to have procedures in place to verify a player’s age and that the bank account used matches the person logging into the operator’s site. In turn, all transactions made on any egaming site licensed in Sweden must also be recorded.

This interconnected future network of self-compliance driven by tech will soon spread across to other national markets. The opportunity to revolutionise compliance, while at the same time increase customer acquisition and retention, is simply too good to miss.

I predict this change will be revolutionary industry-wide as and when mass adoption takes hold. It is already changing the way players interact with and experience casinos – reducing friction between registration and play, significantly improving user experience, and, most importantly, the previously elongated KYC process and security checks are reduced to mere seconds. This ensures players can play where they want, whenever they want, while operators ensure that all regulatory requirements are met.

Those who fail to adapt to harness the benefits tech can bring, both for self-compliance and protection of customers, will be left behind. As the ability to self-regulate and adhere to all compliance obligations becomes near-instantaneous, there will be no excuse for companies failing to fulfil their obligations. Harnessing the possibility of an interconnected environment will ensure the industry has a bright future; one where tech can be used not only for driving acquisition, but also for the betterment of all.

Author: Sam Hobcraft is the founder of Omnia, the first AI-led casino. He has worked in the gaming industry for more than 15 years, launched three major online casinos, and has a passion for all things tech.