How the quest to make online gambling safer is evolving

If there was ever any doubt as to the long-term future of online gambling, we can safely say that it is here to stay. How do we know? Because both government entities and the gambling industry itself are now taking measures to make online gambling as safe as possible. Newly evolving safety standards go way beyond securing websites against hacking attempts.

From age verification to warning people that they might have a gambling problem, industry and government stakeholders are now fully committed to ensuring the safety of all online gamblers while preventing those who shouldn't be gambling from doing so. What we are seeing is the next logical step in cementing online gambling as the future of the entire industry.

Ongoing safety concerns

It is no surprise to anyone who follows gambling industry news that the powers-that-be now seem engaged in a most honourable quest to make online gambling safer. Their safety concerns are just the latest on a long running list. Indeed, online gambling has been subject to plenty of safety and security criticism ever since it first emerged in the mid 90s.

Way back when online gambling was limited to poker and casino websites, there were concerns about safety and security. Most of those concerns centred around protecting personal data from hackers. There were also concerns of problem gambling, though poker rooms were hardly the threat they were made out to be.

Gambling draws safety and security concerns by the very nature of its existence. Even before online gambling was a thing, there were plenty of critics who questioned the safety and security of land-based gambling. Little has changed over the years. Every time a casino operator wanted to open a new facility, safety and security are at the top of the list of objections. So again, we are looking at ongoing safety concerns. This is nothing new.

There is a silver lining to all of this: implementing new strategies to increase safety and security actually does protect gamblers. So even though operators may not like tightened regulations, such regulations actually serve the public good.

So what is the latest and greatest in the quest to make online gambling safer? A few new rules from the UK Gambling Commission and a new effort to introduce big data for the purposes of helping to prevent problem gambling. Let us look at both.

New guidance from the UKGC

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) proposed changes to its licensing conditions and codes of practice back in 2018. Several proposals were announced, two of which were intended to help curb underage gambling online. Public comment was accepted between early September and the end of November. That was followed by a release of the Commission's final guidance in February 2019 source.

Operators had most of 2019 to prepare for changes set for implementation at the start of 2020. Now a few months into 2020, we have a better understanding of what the UKGC is trying to accomplish. Their new guidance incorporates two fundamental rule changes for online operators.

1. Age verification

Rules prior to the new guidance allowed gambling operators up to 72 hours to verify the age of new customers. In the interim, those customers could immediately deposit funds and begin play. This is no longer allowed. New rules now require gambling operators to verify the age of every new customer before allowing:

• Account deposits,
• Access to free games,
• Gambling with their own funds or operator-provide bonus funds.

The rule essentially bars anyone from playing free or paid games at an online casino without first being age verified. The only exceptions are subscription and low-frequency lotteries.

2. Identity verification

Alongside age verification rules are additional rules for identity verification. Under the new guidance, online operators are now required to:

• Verify customer name, address, and date of birth at minimum,
• Ask customers to provide additional verification information when necessary,
• Inform customers of the documents and identity verification information required,
• Take reasonable steps to ensure customer information is accurate.

This portion of the new guidance is a bit more difficult on operators. By its nature, online gambling prevents operators from ever meeting with their customers in person. They must rely on identification information provided electronically. This clearly opens the door to fraud.

Age and identity verification problems may be exacerbated when customers choose to make cryptocurrency deposits. Because cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin offer pseudonymity, operators cannot rely on the same legitimacy they have come to trust in relation to bank and credit card accounts. Cryptocurrency gambling gives them one less avenue by which to verify age and identity.

Fair gambling practices

The UKGC went on to tackle fair gambling practices in its original consultation back in 2018. No new rules have come from that part of the consultation, but it is probably only a matter of time before the Commission proposes something. There seems to be an appetite among regulators to somehow come up with a system of proving games are fair.

This is where cryptocurrency could play a huge role in securing the future of online gambling. A platform like Bitcoin SV (BSV) could be used as the foundation of a comprehensive blockchain system that would produce an immutable and publicly distributed record of all online gambling activity. Such a record would prove that games are fair. It would also reveal any that are unfair.

It will be interesting to see where the Commission goes with this third proposal. The smart money says that they will address the need for provably fair games sooner rather than later.

Addressing problem gambling

There is always the concern of people developing serious problems whenever gambling is allowed. Even before the UK openly embraced online gambling, there were those gamblers who had problems at land-based casinos, betting shops, and poker rooms. It is the nature of the beast. Gambling problems only increase in likelihood when you throw online gambling into the equation.

As such, online operators are required to place disclaimers on their websites. They are also required to state their positions on problem gambling and offer links to resources to help problem gamblers address their issues.

Operators in the UK have even gone as far as to voluntarily self-regulate their TV advertising. If you have noticed that you no longer see gambling advertisements during live sporting events, that's why. Operators have voluntarily pulled back on television advertising so as to not attract young people during live sporting events.

Bringing big data into play

The online gambling industry is attempting to stay ahead of the curve by looking at technologies that could more effectively address problem gambling. It turns out that big data might prove to be one of their biggest assets in this regard.

New software known as Mentor utilizes big data and behavioural science to address problem gambling. Mentor is the result of collaboration between a well-known data science firm and a popular online casino platform developer.

Mentor collects data as gamblers play their favourite games. The software then analyses that data to track gambling habits and detect risk patterns. If changes in a customer's behaviour signal a potential gambling problem, the software offers personal feedback and tailored communications to get that customer's attention.

It is all predicated on a behavioural counselling strategy known as 'motivational interviewing'. By combining motivational interviewing with the benefits of data analytics and artificial intelligence, the software's creators believe they can help at least some problem gamblers recognize their problems and seek out help.

Combining AI with Blockchain

Artificially intelligent software like Mentor is pretty exciting in and of itself. But if the gambling industry is trending toward blockchain in order to prove fairness, could a blockchain platform be integrated with AI software to improve the industry's ability to help problem gamblers?

Just like a blockchain ledger can provide immutable proof of game fairness, it seems it could also provide a more reliable record of a casino's efforts to help address problem gambling. If you wanted, you could even use the platform to create a more accurate record of customer behaviour.

It would be up to the brilliant minds behind AI and blockchain to figure out how to bring both together to this effect, but it stands to reason they should be able to do so. The two technologies already work together in so many other sectors. There is no reason to believe they could not be combined in the gambling space.

As we wait and watch to see how gambling technology evolves, there is no doubt that government entities and the gambling industry are on a joint quest to make online gambling safer and more secure. They certainly want online casino sites protected against fraud and hacking. But they want so much more.

The quest for a safer and more secure online gambling environment now includes preventing underage gambling and addressing problem gambling. Both are worthy pursuits that will only make the entire gambling environment better. That is good for operators, customers, and those who really should not be gambling.