For those unfamiliar, iGaming simply refers to online games that require a wager of real money to be played. The term has become somewhat of a buzzword recently, owing to the industry’s enormous popularity and sharp growth.
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Emerging in the mainstream during the mid 90s on the home PC, iGaming has since become a multi-billion-dollar industry. Online casino games can also now be played on both smartphones and tablets and are commonplace across all app stores.
With the added possibility of earning money, iGaming can be both fun and financially rewarding compared to other games. However, this also brings with it additional risks, and user safety and wellbeing are paramount.
Fortunately, there are several methods in place to protect players from criminal activity as well as potentially harmful playing habits.
Safeguarding Players
One of the most important measures for any responsible company is monitoring the amount of time and money a player spends. Some players may become dependent on iGaming, playing excessively to their detriment.
There are plenty of tools to prevent players from reaching the point that playing becomes more than harmless fun.
Cool off periods allow the user to take a break, restricting access to their account for up to a month.
The reality check feature gives periodic reminders to the player of the length of time they have been playing. These range from as little as 20 minutes to a few hours, and the player must acknowledge these to remove them.
There are profit and loss tools that allow the player to clearly see the total amount won or lost. These include limitations on the total amount that can be lost over a set period.
Daily, weekly or monthly deposit limits cap the amount of cash that can be deposited into the account.
Many iGaming sites also have an integrated support feature allowing users to talk to trained professionals regarding their gaming habits. Charities such as GamCare and Gambles Anonymous are also very useful for anyone concerned.
These are all indispensable tools for players who may feel they are playing or spending a little too much.
Preventing Underage Players
Every country has legislative regulations on the minimum age a person can access iGaming, usually at least 18 years old. Rigorous age verification is a standard process for all online casino gaming companies and is integral to preventing underage playing.
Age verification requires a valid form of photo ID, usually a passport or driver’s license and proof of address. These are then checked against a government database to confirm all provided documents are valid.
Criminal Activity Prevention
iGaming operators have a legal responsibility to protect users’ funds and thwart criminal activity on their site. Many implement anti money laundering software that recognizes when huge sums potentially linked to criminal activity are being deposited.
Transactions and accounts are monitored frequently, and sites can detect devices that are being used to access personal information.
Two factor authentication is also becoming a more widely used practice in the industry. Rather than requiring just a password to access an account or deposit money, other authentication is necessary via email or mobile. .
Advertising
It is a legal requirement in many countries that online casino operators adhere to strict advertising regulations. They are responsible for ensuring their advertisements are factually correct and don’t reach vulnerable or underage people.
iGaming providers must also seek the players permission to seek to use their personal details for targeted marketing purposes. Any user is permitted to exclude themselves and not under any circumstances be shown personalized ads.
Information Privacy
With users uploading personal details in order to register an account, ensuring these private details are protected is a necessity. Criminal attacks aim to extract vulnerable information that can be potentially used fraudulently.
This is done through data encryptions. This translates the personal data into another form or code so that it can only be accessed by authorized persons.
Information privacy is one of the most important and scrutinized policies of any iGaming provider. In many instances, mishandling of private information can lead to license revocation.
iGaming Fraud
An unfortunate consequence of iGaming’s popularity is the many forms of fraud that have emerged as a result. These are often difficult to detect and purposefully convoluted.
One of the most common is multi-accounting, which refers to fraudsters who use multiple accounts to cheat at games. Creating multiple accounts using fake information is sometimes possible with the use of synthetic identification.
This refers to documents that merge both real and fake information, making them harder to detect than entirely fake identification.
Technological advancements have also allowed hackers to successfully use deepfake videos to access accounts that require video verification. This allows them to alter their appearance in order to appear as someone they are not.
With the popularity of iGaming soaring, the online casino gaming market is predicted to exceed $90 billion by 2023. User experience is constantly improving, and players have more choices than ever.
User safety and welfare are not only strong industry principles, but also legal requirements in many countries. This has led iGaming providers to implement strategies to ensure playing online is both harmless and fun.
