The holy grail of ID safety & convenience? It’s all in the timing

This article first appeared on Gaming Insider.

Aware biometrics CRO Craig Herman speaks to Gambling Insider about ID checks and the ‘achievable’ goal of balancing safety with convenience.

What are the key mistakes companies handling payments within the gambling industry today need to avoid?

There are several mistakes to avoid, including, perhaps first and foremost, the introduction of friction into the player experience. Online gambling is, by nature, a time-sensitive activity; players expect unobstructed access to the ability to purchase gaming chips or credits, as well as instant payouts.

Any delays in verifying that a person is exactly who they say they are in order to gain access to money (especially winnings) is not going to instill a high level of confidence and good will in that platform; and it won’t be long before players are seeking more modern options that can offer this winning combination of security, convenience and speed. Another mistake to avoid is choosing authentication methods that may introduce new compliance requirements involved with saving confidential user data.

On the side of the consumer, what dos and don’ts would you have for bettors who want to ensure their money is protected when entering an online wagering space?

Players should insist on the ultimate convenience (for example, the ability to withdraw winnings immediately) combined with absolutely top-notch, bullet-proof security. For any consumer, authentication methods that offer this should be a key factor in determining which online gambling platforms you want to use.

Players should look for platforms that offer this advanced authentication across various payment methods and multiple wallets, and across multiple channels (for example, PCs and mobile apps). This means superior security will be guaranteed regardless of the chosen channel, or if you have to switch from one device to another in the middle of the game.

ID checks are a key component in the battle against fraud, but can often demotivate players from engaging with an application – what is the best way to avoid this problem? Do you believe finding that perfect balance is a truly achievable goal?

It is completely possible to achieve this ‘holy grail’ of security and convenience, even for smaller, more resource-constrained online gambling platforms. The introduction of cloud-based services has significantly simplified the integration of advanced security features, such as facial recognition, for online gaming platforms.

For example, we have just announced an AwareID plug-in for platform operators running WooCommerce, the open-source, fully customisable ecommerce platform built on WordPress. These platform operators can now be up and running on an extremely player-friendly, web browser-based biometric authentication (facial recognition) solution in as little as three minutes.

How does handling the public’s security, specifically regarding payments in the gambling industry, differ from previous protection and efficiency challenges Aware has had to deal with?

Payments in the online gambling industry are different in that the time-sensitive nature of gambling means people are especially intolerant of any delay in gaining access to their winnings or money. For more traditional financial services and fintech apps, for example, people may expect some degree of friction in exchange for knowing their transactions are 100% secure. But in the online gambling realm, players expect access to money within milliseconds.

What are the key changes you have witnessed in the payment protection sector since you began working with Aware?

In recent years, we’ve seen the public become much more receptive to the use of biometrics for payment protection. Biometrics-supported payments have become much more prevalent – everything from Amazon’s “Pay by Palm” technology in stores like Whole Foods, to Apple Face ID enabling app purchases and much more. The adoption of biometric payments is expected to be swift, driven by consumer demand for convenience and heightened security.

One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is that consumers still tend to have concerns over the privacy and security of biometric data once it’s collected. Fortunately, technologies like stateless APIs exist to ensure biometric data is discarded once processed.

What do you think biometrics will do to help this specific industry sector evolve over the next five years?

Biometrics will help sustain the significant growth that’s expected in the online gambling sector overall, because it will make more platforms viable and competitive through their ability to support highly secure and convenient payment processing.

Going beyond payment processing, biometrics will help online gambling platforms with compliance – ensuring players meet legal age requirements, depending on the state they’re in; as well as responsible gambling, by being able to verify without question the identity of individuals who are engaging in certain activities.