NEW REPORT: Safeguarding $81.7B In Online Gambling Payments

With online gambling already legal in much of Europe, the Caribbean and Asia, and its status shifting in the United States in the wake of a recent Supreme Court decision, the industry is anticipated to be worth more than $81 billion by 2022.

With new states and countries legalizing online gambling, gambling platforms must comply with more regulations and stricter authentication processes than ever before. But as players in areas where gambling has been newly legalized sign up with various gambling platforms, they expect to be able to bet right away, without having to go through a lengthy or friction-filled account authentication process.

In the July Digital Identity Tracker, PYMNTS explores updates from around the security space, including the latest news surrounding online gambling authentication.

Why 888 Is Betting on Automated Authentication

With the gambling industry rapidly growing, the need for efficient and effective authentication and security is becoming even more crucial.

But with players’ need for speed, gambling platforms cannot afford to slow down customers in the process as they register, deposit funds, place wagers or withdraw winnings. That’s pushing companies like casino site 888.com to invest in automated authentication processes, according to Russell Medley, 888’s director of fraud and risk management.

“If there are more hurdles that we put in their way or more things that might prevent them or delay them from playing, it creates a drop off,” he said. “So it needs to be an immediate thing, and that’s where we need to be able to get people to go through our processes as quickly as we can behind the scenes, with minimal intrusion.”

Medley shares his thoughts on the current and future state of the online gambling space, in this month’s Digital Identity feature story.

Deep Dive: Online Gambling Payments

Gambling providers are also dealing with a rising rate of fraud attacks, as cybercriminals and bad actors increasingly target the quickly growing space. This month’s Tracker includes a Deep Dive on how casinos, online and brick-and-mortar establishments alike, are fighting back against fraud.

Around the Digital Identity World

With not just gambling, but also an increasing array of transactions taking place online, countries around the world are experimenting with new forms of digital identification.

In the Bahamas, for example, Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest announced the government is working with local technology provider GIBC to create a single digital identity credential. The move is designed to provide the country’s citizens with easier and more efficient access to government services.

Meanwhile, in Europe, the Swiss city of Zug recently began using distributed ledger technology to power government-issued IDs. The city is also currently running an eVoting pilot designed to test the possibility of using the blockchain to power resident IDs and voting systems.

And in Australia, the country’s government plans to assign a digital identification credential to all citizens by 2025. The move is motivated, in large part, by the savings it can potentially provide, with experts estimating that digital IDs could reduce the average cost of government transactions from $17 per transaction to less than 40 cents, saving taxpayers billions.

For more on these stories and the rest of the latest from around the Digital Identity space, check out the Tracker’s News and Trends section.

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About the Tracker

The Digital Identity Tracker, produced in collaboration with Jumio, is a forum for framing and addressing key issues and trends, facing the entities charged with efficiently and securely identifying and granting permission to individuals to access, purchase, transact or otherwise confirm their identities.