Long gone are the times when casinos were merely physical buildings with eye-catching slot machines and jaw-dropping sceneries.
Nowadays, many gamblers have opted to place their bets in the online playing field. However, with the convenience of online betting also come certain downsides. You can have the prettiest and most functional online casino. But without proper protection from frauds, your business and users are at risk.
What are the risks?
Multiple account players, late bettors, cheaters, and much more. You’ll inevitably have to deal with them at some point. They have the potential to cause massive losses in ROI.
And if not taken care of, fair players might leave your site. Not to mention the fact that the IRS might come knocking.
Laundering
Online laundering through gambling websites isn’t as evident as real-world money laundering. But it is also fairly hard to detect.
A favorite strategy among launderers is to dump a ton of money into an account. They then make a few insignificant bets. After a relatively short waiting period, they cash out without placing any more bets.
Fraud
With so many data breaches having occurred worldwide, it’s no wonder a lot of credit card details were stolen. Illegitimate players might use a card to top-up their gambling wallet.
Once they’ve placed a few bets, they can cash out via cryptocurrencies. Since bitcoin wallets are anonymous, authorities are many times unable to find the thief’s identity.
Another popular form of fraud is chargeback abuse. In this case, a legitimate cardholder is the one committing a scam. After placing a bet, the user calls their bank to ask about the transaction. They will pretend as if they weren’t the ones making it.
Most of the time, the bank will reverse the transaction with no questions asked. Therefore, the casino gets no money, but the user can still cash out their earnings via cryptocurrency. You can probably tell how damaging this is for the business in the long run. Get too many of these complaints, and card issuers will no longer accept you.
Hacking
And, of course, the bane of the digital world. Hackers seem never to sleep. While security protocols such as SSL have evolved drastically, major websites often have their data stolen.
Having a team of excellent programmers helps. Using DDoS protection adds yet another layer of security. And adding a firewall is a must. But sometimes it is not enough to outsmart proficient hackers. You can probably imagine the damage that these individuals can cause.
What are the solutions?
With the increase in research and development, the internet has become slightly more secure over the last couple of years.
So far, a few methods have proven to be more effective than any other that came before. Here are the best solutions for digital risk management in online gambling.
AI
Not long ago, you would have to manually combine mathematical algorithms with a team of expert risk managers and viable software.
An AI risk management program can do that and much more. And you won’t even have to fire your employees. It can work in tandem with them to increase their efficiency up to 10 times.
The AI analyzes player habits, recognizes dubious patterns, and acts each time accordingly. Not only that, but it can also tailor the player’s experience to increase user engagement. So you’re getting a two-in-one deal: risk management and personalized marketing.
Two-factor authentication
As simple as it is, the two-factor authentication system is practically impossible to crack. All you need to do is implement the solution on your website and encourage players to use it.
A player can select to receive either an email or an SMS with a random login code. Each time they log in to their account, the system will automatically send them a message with the specific code. You have no idea how much security has improved because of this simple practice.
Blockchain
The blockchain offers complete privacy to a user. However, it also tracks everything that’s happening on the website in real time.
This will make it much easier for your team to detect suspicious activity. And it also works in tandem with the AI to deter hackers and scammers before they act. Blockchain also offers you the possibility to implement over 400 payment methods to reduce card fraud, as you can see on this website.
Using common sense
While not a modern technique, this is something that will go a long way. Hackers don’t necessarily have to be tech savvy.
Some of them use social engineering techniques to get the job done. You might get a call from someone pretending to be a tech expert. They might try to convince you to give them your password so they can update your antivirus software.
Other times, they might send you an email that asks you to reset or password. Or an email with a funny-looking link in general. Ignore these messages and move on. If you have a serious business, you probably already have a team of tech experts anyway.
Other ways you can tackle risk management
This isn’t necessarily related to the gambling industry, but to business in general. First, hire an audit team to make a complete report about your company’s strengths and weaknesses.
Make sure to highlight all the important bits and work to solve them immediately. Tackling the biggest problems in your company is the most urgent thing you can do. Afterward, work on slowly fixing all the small issues that hold you back from achieving your true potential.
Another wise thing you can do is hire experienced managers, preferably ones who’ve worked in medium-to-big businesses prior to joining your company. Often, they have the necessary knowledge and wisdom to tackle problems that might not regularly appear in startups and small companies.
The bottom line
Of course, technology keeps evolving. And many more solutions will inevitably appear in time. We look forward to seeing what the future will bring in online digital risk management.
