Responsible Gambling: Monitoring Tools, Online Payment Security Services

Smart Money offers to understand the standards of responsible gaming. You will learn why the legal gambling sphere cannot be imagined without safety and what tools an online casino has in its arsenal.

About the Concept

It means a set of measures aimed at identifying fair and transparent gameplay and notifying users about the negative consequences of casino entertainment, such as ludomania.

The main task of the principle is to convey the idea that gambling is positive emotions, and not a way to earn money or to get rich quickly.

The concept of “responsible gaming” was introduced by the Gamble Aware charitable organisation. In the early 2010s, it began to conduct activities in the direction of the prevention of ludomania and help people who suffered from this disease. Over time, such funds were founded in many developed countries.

State bodies also did not stay away from the problems of gambling addicts and their families.

Since the 2010s, the authorities have been pursuing a policy of strict control over operators. In order to work in the sphere, entrepreneurs must ensure fair and secure gameplay, without intrusive advertising and cheating on the part of customers. Otherwise, providers risk losing a licence or paying huge fines.

Main Components of Responsible Gambling

The concept consists of the following elements:

1. Protection of minors. Persons under the age of 18–21 are not allowed to visit online casinos and betting shops, as well as land-based establishments. Different countries have their age limit (in the UK, for example, it is 18 years old, and in Ukraine 21 years old) but the general idea is quite clear: children have no place in gambling halls.
2. Protection of vulnerable persons. These are incompetent citizens, persons with signs of ludomania, and socially disadvantaged ones (for example, low-income people). Ukrainian legislation also forbids players with debts for public facilities, loans, or alimony from placing bets. This information is carefully checked at the time of identification of gamers.
3. Security of internet payments. The activity of any casino is connected with the continuous movement of funds: some gamblers make deposits and others withdraw bonuses and prizes that were earned. The task of operators is to guarantee fast and secure transactions within the framework of the current legislation.
4. Combating criminal activities. The work of business owners must comply with international rules for the prevention of money laundering (AML procedures), the financing of terrorism, and politically exposed persons. Since 2020, British authorities have obliged entrepreneurs to check the solvency of users and the origin of their funds. A similar practice exists in other European countries.
5. Confidentiality of information. Gaming sites are subject to DDoS attacks more often than other platforms. It leads to various failures in the server infrastructure and leakage of personal data (phone numbers, bank cards, and residential addresses). The task of managers is to ensure the complete security of information.
6. Support of the Fair Play principle. Results of the raffles cannot be faked or deleted. Otherwise, gamblers will lose interest in online casinos and start choosing other resources. To guarantee the honesty of the outcomes of game sessions, businessmen order the certification of equipment and software in accreditation centres. These are QUINEL, iTech Labs, BMM Testlab, eCogra, GLI, and other independent organisations.
7. Ethical marketing. Advertising should not be aimed at minors or contain information about fabulous payments. Local regulators strictly control the marketing activities of managers. For example, in Scandinavia, it is considered illegal to promote gambling services from midnight to 10 pm. The Italian authorities have banned direct and indirect advertising, sponsorship, and the placement of logos of iGaming companies on brand products (clothes, shoes, and accessories).

Consistent Struggle against Ludomania

Ludomania can be explained as a scientific term for addiction to casino games.

The World Health Organisation classifies it as a disease. This type of mental disorder is characterised by an obsessive desire to play as much as possible to the detriment of social, material, professional, and family values.

Statistics on the Regions Where Gambling Is Legalised

Demographic studies conducted from 2010 to 2020 showed that:

• the highest level of the disease is observed in Asia (the leaders are Japan and Singapore with 7.6% of players);
• North America is the second region in terms of the number of citizens with gambling addiction (about 50% of addicts are residents of Indian reservations);
• in Australia and New Zealand the number of such citizens is 2.3% of the total population;
• the lowest rates were recorded in Europe (in Ukraine it is 2%, in Denmark and the Netherlands — 0.7%).

Absolute Security at All Levels

In legal countries, state regulators, operators, and software vendors work together to protect citizens from becoming addicted to casino entertainment:

• the task of the government is to create effective mechanisms at the legislative level to protect the population and organise end-to-end control over the implementation of the rules;
• providers of gambling services are obliged to strictly adhere to the established legal norms, including fair advertising, protection of minors, and other aspects;
• the task of the suppliers of software and equipment is to adhere to clear standards of its production.

The Main Tools in the Arsenal of Operators

Entrepreneurs use the following mechanisms to combat gambling addiction:

Security Software: Timely Identification and Data Protection

Casino safety programs play a key role in ensuring the principles of responsible gambling.

From Smart Money, you can order the connection of licensed solutions from Yoti, 4Stop, Featurespace, iovation, and other trusted vendors.

Let us overview the main functions of professional iGaming software.

Multi-Level Identification

The procedure helps to separate the target audience of a platform from potentially vulnerable individuals. This category includes minors and low-income citizens, as well as incapacitated persons, and punters who previously entered themselves into self-restriction registers.

Identification reveals behavioural anomalies in the actions of gamblers. Any changes may show an increased risk of ludomania, so operators are required to respond to the received information on time.

Main verification methods:

1. Collection and verification of personal data. It includes the full name, mobile phone number, gender, date of birth, place of residence, and other parameters.
2. Biometric face recognition. Software based on artificial intelligence receives an image of a face and, using a special algorithm, compares the elements that determine the individual characteristics of a person. This is the distance between the eyes, the shape of the chin, nose, and mouth. After that, the program compares the resulting pattern with the information in the databases.
3. Document scanning. This method is based on NFC technology, which processes various types of electronic information and reads chips. ID cards, biometric passports, and driver's licences are suitable for NFC verification. The system instantly scans information and identifies online casino visitors.
4. E-signing. In this case, the verification is based on an electronic digital signature. To undergo the procedure, gamblers need to create an EDS fingerprint on one of the certified resources and provide personal data and contacts for communication. At the moment when users enter the website, the security software requests information from specialised resources (synchronisation takes several minutes) and identifies customers.

In European countries, two-level verification is rather common, for example, a check-up of personal data and NFC document scanning.

Moreover, many countries establish their identification methods, which security software must take into account:

• In Ukraine, for example, the Bank-ID system is quite widespread. The solution uses banking databases that store personal information, as well as the details on solvency and debts of customers (in such spheres as public utilities, loans, or alimony).
• In Belarus, the verification is carried out using the Web-ID procedure. Clients hold an identity document in front of the camera of a smartphone or PC. The system scans the data of the document and also compares the real person with the photo on the passport or driver's licence.

Comprehensive Security of Casino Platforms

The gaming site’s perimeter protection module is an important component of security software.

The main tasks of the product are:

• prevention of DDoS attacks, phishing, spyware, and other types of hacker activity;
• protection of confidential data from leakage and illegal disclosure to third parties;
• fight against the capture of accounts and obfuscation of the program code;
• secure exchange of information between the gambler, the operator, and government control agencies;
• protection against piracy;
• prediction of possible internal threats based on the analysis of the behaviour of players.

Security software uses artificial intelligence, SSL encryption, neural networks, Big Data, and other modern technologies.

The availability of security programs is an important image indicator. Gamers and B2B partners always trust those casino projects that implement the principles of safe and responsible gambling.

Modern Financial Software for the Security of Transactions

Smart Money offers universal payment aggregators from Singular, Finstrum, Premier Technologies, CP-Money, and other certified providers.

The integration of financial products solves several strategic issues regarding the website’s security and compliance with the principles of responsible gambling.

Key characteristics of the solution:

• comprehensive protection of internet payments thanks to the use of Global Risk ID, API integration, SSL coding, and other advanced technologies;
• multi-level checking of payments before sending them, as well as additional user verification;
• fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (the system identifies final recipients and checks the history of transactions);
• automatic rejection of payments in case of the warnings about potential risks;
• reduction of chargebacks;
• control over the correct distribution of money allocated for bonuses and rewards.

Distinctive features of a reliable payment aggregator:

1. Synchronisation with the largest financial systems. This is an international SWIFT service, Western Union, ACH, API, PayPal, Skrill, and others.
2. Prestigious certification. The software must comply with ISO/IEC 27001:2013 (information security) and PCI DSS (data protection in the payment card industry) standards.
3. Expanded analytics. Different types of reports on clients, the movement of funds, and identified threats.

Foundations That Help Gambling Addicts

Non-profit organisations play an important role in the fight against ludomania and adherence to the responsible gaming principle.

Let us consider which charitable foundations players most often turn to:

The Main Things about Responsible Gambling

The concept is an integral part of the modern casino industry.

• The basic components of the described principle include the protection of minors and vulnerable persons, Fair Play support, honest advertising, as well as the security of transactions and confidential data.
• To fight against ludomania, operators set limits, provide multi-level identification of users, and send information about the time spent on the gaming site, winnings, and losses.
• Integration of security software simplifies the verification of punters and protects commercial and personal data.
• The decision to connect financial aggregators will ensure the security of online payments and help entrepreneurs to comply with AML (anti-money-laundering) and FATF (anti-terrorist-financing) policies.

From Smart Money, you can order licensed software for the security of iGaming projects and the transferred funds.

We offer the following gambling services:

• assistance in legalising and certification;
• creation of a turnkey online casino;
• ethical marketing;
• development of HTML5 entertainment with support for Fair Play, and much more.

Order service

For all questions, please contact our managers. The aggregator’s professionals are in touch 24/7.