Following its recent acquisition by American risk and information solutions giant, TransUnion LLC, anti-fraud and authentication software developer, iovation, has now reportedly revealed how its innovations can assist iGaming firms in making their operations safer and more secure.

In an exclusive interview conducted by our sister, RealMoneyAction.com (RMA), Angie White, Product Marketing Manager for the company, explained that her company is hoping to become a leader in fraud prevention by offering iGaming operators around the world a variety of compliance, identity verification and anti-money laundering services.

Acquisition Benefits:

iovation is no stranger to the matter, having amassed more than 15 years in the industry and making great strides to aid in preventing fraudulent activity. However, there is always room for improvement, and according to White in the interview with RMA, the recent acquisition will further the company’s efforts:

“…we are now able to offer an array of new solutions to support operators with identity verification, compliance, and have expanded our capabilities in consumer authentication and fraud prevention. Operators can now go to one source to satisfy multiple requirements such as age verification, address validation, player self-exclusion, anti-money laundering (AML) and managing play by geographic boundaries.”

The Effects of Increased Online Gambling Legalization:

It is no secret that online gambling legalization has seen quite a surge across the U.S. in the last year, and particularly over the course of the last couple of months. Pennsylvania has been the most recent to add its name to the list, with Penn National Gaming’s Hollywood Casino and Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment’s Parx Casino currently in the process of testing online counterparts.

Of course, with the addition of more online gambling venues, the question of increased fraudulent transactions becomes a potential concern. When asked whether or not she felt PA’s recent actions to be cause for concern, White explained:

“Credit card fraud continues to be one of the most reported types of fraud from our gambling customers, but that definitely needs to be expanded out to include alternative payment methods. Any time you’re dealing with deposits, it’s a target.”

When responding to the approach in combating increased fraud, White added, “One of the most effective methods to combat payment fraud is to employ device intelligence because it gives you access to the historical behavior of a device…. By implementing device intelligence checks at high risk transaction points such as deposit and cash out, operators can more effectively combat payment fraud.”

Online Vs. Retail:

While the increase of legalized online gambling comes with automatic concerns, one has to wonder — is it really any more vulnerable than in land-based facilities? Luckily, our friends at RMA got the skinny, prompting White to answer this very question in relation to credit card transactions. The overall consensus seemed to be that online gambling isn’t necessarily more prone to fraudulent activity, but it certainly does affect BOTH online and land-based industries.

More specifically, “Credit card fraud or payment fraud hits operators on a number of fronts. Not only are you out the lost revenue but there’s also the cost of fraud and if it isn’t caught early fraudsters can use the illegitimate funds to pocket real winnings. Add on top of that the cost of charge-backs. So, it’s definitely important to control,” explained White.

U.S. at a Higher Risk?

According to iovation research, statistics show that illegal activity in the United States is higher in relation to online gambling , coming in at 119% higher than others using fraud prevention mechanisms.

The Product Marketing Manager highlights two points in light of the matter: “First… we feel this clearly signals pent up demand in the U.S. market with legitimate customers willing to go to lengths to bypass system controls simply so they can place bets online. The second point… is, they are dealing with a very fragmented market and sophisticated consumers that know how to mask their location to attempt to bet illegally.”

How Can You Protect Yourself?

One of the most important factors in this entire equation involves what measures players, themselves, can take for protection. We can surely agree to White’s answer to this one, as it’s something we, along with all of our brands across our network have encouraged from the get-go: “The best way for players to protect themselves is by voting with their feet. Playing with operators that have a good reputation and are investing in account protection.”

Be sure to check out the full interview for complete responses from White and additional insights, including whether or not the threat is higher for desktop vs mobile users or vice versa, in addition to how proxy users fit into the equation.