This week, representatives from the geo-location solution GeoComply teamed up with iGaming Business to offer a webinar entitled "Regulating Online Gaming By Location." PocketFives was in attendance during the hour-long affair, which focused on the difficulties operators and players will face in intrastate online gaming markets in the U.S. Two Nevada casinos received the first legal U.S. online gaming licenses this week, but the learning curve of verifying player location could prove steep.As GeoComply told audience members to open the call, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or UIGEA, which was passed in 2006, paved the way for intrastate online gaming in the U.S.: "The UIGEA created an exception to its prohibition if the bet or wager is within a single state, the bet is authorized by the laws of the state, the state's laws and regulations include age and location verification requirements, and the bet does not violate other Federal law."
Take Nevada, for example. Its neighbor to the east, Utah, criminally prohibits any form of internet gaming, but Nevada has regulated online poker. How can Nevada operators be sure that they're not accepting players from Utah? Should they just hope for the best? As GeoComply responded, "The message to online operators in the U.S. is clear: you're going to need location technology that blocks access from outside the single state you're doing business in."
Pinpointing location has traditionally centered on IP data. However, as GeoComply officials pointed out, players can fake their IP address using a number of websites and services: "The testing laboratories and Nevada operators are going to want to prevent spoofing, which allows players to mask or hide where they are located. Multiple forms of location technology are going to need to be deployed to double-check player location."GeoComply asserted that IP data won't be an acceptable technology in Nevada since it can be spoofed. And the penalties for Nevada operators taking players from Utah, for example, could be severe: "If a Nevada operator is taking bets in Utah, they can be prosecuted in Utah for violation of its laws. They can also be prosecuted by the Feds under the UIGEA and they can get their license revoked in Nevada." Utah could also try to shut down gambling websites or seize IP addresses in a similar legal battle to what happened in Kentucky.
What technology exists that can verify player location, then? GeoComply turned to metrics like WiFi location, cell tower location, and GPS. In Nevada, at least two location checks are required, especially if the device that's being accessed is a mobile device. Operators could check a player's location on every bet or location verification could take place at regular or irregular intervals during a player's session. In New Jersey, gaming officials had discussed verifying a player's location each time he placed a bet.
GeoComply stressed several times that an IP address is not sufficient enough by itself to verify a person's location. For example, nine out of ten Canadians live within 100 miles of the U.S. border. Eight out of ten Americans live on or near borders. Moreover, "Most of Nevada's population centers and visitors lie in border regions… The potential to lose or block up to tens of millions of players gives you a good reason to choose an accurate player location solution wisely."
The percentage of players accessing online gaming sites is slanted in favor of those on traditional computers. Studies indicate that 92% of traffic will come from computers, leaving only 8% from mobile devices, according to ComScore. GeoComply stressed, "It is important to recognize that a large percentage of mobile users will use WiFi to access your system. WiFi offers better speed and often costs less than mobile data."The location of mobile devices could be difficult to pinpoint: "In terms of mobile devices, IP accuracy tends to be at its least accurate. That is mainly because the actual IP address comes from the ISP. So, if you are located far away from the ISP that the cell tower is using, the IP address will still come from that location. If you're using your home computer, the IP address will be accurate to within zero to five miles."
Players' experience online could be quite complicated if the location checks they experience are slow, cumbersome, or inaccurate. GeoComply explained, "Players are motivated to play, but your method of verifying location must be simple, painless, and fast for players to enjoy their experience." The company's advice to operators: use slimmer buffer zones, increase accuracy, and simplify the process.
Read about the South Point Casino receiving the industry's first legal intrastate online poker license in Nevada by clicking over to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
