FSB

Gaming tech provider FSB has bolstered its senior management team with the addition of Glenn Elliott as chief operating officer, building on an over 13 year industry career.

Elliott has been tasked with working closely with the firm’s management team to further develop FSB to become a better growth partner for its clients in regulated markets around the world.

The role includes responsibility for the account management team as well as full oversight of the company’s five operational service divisions of sports, platform, marketing, retail and SaaS hosting.

Dave McDowell, CEO of FSB, said: “I am delighted to welcome Glenn to the team. Having someone of Glenn’s calibre is hugely valuable for the business, especially at a time when we are expanding into new markets, adding additional products and signing new partners.”

All-in Diversity Project

The All-in Diversity Project has strengthened its global advisory by confirming the addition of Birgitte Sand and Esu Ma’at as board members.

Ma’at is AIDP’s first appointment which the organisation stated is ‘reflective of educational and institutional and organisational change management’.

Sand, who currently serves as the CEO of Birgitte Sand & Associates ApS, has amassed over 25 years of experience in the gaming industry.

The appointment of both Birgitte and Esu is a critical step in the All-in Diversity Project journey as we start to move out of gaming and take a more sector agnostic position with the forthcoming launch of the first ever formal international standard for workplace diversity, equality and inclusion, in partnership with the BSI,” commented Christina Thakor-Rankin, AIDP co-founder.

“Birgitte and Esu bring with them a different set of perspectives, experiences and insights which will complement and enhance those of the existing Board allowing us to explore and address every challenge from policy right through to practice across every type of organisation right across the world. These are incredibly exciting times for us.”

Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment

Casino resort developer and operator Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment has appointed David Martinelli as chief marketing officer and Judy Newman-Locke as vice president of human resources management.

Both are lauded as bringing extensive knowledge and expertise to their new roles and will help guide MGE through a period of strategic growth and development.

“It will take a strong and effective leadership team to steer our organisation through this next chapter of growth and innovation. Accordingly, I am very pleased to have Dave and Judy join our team to further support our efforts throughout the US and abroad,” noted Mario Kontomerkos, CEO and president of Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment.

“Dave and Judy’s considerable experience will be instrumental in promoting MGE as a worldwide industry leader in integrated resort entertainment and in retaining the best talent for our MGE family.”

1account

Player ID and verification specialist 1account has recruited Caroline Steele as senior client director, gaining responsibility for driving brand awareness for the firm and showcasing the company’s products and services.

This includes educating the industry about ever-changing player ID and verification requirements and what 1account can do to help operators, suppliers and affiliates to verify customers with confidence.

Marc Wood, sales and marketing director at 1account, explained: “I am delighted to welcome Caroline to the team and for 1account to benefit from her unrivalled experience and knowledge of the industry.

“We have already established ourselves as a leading player ID and verification provider, but we have ambitious growth plans and Caroline will play a central role in enabling us to deploy it.

“Caroline has already put forward interesting and impactful ways of increasing exposure for 1account and our products and services and I look forward to seeing them come to life in the coming months.”

The post Part 37 | On the move: Recruitment round-up appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Bianchi will oversee all of Maxima Compliance’s technical compliance offerings, including technical compliance consulting services, as well as the firm’s recently-launched Complitech product. Moreover he will support Maxima Compliance’s existing management team in strategy and delivery.

The new director of compliance operations at Maxima Compliance, stated: “Maxima Compliance has quickly established itself as the most innovative and essential provider of compliance services in our industry.

“Joining this team at a time when compliance has never been more important was an opportunity too good to turn down. I look forward to getting to work and providing the very best technical compliance support on the market.”

Bianchi will report directly to managing director Antonio Zanghi.

Intralot Inc

Intralot Inc, the US subsidiary of gaming solutions supplier Intralot S.A has announced Byron Boothe as its CEO.

Boothe has served as interim CEO of the firm since last year and had previously held the role of president government relations. The lottery veteran joined Intralot in 2007.

Tom Miller, Intralot’s chairman stated: “We have made much progress in the past year, notably in the last couple of months launching our sports betting solution in Montana and Washington DC. We are confident that Byron is the right person to build on this momentum.”

Pragmatic Play

Victor Arias has been appointed as Pragmatic Play’s new Vice President of Latin America as the company looks to establish itself in the region.

During his 20 year career Arias has worked for both B2C and B2B businesses in the igaming industry. His core responsibilities will include the continued growth of Pragmatic Play within the regulated territories in Latin America through a clear business development strategy. 

In addition, he will head Pragmatic Play’s new Latin American hub based in Argentina with a team of three executives working to achieve the supplier’s goals in the region.

Arias commented: “I’m delighted to join Pragmatic Play which has a strong reputation as one of the leading multi-product providers in the industry.

“The team has a hugely exciting ambition for growth in LatAm, and I look forward to heading the hub as we look to embark on this next step for the company.”

Pragmatic Play currently delivers up to four new slot titles a month, as well as an extensive range of live casino and bingo products through its multi-vertical offering. The company’s entire portfolio is available through a single API integration.

1account

1account, the ID and age validation platform provider, has strengthened its senior team with the appointment of Marc Wood as Sales and Marketing Director.

The former Pay360 employee is tasked with establishing a global sales and business development network, In which 1account will introduce its solution to both B2B and B2C partners.

Marc Wood, the new Sales and Marketing Director at 1account, said: “1account has developed an innovative solution that is better, faster and cheaper than anything else in the market.

“We plan to disrupt the status quo with a solution that has a materially higher performance, wider data sources and a unique commercial model that makes us stand out against our rivals.

“The vision and long-term potential of the business is enormous, and I am extremely proud to be joining the organisation as it moves into the next chapter of its success story.”

Wazdan

Slots manufacturer Wazdan has strengthened its international team with four new additions to the firm.

lbert Bellavista has been hired as the firm’s new Head of Business Development in Spain & Latin America, meanwhile Sandrine Chen is the company’s Sales and Business Development Manager for Asia. The move looks to boost Wazdan’s profile in the two regions as the firm continues to develop its brand.

Additionally, Wazdan has continued to enhance its team with Bekki D’Agata as Sales and Development Manager and Katarzyna Pysz as Senior Campaign Manager. 

The post Part 31 | On the move: Recruitment round-up appeared first on CasinoBeats.

1account initiated the consultation to collect industry opinions on the use of digital technology to assist gamblers with tracking their financial position across multiple accounts in real time.

Citing statistics from the Gambling Commission, showing that around 35 per cent of the UK population gamble, translating to 24m people, whilst around 10.5m regularly bet online, the firm has argued that gamblers with multiple accounts are given less tools and assistance with tracking their finances.

Additionally, 1account has highlighted that the average UK gambler has three betting accounts, whilst younger gamblers are likely to have five or more accounts.

Ben Keirle, CEO and founder of 1account, detailed that when players hold multiple accounts, this increases the potential for them to be “less aware of their overall financial position”.

Although some individual operators provide tools allowing players to see their net deposit position – explaining the financial position of their gambling activity – Keirle believes that this is not enough for those with multiple accounts.

Bettors with multiple accounts, he argues, are only able to consolidate their overall financial position themselves, “if at all”.

He explained: “Right now, we are consulting the UK gambling industry, including betting operators, charities and the Gambling Commission, for their views on how digital ID can allow better self-regulation of betting activity.”

“Our consultation and proposal, which will result in an industry first if adopted, is aimed exclusively at putting more control in the hands of individual players, supporting safer play and enabling operators to make better player account management decisions.

“The gambling industry in the UK takes its responsibilities to customers extremely seriously, however they can only act on the information they themselves hold about a person’s activities,” remarked Ralph Topping, former CEO of William Hill, who now sits on the advisory board of 1account, a provider of age verification and digital ID solutions.”

Speaking at the SBC Digital Payments conference earlier this year, Topping highlighted statistics demonstrating that 20% of adults have no photographic ID, and put forward the notion that the gambling industry should take a ‘helicopter approach’ to verification. 

Commenting on 1account’s consultation, he continued: “A digital identity, linked to all a player’s gambling accounts, shows that person an overview of their net deposits, meaning they can moderate their play accordingly and not only bet less at certain times, but know when they’re in a position to safely play more.”

Keirle added: “1account’s digital identity takes the best of existing controls and pushes them even further by integrating solutions while fully protecting sensitive data and individual privacy, as well as providing a joined up-net deposit position regardless of where a player bets.”

The CEO believes that 1account’s proposal would support the industry’s drive to enhance responsible gaming, whilst also serving ‘the interest of gamblers themselves by delivering greater than ever transparency and visibility of their financial position across all their accounts and activities.

The post Gambling industry and 1account begin financial tracking consultation appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Subsequently, the DGS will now include a monitoring system to ensure continuity of availability of demo game content, and provide universal access, freely available, to all registered affiliates.

In the event of a successful age verification match, the user will be able to access the free to play game on the affiliate website, however, if a match is not made, a video of the title is played instead.

“Integrating 1account’s age verification platform into our DGS, raises compliance standards with minimal friction for a player’s journey and gives developers an easier route to showcasing their free-to-play versions of their slot games via affiliate websites.” commented, Tom Galanis, director of First Look Games.

The company’s age verification is designed to help to prevent underage gaming, unlawful betting online and anywhere that online vendors are offering age-restricted products and/or services that are required by law to age verify customers before providing goods or services.  

Ben Keirle, chief executive of 1account, commented: “We are delighted to provide First Look Games with our instantaneous identity and age verification service for their newly upgraded Demo Game Server. 

“It allows developers to showcase their games to players via affiliates, so that players can safely access free versions of their games, while being confident that their personal details are secured by 1account’s state-of-the-art technology. 

“The benefits this offers to the wider ecosystem mean that the partnership also provides protection to minors, which is pivotal in helping licensed operators and their players to make the transition to a truly digitised responsible gaming future.”

First Look Games has also solved the problem of outages with any demo game links, as Galanis, added: “Unfortunately, this happens from time to time, so we’ve developed an intelligent monitoring system, which alerts both First Look Games and our game studio partners of any outages, and we’ll arrange for the links to update without need for user input.”

The post First Look Games upgrades Demo Games Server via 1account integration appeared first on CasinoBeats.

To take part, 1account has invited operators to send them their last 30 days of UK player registration data via secure file transfer, as entered by players at the point of registration. 

A member of the 1account team will then contact the operator and demonstrate exactly how they can guarantee to increase player verification by up to 10 per cent. 

As part of the challenge, 1account has created an interactive revenue generator calculator to allow operators to calculate the possible rise in revenue through verifying more players. 

Caroline Steele, senior client director for gaming at 1account, said: “Online gambling operators are losing out on sizeable revenues because they are not accurately and successfully verifying some players. 

“The 1account challenge is designed to highlight just how much operators are losing out on simply because their ID and verification processes are not fully optimised. 

“By taking on our challenge, we can help operators increase successful player verifications by up to 10 per cent and also show them how much additional revenue they can generate as a result. 

“Our technology offers the widest range of available data sources, enabling operators drive successful player verification rates to up to 95 per cent and we are looking forward to showcasing its power to more partners.” 

1account’s technology provides fast and accurate player identification and verification, allowing online gambling operators to onboard new players with confidence. 

In recognition of its player ID and verification technology, 1account has also been shortlisted for the Fraud & Compliance Solution of the Year prize at next week’s SBC Awards.

Just last month, First Look Games teamed-up with 1account to launch its Demo Game Server. which enables game studios to serve their free-to-play demo games behind an advanced verification tool that meets UKGC standards.

The post 1account sets 10% challenge for approved sign-ups appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Compliance with age verification requirements in regulated markets, such as the UK, is delivered by 1account. In the event of a successful age verification match, the user will be able to access the free-to-play game on the affiliate website, however, if a match is not made a video of the game is played instead.

The tool is currently available for the UK market where developers must adhere to LCCP Social Responsibility Code Provision 1.1.2, which states that free-to-play games cannot be accessed by children and those under the age of 18 years via affiliate websites.

Ben Keirle, CEO of 1account, explained: “Quick and effective identity and age verification is critical in this new era of compliance and we are thrilled to have been able to integrate our state-of-the-art technology into the FLG Demo Game Server.

“The DGS is a powerful platform for developers to showcase their games to players via affiliates, allowing them to play free versions of their games while being confident that they have been accurately age verified before doing so.”

FLG game developers wishing to leverage the power of the platform need to provide the firm with their free-to-play demo game code, which runs from the studio or platform provider’s server. 

FLG embeds this code into its DGS tool which also includes age verification technology. First Look Games’ affiliate users can then embed the games to their websites in a compliant manner.

Any website visitor from outside the UK will see the game load immediately, but where required by future regulation the tool will add age verification to more markets in due course. FLG is offering its DGS tool to affiliates for free.

“Our Demo Game Server tool embodies our determination to not just connect game developers with the affiliate community, but to raise standards to ensure that these relationships continue to thrive in the long term and that both parties are doing what they can to prevent under 18s from accessing their game content,” commented Tom Galanis, director of First Look Games.

“1account has become an important supporter of these goals and we believe integrating their product to our Demo Game Server is great news for affiliates and game developers in their efforts to raise compliance standards with minimal friction on player journeys.”

The post First Look Games introduces Demo Game Server appeared first on CasinoBeats.

As a result, SlotsCalendar can now provide an age verification process that guides players through the required steps in just a matter of clicks, which it is hoped will streamline on-boarding and increase conversions.

Ben Keirle, CEO of 1account, commented: ‘We are thrilled to be partnering with SlotsCalendar and helping the team to re-monetise the UK market. This is yet another example that with the right age verification partner, it doesn’t need to be a challenging or costly exercise. 

“Utilising our industry-leading technology at no charge, affiliates can work in a compliant and regulated way that will not impede on their acquisition success or bottom line.”

SlotsCalendar which boasts more than 7,000 free-to-play games, has recently experienced a brief hiatus from the market following changes to the UK Gambling Commission’s regulation on FTP games. However, the group asserts that this latest partnership ensures that the site “is now fully compliant”.

1account’s range of data sources, from multiple providers, enables affiliates and operators to validate age and identity in real time, during the sign-up process and at no cost to the vendor.

Viorel Stan, SlotsCalendar CEO, explained: “Integration of 1account’s age verification functionality is a significant milestone for our slots oriented brand SlotsCalendar, and the results are epic. We reached an astonishing 100 per cent success rate of players being verified in the first weeks of operation.

“Thanks to 1account we can now open the play for fun version of over 7,000 slots games for verified UK visitors and increase our user retention in this market.

“Being 100 per cent compliant with the regulatory requirements is a key objective for SlotsCalendar, and we proudly achieved it for two of the most challenging markets from a regulatory point of view – United Kingdom and Romania.”

The post SlotsCalendar integrates 1account age verification tech appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The two-year deal will see the group’s branding appear across all team garments including jockey silks, hat silks, horse blankets, team jackets and exercise sheets.

Furthermore, the 1account logo will be displayed around the Warren Greatrex Racing yard located in Berkshire, as well as on team horseboxes, yard vinyls and stable banners.

The partnership also includes website and social media co-branding, client entertainment collaborations at the stables and post-race interviews.

Racehorse trainer Greatrex explained: “We are delighted to welcome 1account as our headline sponsor and to showcase their brand across our teams, horses, boxes and stables.

“It has been a tough first half of the year for the racing industry, but with companies such as 1account willing and able to provide support, we are able to move forwards with confidence and optimism.

“I’d like to personally thank 1account and its management team, and look forward to a prosperous partnership for both parties.”

The company asserts that the driving force behind the partnership is for 1account to help fund a sport that the management team and wider industry are passionate about, and to help support its core business.

Ben Keirle, CEO of 1account, commented: “We are thrilled to be sponsoring Warren Greatrex Racing and to be able to support a team and a sport that we are hugely passionate about.

“It has been a tough time for the industry, yet Warren Greatrex Racing has continued to provide jobs for its staff and world class horse training to its clients.

“As sport and racing slowly returns, we look forward to being part of Warren Greatrex Racing and the incredible entertainment it provides to fans in the UK and around the world.

“We also look forward to continuing to work with sports betting operators to ensure they are accurately verifying players in line with ever increasing regulatory requirements.”

The post Warren Greatrex Racing welcomes 1account backing appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Ben Keirle, CEO of 1account, providers of real-time technology platform that enables validation of KYC data, addresses this and makes a series of recommendations for operators.

CasinoBeats: What are the biggest challenges for online gambling brands when it comes to verifying players?

Ben Keirle: The sources of data used to validate customers. At present, around 80 per cent of customers are successfully verified through sources such as the electoral roll and credit searches. This is fine, but causes issues when players are not on electoral rolls or have not been resident in the country long enough to apply for credit cards. 

Students are notoriously difficult to KYC, for example. A student is unlikely to be registered to vote, will be living at an address that is not their home address and if they do have a credit card, it will be registered to their parent’s house and not their student accommodation. 

The greatest challenge therefore is accessing additional data to effectively KYC the player, both in terms of responsible gambling and in ensuring operators maximise the ROI on advertising and CPA expenses.  

CB: Are these challenges unique to online gambling? What have you learned from other markets that could be applied to gambling?

BK: The challenges are similar in all age-restricted verticals. In fact, we have learned that a large number of customers that need KYC checking and age verifying traverse several sectors. For example, those that purchase alcohol or vaping products online are also more likely to bet and gamble online. 

This has led us to create the world’s largest database of age-verified consumers that we allow our partners to access in order to verify their customers. The initial verification process can be tough and expensive for the reasons mentioned above, but once verified and in the database it makes verifying them elsewhere so much easier. 

CB: How is increasing regulation impacting player verification?

BK: Players are being put off by lengthy and time-consuming identity validation processes. This is demonstrated by the fact that some operators have experienced a 30 per cent drop in new players being able to deposit and play immediately. This follows tougher regulations requiring real-time verification as opposed to the 72 hour window operators previously had.

When operators had three days to go through validation and allow players to gamble during that time, it was fine. But now if operators only get 70-80 per cent AV success ratios in real-time they then have to ask the player to provide ID manually or through other solutions. These solutions are effective but they are conversion killers.

CB: How can these challenges be overcome?

BK: Operators need to ask themselves two questions – how can I improve the automated aspect of the player onboarding validation success ratio and what is the most seamless way to verify players that can’t be approved using the initial automated check. 

In this regard, I have five recommendations for operators to help answer these questions and implement the right technologies and processes. 

• Be prescriptive with how you want user data entered – be clear about the data you require from players and how that data needs to be entered.
• Implement automated postcode finders – addresses often fail to match simply because the player has entered the information incorrectly. Use an address and postcode finder to overcome this.
• Partner with a provider that has a huge range of data sources – it is better to check data sources before asking players to submit their own documents.
• Have a secondary automated AV provider – some providers have data sources that others do not. By working with more than one provider, if your first attempt fails you can cascade to the next and so on.
• Use a company that also does ID verification – third parties often offer more smooth and seamless ways of having players submit their ID documents, which are then checked automatically. 

By considering these points and implementing some of the suggestions made, operators will be able to vastly improve the percentage of players verified. This means reducing KYC costs and increasing their returns on marketing, acquisition and player onboarding.

The post 1account – Driving operators’ verification processes appeared first on CasinoBeats.