GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 25 - June 2013

in the background unbeknownst to them, causing unexplained issues at login for well-intentioned players. It will be up to operators to provide easily accessed troubleshooting advice to players who encounter login issues associated with re- mote desktop software and guide them to self-rectify such issues. Virtual private networks Similar to a proxy server, a virtual private network (VPN) can be utilized to route a player’s access to a gaming site through another location – in this case, a legiti- mate gaming jurisdiction – to gain access. A VPN will provide a tunnel to a remote server in the location of the player’s choice and in turn slap on a new IP address in an attempt to fool the gaming site about the player’s origin. VPN services can easily be accessed for free using a site such as hidemyass.com, where users select their desired location from a dropdown menu using two clicks of a mouse. For more advanced function- ality a paid solution may be employed. If a geolocation solution is implemented by an operator correctly, it can effectively prevent illegal access from taking place; if it does not adequately weigh all factors in a user’s behavior, it may also misinterpret player preferences. Case in point: In a recent internal study performed by a major European gam- ing operator, it was observed that 11 percent of player traffic originating in Sweden utilized a VPN service. Why? From what we have learned, we may as- sume at first glance that a large number of players were masking their location for gaming purposes – but this was actu- ally far from the case. This scenario had more to do with the fact that in Sweden, private citizens’ Internet browsing his- tory is available as public record and therefore a significant percentage of the population was choosing to use a VPN service to browse the Net anonymously. While this may come as less of a threat to a U.S. gaming operator, it is an excellent example that demonstrates the impor- tance, and advantage, of advanced geo- location tools to avoid blocking genuine players by creating false negative results. More sophisticated solutions will likely be able to cross-reference multiple data sets of a user’s location information to make a final determination of a player’s whereabouts and whether the means the player is using to access a gaming site are legitimate and secure. Spoofing apps Finally, there are a growing number of mobile apps that have been developed for location spoofing that may under- mine operators’ best efforts. Once an Android or iOS device has been jailbro- ken and the operating system hacked, any number of third-party applications (which have not been endorsed by the Apple App Store or Google Play) can then be installed on the device. While consumers must skirt greater tech- nical hurdles, not to mention voiding of their phone’s warranty, in order to use these programs for spoofing purposes, they are still an issue gaming opera- tors will need to address with the proper screening technology. Apps such as Fake Location, Location Spoofer and LocSpoof can be used to fake a GPS signal on a mo- bile device and leave an operator suscep- tible to accepting illegal wagers from out- of-state locales. Offense is the best defense From a licensing perspective, if state regulators require multi-faceted geoloca- tion technology from their operators, they may in fact be able to prevent the types of spoofing attacks described here. Such preventive actions will establish tech- nological systems capable of detecting most spoofing methods from becoming widespread and prolific among America’s newest generation of online gamers. This in effect will also reinforce the internal controls already required of operators to maintain regulatory compliance in li- censed jurisdictions. For U.S. operators, a simple series of location checks is a small and no-fuss method for preventing unauthorized ac- cess in a tightly regulated environment. Much of the device information collected during routine geolocations will also like- ly prove to be excellent fraud and analyt- ics tools. In Nevada . . . As the switch was flicked on for the first live online gaming in Nevada in May 2013, it was in fact geolocation that proved to be one of the largest determiners of the op- eration’s initial success. After the count- less dollars invested in the development of the gaming software, the security sys- tems, the payment gateways and the li- censing, a simple geolocation system was a significant barrier to customer access and success in the opening days. It will be interesting to watch how regulators and pundits alike monitor and respond to both player feedback and operator expe- riences with geolocation in Nevada – and elsewhere in the future. Compliance is obviously key; however, en- suring compliance while also letting in the players who should be let in will be essen- tial to long-term profitability and success for all parties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lindsay Kininmonth is currently Operations Manager for GeoComply, a geolocation technology solution provider to the regulated online gaming industry. She is based out of Vancouver, Canada. Prior to GeoComply, Lindsay spent five years in business development at the leading compliance testing company, TST (now GLI), servicing both the iGaming and land-based markets. During that time she worked with some of the largest operators and vendors in North America as well as regulators around the world. Lindsay holds a political science and international relations degree from the University of British Columbia. 14 Putting geolocation on iGaming’s map