Julia Panina from EvenBet Gaming has warned that US operators need a comprehensive KYC solution if they want to stay on the good side of the region’s strict financial authority.
As the US is a new-regulated environment, those that act quickly to invest into reliable security will be best positioned to utilise all market developments in their favour, according to EvenBet’s Head of Demand Generation.
While the igaming opportunities the US presents are “massive”, Panina explained that both operators and suppliers alike must tread carefully because of how ‘mature’ the financial crime investigation system in the country is.
The Chief of Generation Demand at EvenBet stated that this is evident by a higher-than-usual number of KYC and AML related fines compared to other regions.
On the other hand, the US as a whole has a lower level of personal data protection practices implemented compared to Europe with its GDPR. This leads to an overall unease when it comes to providing complete KYC data, Panina explained.
Adding to the necessary KYC regulation compliance, geographical identification is also of high importance when it comes to avoiding penalties.
Laws enveloping online gaming are individual for each state, meaning that cross-state traffic is strictly forbidden. Accepting players from other states can lead to significant financial repercussions or an operator’s licence being revoked for repeating offenders.
Overall, operators must be flexible with their KYC integration, Panina said. Not being limited to the technology they are using means that they can easily shift between multiple solutions depending on the need at that moment, which can be either recognising non-Latin characters, adding a 3D identification, or working with a wide range of documents for verification.
“The US opportunity has certainly not been overstated, but the landscape comes with a world of pitfalls that operators need to be able to navigate to enjoy the country’s full potential. Those hoping to do so would be well-advised to invest in an intuitive KYC solution,” Panina concluded.
