Online casinos are on the rise. So is sophisticated fraud

With the rise and popularity of e-commerce, several industries discovered a lucrative alternative to physical businesses. Casinos and gaming are among them. According to market research analysts at Technavio, the global online gambling market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 9 percent by 2020. Until recently online gambling was not legal in several countries across the globe, but this appears to be changing, especially as governments realize the revenue that can be generated from this vertical.

However, the growth of online gambling has also given rise to a new breed to fraudsters who are tech-savvy and relentless in their pursuits to steal money. In other words, fraud is serious business. When it hits, the losses can be insurmountable, not just in terms of money but also customer confidence and reputation.

This is why companies like Kount that offer fraud and risk management solutions for online businesses are becoming increasingly relevant. The company’s all-in-one SaaS platform simplifies fraud detection and helps various businesses increase revenue. Kount’s solutions put hurdles in the way of fraudsters during account creation, login, payout and special offers, keeping them away from creating problems within gaming networks.

“Unlike other fraud prevention tools, Kount includes system identification, artificial intelligence/machine learning, data collection, credential verification, payment fraud control, order linking, and risk analysis all in the same tool, providing merchants with a complete fraud prevention and management system,” said Don Bush, Vice President of Marketing at Kount. “Because Kount develops and owns our core technology stack, we deliver fast, accurate decisions in just a fraction of a second. Kount is constantly developing technology and securing patents, including those that cover device fingerprinting and proxy piercing for fraud-fighting initiatives.”

Kount offers a variety of SaaS options. For each transaction, the company combines its patented and proprietary technology with advanced machine learning techniques. Its “decisioning” engine analyzes hundreds of relevant data variables and activity matching them with other appropriate data across the globe in real-time. This service determines the authenticity of the order, confirms that the purchase is from a legitimate customer and that the payment is valid, not stolen or compromised financial information, all in less than 300 milliseconds.

While stressing on the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in their operations,   Bush pointed out that newer technologies like behavioral biometrics will have just as big an impact, if not more.

“Fraudsters look to mimic people online, payments, devices, etc.,” Bush said. “It’s extremely difficult to mimic a persons’ behavior and do it in mass. Fraudsters tend to want to do things that can scale as opposed to one at a time. Behavioral biometrics analysis makes that much more challenging for fraudsters.”

Card-not-present fraud rates are expected to continue to grow alongside rising online and mobile commerce and hence it is important that merchants do not become complacent in their security efforts, but rather make use of research-specific tools, like comprehensive fraud platforms that can best protect their business without any negative impact to customer service.