Portland-based iovation, a TransUnion company, has published its 2019 Gambling Industry Report. This, the firm’s third annual report, provides a comprehensive analysis of the trends that drove online gambling in 2018 and insights into how to push differentiation with players in 2019.
Among the key findings around online gambling in the report was that mobile transactions had soared at an average annual rate of 95%, from only 6.0% in 2012 to 62% in 2017 and 70% of overall online transactions in 2018.
The report also found that game abuse and cheating, while on the increase are leveling out. The growth of game abuses and cheating such as chip dumping and player collusion continued in 2018, but slowed from 55% growth in 2017 to an increase of 12% in 2018. Credit card fraud, however, continues to climb steadily. Over the past five years, such fraud increased by 155% with an average annual growth of 39%.
“Even in the evolving environment over iovation’s 15 years protecting more than four billion transactions and stopping more than 47 million fraudulent transactions, there are still some constants we can rely on,” said iovation EVP of Corporate Development and co-founder, Jon Karl. “While fraudsters may have adapted their tactics over the years, at the heart of every online fraud attempt – whether through the web, an application or via a mobile browser – is a customer device.”
In addition to the data findings, the report identifies and explores key trends driving the igaming market. In terms of player experience as a market differentiator, it found, operators are facing myriad new challenges and an increasingly competitive market. The recent changes to gambling regulations globally including in the United States, Singapore and India, present an opportunity for market expansion, but also come with competition from new operators. Attracting and retaining players with a superior experience has never been more important.
Convergence of fraud prevention and authentication is another key trend. With the convergence of offline and online identities it’s important, noted the report, to fight fraud and protect customers across the entire life cycle without degrading the player experience. This can only be achieved by combining seamless customer authentication with next-generation fraud prevention, protecting against both existing and emerging threats.
The iovation 2019 Gambling Industry Report is based on detailed analysis of its more than 518 million transactions from more than 100 gambling operator and platform customers in 2018. The Gambling Industry Report is available for ICE London 2019 attendees at iovation booth number N9-500. To download the report go here.
