“Licensing and regulation are the bedrock of the online gaming industry”

Do you think an online gaming Federal Law is possible in the US?
While there is considerable discussion on this matter in Washington, DC, I believe that the Federal Government will leave online gaming regulation to the States for the foreseeable future. The industry has already successfully launched at the state level, the Federal government should not see the need to reinvent the wheel when Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey have already built a working automobile.

How do you think Igaming will evolve?
Each state views gaming through a different lens. Many embrace it wholeheartedly, others tolerate it as a necessary evil while a few reject it outright. Over the next twenty four months, we will see a few more states go online and the revenue numbers will begin speaking for themselves. New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware are the early pioneers right now. They’re paving the way for broader acceptance.

What are the Payment Requirements for Online Gaming?
The card brands require the operator to submit, in addition to the traditional application paperwork and corporate requirements, a legal letter of opinion stating the operator is operating in a legal jurisdiction, proof of controls to adhere to applicable laws/regulations and proof of licensure.

Are regulators getting involved in online payments? If so, how?
The regulators have participated in meetings, conference calls, and have attended conferences to engage with key stakeholders in the payments eco-system to help educate them about the emerging, regulated online gambling industry, the operators, the controls, etc… in hopes of increasing the credit card approval rates.

How are operators dealing with regulation here in the US?
Licensing and regulation are the bedrock of the online gaming industry. I cannot stress that enough. Regulation allows us to provide players with a safe and secure environment in which to play. US players have migrated to licensed and regulated sites because they know their identity and banking info will be protected, there will be loss limits, the games are verified by a testing lab (to ensure the games aren’t rigged) and they will be paid when they win.

CAMS is helping to drive a pivot point in ecommerce via online gaming. Through the use of geolocation, age verification, ID verification loss limits and payment push, the industry is moving beyond the so-called anonymous web and enabling casino operators to avoid fraud and problem gaming.

In addition, by providing Personally Identifiable Info (PII), retailers in unregulated industries can leverage this data to avoid fraud and more accurately market toward consumers.

What came out of the DRF Panel? How will online gaming change the payments landscape for ecommerce merchants?
Two thoughts on the DRF Panel:

Online gaming Taxation Model - online gaming is one of the only industries launched online with an inherent taxation model for each state.

Anonymity in Online Transactions - this is going away with the regulatory requirements to identify the player. Seeing that players are willing to provide PII (personally identifiable info) to engage, this opens up the opportunity to other online retailers in unregulated industries to use age/id and geo tools to get a better sense of their consumer and manage fraud.