Melissa Points to Real-Time Data Quality as Key to Compliance Initiatives in Online Gambling

Multi-part data quality strategy features ease of use, advanced technologies to enable real-time identity verification and 360-degree view of players

 Rancho Santa Margarita, CALIF – May 31, 2023 – Melissa, a leading provider of global data quality, identity verification, and address management solutions, today cited clean data as key to fair and transparent gaming operations. Such efforts can be instrumental in preventing fraudulent activities such as cheating, money laundering, and underage participation. As online gambling platforms must comply with a spectrum of financial regulations and laws, including anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CTF), and know-your-customer (KYC) initiatives, the foundation of their success is player data that is reliably complete, consistent, and error-free.

            A multi-part, automated data quality strategy offers ease of use that helps digital casinos prioritize regulatory compliance as well as customer engagement and profitability. Strategic operations span data cleansing, validation, enrichment, and matching – identifying and correcting errors, updating information, and continuously improving data accuracy to create a robust overall picture of the player. Ultimately, data matching allows gaming operators to synthesize a comprehensive ‘golden record’ for each player across their platform; that is, a single 360-degree view of the customer in real-time. 

         “For online gambling platforms to thrive, they must recognize the outsized role of robust data quality – essential in meeting regulatory demands, as well as overall business objectives. Data-fueled operations power compliance with banned lists, player age verification, improved security of transactions, and ultimately, an enhanced guest experience,” said Greg Brown, vice president of global marketing, Melissa.

            With the application of sophisticated algorithms, biometrics, and machine learning models, Melissa’s seamless end-to-end data platform enables electronic identity verification (eIDV) in real-time. Fraud and compliance risks are identified early and continuously in an online casino/patron relationship, including watchlist checking and age verification capabilities effectively integrated into casino operations. For example, initial data validation occurs in real-time during the onboarding process, creating a seamless experience between online gambling hosts and wagering customers.

            Proof of life capabilities scan faces and eye movement to establish whether the person behind an ID is real during an onboarding process, while machine reading and optical character recognition extract crucial information from passports, utility bills, and driver’s licenses. Fake or suspicious documents are spotted easily and authenticated against domestic or international government-issued IDs; onboarding is paused if fakes are presented. Biometrics apply as well, with smart facial recognition and facial comparison algorithms that quickly match a person’s selfie to their photo ID. Lastly, address verification tools add an extra level of protection, extracting an individual’s name and address and verifying the information against multiple databases to confirm a full address match.

            Compliance is dependent on current, relevant data from multiple sources – a range of data streams containing billions of global contact records. Useful data points are accessed from government agencies, credit bureaus, and data list vendors, as well as international watchlist entities tasked with combatting the funding of narcotics and terrorism. Data tools can consolidate watchlist screening, verifying players against such lists as PEP (Politically Exposed Persons), SDN (Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons), and additional lists from OFAC (the Office of Foreign Assets Controls) and other economic sanctions entities across the U.S., U.K., and E.U.

            Click here for more insight on Melissa’s tools and services for identity matching and full contact intelligence, ideal to eliminate knowledge gaps in player data and help gambling operators optimize compliance initiatives. To connect with members of Melissa’s global intelligence team, visit www.Melissa.com or call 1-800-MELISSA.

 About Melissa

Since 1985, Melissa has specialized in global intelligence solutions to help organizations unlock accurate data for a more compelling customer view. More than 10,000 clients worldwide in arenas such as retail, education, healthcare, insurance, finance, and government, rely on Melissa for full spectrum data quality and ID verification software, including data matching, validation, and enhancement services to gain critical insight and drive meaningful customer relationships. For more information or free product trials, visit www.Melissa.com or call 1-800-MELISSA (635-4772).