If you’re a fan of online gambling and spend a fair amount of time playing online poker, completely dedicated to practicing for when the day finally comes for you to compete in the infamous World Series of Poker, you will have heard about the Tri-state agreement. For those not in the know, this month online gamblers located in Delaware, New Jersey and Nevada will be able to compete in a tri-state iGaming network. This is an exciting time for gaming as it means larger jackpots, more playing opportunities and a huge incentive for operators to expand their Internet gaming options. For those not located in the allocated states, you might wonder how your location can be tracked.Is it possible to slip under the radar? Sadly not. Today, we’re looking at the role that geo-comply technology will play in this historic tristate agreement…
In order to ensure that no players outside of the designated states can access the World Series of Poker app, WSOP have enlisted the services of a GeoComply, a Vancouver-based geolocation technology company. Their technology allows the WSOP app to prevent people from playing if their location is tracked and they are found to be outside of Delaware, New Jersey or Nevada – even if they are just a hop, skip and jump across the border! If you should attempt to play from a restricted zone, you can expect to receive the following stern message: “We have detected that you are attempting to wager from outside the state of Nevada. You should immediately cease and desist from attempting to wager.” It seems they certainly mean business!
While this approach might work with the odd renegade, how will GeoComply tackle the pros who use proxy servers to subvert detection? The company reportedly use a ‘multi-tier system of checks’ in order to determine where a potential player is located. In practice, this means cross-checking things like IP address, GSM, GPS and Wi-Fi positioning to ensure an accurate reading.
GeoComply have quite the impressive history with the CEO, Anna Salisbury, having previously consulted in Washington D.C. about online lottery regulation. Since they started in 2011, GeoComply have worked with Bally Technologies and are soon to launch a project with MGM Resorts that will allow casino patrons to wager via their phones while on MGM premises. After just seven years in operation, the company now blocks around 100,000 illegal attempted transactions per month worldwide. It doesn’t seem like Salisbury is content with solely serving the online gaming market, she commented: “I saw a ‘60 Minutes’ special on weaknesses in the 911 services ability to locate emergency callers.” Watch this space, it seems like the geolocation industry is about to go from strength to strength.
