As North American markets continue to regulate online gaming, a solid geolocation service provider is crucial to operators with a multimarket approach. CasinoBeats spoke to Stuart Godfree, Managing Director at mkodo, about how a flexible and scalable solution is needed for success.
CasinoBeats: You mention that ‘one size doesn’t fit all’ when it comes to geolocation services in igaming, could you explain in what you mean by this?
Stuart Godfree: Different jurisdictions demand differing levels of compliance. Therefore, it is not appropriate to enforce a compliance regime suitable for one market onto another that has different compliance requirements.
Clearly having ‘a one size fits all’ approach suits the provider, as they can have a singular product offering. However, this can create significant friction in a market that has lower compliance demands and particularly has differing views on personal data protection.
CB: What benefits are presented to operators when it comes to having more choice with geolocation service providers?
SG: All markets benefit from competition because it creates innovation. One solution might not be the optimal option for all operators, so having a choice ensures they can partner with a company that best suits their needs. Obviously, competition also affords better price comparisons. If you have only one provider in the market, it has free rein to define the cost model.
CB: How does GeoLocs stand out as an igaming geolocation service amongst its competitors?
SG: We’ve been working in the igaming space for well over a decade with our clients and were the first geolocation supplier to be live in Ontario with the largest operator in the region. The GeoLocs service regularly performs over 17 million look ups in one day – a number that stands much higher than that of other geolocation compliance providers in the industry operating within Ontario.
Ultimately, GeoLocs offers a series of solutions based on the compliance demands of the relevant jurisdiction. Geo-compliance is essential and required by all regulators, but it should be balanced in its implementation with usability. This is our emphasis with GeoLocs, providing compliance with the best customer experience.
CB: You launched GeoLocs this year, however it has been used historically with mkodo’s app clients. What was the drive behind offering the geolocation service to the wider igaming market?
SG: We developed GeoLocs as a GeoFencing solution when Apple first opened the AppStore to real money gaming apps in 2009 in the UK, France and Ireland. They mandated that an RMG app could only function within the operator’s licensed geography(s). Since then, we have built apps and webapps for our clients that have leveraged our internal geo-compliance platform.
We decided after a significant architectural rebuild of the platform, to make it what we call ‘massively scalable’, to productise it, give it a brand name, and offer it as a standalone solution. The repeal of PASPA and US states legalising online sports betting and gaming provided great timing for us to launch GeoLocs to the wider market.
CB: What is the vision for GeoLocs as the North American igaming market continues to open up?
SG: We have ambitious plans for GeoLocs in numerous geographic regions. The product is based on a modern scalable architecture, and we can easily deploy globally so that it operates in close proximity to our customers. We have already had great success in Canada and one of our key areas of interest is now the US market, where we are already making inroads and should have significant penetration by Q2 2023.