We have seen unprecedented growth within igaming/gambling markets globally. Even in a post-pandemic world, the industry continues to experience high gains and will maintain its accelerated growth of 7.1% CAGR, to be worth $321 billion by 2026. Key contributing factors are an increase in overall global sports betting, high penetration of smartphones, reduced stringency in government regulations, and the implementation of cryptocurrency for deposits and payouts.
Regardless of the cryptocurrency doldrum market, global blockchain gaming is experiencing explosive growth with a CAGR of 70.3% to hit US $65 billion by 2027. In 2022, Blockchain gaming was one of the fastest-growing sectors in web3, with a 94.17% increase in transaction numbers compared to 2021. We should see this trend bolster as it moves towards North America in 2023.
Globally, with more than 420 million crypto users, 1.6 billion gamblers (with 4.2 billion gamble at least once a year) and over half of all Bitcoin transactions last year associated with igaming platforms - the future for crypto and igaming is looking promising with an upward trend seen over the last few years.
A primary rationale is crypto transactions offer great benefits for operators and players over traditional forms of payment for deposits and withdrawals. One large contributor is the transactional speed. Players can make deposits and receive payouts nearly instantly rather than wait hours or days to be cleared, making the gaming experience more seamless. Secondly, crypto transactions are secured through cryptography, making them much more difficult to hack or steal. Lastly, operators can avoid the high fees and chargebacks associated with traditional payment methods.
Additionally, using cryptocurrency in iGaming and gambling can provide players with increased privacy and anonymity. Many players prefer to keep their personal and financial information private, and cryptocurrency transactions do not require sharing sensitive information. Pair that up with the huge bonuses offered by casino games and gambling sites, and you have a recipe for success.
However, the prevalence of fraud in crypto impacts gaming and gambling. Roughly $3.2 billion worth of cryptocurrency was stolen in 2021, with 72% of that looted from DeFi protocols, a 516% increase compared to 2020. Besides phishing, investment, fake crypto exchanges, and SIM-swap scams, there is also a less-expected fraud trend on the rise for crypto – crypto romance. According to a 2022 FTC study, crypto romance fraudsters successfully defrauded consumers of $139 million.
In the iGaming industry, one common form of crypto fraud is using fake or unlicensed operators. These fraudulent operators may use cryptocurrency as a way to attract players and make it appear that they are legitimate. They may also use cryptocurrency to make it more difficult for players to recover their stolen funds.
We all know the benefits and importance of Know Your Customer (KYC) information to establish strong customer profiles and secure transactions. With the rise of crypto within igaming it is becoming more imperative for gaming operators to implement crypto analysis into their player transactional workflow. By doing so, they can verify player crypto addresses and wallets on various risk factors and associations across a suite of blockchains. Linking this crypto data intelligence to the customer profile becomes a vital asset of information towards their transactional history and fraud prevention.
Additionally, not only gaming operator regulations are constantly changing so are cryptocurrencies. New crypto regulations locally are continuously being established. Ensuring crypto data intelligence on your players' wallet addresses is captured and linking it to their associated KYC ensures your financial dealings are above board and not connected to illegal activities like money laundering or terrorist funding. Your gaming platform will be ready for any changes in compliance adherence.
AcuityTec has been a global leader in KYC, KYC, compliance and fraud prevention for years. They provide a complete and on-demand suite of KYC data services that verify players' geo-location, email, device intelligence, name, address, phone number, email, document verifications, and more, through to AML watchlist screenings, dynamic risk analysis, transactional KYT verifications, monitoring and multi-faceted anti-fraud technology.
Online payment theft cost businesses $41 billion, in 2022, according to Statista. To counter online fraudsters' increasing quantity and skill, AcuityTec continuously evolves its data suite and anti-fraud technology in its flexible and automatic products.
Last year, AcuityTec bolstered its suite to support crypto adoption with a specific crypto KYT analysis solution that verifies crypto wallet addresses and their associated risks across the blockchain in real-time. Paired with around-the-clock crypto address monitoring and heightened blockchain analytics for high-risk addresses. The outcome is an integrated picture of customer and transaction risk for your business.
Your firm, like the ecosystem as a whole, must be adaptable and flexible to survive. Ensuring you have the latest required and recommended KYC implemented at various parts of your player journey, premium fraud defence and adopting a KYT crypto analysis solution to safeguard your businesses and your players' crypto transactions against loss and fraud.
Learn more about our crypto analysis solution or contact us to book a demo today.