Ina Macaria of Kindred Group on iGaming Sustainability

Podcast

Fraud Fighter – Kindred Group on iGaming Sustainability

Kindred Group is one of the largest online gambling companies in the world. With 30 million customers worldwide, they are the driving force behind the likes of Bingo.com, Unibet and 32Red amongst many other known brands.

With their heavy focus on iGaming sustainability, Ina Macaria, Kindred’s Product Manager and winner of the Star of the Future Award at the Women in Gaming Diversity 2019, shares her thoughts on what sustainability means for Kindred, how to improve it and how it can help reduce fraud in the long run.

Ina explains that sustainability in iGaming is about building lasting relationships with quality customers. And that can have an impact on fraud rates – if it’s done right.

“It is something that is innate and something that’s built into the [Kindred] culture – top-down and bottom-up. And what it means essentially is that we spend a lot of time and resources into establishing and maintaining a relationship with the customers. So it goes from the very beginning, from putting thought into what type of customers we want to attract and acquire. Because traditionally the industry has been known to just dish out promotional offers.”

… And Better Campaigns Actually Reduce Fraud Rates

There is a tension at play between sustainability and marketing because very often promos are about getting as many new customers as possible. It’s quantity over quality, which can backfire for iGaming companies – especially when it comes to high promo abuse rates.

“Acquisition offers don’t really attract the best type of customers and so they encourage promo abuse. And so putting a lot of thought into, first of all, attracting the right type of customer that is going to enjoy our products beyond just the acquisition offer.”

Cross-Department Collaboration is Key to Sustainability

Ina then goes on to explain why sustainability needs to follow a holistic approach.

“We need to make sure that first of all, collaboration starts at home. So we’re all collaborating amongst ourselves, within those teams, that are in sustainability and then, beyond that, work with the wider business. So if it’s customer service, for example, understand what type of contacts they’re getting, what are the customer pain points. Or if that’s the marketing team, working together to create campaigns that attract the right type of customer.”

And of course, when it comes to the payments team, their tasks are intrinsically linked to risk management.

“If it’s the payments team, likewise, understanding what a payments solution actually is, the risk it poses. Because I know from speaking to colleagues in the industry that the payments team, being commercially driven, would onboard a provider without really consulting the fraud team or the risk team. And then, all of a sudden, we’re in a situation where you’re hit with this massive attack, or you’re faced with a risk that we’re not prepared for or are not equipped to deal with.”

The Tension Between Sustainability And Fraud Risk

One of the challenges we hear repeatedly from iGaming experts is between reducing risk and adding too much friction to the customer experience. It’s also a concern of the sustainability team, as Ina explains:

“It’s in the interest of the industry to be customer friendly as well. We’re faced with this balancing act the whole time because there’s only so much we can do to push customers in terms of verification. So we’re always striving to make it more customer-friendly. And so within that then, in our efforts to be more customer-friendly, that in itself may be a little bit more attractive to professional fraudsters.”

A Holistic Approach to iGaming Sustainability

The concept of sustainability in iGaming is a fascinating one that few other providers have thought about. It certainly seems like a good way to prepare the industry for the onslaught of new regulations it’s inevitably bound to face – especially to meet stringent self-exclusion and responsible gaming criteria.

But it’s also a line of defence against fraud and promo abuse. It’s certainly a topic we’re passionate about here at SEON, and we’ll be keeping a close eye on how it plays out for the Kindred Group in the long run.

Find Ina Macaria Bawn on LinkedIn

More information about the Kindred Group

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