Online gaming laws are imposed to try and regulate the conduct of the gaming industry to ensure the practice is complete in the safest, most honest, and most competitive way possible. To support this, one of the most significant gaming regulatory authorities recommends that gaming platforms include two-factor authentication for their users. To further support two-step authentication, it became mandatory to have it in iGaming.
The Divisions of Gaming Enforcement, or the DGE, abide by the rules set by iGaming platforms along with NJ DGE, Delaware DGE, and the Nevada Gaming Control Board. DGE Cyber Security Best Practices have stated that this is necessary to reduce the risks of potential fraud, payment fraud, and chargeback cases.
Two factor-authentication provided by Protectimus combined with OTP tokens have been created to easily integrate with any iGaming software that uses API, SDK, or an integration plugin. With this type of protection technology, you can protect both your in-house infrastructure and the accounts of your end user.
In this article, we will explain how two-factor authentication works and how it helps people reduce risk every time they play online. We will also discuss the considerations you need to make before implementing two-factor authentication to keep your users and gaming platform secure.
How two-factor authentication works
Two-factor authentication is the process of users showing two presentations of authentication to show who they are. There are various types of authentication, such as:
- Something the user is, such as a face or touch fingerprint ID.
- Something the user knows, such as a password or a secret question.
- Something a user has, such as a one-time code sent via SMS or email.
The standard two-factor authentication is a combination of a password and a one-time code/auth token. One-time codes can be delivered via chatbots, messenger, email, or external apps like Telegram. There are also dedicated two-factor authentication apps and hardware tokens available.
Using two-factor authentication in online gaming prevents phishing, man-in-the-middle, social engineering, and brute force attacks. As long as the 30-second one-time code protects the user’s account, it makes no sense for fraudsters to steal the password. A two-factor authentication server is used to check one-time passwords, which is usually integrated into your gaming solution.
Why two-factor authentication is mandatory in online gambling
With online gaming growing exponentially in popularity, it has opened the market for fraudsters and scam artists targeting their efforts toward users and their sensitive information. There are many ways that hackers gain access to the accounts of gamers, such as:
- Brute Force
- Credential stuffing attacks
- Keyloggers
- Phishing
- Social engineering
This access is used for various hostile activities, from identity fraud to payment fraud, and money laundering.
All online gambling websites collect a lot of personal information that, in the wrong hands, could have catastrophic repercussions. This information is required for their players to verify their accounts remotely. Gambling sites must obtain this information, and it is precisely the information needed for identity theft. There is a big difference between establishing your identity regarding gambling purposes and establishing your identity as part of a scam.
The prime task for all online gaming websites is the protection of all their user’s private information, as the release of personal information on a big scale would potentially result in considerable repercussions for the business, with many users refraining from using the platform. Legal issues will also come into action if it is found that the gambling website has been operating in breach of a regime where personal information should have been dealt with in a compliant, prescribed manner.
The most effective protection against any type of hacking is two-factor authentication. This is why nearly all online gambling regulators and casino control commissions require online casinos and other iGaming software providers to deliver two-factor authentication. It is becoming an impossible task to obtain an online gambling license if two-factor authentication is not implemented into the iGaming software administrators and end-users.
Along with adding two-factor authentication to create a better level of online gambling cybersecurity, it is beneficial to online gambling companies due to the following:
- All platform users have protected accounts, even if they have fallen victim to credential stuffing or phishing. Trust and loyalty are increased as online casino users do not lose personal data or finances.
- An iGaming company can save money and time by reducing the number of support requests that need to be handled individually.
- Online gambling regulations and licensing authorities ensure that the iGaming platform is not used for illegal activities.