Why online gambling pre-play ID checks are unpopular
News on 6 Dec 2011
News on 6 Dec 2011
The global information services company Experian has answered a question frequently asked by online punters: why can’t operators conduct their ID verification checks before the action starts…and the reason is player impatience.
A recent study by the company revealed that online gamers have the lowest tolerance for identity checks of all users…and impatient customers take their business elsewhere when frustrated with identity check processing – they are prepared to devote no more than an average of three minutes on such checks before going to competitors.
This week, an Experian spokesman said that this lack of tolerance for delay is the lowest across all sectors studied, and compares to four minutes for retail transactions, and six for travel.
Experian worked with the International Fraud Prevention Research Centre on the study, which reveals the extent to which time-consuming identity and security procedures continue to be a source of frustration for consumers, and a cause of lost business for online retailers and other service providers.
44 percent of respondents said they had abandoned an online shopping transaction because the checks were taking too long. 43 percent admitted turning to a competitor after becoming frustrated with lengthy procedures.
Younger adults are the least patient, with 35 percent of adults aged under 35 saying they had abandoned one or two transactions due to the length of security checks in the past 12 months alone, and 13 percent admitting to having done so ‘frequently’. This compares to 36 percent and 10 percent respectively of those aged 35-54, and 32 percent and eight percent of those over 55.
Professor Paul Barnes, director of the International Fraud Prevention Research Centre said: “Identity checks are in all our interests and necessary, however time-consuming they appear at the time. Not only do they protect the business from intrusion and fraud but protect the consumer as well, reducing both security costs, which are passed on in the form of higher prices, and the chance of he/ she being the victim of fraud.”
Internet users were, however, far more tolerant with procedures when it came to protecting their money, being prepared to wait almost as long online as in-branch. Respondents stated that they were willing to undergo five minutes worth of checks with signing up for online banking, compared to six in branches.
Nick Mothershaw, Director of Identity & Fraud at Experian, comments: “The message for providers using older forms of identity verification and other security procedures is to make the checks faster and less onerous.”
