A Complete Guide to GeoComply
By
Jane Shaw
Senior Editor Updated: 01/26/2024
We count on Jane to inform our readers about the latest slot games in the US market. With her passion for video games and a degree in engineering, she’s our gambling tech expert. Jane’s also active in our blog section, where she tackles the curiosities and changes in the industry.
Guide to GeoComply
- GeoComply Solutions: An Introduction
- What is GeoComply Software?
- Benefits of GeoComply
- Industries Using GeoComply
- Compliance and Regulations
- Setting Up GeoComply
- Frequently Asked Questions
As online gambling continues growing in popularity across America, sportsbooks and casinos face strict regulations on verifying players’ locations. GeoComply Solutions has emerged as the leading geolocation software to pinpoint bettors’ locations in real-time and block access if they are not in approved areas. Keep reading to learn more about this important tool that’s been hugely important in enabling legal online betting!
Geocomply Solutions: An Introduction
GeoComply is a location detection software used by online sportsbooks, casinos, and other businesses where it’s important to be able to verify the location of customers, often to comply with state laws. The technology uses GPS, Wi-Fi triangulation, and IP address tracking to accurately verify each player’s location when they access a gaming site.
If GeoComply detects a user is not physically located in an approved area or cannot determine their location, it blocks them from placing any bets. This geolocation service allows platforms to follow regulations in providing legal online gambling only where licensed while also detecting potential fraud through VPNs or location spoofing.
Some online casinos and sportsbooks require customers to download the GeoComply plugin for Mac or PC to be able to play, while others have built it into their platforms; mobile casino apps, for example, usually have GeoComply embedded within the app code.
Most of the time, you won’t even notice that GeoComply is running. For example, when you play at legal NJ online casinos the software runs automatically – and you’ll only ever notice it if you attempt to access the site from a banned jurisdiction.
What Is GeoComply Software?
GeoComply utilizes a combination of GPS, Wi-Fi triangulation, and IP address analysis to accurately determine the real-time location of customers accessing regulated online gambling sites. The software integrates directly into the platform, running quietly in the background as a service to monitor each user session. So, how does the GeoComply plugin for Chrome work? How does the GeoComply software know where you’re playing from?
Well, it analyzes multiple data points from the device a customer uses to access the site, whether it’s a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. For devices with built-in location services like smartphones and tablets, for example, GeoComply simply taps into the native GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth components to identify the precise geographic coordinates.
For devices without built-in location abilities, like desktop PCs, the GeoComply plugin collects available Wi-Fi network details and IP information to determine location within a reasonable radius.
The software then compares the user’s device location against a proprietary, regularly updated “geofence” database that contains detailed location data and information on jurisdiction regulations from gaming authorities across the United States. By referencing this geofence mapping along with the user’s location, GeoComply can accurately determine if a player is within the borders of a state or Native American territory where the relevant form of online gambling is legally authorized.
The software then automatically allows or blocks access depending on whether the user is in approved locations, preventing those in non-approved areas from improperly accessing gambling sites. It also detects attempts to manipulate location data through VPNs or other spoofing methods.
GeoComply also lets online casinos and sportsbooks set their own rules on when users can access the site. For example, some states restrict gambling to specific tribal territories or parcels of land, and GeoComply is, usually, able to narrow down a user’s location to the point where they can tell whether they’re playing from an allowed territory within a state.
Benefits of Geocomply
As you can imagine, for online gambling operators, GeoComply provides a huge range of benefits. Legal online casinos are held to very high standards, especially in the US, and the software has made their life a lot easier! Below, we’ll take a look at some of the main pros of the software.
- Compliance – GeoComply allows online gambling sites to comply with all relevant state and tribal laws, regulations, and licensing arrangements that require verifying bettors are physically located within approved geographic boundaries before accessing real money gaming services.
- Fraud prevention – The software detects and denies access to players clearly violating location requirements, such as using VPNs to spoof their location and improperly gamble from prohibited areas. This fraud prevention protects site integrity – and, potentially, significant financial loss!
- Secure platform – By confirming all users’ locations before allowing real-money play, GeoComply helps ensure sites offer gaming only to verified players within legal jurisdictions, leading to more secure operations and less chance of disciplinary action from online gambling regulators.
Industries Using GeoComply
While online gambling represents GeoComply’s largest industry focus, the company provides flexible geolocation solutions supporting customer and regulatory needs across a wide spectrum of verticals. The table below looks at some of the other industries that GeoComply can be used in:
| Industry | Description |
|---|---|
| Mobile network operators | Major telecommunications providers integrate GeoComply into their management platforms to detect device locations and ensure network traffic complies with relevant laws based on the user’s location. |
| eCommerce stores | Online merchants selling regulated goods or services can use GeoComply to help them ensure they only process transactions and sell products to customers in areas where the products that they’re selling are legal. |
| Marketing | Advertising can now use GeoComply within their ad management tools to make sure that publishers only display ads to users in specific locations. This is useful for certain products, which may be illegal in some countries or jurisdictions. |
| Fraud Prevention | Banks and financial institutions use GeoComply – in addition to their built-in services – to flag transactions that are deemed to be suspicious. This could be transfers sent from unrecognized devices, for example. |
Compliance and Regulations
GeoComply plays a key role in enabling legal online gambling operators to ensure they’re meeting all legal regulations – and this is especially important in today’s online gambling world, where it’s fast-paced and ever-changing. Especially in the US, where online gambling is still relatively “new”, operators are incredibly cautious; they want to avoid huge fines (and even criminal prosecution,) so services like GeoComply ensure they don’t accidentally fall foul to any of these rules.
While each state implements different technical specifications and regulatory frameworks, one near-universal requirement – in all states – is that geolocation tracking is undertaken so players in unlicensed states can’t gamble. For operators, this is where GeoComply is, perhaps, most valuable.
Some states go one step further, too, specifying allowed, or whitelisted locations within the state. This is usually seen with Native American tribal lands. GeoComply allows operators to configure highly customized geofences in compliance with tribal rules or other legal restrictions.
Setting Up GeoComply
To activate GeoComply’s geolocation services, online gambling operators must embed the software directly into their platform’s technical architecture. The process can usually be done by simply integrating a set of GeoComply APIs that handle all location detection, geofence mapping, and automatic access decisions during customer sessions. Things are about to get a bit technical – so bear with us!
To begin setting up GeoComply, the company’s technicians conduct a comprehensive analysis of the requirements and rules that the operator needs to follow. They’ll look at things like where users are able to access the site from, and any other site/state-specific rules that need to be incorporated into the software. This initial setup stage also looks at other activities like user registration, allowed payment methods, and allowed games to define what location verification rules apply in each scenario.
For example, when a new user is setting up an account, operators may want them to upload their Know Your Customer (KYC) documents before they can begin playing – something certain states require. GeoComply’s technicians will then include this requirement into the code.
On an even more technical side, GeoComply provides lightweight SDK bundles containing the various APIs that get embedded into the operator’s website and mobile app source code. Once the GeoComply integrations go live, the location checks and access decisions happen instantly, and in almost all cases, users won’t even know the software is running!
However, if a user tries to access safe blackjack sites or other online gambling products from a restricted location, they’ll see a popup or page that notifies them that they’re blocked from accessing the site.
