Jumio urges industry to speed up account opening process

Identity verification specialist Jumio has warned that a lengthy account opening process could cost operators new customers.

In a report entitled ‘The Balancing Act of Account Opening in the Online Gaming Industry’, Jumio said more than 25% of online gambling customers have given up on the process because it was taking too long or was too complicated.

Jumio also found that over 40% of respondents said opening a new account took at least 10 minutes, while 10% reported that the process could last for up to one hour.

The report went on to highlight four key opportunities for operators to deliver a positive customer experience and streamline account opening across devices, while at the same time maintaining operational efficiency and also adhering to compliance requirements.

Jumio said one in five customers would spend more time gambling if the sign-up process was less complicated and took less time.

The company also said that while 39% of respondents preferred to play via a mobile application, 29% are often discouraged from gambling this way due to a lengthy sign-up process.

Respondents also recognised the important of an operator’s ability to positively identify its customers, with 67% citing this as a key factor, but Jumio said it is critical for bookmakers to balance this process with timing issues.

In addition, Jumio highlighted the ongoing importance of regulations in regards to banking, saying that operators need to remain up-to-date on rules.

Robert Prigge, chief revenue officer at Jumio, added: “67% of respondents in the Jumio study stated that a gaming operator’s ability to positively identify its customers is as important as providing security from hackers and having a solid privacy policy.

“But customers don’t want to be put through time-consuming processes to achieve this level of identity assurance.

“When you combine these customer expectations with increasing security and compliance mandates, it is clear that gaming operators must look for ways to streamline the identity verification process to get good customers playing sooner.”

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