To start off, can you give us an overview of the company's mission statement.
Quite simply, at a high level, Aware is about helping companies increase their security while reducing friction for the user. We do that by leveraging biometrics.
Infiltration is the crux of our technology - so we’re trying to make things much more secure, but much easier for consumers, customers and users to access. The only way we see to do that is through biometrics.
We wanted to ask you about your partnership with SCCG Management. When did the decision come that you wanted to offer your services to the gambling industry? What was the thought process behind that decision?
Well, about 18 months ago, we started looking at the gambling industry with a closer eye. Our background has very much been in government. Some of the larger organisations like DOD, HOB – over in the UK, DHS. What we saw in the gaming industry is really what I was talking about in our vision. There are very specific rules and guidelines that companies need to follow when it comes to understanding who the user is, what their background is, where they're coming from, how old they are, where they are – especially here in the States. All these things aligned extremely well with the products we have built.
So we partnered up with SCCG, really to simply consult and find out: Who should we be talking to? Where's the opportunity? And they were fantastic. So we've gone deeper with them into a relationship and partnered with them in several ways. They want to make sure people's data is protected. They want to make sure the person who is pulling or withdrawing money is the actual person, that the person is of age, that the person is in that state. All those things really line up with stuff that's right out of the box for us when it comes to functionality and our tool set. We only see it growing, especially as online gambling becomes more widespread.
Here in the States, online gambling isn't even legal in New York and California yet – two of the biggest states from a population perspective. So how is this dramatically going to change when these states come on board? How does an operator or a platform try to follow all the different rules and regulations based on geography? That's really where we step in.
Do you see gaming as a fresh challenge for Aware?
A little bit of yes and no, I would say. There definitely are some unique challenges to gaming – but for the past 30 years we have really been solving some of the biggest security challenges for government. Like I said, like DHS, DOD, CIA, NASA – letting the right people in, keeping the wrong people out. At that level, obviously the stakes are high. The balance between variables is very different when it comes to gaming. So, if I work for the Department of Defence and I am trying to access a specific room – I'm going to stand in front of that scanner until it lets me in.
However, if I'm a consumer and I'm trying to access a gaming site, that process has to be extremely quick. We say in under four seconds. We need to make sure this person is in the right geo, that this person matches who we know they are. That they're not on a self-exclude list. All those things need to happen extremely quickly. So the security part is really the same, but it's the friction-free experience we're trying to create that is unique to gaming.
For those of us who don't know, could you talk us through your personal history with the company a little bit?
I've been with Aware for about two years. Early in my career, I was in internet marketing and email marketing, which are now are very commonplace; but back then, people didn’t want to put their credit card on the web. It was a fear of the unknown. It (the internet) was one of those things that happened quickly, but it took a while. When I think about my experience with biometrics, using my phone, my laptop, or every time I'm coming in and out of the country, that experience is so friction free – once people get past the initial wondering whether their identity is going to be secure.
Really, all it is making sure of is that the right person is getting into the right place – and it is a much easier path with biometrics. Anyone who has gone through an airport experience non biometrics versus biometrics, we all get in that biometrics line every day. So, we're really seeing what I feel is the tipping point now, because people are really seeing the pros of it.
What do you think is the driving force behind the need for advanced authentication in online gambling?
For one, I think online gambling is just going to continue to grow. More players, more revenue, more sites, more operators, more platforms. It just makes for a bigger and greater target for scammers. So, for folks that are looking at this as a way that they can either hack or impersonate, get in to secure funds, steal data or identities, all those things.
Whether it's an app, whether it's online, whether it's an actual physical casino, we’re making sure that person is someone that should or shouldn’t be in there.
Whether it’s gaming sites, for making sure that there's no criminals or predators in there and things along those lines. All these things can be done very easily. I think that's where the driving force of it lies – there are so many pieces to the puzzle. Not just compliance, but also, no one wants to be the one that gets their data hacked. Where our vision lies is protecting those users, but also making sure that when I want to put in a quick bet, I can log in super quickly, make that bet, and then get out.
I don’t have to spend time getting a passcode sent to my other phone, and then I've got to punch it in and all those different things. That's where the demand for biometrics is just going to continue to drive, because we can balance that experience better than any other type of system or process that's out there.
Before, you touched on creating that friction-free experience. What would you say is the most important factor for ensuring effective authentication regarding gaming?
I would probably break it into a few. So, first, making sure a given document is authentic. It’s the document matching – and then the hardest piece is the liveness. I think that is where the rubber meets the road when it come comes to the functionality. So, if I was going to choose one most important factor, it would be liveness. That is, with the rise of deep fakes, or 4K image technology – where I could present myself as someone else by just taking a really nice monitor and putting that in front of the camera.
To the human eye, we all think it's pretty easy, but it's really not. So, using liveness and passive liveness is something where I can just sit in front of the camera and it’s able to verify me without me having to move my head around. Again, this has got to happen in under four seconds, or I'm going to get frustrated.
So being able to just put my face to the camera and, boom, I’m in.
Liveness is the key. That differentiates the solutions out there, because a lot of them can do document verification, a lot of them can make sure the person is a person, but making sure that person is real is really a unique challenge.
How do you hope that working with SCCG is going to help drive Aware forward over the next couple of years?
Yeah, on the payment side of things – security wise – we have a system that is easy to use. I think what a lot of operators and platforms are looking for is something that isn’t hard to install, something that isn’t heavy and uses a lot of resources. So low resources, but also getting that premier security experience that we've been talking about. How we see it is, being the leader when it comes to KYC and authentication in the gaming industry, that's the way you get there. With one solution that does all the things you need, whether it's background checks, whether it's document validation, liveness matching. Having that from one place with a company that's been securely doing this for over 30 years is a unique play, really.
Finally, what role do you think biometrics is going to play in the gambling industry moving forwards?
I think it's when we look at high-profile industries, gaming is absolutely one of them. So, any type of high-profile industry – they're going to be under constant attack. The ability for me to make a very frictionless experience for my consumer, but also making sure that it is a very secure place they're coming into. Biometrics is a key weapon in the battle, and it's only going to increase as online gaming grows.
As it grows, the targets, the scammers, hackers, deep fakes, those are just going to increase. So we expect to see clients continuing to increase – and all these things around safe gaming that folks are promoting, we want to be a partner in that. I think biometrics is as close to foolproof as you can get.
