Paddy Power tightens up on age verification

News on 17 Jun 2009

The Irish online gambling group Paddy Power has increased the range and intensity of its ID and age verification measures designed to exclude the underaged and fraudsters from its Internet facilities, signing up the Scots specialised software developer NetIDme for the task.
Paddy Power needed a solution that would allow it to age-verify high volumes of new customer registrations for both key sporting events and everyday business needs, and the task came with the following specifications:
* There should be no negative impact on the customer experience. Electronic age verification is preferable as it minimises the inconvenience for customers.
* The age verification solution must increase online pass rates – a  key element for optimising customer registrations.
* The chosen solution should help to reduce the resources required for costly and time intensive follow up calls.
NetIDme’s solution has allowed Paddy Power to quickly process high numbers of verifications in one single batch process, which means that the gambling company can verify its customers on average within 6 hours of sign-up. To ensure the highest possible online match rates, NetID Verify’s self-learning Optimised Ratings Engine (ORE) has the  ability to instantly identify the best data source for each verification request.
Instantly reaching an estimated 800 million external records including the electoral register, the platform has also been configured to include additional fraud checks through the use of an Address Verification System (AVS). The results are passed back securely, within the approved time window, before any winnings are required to be paid.
Paddy Power trialled the software before signing the agreement, using it on major, high volume events like the Cheltenham Racing Festival in March. During Cheltenham, it increased the bookmaker’s “pass rate” on confirming identities from 80 percent to 93 percent, which reduced the amount of revenue Paddy Power was losing. It also improved customer service as it made registration easier.
Peter McCudden, chief operating officer with NetIDme, says: “Remote gambling is a growing market in the UK and internationally, and Paddy Power is a big win for us as we’ll be the main provider for all sporting events.”
“NetlDme offered us a solution that was easy to implement, matched our requirements and allowed us to increase our match rate by 10 percent” said Ronan Wall, Online Operations Manager at Paddy Power.

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