iGaming Compliance Tech: The end for internal compliance teams? – with Chris Oltyan, CEO of Compliable

This is enough to keep the compliance teams of ambitious operators very busy but with new compliance technology available in the market, what does this mean for their future?

We spoke with Chris Oltyan, CEO of Compliable to hear his thoughts on the expanding US market, the most efficient ways to manage compliance and most importantly, what will drive igaming growth going forward.

What are some of the most common mistakes you see with vendors rushing to enter new markets, especially in the USA?

“With the launch of any new state, there is a lot of confusion surrounding who needs licensing, what type of licensing is necessary and the multiple details surrounding the submission of licensing forms and associated paperwork. Waiting until the last minute to file paperwork and try to get responses from an extremely busy agency is a common mistake. Getting started with licensing applications as early as feasible is the best practice and provides the best chance you can get clarification from the regulator if you have questions.”

Do you think regulators are making the most of the technology now available in the market? Do 3rd party tech solutions need to be better embraced by regulators to help make compliance more straightforward? How can this be improved in the future?

“Regulator adoption of technology varies significantly across the United States. Regulators are often put in a difficult position where they are tasked with quickly having to launch sports betting and don’t have a lot of time to research technology before getting started. This has led to instances where existing technology has been utilized by regulators when it may not be the best fit for the job.  Fortunately, technological solutions specifically tailored to the gaming industry now exist. Compliable’s licensing platform is aiming to support both operators and regulators by providing an end-to-end submission solution for employee licensing. We are further developing a number of tools specifically designed for regulators to assist them with monitoring and tracking regulatory requirements from a streamlined dashboard.”

What impact will the use of an intelligent compliance system such as Compliable’s have on the internal compliance team? Will their roles eventually become redundant?

“We see the Compliable platform as a force multiplier for an internal compliance team. It allows a leaner compliance team to do the work of a much larger group of people by reducing the most time-consuming aspects of licensing. Less manual quality control reviews of applications allow compliance staff to focus on the more complex questions instead of having to remind someone that they neglected to fill out certain sections of a license application. The future of Compliable will be supportive of an internal compliance team, essentially a place they login when they have their morning coffee to check on the status of pending, upcoming and overdue licenses and address them all in a uniform and streamlined way.”

States such as Texas and California represent two of the largest potential markets for the iGaming industry. Do you think these major states will ever open up and what will it take before they do?

“Since the fall of PASPA in 2018, the industry has been asking this same question and new surprises occur every legislative session; however, neither Texas nor California seem poised for imminent legalization of sports betting. That being said, the collective legalization of sports betting of border states does start to exert mounting pressure on those states that have not yet legalized, and it becomes harder to ignore state citizens travelling out of state to spend gaming dollars.”

Compliable has reached an impressive stage in its already fast-paced business growth. What do you see as the main industry-related driving factors that have made Compliable’s solution so valuable to operators and vendors?

“In one word – speed. Compliable’s ability to accelerate the licensing process for both operators and vendors gives them a competitive advantage in an industry where the first movers retain a larger market share. Further, speed is just as important for vendors who must keep up with the expansion of their operators. They all want to be ready to go on launch day. Compliable lets vendors and operators alike rapidly address licensing obligations in multiple states at the same time.

“Additionally, as the industry keeps expanding, the number of states with specific licensing obligations grows larger, thus providing more potential for operator and vendor error and providing a better argument for a technical solution like Compliable to address the dilemma. As this industry matures and in light of the technical expertise demonstrated by so much of the online gaming world, it only makes sense that a technical solution exists to address licensing and compliance concerns.”

Editors’ Note:

From speaking with Chris it seems that operators compliance teams don’t need to worry about the relevance of their jobs just yet. Intelligent compliance software such as Compliable’s will merely act as a robust support system. It will provide an opportunity to streamline processes and reduce the most time-consuming aspects of licensing. Considering the hotbed of activity in the US currently, this should be more than welcomed by operators.

As new igaming markets continue to emerge in the US and the rest of the world, we expect to see tech like this increasingly adopted in order to help drive the industry forward in the most efficient way possible!