Since the invention of the smartphone, its use has skyrocketed internationally. As of 2023, it is estimated that 6.92 billion people (around 86% of the world’s population) own a smartphone.
These devices have brought people closer together, made daily tasks easier, and brought a world of entertainment directly to our palms. One of the most popular forms of mobile entertainment is gambling, which 58% of all gamblers enjoyed in 2020.
With the surge in mobile gambling, casinos work tirelessly to ensure their games are safe and that players can access them without worry. This task is becoming increasingly difficult as cyber crimes rise, with an estimated 2,000 attacks happening daily in 2020.
However, new technologies to secure mobile casino games are constantly being developed to combat these attacks. In Canada and elsewhere, the following tech innovations are being implemented to protect players and provide a secure and enjoyable gambling experience.
Artificial Intelligence
One of the most rapidly expanding technologies today is AI (artificial intelligence). Although less capable versions have been around for years, AI’s big breakthrough occurred at the end of 2022, when ChatGPT was released. This new AI could do everything from suggesting tips on how to gamble to generating code for developers.
ChatGPT immediately proved what the technology was capable of and threw the AI industry into the limelight. It spurred incredible funding into research and development the world over. As such, AI has advanced rapidly and today is being implemented in countless industries—including the Canadian mobile casino industry.
Using this AI, mobile casinos can analyze their players’ gaming patterns, what games they are playing, what time of the day they play, how long they play, and how much they win or lose. While these metrics aren’t new and casinos have tracked them for many years, AI’s analysis of such data has been revolutionary.
For example, AI can map out patterns and profiles of player accounts being used erratically and flag them accordingly. Employees of the mobile casino can then verify whether such accounts are still in their owners’ possession and check up on them. Doing this helps identify stolen or hacked accounts quickly and makes gambling safer.
Blockchain
When blockchain was first theorized in 1991, the concept of such a technology was almost laughable, and little development went into proving the theory. In 2008, however, a white paper outlining a blockchain’s operations was published and quickly gained international attention.
One short year later, the first blockchain was officially launched—as part of the technology behind the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. After gaining the international spotlight, blockchain was separated from its sole use as a currency management application in 2014.
After blockchain became an independent technology, various industries began to adopt it into their systems. The main reason for this was its unparalleled security, which made it almost impossible to hack. In recent years, online and mobile casinos in Canada and other countries have also begun adopting this technology.
Using blockchains as payment processors, these casinos have not only been able to support crypto as a verified payment method but have also benefited from increased security. This perk is because the blockchain, a decentralized ledger, handles all payments and ensures complete safety while processing.
2FA (Two Factor Authentication)
The exact origin of 2FA (two-factor authentication) is disputed. While some believe it originated in 1986, American mobile carrier AT&T claims to have invented it in 1996.
Regardless of where or who it comes from, two-factor authentication has been helping secure online accounts for several years. By requiring a unique secondary passkey or code separate from an account’s primary password, 2FA helps ensure that only the valid owner of an account can gain access.
This code is usually sent to the account owner via email or SMS. Although not entirely new, 2FA is being implemented by many mobile casinos and even specific entertaining mobile games.
As an added layer of security, authentication applications like Microsoft Authenticator (launched in 2016) are being used as a substitute for receiving a code via SMS or email, which could be intercepted.
Authentication apps also have their own additional security measures and protocols that make getting into them even harder while boosting 2FA security.
Device Hardware and Security
With smartphones undergoing almost continuous updates and improvements, the technology built into them is constantly improving. One of the best innovations in modern smartphones is biometric recognition technology.
For example, using sensors underneath the display or somewhere on the phone’s body, a smartphone can read a user’s fingerprints to authenticate them and prove he or she is the device’s rightful owner. After authentication, the phone unlocks to allow full access.
For devices that don’t have a fingerprint scanner, facial recognition is used. This technology operates in much the same way, except the device uses the front-facing camera to map a user’s facial structure and pattern instead.
Once this pattern is mapped, only a person who matches this information can unlock the device by showing their face to the camera. If the data doesn’t match that saved on the phone, it remains locked.
Mobile casinos available to Canadian players have been quick to adopt support for these hardware and software features. Many casinos allow access to player accounts after the device has verified that the user has presented proper authentication using facial recognition or biometrics.
Using these authentication methods makes accessing mobile casinos much more convenient for players. It also ensures that should a player’s password be jeopardized, their account will still be safe unless they can prove they are trying to access it.
Conclusion
Alongside the technologies mentioned above, mobile casinos are also constantly improving their encryption standards and server security systems. These efforts, combined with the technologies listed above (and many others still in development), are helping to make mobile gambling safer and more enjoyable for all players.
