High 5 Casino is partnering with XPoint, a company that provides geolocation software for online commerce, to improve its social gaming website’s verification of player location. As more jurisdictions in the United States consider restrictions on social and sweepstakes casinos, accuracy and consistency with geolocation are becoming more crucial to complying with relevant statutes.
Xpoint’s geolocation services are used not only by social casino operators but many online casino operators in the real-money space and daily fantasy sports products as well. High 5’s partnership with Xpoint deepens High 5’s reputation for taking compliance seriously.
High 5 closes deal with Xpoint
According to a press release from Xpoint, High 5 and Xpoint have been discussing collaboration since October. With the announcement of the partnership, High 5’s social casino site is utilizing Xpoint’s geolocation checks that utilize a variety of signals to prevent location fraud and ensure that people accessing the site are doing so from a place that High 5 services.
In the release, High 5 VP of Product Gino Fratto stated that “we take compliance seriously” as “players trust us not only to entertain but to protect them, and that includes only allowing gameplay from eligible locations.” Fratto added that “we believe this level of geolocation rigor should be the norm, not the exception, and we hope other operators in the social casino and sweepstakes space will follow our lead.”
As regulations and laws change, High 5 will be able to adjust those parameters. The need for such adjustments has already arisen since High 5 and Xpoint began discussions.
Recent changes in US sweepstakes gaming law
Regulations and statutes involving social and sweepstakes gaming have been rapidly evolving in parts of the US. Connecticut, Montana, and Nevada have enacted new statutes to restrict such gaming.
The New York legislature has also approved a similar bill, which awaits Gov. Kathy Hochul’s action. Additionally, many states like Delaware, Louisiana, Michigan, and Mississippi have issued cease-and-desist letters to the operators of social or sweepstakes casinos.
In response, many social and sweepstakes casino operators have placed new restrictions on locations from which people can access their games. High 5 Casino, for example, has pulled out of Connecticut, among other states. Other sweepstake operators, like VGW, have taken an active approach by increasing the minimum age from 18 to 21+.
California and New Jersey are considering legislation to restrict sweepstakes gaming, potentially creating new locations for companies like High 5 to carve out of their addressable markets. Due to its partnership with Xpoint, such adjustments will be far easier for High 5 and others to make.
