Rip Gerber knows how to keep track of online players. He is the CEO of Locaid, which is a San Francisco tech company. It is his job to make sure that those who are playing online poker are where they say that they are. His company verifies the locations for William Hill, Ultimate Poker, and the World Series of Poker.
According to Gerber, his is the biggest location-finding company in business. They have created what they call “location as a service.” They are able to provide location information to a variety of industries, including health care and financial services, not to mention gaming.
In simple terms, they work with regulators on verifying the location of those who are playing online or via mobile devices. His company is able to locate those devices and report on where they are found. They are able to fine in excess of 5 billion devices that may be located anywhere on earth and do this through multiple location sources.
In some cases, it may be a cell tower that they use. Or it could be through the device using the IP location from the user’s Internet connection. In some cases, it may be through a third-party database. His company is able to use all of these either alone or in tandem.
The company’s main purpose in terms of finding online players is to make sure that the player is in the state that he or she says they are in. The company does not report to the player but rather to those who are providing the play platform. If a player is found to not be where he or she says they are, the online transactions to not go through.
This is just one of the many verification steps that online gambling companies are taking these days. They also check on age and identity through other sources.
Gerber says that only a few people ever try to trick the system. In most cases, a player who is in a state that does not allow online gambling will not even make it to the platform which is when Gerber and his company go to work. Spoofer apps may be coming out fast these days, but Gerber says that most of these do not work, or if they do, they only work for a short time.
Even if more and more states come around to allowing online gambling, Gerber is not worried. His business is one that is needed in a variety of industries and as long as people are making certain transactions online or through their mobile devices, his services will be in demand. The bottom line for online players though is you cannot get around the state laws anymore if you are playing via your internet connection or smart phone. The gaming companies are being very diligent in finding out who is where they say they are and who is not. It just won’t work anymore, folks, so don’t even try as you will be disappointed.