As operators expand into new regulated markets, geolocation is emerging as a critical component of performance, compliance, and player experience. Once viewed as a fixed part of the tech stack, providers are now being reassessed more frequently as expectations around accuracy, scalability, and cost evolve.
GeoLocs by mkodo arises as a go to solution to address this issue, and Ben Scobie-Trumper, Head of Sales at mkodo, explains why attitudes are shifting, what’s driving switching decisions, and how geolocation is becoming a more strategic consideration for operators.
SBC News: Are you seeing operators becoming more open to switching geolocation providers?
Ben Scobie-Trumper: Operators have traditionally been quite cautious about changing geolocation providers once a system is in place. There’s been this long-standing assumption that switching providers would be complicated, disruptive, or even risky.
What we’re seeing now, though, is that mindset starting to change. As operators expand into more markets and take a closer look at how their technology stacks are performing, more of them are reviewing their geolocation setup.
From our experience working with operators at GeoLocs, switching providers is actually happening more often than people might think.
SBCN: What are the main (public) reasons operators decide to change their geolocation provider?
BST: The main drivers tend to come down to performance, scalability, and cost, especially as the market continues to expand.
Accuracy and reliability are absolutely critical because they directly impact both revenue and compliance. False positives can block legitimate players, while false negatives create serious regulatory risk. Even small improvements in accuracy can lead to better player retention and increased betting activity.
Along the same theme, scalability and robustness are being highlighted in conversations we’ve been having. Major events like the FIFA World Cup drive huge spikes in traffic, so operators need to be sure their geolocation systems in place can maintain accuracy across millions, or even billions of checks, without latency or failure.
Market expansion is another key factor we’ve been seeing more recently. As the industry grows and operators enter new regulated jurisdictions, they need solutions that can adapt to different regulatory frameworks and network conditions without adding complexity. A good example here is Alberta, while the market isn’t fully open yet, operators are preparing early. At GeoLocs, we’re already live in the region with a major lottery operator and have built a five-year relationship with the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission, giving operators confidence that they’re working with a provider that understands the local landscape from day one.
Cost also inevitably plays a big role in decision-making. Some geolocation solutions rely on constant location checks which can become expensive at scale. GeoLocs uses a more advanced approach by dynamically adjusting check frequency based on a player’s proximity to jurisdictional boundaries. This feature allows operators to maintain compliance while significantly improving efficiency and reducing cost.
SBCN: Are there reasons operators switch providers that they don’t talk about publicly?
BST: Yes, and this is something that doesn’t always get discussed openly.
While compliance, accuracy, and cost are the reasons most often mentioned, sometimes the reality is simply that the relationship with the current provider isn’t working anymore.
Geolocation sits right at the centre of regulatory compliance, so operators rely heavily on their provider for transparency, responsiveness, and technical support.
When operators start exploring alternatives, it’s often because they’re experiencing frustrations like slow support responses, limited visibility into performance data, or a feeling that the technology hasn’t really evolved alongside the market.
In those situations, the technology itself might still function, but the partnership isn’t delivering what the operator needs anymore.
SBCN: Why do you think switching providers is becoming more common now?
BST: Historically, a lot of operators stayed with the first geolocation provider they integrated simply because they assumed switching would be too difficult or expensive.
There was a perception that migrating to another solution would involve significant development work, disrupt player verification, raise compliance concerns or cost a lot of money.
But the technology landscape has evolved quite a lot. Modern geolocation platforms are designed to integrate much more easily with existing operator infrastructure, which means switching is often far less disruptive than people expect. At GeoLocs, we’ve seen customers integrate with our platform in as little as 5 days.
At the same time, operators are becoming much more comfortable reviewing every part of their technology stack. Payments, KYC tools, etc., and all of those systems get evaluated regularly. Geolocation is now starting to be looked at in the same way.
To this point, operators don’t need to work with just one provider. We’re seeing more operators choose to partner with multiple geolocation providers. But that’s a whole other conversation for another time.
SBCN: What questions should operators be asking about their current geolocation setup?
BST: The key questions tend to be quite practical.
Operators should be asking things like:
- Are we introducing unnecessary friction into the player journey?
- Are legitimate players being blocked near jurisdictional borders?
- Are our location checks optimised from a cost perspective?
- And importantly, can our current solution scale with us as we enter new markets?
As operators expand internationally, these are the kinds of operational questions that become much more important.
SBCN: Finally, what should operators take away from this trend?
BST: The main takeaway is that geolocation might run quietly in the background, but its impact on the business is significant.
It affects compliance, player experience, operational efficiency, and ultimately revenue. As markets expand and competition increases, operators are starting to take a closer look at every piece of technology that supports their platform.
What we’re seeing now is geolocation becoming part of that broader strategic review.
Rather than treating it as something that gets integrated once and then forgotten about, operators are recognising that the right technology and, ultimately, the right partner can make a meaningful difference as they grow.
