ClearStake works with Hollywoodbets to reduce the churn rate of players during financial checks

The company

Hollywoodbets is one of the largest gambling operators in Africa, and the brand behind a growing international business spanning sports betting, casino, and fixed odds games. Recent expansion into the UK and Irish markets position Hollywoodbets as a true global player, a status backed by the company's sponsorship of Premier League team, Brentford F.C.

The challenge

The move to the UK market brought specific regulatory challenges. Most relevant in this context, operators are required to perform ‘enhanced due diligence’ (EDD) checks in order to:

• Establish that the player can afford to stake when they pass a net loss over a certain amount, and
• Ensure that the money being used to fund an account comes from a legitimate source.

These reasonable checks obviously require Hollywoodbets to request financial information, specifically bank statements, from their customers. 

In the past, this has been done manually. A Compliance Officer contacts the customer, requests the statements, and then makes a judgement based on the information that has been shared. It imposes a cost, but more importantly, a large number of players churn: they are never seen again.

This churn had a significant impact on revenue for Hollywoodbets. Since players who are asked to perform EDD checks are high-spend customers who are, by definition, the most valuable