BetMGM - NEVADA REGISTRATION

Improving the onboarding process, step by step…

While legalized gambling slowly makes its way across the United States, the varying regulations and requirements created by individual states prove challenging for online sports gambling companies and their digital products.

Eager to increase their presence in the United States, BetMGM aimed to leverage their assorted hotel properties in Nevada to boost visibility of their sports betting app. Beyond rebranding the then PlayMGM betting app to BetMGM’s logo and color scheme, I was tasked with finding ways to streamline the onboarding process for new users.

Challenges were evident from the start. Sports betting apps are geo-tagged, meaning someone who lives in New York City cannot use the app unless they are physically in the state of New Jersey, where sports betting is legal. Relying on analysis from product managers who travelled to Nevada for company business, I was supplied with screen shots of PlayMGM’s registration onboarding process. The head of product discussed with me the company’s desire to shorten the process.

Through research we found a competitor that used technology allowing state-issued driver’s licenses to be scanned and relevant information such as name, date of birth and address to be input during the onboarding process. I created a revised mockup for the registration process that reflected this new feature.

MGM-Grand hotels also wanted to take advantage of the BetMGM registration process to enroll new users in their M-Life Rewards program. M-Life and the BetMGM betting app run on separate software that prevents integration between the two. Nevada gaming regulations also require new users to complete their registration on-site, in a casino/hotel; presenting the app and government issued ID and social security number. It was agreed that when onboarding was completed on the app, a temporary M-Life number would be generated. When in the MGM property, onboarding would be finalized by a MGM representative, who would also provide the user with a new M-Life number.

It seemed we had the onboarding issues solved. However, foreign travelers faced challenges as their passports and ID scanned into the app; requiring them to have their information processed manually on hotel/casino property. The product team decided to research and see if the ID scanning technology could be expanded to include foreign passports and international driver’s licenses. 

With all the effort focusing on registering new users in Nevada, states such as Pennsylvania and Mississippi were reaching agreements with the company; with more to follow. It was a foregone conclusion that each state would present their own specific gaming regulations concerning the sports betting app. Numerous meetings led to a common desire to develop an “out the box” version of the app that could be tailored, in parts, to meet the requirements of each state’s gambling authority, while keeping the majority of features needed for new user onboarding.

I was tasked with creating a user flow for Nevada, which would serve as a template for our developers in India to “start wide” and “scale down” features based on the needs of each state and the technical labor needed to make the app a reality. This flow took into account multiple scenarios and provided the dev team a solid direction to ensure any new user can onboard with as little pain as possible and start making wagers.