ISO 27001 for Online Casinos: What to do and what to keep in mind

Want to know more about how to obtain an ISO 27001 certification as an Online Casino Company? Specialist XY Legal Solutions Explains!

The Online Casino sector is professionalizing more and more. And with professionalizing often comes the need (want) to prove this professionalism, for instance with ISO (International Organization for Standardization) certifications like the ISO 9001 (Quality Management) and the ISO 27001 (Information Security Management).

In this article, we’ll discuss some relevant steps if you want to acquire an ISO 27001 certification as an online casino (and what to keep in mind). We will mostly focus on ‘understanding your organization’, which is required by Clause 4.1 of the ISO 27001 standard.

XYLS ISO 27001 zegel

But first things first, a short explanation on what ISO 27001 certification actually means:

The ISO 27001 standard is the international standard for information security. The standard sets out specific steps that organizations should take in order to build an Information Security Management System (ISMS), that is sufficient enough for an ISO 27001 certification (an organization can, of course, also have an ISMS without certification). Building an ISMS that is compliant with the ISO 27001, means following the steps of the standard, and staying up to date at all times.

Starting with ISO 27001 certification as an Online Casino or related online gambling company

First of all, it is important to know what you are getting into. Building an ISO 27001 compliant ISMS simply does not mean ‘checking boxes’, you are required to build a ‘living system’; which fits the needs of your organization. Becoming knowledgeable on the ISO 27001 is therefore important. Make sure that you understand what you are getting into, and make sure there is time and money to follow through. Keep in mind: setting up an ISMS can take many months. Especially for online casino companies, where there are a lot of regulatory obligations to take into account.

In this article, we will not explain everything, but we will go into some steps that are important at the beginning of building an ISMS. So let’s go!

Involving Management, forming a team and creating awareness

It is called an Information Security Management System for a good reason: the ISO 27001 standard requires top management to be highly involved. This means that it is important to make sure that management actually has time for building the ISMS. Also, forming a team for the project is a good step to take. If Management doesn’t have the time for it, make someone the ISMS Manager.

Also: be sure to inform all employees of your plans to implement an ISO 27001 worthy ISMS. You will need to explain the concept of ISO 27001 and how it will affect all staff. Training programs should be set up for different departments, regarding the functioning and the impact of the ISMS on the organization. Again, especially important to keep in mind for online casino companies, as there are many departments dealing with sensitive information: 

  • The KYC/KYS Department;
  • The AML Department;
  • The Responsible Gambling Department;
  • Customer Service;
  • The Marketing Department;
  • The Financial Department.

Make sure that all departments understand that they could be asked to get involved in forming the ISMS.

Understanding the context of your Online Casino Organization (ISO 27001 Clause 4.1.)

Clause 4.1 of the 27001 standard expects you to think about internal and external issues that are relevant for your objective (your organizational goal regarding information security management) and that might affect the intended outcome of the ISMS.

So let’s define an objective that could be used for an online casino ISMS:

Safely providing online games of chance and ensuring confidence that (information security) risks are being adequately managed.

The following internal issues (both strengths and weaknesses) could then appear:

Strengths (Internal) Weaknesses (Internal)
· Great financial position · Few formal processes and policies
· A lot of in-house Online Casino regulatory knowledge · Confusing overlap at Customer Service and Responsible Gambling Department
· Motivated employees · Little internal control

 

To get an even better view on the context of the organization we recommend conducting a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis is designed to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your company. Please find an example below:

Strengths (Internal) Weaknesses (Internal)
· Great financial position · Few formal processes and policies
· A lot of in-house Online Casino regulatory knowledge · Confusing overlap at Customer Service and Responsible Gambling Department
· Motivated employees · Little internal control
Opportunities (External) Threats (External)
· Obtaining ISO/IEC 27001-certification is an opportunity to give customers more confidence · Constantly changing online gambling legislation
· Obtaining ISO/IEC 27001-certification could prove sufficient in Game System testing by the relevant authorities · New forms of cybercrime, difficulties for the AML Department
· Tight labor market

 

External issues, especially important to keep in mind for Online Casino Companies

When going for ISO 27001 certification as an online casino company, it is extra important to keep certain external issues in mind. For instance:

  • The influence of the political climate. There are frequent (international) political discussions regarding online gambling that could have impact on your company and ISMS.
  • Technological developments. Constantly innovative technical solutions for gamblers experiences can also have a strong impact.
  • Supplier developments. Online casinos often work with a lot of third parties, where the online casino company is mostly responsible (regarding the authorities). Mistakes of suppliers can be very harmful.

Setting up an ISMS with XY Legal Solutions: ISO 27001 and Online Gambling Specialist

As you have read in this article, there are many additional issues that are important to keep in mind. With experience in setting up international ISMS’s for Online Gambling Companies (read our Air Dice Business Case), XY Legal Solutions could help you sufficiently in building an ISO 27001 worthy ISMS. Interested in an orientating conversation? Please contact us.

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