UK Gambling Regulator Announces Stricter ID Checks

The Gambling Commission that is in charge of all gambling operations in the UK officially announced that all iGaming operators licensed in England, Scotland and Wales will have to introduce stricter ID checks.

The New Rules

Officially, from May 7 of this year, all operators will have to a customer’s name, address, and date of birth…

…before they allow them to create an and make a deposit.

Also, all customers will have to be checked before they try to access even free play versions of gambling games on operators’ websites.

And How Were They Doing That Before?

Well, the operators were given 72 hours to perform the age verification check, so now they have more tightened verification requirements.

“By extending strong age verification rules to free-to-play games we are creating a much safer online environment for children, helping to shut down a possible gateway to gambling-related harm,” the UK government’s Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sports, Jeremy Wright, said in an official statement.

All operators will also have to ask customers additional verification information while informing gamblers as well about the type of ID documents or other info that they might be required to issue…

…as well as when and why they might be asked to do so.

Why Are These Changes Being Introduced?

There were some pieces of information according to the Gambling Commission, that some online operators were allegedly asking customers to give additional identity information prior to allowing them to withdraw their winnings.

Around 15% of all complaints issued in March last year were related to the same issue. So, the UK gambling regulator had to introduce these changes in order to help operators prevent and detect potentially harmful and criminal activity.

By getting more information about their customers, operators will be able to be aware of the activity on their websites…

…and also won’t have to ask customers to submit their ID documents before withdrawing money, because they will already do that at the registration.

Noticing Self-Excluded Players

But, not only that…

…All operators will, by doing these required steps, more easily identify self-excluded players if they try to set up new s. So, the Commission noted that by making these requirements harsher…

…all customers will have to submit the correct data about them before even being able to gamble.

That way, operators could check them in their self-exclusion database, as well as in the UK national self-exclusion , Gamstop.

A Word from the Chief Executive

“These changes will protect children and the vulnerable from gambling-related harm, and reduce the risk of crime linked to gambling. They will also make gambling fairer by helping consumers collect their winnings without unnecessary delay,’’ Gambling Commission chief executive, Neil McArthur, said.

“Britain’s online gambling market is the largest regulated market in the world and we want to make sure it is the safest and the fairest. Today’s changes follow our review of online gambling and our ongoing widespread regulatory action into the online sector. We will keep using our powers to raise standards for consumers,” McArthur added.

Source:

“UK regulator set to enforce enhanced ID verification checks”, igamingbusiness.com, March 18, 2019.