UKGC Tightens Rule on Player Age & Identity Verification
Posted on May 10, 2019
Starting May 7, online betting and gaming operators licensed by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) are required to carry out the stricter age and identity verification process now stipulated in the new License Conditions and Codes Practice (LCCP).
Contributory to this change in the LCCP is the UKGC’s report revealing that the number of children with gambling-related problems increased by four times in the past two years. On record, the number of those aged 11 to 16 with compulsive gambling issues went up to as high as 55,000.
UKGC licensees are now required to verify the age, name, and address, among other details, of the player before allowing him/her to make a deposit into his/her player account. This means the three-day grace period given before to players when they would sign up with an online casino is no longer in effect.
As the commission wrote:
“From Tuesday 7 May, if an operator has not yet verified the name, address and date of birth of any customer, they will need to have completed verification before allowing that customer to gamble. Operators will therefore need to prevent any unverified customer from gambling until they have gone through the verification process.”
On the other hand, the UKGC reminds all the concerned that the operators cannot forfeit the funds deposited by their players who never verified their age and identity prior to May 7.
The new changes to the LCCP are a product of the commission’s proposal and responses gathered by the body from the stakeholders including the licensed operators, consumers, third-party identity verification providers, and trade associations. The consultation response document has already been made available online by the UKGC.