UKGC’s New ID Verification Rules Come into Force

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) on Wednesday issued an updated to get all of the industry stakeholders up to speed with the new rules on online age and identity verification that came into effect on Tuesday, May 7. In the update, the gambling commission further reminded everyone that it is enforcing the new rules to ensure that the online operators ‘verify customer age and identity details quickly and robustly’. These changes will apply to betting and gaming companies as well as some of the country’s lottery operators.

“All affected operators are expected to comply with the new LCCP. This means that 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,” the commission stated.

The most notable change in this regard is the fact that the gaming operators will now be required to verify the ages of their customers before they are allowed to make any deposits onto their online casino accounts. Previously, players were allowed to make deposits as the operator performed age verification checks which could take as much as 72 hours – obviously, this grace period was exploited by underage gamblers.

“Operators will, therefore, need to prevent any unverified customer from gambling until they have gone through the verification process,” the UKGC adds in its update.

In addition to the age verification checks, the operators will also have to check whether the names and addresses of the new gamblers match those of people who have previously self-excluded themselves from gambling.

While it may seem that the new rules are only out to crack down on gambling malpractices, some of them are actually meant to make everything much easier for both the gamblers and the casino operators. For instance, some of the rules are designed to ensure that both the new and the existing online casino patrons are able to easily withdraw funds from their online gambling accounts since the age and identify verification process will have been completed.

The New National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms

In addition to the rules that took effect on May 7, the UK Gambling Commission also recently announced a new framework that is meant to provide critical insight into the range of harms that young people in the country can experience. With that information, the commission and other relevant authorities will be able to concentrate the National Strategy’s prevention and education initiatives to the areas where they are most needed and will have the most impact.

The UKGC worked and collaborated with a number of professionals, industry experts, and many young people through a series of interviews, workshops, and focus groups which makes it one of the most comprehensive initiatives for responsible gambling in the United Kingdom. Its initial implementation will just be the starting point with more improvements and developments expected to follow as the commission continues to learn about the industry.