A central authority will be created in Saxony-Anhalt to monitor all aspects of online gaming, but this is expected to take until the end of 2022 to set up. Age verification has been a hot topic in Germany since an investigation by the Bavarian Consumer Centre highlighted the ease at which under-18s could access five major online gambling sites. The Netherlands’ gambling regulatory authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has announced that as of 1 January it will add age verification as a priority criteria in its approach to online gambling. For that reason, most online games require age verification prior to playing and many even have set age limits. At the moment, however, this age verification merely depends on the veracity of the player, who is simply required to enter their birthdate.

The progress of legalising online gaming across Germany has been patchy, but there was a breakthrough in March when the latest treaty was approved by the German heads of state.

It acts as a compromise between states wanting the market to be open and those wanting gambling to be more restricted. This treaty, known as GlüNeuRStV, will open up the online market to all products and verticals, specifically poker and virtual slots, with the legislation set to come into force on July 1, 2021.

It will therefore significantly liberalise the market, subject to strict conditions concerning player protection. Online sports betting is already permitted and is largely unaffected by these developments as the legal basis for sports betting falls under the current treaty, which came into effect on January 1, 2020.

The supervision of GlüNeuRStV will be coordinated by the 16 German Länder, with the Hessian Regional Council of Darmstadt currently responsible for overseeing licensed online sports betting providers. A central authority will be created in Saxony-Anhalt to monitor all aspects of online gaming, but this is expected to take until the end of 2022 to set up.

Age verification has been a hot topic in Germany since an investigation by the Bavarian Consumer Centre highlighted the ease at which under-18s could access five major online gambling sites.

The research was conducted in the autumn of 2019 and demonstrated that “minors can easily register with the wrong date of birth” and thereby “get unhindered access to sports betting and gambling on the internet.”

AgeChecked is one of the companies offering German gaming operators and affiliates a compliant, secure verification and authentication service. Its service can swiftly and accurately confirm that the player is over the age of 18, ensuring a smooth onboarding process to verify.

For the full onboarding journey, it offers full KYC and bank checks to confirm the details of the players and authenticate individuals by confirming their access to a personal bank account. A further monitoring service can assure that the player is adhering to the new regulations of only being able to use one bank account per operator.

The risks of failure to demonstrate a system of age and identity verification are significant. It will likely result in a licence application being rejected. For current operators in the German market, it could lead to the revocation of their licence and fines of up to €500,000.

So, with commercial impact and significant reputational damage associated with under-age gambling, it makes sense for operators to make age verification and player authentication the highest priority.

The Gambling Commissionhas announced new rules that strengthen the requirements for online gambling operators to verify the age and identity of their customers, with these changes taking effect from 7th May 2019.

The new rules will ensure operators verify customers’ age and identity details faster, preventing underage gambling and protect vulnerable players.

Under the current guidelines, online gambling operators can take up to 72 hours to carry out age verification checks. Unverified users may gamble during this time period but cannot withdraw any winnings until after their age is verified, which may require further proof of identity checks.

With the new changes, operators must verify the age of the player before allowing access to their site. Unverified users won’t be able to deposit any funds into their account, use any free-to-play games, or receive free bets or bonuses upon registering. These changes mean a reduction in time to prove identityis required in order to maintain a frictionless onboarding journey, allowing customers the fastest possible access to paid services.

The new legislation also requires licencees who offer online channels to:

• Verify, as a minimum, the name, address and date of birth of a customer before allowing them to gamble or deposit funds;
• Ask for any additional verification information promptly;
• Inform customers, before they can deposit funds, of:

a. the types of identity documents or other information that might be required;
b. the circumstances in which the information might be required;
c. how it should be supplied to the licensee

• Take reasonable steps to ensure that information on their customers’ identities remains accurate.

Experian’s extensive identity and fraud solutionshave the capabilities required to verify the age of a consumer quickly and seamlessly, helping you to adhere to incoming legislation, selling your products to customers of the appropriate age, all without disrupting the onboarding journey for genuine customers.

Online Gambling Age Verification Status

The new rules come into operation on 7 May and will mean stricter age verification – are you prepared?

Online Gambling Age Verification Sites

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