Why reliable identity verification should matter for the online gaming industry

Online gaming industry is growing, and data says there will be 820 million online gamers in 2023*, that's an increase of over 26 percent compared to 2018. One of the key challenges that industry faces is allowing verified, age appropriate users to indulge into online gaming and protect underage users from accessing age restricted content.

Regulatory authorities in many countries are addressing this issue intensively and acting quickly. Regulations and enforcement around age-restricted commerce are not always simple and are continuously changing to keep up with technology advancements. It is crucial for service and content providers to have a reliable age verification process in place to guarantee that underage users are not using age-restricted content in online gaming and gambling apps. Businesses are both legally and ethically responsible for making sure they are not onboarding minors. In many countries, regulations have defined that businesses are liable in case they do allow underage users.

The increasing popularity surrounding dating and online gaming apps proves that more people will be using those products and services online. With that, the need for having an onboarding process that is fast and compliant in many countries and geographies arouses.

Is your company ready for the new regulations?

The online gaming industry in Europe is growing, and it is expected to generate up to €180 billion revenue by 2021**. Companies willing to be part of this growth need to comply with strict age verification requirements to ensure maximum security, fraud detection and age verification, especially when operating online.

The UK Gambling Commission, for instance, set out new regulations this year in May that further tightens online gambling for a safer and fairer market. UK AML regulations allow automated identity verification procedures for online gamers.

As for Germany, identification and verification rules are prescribed under the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, which includes operators of games. Under the Fifth EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive, online gaming service providers need to follow video identification regulations for AML and KYC obligations.

Meanwhile, In Switzerland, FINMA allows both online video and automated verification to be used to verify the age of players.

Onboarding could not be simpler

Many verification platforms enable businesses in the online gaming industry to comply with the different country regulations when it comes to age verification. Dependong on country, Video based product (online video identification) and Automated verification products (online automated verification with biometrics), gaming companies can comply with different regulations. 

*Statista report

 **The Munich Eye - https://themunicheye.com/2019-and-beyond-predicting-the-future-of-german-gaming-industry-3724