Can Biometrics Address the UK’s Youth Gambling Problem?

“By implementing a system like Jumio’s which combines document reading with facial recognition, regulators can enable online betting operators to take advantage of readily available technology – ie. smartphones – to confirm the identities and ages of their patrons.”

In the wake of a scandalous new report on youth gambling in the UK, Jumio is highlighting biometric verification as a solution.

Writing on its blog, the company points to a UK Gambling Commission report that asserted that the number of children in the UK with a gambling problem has reached 55,000, with “more children said they had placed a bet in the past week than drank alcohol, smoked or taken drugs.” These kids aren’t all using fake IDs to get into casinos, of course; the trend is the result of the rise of online gambling, and a lack of effective restrictions to minors.

Sophisticated biometric authentication offers a solution, Jumio argues. By implementing a system like Jumio’s which combines document reading with facial recognition, regulators can enable online betting operators to take advantage of readily available technology – ie. smartphones – to confirm the identities and ages of their patrons. And while it’s not too hard for determined gamblers to obtain fake IDs online, Jumio’s system uses extremely sophisticated liveness detection, thanks to the company’s recent partnership with FaceTec.

Jumio says that it is making this case to the UK Gambling Commission, which has opened consultations over potential changes to its licensing conditions and regulatory codes. And given that Jumio isn’t alone in promoting these kinds of biometric solutions – BioID and its partner Pikcio just announced a biometric age verification service aimed at regulating website access in the UK market this week – it’s quite possible that the Commission will seriously consider such proposals.

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(Originally posted on Mobile ID World)