The U.K.’s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has achieved record compliance for age verification checks, the independent compliance auditor Serve Legal reported May 29.
Serve Legal reported that bookmakers in the BGC had a 91.4 percentage verification pass rate with casinos achieving a 98 percent pass rate.
That’s 30 percent more than the rate in 2009, when the auditor began working with the gaming sector.
Wes Himes, executive director for standards and innovation for BGC, commented that the council and members were “incredibly proud” and added, “I am hugely grateful to Serve Legal for their work over the last 15 years, who have been instrumental in this change. Serve Legal, alongside our members and their dedicated staff, have led the charge in raising standards and setting a new benchmark for excellence.”
The sector is now the leading sector in the country for age verification compliance. Its compliance rates are 10-15 percent higher than the alcohol and lottery sectors, reported Serve Legal.
Himes said that the sector’s “vital economic role” goes in tandem with high standards. “We are delivering that, which should be welcome news to customers and communities across the country. Our work to raise standards goes on, and I expect these compliance rates to continue improving across the land-based betting and gaming sector.”
The industry has zero tolerance for underage gambling, added Himes. Games that children do gamble on are legal arcade games, and playing cards, not games that involve BGC members.
The policies that the council is enforcing include increasing the checking age from “Think 21” to “Think 25” requiring anyone who looks under 25 to present an ID.
The Council also funds a gambling harm prevention program for young people.
