What KYC Means and Why It Matters

Licensed gambling operators are required to verify a user’s identity, age and location before allowing them to wager. These Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures typically involve collecting government-issued identification, checking public databases to confirm age, and using geolocation to ensure the player is in a jurisdiction where online gambling is legal, among other safeguards. Robust KYC systems are essential because minors cannot legally gamble and because operators must prevent fraud and money‑laundering.

The Pit Boss Standard: Real-World Verification

Think of a brick-and-mortar casino. When a customer approaches the tables, a pit boss doesn’t just glance at an ID — they perform a two-part verification:

1. They inspect the ID itself to confirm it’s authentic and unaltered.
2. They look at the person presenting it to ensure it matches the individual in the photo.

This simple two-step process embodies the standard of care that every gambling operator should meet before accepting a wager. Online casinos have the same legal and ethical obligation, yet many offshore and “social casino” platforms deliberately choose not to meet it.

How Online Platforms Fail the Standard

Instead of authenticating identity, these platforms rely on a perfunctory check box or self-attestation that a user is “over 18.” They forgo even basic ID checks — no document upload, no facial verification, no cross-reference against public records — allowing underage users to gamble anonymously.

The Real Gap: A Matter of Will, Not Technology

A 2002 Federal Trade Commission review of 100 gambling websites found that nearly 20 % had no warning at all about underage gambling, and none implemented mechanisms to block minors [7]. Two decades later, the pattern persists. Birches Health reports that offshore casinos operating outside U.S. jurisdiction have “weak identity-verification systems” and often “skip age verification entirely.” [1] The Sports Betting Alliance has likewise warned that unregulated platforms such as Bovada allow users to sign up by simply filling in a few fields and ticking a box — with no ID check, no age verification, and payments encouraged through cryptocurrency [3]. 

These companies know how to verify identity but deliberately avoid doing so, because requiring real verification slows sign-ups and cuts into revenue.