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Casinos bet on Experian ID verification
Taking the gamble out of underage risks

By Julian Goldsmith

Published: Wednesday 11 June 2008

Three UK casino groups have signed up to an age ID verification service from Experian to comply with gambling regulations.

Authenticate Pro is being used by Genting Stanley, Grosvenor Casinos and London Clubs Management to make sure punters are of legal age when they enter their establishments.

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The service searches and cross-references customer information from 12 data sources, by name, address or date of birth. It produces a result within three to 10 seconds, according to Genting Stanley compliance director Theo Dawson - as much time as it takes the cashier to remind the customer of the casino's rules and facilities.

Once the check is made, the system will advise the cashier of a green, amber or red result, based on the level of verification obtained. Dawson said if the check came up amber or red, it was up to the manager to make a decision about whether the punter was who they claimed to be.

The system is integrated into the standard casino office membership system, Progressive Gaming International.

The move is in line with gambling law which came into force last year, which while opening up the opportunity for establishing gambling premises also tightens rules on where gambling can take place and who may take part.

Dawson said: "There are two alternatives to this method, which don't really solve the problem quite as well. We could ask for ID documents but these are not naturally carried by people in the UK. Or, we could ask for ID only when the customer reaches the £1,000 threshold [£1,000 below the current limit of £2,000 when the regulations state ID must be obtained]. If we do that and the customer can't produce satisfactory ID, we have the onerous task of preventing them from gambling any further."

Dawson said information is retained securely in accordance with the Data Protection Act to demonstrate to gambling regulators that the gambling law is being observed.

Genting Stanley rolled the system out to its 46 casinos at the end of March.

Dawson said: "The system means that we can get customers through the doors more easily than before the 2007 regulations came into force."