Contents

• What is Age Verification, and Why Is It Important for Businesses Globally?
• Top 5 Industries Where Age Verification is Required and Why?
• Age Verification Regulations worldwide
• Benefits of Complying with Age Verification Solutions
• Choose IDMERIT for Age Verification

What is Age Verification, and Why Is It Important for Businesses Globally?

Age verification is a process that confirms an individual’s age before granting access to age-restricted products, services, or content. This practice has gained immense importance for businesses globally due to the rising concerns surrounding underage access to certain goods and services. Adequate age verification not only safeguards businesses from legal consequences but also contributes to online transactions’ overall security and integrity.

Age verification Companies have evolved into indispensable tools for various sectors, from the financial industry to online retailers and social media platforms. Companies specialising in age verification software play a crucial role in developing and deploying technologies that accurately authenticate user ages. These solutions contribute to regulatory compliance and serve as a shield against potential legal consequences, especially in industries where age restrictions are enforced.

Top 5 Industries Where Age Verification is Required and Why?

In the digital era, age verification is crucial for many industries, ensuring responsible and lawful engagement with their products and services. The top five sectors where age verification is required include:

• Online gaming and gambling
• Alcohol and tobacco sales
• Adult content platforms
• Pharmaceuticals
• Financial services industry

1. Online Gaming and Gambling: Age verification solutions ensure a legal age for online gaming and gambling, preventing minors from engaging in underage activities.
2. Alcohol and Tobacco Sales: Age verification solutions ensure legal compliance by verifying customer age before purchasing alcohol or tobacco products online, thereby preventing underage access.
3. Adult Content Platforms: Age verification solutions ensure explicit content is accessible only to adults, complying with legal requirements and industry standards and preventing minors from viewing inappropriate material.
4. Pharmaceuticals: Age verification is crucial for online pharmaceutical sales, particularly those with age restrictions or prescription requirements, to prevent unauthorised access to certain medications.
5. Financial Services Industry: Age verification is a crucial aspect of identity verification in the financial services industry, enhancing security and preventing fraudsters from using stolen or fake identities.

Age Verification Regulations worldwide

Businesses must prioritise efficient age verification for regulatory adherence and protection of vulnerable populations.

• United States
  The US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) mandates digital platforms to obtain parental consent before collecting data from children under 13, ensuring their privacy.
• European Union
  The European Union’s Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and the UK’s Online Safety Bill impact age verification on internet platforms. The Pan-European Games Information (PEGI) scheme ensures compliance with age-related content restrictions. The DSA may require websites to implement effective age verification procedures.
• United Kingdom
  The UK has enacted the Online Safety Bill, requiring digital platforms to use age verification measures to protect children and teenagers from inappropriate online content. The legislation, approved by the House of Lords, includes mandatory checks for accessing adult websites and imposes penalties for non-compliance.
• Australia
  The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) introduced age verification guidelines in 2008 to protect minors from inappropriate content, extending to all Australian media and domestic television stations.
• Denmark
  Act No. 426 of May 18, 2016, renders it illegal to sell drugs, narcotics, cigarettes, alcohol, etc., to anyone under the age of 18.
• Germany
  The Protection of Young Persons Act restricts access to games, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco, setting age limits. It encourages platforms to implement age verification mechanisms to create a safer online environment for children. COPPA, DSA, and the Online Safety Bill aim to prioritise teenagers through appropriate age verification systems.

Benefits of Complying with Age Verification Solutions

The benefits of complying with age verification solutions are multifold.

1. It helps businesses build customer trust by demonstrating a commitment to responsible practices.
2. Compliance with age verification regulations protects businesses from legal repercussions and potential fines for providing minors with age-restricted products or services.
3. It contributes to a safer online environment by preventing underage individuals from accessing inappropriate content or engaging in activities meant for adults.

Choose IDMERIT for Age Verification

In conclusion, as businesses continue to operate in the digital realm, ensuring users and legal engagement becomes paramount. Among the various identity verification providers in the market, IDMERIT stands out as a trusted and reliable solution for age verification.

IDMERIT’s age verification services are designed to be user-friendly and seamlessly integrated into existing business processes. By choosing IDMERIT, businesses can benefit from a scalable and customizable age verification solution that aligns with their specific requirements.

Should you be keen on exploring how IDMERIT can support you in establishing their age verification solutions, feel free to contact us for a direct word with our product team. We’re available to engage in a conversation with you!

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Complying with the latest governmental rules and regulations is often a major challenge for online bookmakers and gambling websites. Gaming websites need to find a narrow middle ground in order to balance their corporate interests with governmental regulations. Too much security during the sign-up phase and customers are likely to look elsewhere for their needs. Too little security, however, and businesses can fall foul of the law, or worse, be targeted by fraudsters.

New requirements for Online Gaming in the US, as a part of the Customer Identification Program (CIP) and the new Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) rules coming into force this year in May, use age verification as part of a triple-lock system.

A fully functional, robust age verification system can help providers establish a fast-growing user base, driving a rise in number of accounts. A scrutinized registration process can ensure that only players who are above the legal age are registered. Hence, problematic legal issues involving minors can be avoided at the root, saving time, money and rapport. Furthermore, demonstrations of proper compliance and due diligence can enormously boost a company’s reputation in the eyes of both the public and regulators.

Much as in the world of cryptocurrencies, manifesting a strong approach towards security and proper conduct enormously improves the end-user experience for companies. Furthermore, a well-managed and policed approach to security – of which proper age verification policy form an inexpensive and robust part, provide part of a protocol that allows a simple approach to change management. Identity verification platforms like IDMERIT provide a robust age verification module is perhaps the easiest security module to implement, is an additional bonus. This also removes the need to include them in regular security reviews, as they should be considered almost an automatic feature of any gaming site’s security protocols.

Coupled to the obvious benefits brought by lower incidence of fraud, age verification allows for easier identification checks – especially when bundled with other identity information. The commonplace nature of age verification checks, an almost every day encounter for online users, is also considered non-obtrusive, ultimately increasing customer loyalty.

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