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Digital IDs May Offer Gamblers Less Friction, More Security — A Game Changer for Operators Battling for Customers

By jili tutorial · September 3, 2026

Digital IDs May Offer Gamblers Less Friction, More Security — A Game Changer for Operators Battling for Customers

Online consumers increasingly expect high-assurance age verification with minimal security risk. Under the right circumstances, emerging digital ID technology could allow gambling operators to onboard new customers with less friction and greater security. As the 2026 NFL season kicks off next week, North American gambling operators are preparing for their busiest period of the year. Alongside efforts to attract new customers, operators have a strong incentive to ensure those sign-ups meet legal age requirements and address other compliance concerns.

At minimum, failing to enforce age gates effectively can lead to regulatory fines. This was recently demonstrated when the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) imposed a $120,000 fine on casino operator Betty for age verification failures. For more serious or repeated violations, a regulated operator risks having its license suspended or revoked. It’s no surprise that gambling operators take age verification seriously. In an email to Gambling Insider, a DraftKings spokesperson stated that the company has “zero tolerance for underage access. We do not want minors using our platform. DraftKings verifies every customer’s identity and age before allowing anyone to create an account, employing advanced technology and the same identity and age verification systems used by banks and government agencies.”

According to new data from Jumio’s 5th Annual Online Identity Study, most consumers also expect effective yet proportionate online age assurance.

Consumers Seek Balance of Protection and Privacy

Jumio surveyed 8,003 adult consumers across four countries (the US, UK, Mexico, and Singapore) and 10 online industries, including banking, online gambling, and government services. According to the AI-powered identity intelligence provider’s full 2026 report, 81% of respondents said they are concerned about minors accessing age-gated online material. Most believe protecting minors online is a shared responsibility between parents (71%), government agencies (22%), marketplaces (21%), and individual platforms (19%). However, participants also want high-assurance verification without unnecessary data risks. About 75% are willing to verify their age online to prevent minors from accessing adult products and platforms, but 65% would prefer to verify their age once and reuse that verification. Similarly, 67% would be more comfortable sharing “proof of eligibility” rather than full personal details. Still, nearly one-third of all respondents (33%) would “avoid a platform entirely” if asked to prove their age with personal data.

Jumio’s Chief of Digital Identity, Philipp Pointner, says this finding reflects the tension between privacy expectations and consumer protections. “People are generally understanding of identity verification where there is a need,” Pointner told Gambling Insider. He added, “What that stat says is that people are not okay with giving away their full identity in every circumstance.”

Traditional Identity Verification Methods Are Outdated

Historically, when an online provider needed to verify a customer’s identity, it involved answering a series of questions. If you’re old enough, you might remember answering prompts like these for online banking: What’s your mother’s maiden name? What’s your favorite movie? What was the make and model of your first car? Such steps are becoming increasingly rare, making way for the modern approach to identity verification used by Jumio and its competitors. Typically, this method combines data and identity analytics with ID checks.

When it comes to regulated gambling, protecting minors is something lawmakers and society are extremely sensitive to, said Pointner—and rightly so. But for gambling operators who also need to address fraud and other issues, minimizing onboarding friction is equally important. Operators, Pointner explained, want a process that is straightforward for the end user. Otherwise, customers may need to rely on care centers to help them navigate, creating additional costs.

How Companies Are Minimizing Invasiveness

Pointner noted that many online industries have largely settled on starting with the least invasive verification methods. Checking the ID document is the last resort. This may mean starting with biometric technologies like age estimation, which guesses a user’s age based on a photo. These tools have become “extremely sophisticated,” Pointner observed. “I’m 46, our algorithm will say I’m 46. It’s really surprising how accurate these things are.” As long as the estimate is comfortably above or below the age limit, verification is complete. Further proof is needed only when the estimate is too close to the legal threshold. The closer the reading is to the actual line, the more companies must consider additional verification measures, Pointner said. That’s where online industries—including gambling companies that typically require more in-depth vetting—are starting to turn to digital identity.

Faster, Safer, and More Private Customer Onboarding

Digital identity, or digital ID, is technology that brings an individual’s identification from the physical world into the digital realm. As the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) explains, a digital ID is an “electronic representation of personally identifying information (PII).” One example of a digital ID in the US is the mobile driver’s license (mDL). About 20 states, plus Puerto Rico, currently offer digital licenses. Some rely on their own digital ID technology, like New York’s MiD App. Others use passport-based digital IDs available through Clear ID or Apple, Google, or Samsung wallets.

The Digital ID and Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC) notes that one benefit of digital ID is selective disclosure. This allows users to share only the information required for a specific transaction—nothing more. Being able to choose which attributes to share, Pointner said, offers a “huge benefit.”

Gambling as an Ideal Use Case for Digital Identity

Nevertheless, Pointner emphasized that the gambling sector has a “huge interest” in understanding a customer’s full identity, largely because it must combat issues including fraud, bonus abuse, and money laundering. To meet these needs while minimizing friction, companies like Jumio have developed reusable digital identities. For Jumio, this is a technology called Selfie.DONE, powered by its AI fraud intelligence network, Identity Graph. Pointner said it is particularly relevant to the gambling world, where customers often have accounts with several operators.

The technology works like this: Jumio fully verifies a customer with one company; then, when that customer tries to onboard with another platform, they can choose to share that previous verification with the new platform. At that point, all they need to do to confirm their identity is share a selfie. The catch is that both companies must be Jumio clients. For the end user, Pointner noted, the ease of use is incredibly convenient, including the way it works across industries. “Being able to just say, ‘yeah, I’m just using my face to unlock the sharing of the data’ is a huge advantage,” said Pointner. The gambling space, he added, offers “one of the best use cases for digital identity, but it has to be done right.”

Digital ID May Pose Risks to Civil Liberties

Of course, nothing is without its drawbacks, and digital ID is no exception. Privacy and civil liberties groups in the US and beyond have raised alarms about how digital IDs are implemented. Of particular concern are digital identity systems that “phone home” to the issuer whenever a user verifies their identity. Last year, over 80 organizations, led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), issued a statement calling for digital identity systems to prioritize privacy. In the accompanying press release, the ACLU stressed that digital identity systems must “make use of all available privacy technologies and architectures.” Anything less could create serious threats to civil liberties. Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology project, wrote: “Creating a system through which the government can track us any time we use our driver’s license is an Orwellian nightmare. There is a broad consensus among those who work, think, and innovate in the digital identity space that privacy needs to be built into any digital identity system. This is not a partisan issue and it’s one states must act on before it’s too late.”

Consumers Often Prioritize Convenience Over Privacy

Pointner told Gambling Insider that those tracking concerns are valid. Physical government-issued documents used to be hard to track, but with digital identities that are constructed to always call home, that changes, he added. For example, in Brazil, where QR code technology is used, the government knows exactly where you scan the barcode. That data could be used to track an individual’s movements. Conversely, the convenience of streamlined verification may persuade many consumers to accept these trade-offs—a dynamic that operators and regulators must carefully navigate.