EGBA supports the adoption of an EU e-ID
The European Commission has recently announced their plans for a European digital identity. Essentially, this would be an electronic identity wallet (e-ID) that would allow European citizens to access public and private services online.
EGBA backing
The proposal was supported by the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA). They believe that the service would be useful for implementing a common approach to identity verification for many online sectors in Europe, including online gambling. Now that sports and esports betting in Germany is becoming federalised and the betting industry is growing, a common verification service would be useful.
The benefits of the service
The EGBA laid out the benefits that an e-ID could bring to the online betting industry:
- Customers
The service will provide a reliable method for online betting customers to verify their identity in every EU country. By standardising it across the European Union, customers could also be secure in the knowledge that the information they are sharing will be regulated and safe. That means that the information you provide at Betway esports betting would be the same if you decide to switch to Unikrn.
- Operators
This would primarily be a benefit in the reduction of costs when it comes to administrative and compliance spending. A standardised identity verification method could streamline their service in the EU by removing the different national Know-Your-Customer requirements, such as age verification. This would be a huge boon for betting and gambling operators that operate internationally.
- Regulators
It would certainly make regulators’ jobs a lot easier. If there was a single easily verifiable way to sign up for a betting or gambling site that could only be used by a single person, this could reduce issues. It could also help the EU fight against criminal and fraudulent activity on an international scale.
Comment from the European Gaming and Betting Association
Ekaterina Hartmann, the Director of the EGBA spoke about the new proposal and the benefits it could bring to the online betting and gambling industry:
“An ever-increasing number of Europeans are using online services and a common electronic identification method would help them to access online services in a practical, secure way which safeguards their data. We welcome the proposal for a Europe-wide e-ID, which would have significant positive impacts on the way KYC is conducted in Europe’s online gambling sector and help establish more common approaches to identity verification. An EU e-ID would, for example, help strengthen existing processes to prevent minors from accessing online gambling and to fight fraud and money laundering.”
e-ID and the future of online betting
According to the European Commission, the use of a European e-ID could facilitate the generation of around 9.6 billion euros in benefits for the EU economy as well as generate up to 27,000 jobs over a five-year period.
Besides the economic benefits of the ID, it could also help the online betting industry by removing one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the way of customer growth. I know I have often been wary of sending a website my personal information, but an e-ID removes that issue because I could be certain that my info is secure.
