Research paper · Verification
Verification Drop-Off: Age and Identity Checks
Verification is the stage where a registered account proves the customer's age and identity. The rules decide when it must happen, so the honest way to improve this stage is clearer instructions and faster support, never fewer checks.
When the rules put verification
The position of this stage in the funnel is set by law, and it differs by market.
| Market | What the published rule says | Effect on the funnel |
|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | Operators "will need to have completed verification before allowing that customer to gamble," from May 7, 2019 | Verification comes before any stake |
| Australia | Since September 29, 2024, online gambling providers "must complete ACIP before creating an online gambling account"; the interim arrangements that allowed some delay ran from September 29, 2023 to September 28, 2024 | Verification is part of registration: an account exists only after identification |
| Ontario | Registrar's Standard 3.1.2.b excludes "An individual under 19 years of age where the gaming site is an iGaming site" | Age checks to 19, not 18 |
| United States | Set state by state by each gaming regulator | Compare a state only with itself |
The British rule also stops operators confiscating funds because a customer did not provide ID in time. Your measurement should therefore track pending accounts honestly instead of treating them as lost.
Outcomes to record
A single pass rate hides the reasons people stop. Record each account's verification outcome as one of the following, with a timestamp for each change:
- Started. The customer began the check or was asked for documents.
- Passed. Identity and age confirmed.
- Failed. The check could not confirm the customer, including under-age results.
- Pending. Waiting on documents or manual review.
- Abandoned. No activity for a period you define in writing, such as 14 days.
The verification step rate is passed divided by registrations in the same cohort. In the site's default model it is 71%, an illustrative input rather than a measured figure. Report failed, pending and abandoned beside it, because each has a different fix.
Time to verify
Two sites with the same pass rate can treat customers very differently if one verifies in minutes and the other in days. Record the time from registration to pass, and report the median and a high percentile such as the 90th. A rising high percentile is often the first sign of a backlog in manual review.
Improving the stage without weakening it
- Explain before registration what will be checked and why, so customers are not surprised.
- Show which documents are accepted, with plain examples, in the customer's market.
- Give a clear route to human help when an automated check fails.
- Tell customers what happens to their funds while a check is pending.
Never test variants that delay checks past the point the rules allow, or that let a customer stake before passing. A test like that would raise the funnel's numbers by breaking the law that defines the stage.
How verification links to deposits
Because Great Britain puts verification before gambling, and Australia puts it before an account is even created, the next stage, the first-time deposit, can only start from passed accounts. Build the first-time deposit rate on passed accounts, not on all registrations, or you will blame the deposit step for losses that happened at verification. The guide to measuring first-time deposits sets this out.
Limits of this paper
In Australia, report registration and verification as one combined stage, because an account that has not passed identification does not exist. Australia's anti-money laundering rules were remade in 2025 (the AML/CTF Rules 2025, F2025L01026), so confirm the current customer due diligence requirements with AUSTRAC before relying on this summary.
This paper summarizes published rules on the dates shown and is not legal advice. It does not cover every state, province or license type, and it uses no operator data.
Questions
Is a pending account a lost customer?
Not yet. Report pending accounts separately and close them as abandoned only after a period you set in writing.
Should under-age failures be removed from the rate?
No. Keep them in the failed count. They show the checks are working, and removing them would overstate the pass rate.
Why does Ontario need its own age setting?
Ontario's iGaming standards set the minimum age at 19, so a check built for 18 would let some under-age customers through.
Sources
Each source was read on October 27, 2026. How we choose sources is set out on the sources and reading list page.
- Gambling Commission, New age and identity verification rules: changes to the LCCP from Tuesday 7 May, published May 3, 2019, updated August 27, 2021.
- AUSTRAC, Strengthened customer identification procedures for online gambling service providers, no date shown.
- AUSTRAC, Exceptions to verifying a customer before providing a designated service, last updated September 30, 2024.
- Federal Register of Legislation (Australia), Explanatory statement: Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules (Online Gambling Services) Amendment Instrument 2023, as made September 26, 2023.
- Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, Gaming site access and minimum age requirements, no date shown.