Last week, the Gambling Commission announced an upgrade to their KYC policy for all governed bodies, BBC reports.

Previously, gambling websites were supposed to prove the gamblers’ identity within a timeframe of 72 hours. The new data that the Gambling Commission gathered suggests this might not be good enough.

The new policy that all casinos have to comply with is to identify the player before they can place any bets on the platform. Casinos have time until 7 May to prepare for these regulations.

Why are they doing it?

If you’ve been a gambler for some time, you must know about the existence of numerous self-exclusion programs. They are developed to aid problem gamblers.

A person that believes they can’t handle their habit and might binge spending their money to the last dime can opt-out of a casino for a certain period.

While this sounds great for the creation of a healthy gambling environment, this doesn’t work as well as it was intended. BBC has discovered that players who use the program can still gamble by creating another account.

This is why the Commission wants to require all casinos to verify the customer first before allowing them to gamble. This solution is going to help many people who have trouble staying out of gambling.

Another problem is the children. Allowing people to place bets or play online slots unidentified leaves a loophole for the youth to participate. Besides being illegal, this leads to credit card fraud, as many kids are using their parents’ money to gamble and become addicted to it.

It’s way easier to become a problem gambler as a kid, this is why the law protects them. This is also one of the reasons the Gambling Commission wants to double down on casinos.

A full KYC before being able to do anything on the platform is also helping players get their winnings without much of a deal. Some casinos were reported to ask players for another type of ID to complicate the withdrawal process. New rules change that.

What does this mean for South African gambling

As many online casinos in South Africa comply with the Gambling Commission, they will have to change their platforms or face the consequences. The Commission is not lenient with its subject. Fines of more than a million pounds are common when it comes to dealing with policy breakers.

South African casinos have quite a lot of work to do. It means changing how the platform works within a couple of months. Both policy and the software have to change to comply with the new regulation.

What does this mean for South African gamblers

While most work lies on the shoulders of casinos, your gambling also has to change. You can’t just register and gamble for real money right away under the new rules.

With each casino requiring you to provide all the personal information needed for KYC from the start, it will take some time before you play. It can possibly take a full 24 hours to start gambling.

Despite these minor difficulties, these rules make it safer for everyone.

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