Last Updated on Thursday, 27 June, 2024 at 9:11 am by Andre Camilleri
According to an employee from Malta’s gaming regulator, gambling is becoming a problem for many youths in the country and in casinos based in the island nation. The United Nations also reports that about a third of all youth gamble some or all of their money in hopes of hitting a jackpot or winning it big. With gambling becoming such a big issue, many Malta-based casinos are putting in place measures to stop the youth from playing on their platforms.
Stricter Age Verification Processes By Online Casinos Malta
All Malta-based casinos are required to have strict age verification procedures. These procedures vary, but they often require players to provide their government-issued identification or a passport to create an account or withdraw funds.
Many names on the list of best online casinos in Malta according to online-casinos.com use a combination of age-verification methods to ensure no underage people or youth sign up to their platforms.
The best online casinos in Malta use automated systems for their verification processes. These systems check the information a user provides against public databases to confirm their age and to ensure they are who they say they are. However, these systems have a significant flaw because a user can fool them by providing fake identification or personal information.
The second method is document verification. Malta online casinos typically require users to upload scans of their identification or passports. They then use facial recognition software and artificial intelligence to compare the face on the document to the user’s face. Any discrepancy leads to the automated cancellation of their account.
Lastly, casinos also partner with third-party verification service companies that provide age verification software and systems that are more secure, thorough, and accurate than those a casino can create. They are also a much more cost-effective solution for casinos that verify the ages of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of players per day.
Know Your Customer (KYC) Checks in the Best Online Casinos Malta
Many Malta-based casinos also use KYC checks as an added layer of security to confirm a player’s age and identity. When using these checks, casinos ask for personally identifying information, and it is typical for them to do this when players are signing up at the best online casino Malta or when they are just about to withdraw their winnings.
These checks look for inconsistencies in the information provided to flag potentially problematic accounts. For example, there might be a discrepancy between the phone number and address provided or between the registration and payment method information.
Secondly, these checks flag suspicious activity. Many youths banned by a Malta online casino try to create additional accounts to get around those bans. KYC checks look for multiple accounts created from the same location or device. These signs would indicate someone is trying to bypass age restrictions or that they have already been banned and are trying to create a new account.
Payment Checks and Restrictions to Curb Youth Gambling
Casinos can do a lot with the payment information they collect to check whether a user is a minor and to stop them from playing on their platforms. Many online casinos Malta ban payment methods that may be easily accessible to minors, like prepaid cards. Even when they allow some methods that may be accessible to this demographic, they only do so for those that require a credit or debit card to fund.
Casinos can also check spending habits to see if a user is a minor. Small, frequent deposits could indicate that someone does not want to draw attention to themselves. Whether that is an adult or a child, it is worth taking a second look to ensure it is not the latter.
Lastly, the best online casino in Malta will randomly request additional verification if the source of funds is suspicious.
The Best Online Casinos Malta Sometimes Employ Geo-blocking
The internet has allowed companies many more capabilities than they had in the past, the first being the ability to know where their website visitors are from. Online casinos in Malta take advantage of these capabilities to block access to their casinos in countries where there is a problem with youth gambling or gambling is illegal.
The main problem with this is that some tech-savvy minors know that using a VPN allows them to mask their location so it seems as though they are located in a different country or region. Fortunately, casinos can flag the use of VPNs to revoke access for these players and make Malta casinos safer according to Malta Business Weekly.
They can also check their records to see if they match. For example, a player supposedly located in South Africa should not be able to provide a UK address and credit card as proof of identification and age at an online casino Malta. That should raise huge red flags and require additional checks and verifications.
Sadly, online gambling remains very attractive to young people, and according to the Guardian, 28% of young people have gambled. The good news is that many online casinos in Malta now have measures to stop underage people from joining their platforms. However, they need to do more as younger people get smarter and find clever ways to circumvent their age verification checks and systems.
Brought to you by Kevin Morales
