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90% of British betting shops pass ‘secret shopper’ age verification test

| By Robert Fletcher
Betting shops in Great Britain performed better than supermarkets or petrol stations when it came to carrying out age verification checks on customers, as 90% of shops were found to pass its test.
Tabcorp Victoria

The study from age verification analyst Serve Legal saw Serve conduct spot checks designed to test whether ‘secret shoppers’ were asked to prove their age at any point during their visit. If a customer was asked to provide identification, the shop would score a pass.

Of those betting shops that were included in the study, 90% passed the test, compared to 83% of convenience stores, 77% of supermarkets and 76% of petrol forecourts.

Serve Legal added that when the tests were first introduced, 67% of betting shops asked the secret shopper for identification.

Michael Dugher, chief executive of British standards body the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), welcomed the results and praised betting shops for their “robust” approach to age verification checks.

“By any measure, age verification standards have improved since they were first introduced and once again betting shops are leading the retail sector in terms of compliance,” Dugher said.

“I want to pay tribute to betting shop staff who, like other retailers, have endured a very challenging year of closures, restrictions and fast-changing Covid-19 guidance. Despite those pressures, they have remained absolutely focussed on ensuring the safety of customers and the protection of young people.”

Dugher added that online operators are also taking similar measures when carrying out age verification checks with customers, but called on social media channels to do more to help prevent underage gambling.  

“The work we are doing in betting shops is also mirrored in the actions we are taking online, including new tools to prevent under-18s seeing betting adverts and new age verification checks on digital platforms such as YouTube,” Dugher said.

“There’s more to be done and we encourage social media platforms to do more. We also need to ensure that customers continue to stay in the regulated industry – and not gamble with the unsafe, unregulated black market, where there are no checks or protections.”

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