Inside the World of Age Verification

With recent rulings in Kentucky, Colorado, and Pennsylvania helping to clear the air on the legality of poker in the United States, age verification may soon take center stage. The process of validating someone’s age prior to allowing them to play on a major online poker room is a critical part of the sign-up process. Poker News Daily sat down with John Aristotle Phillips, Chief Executive Officer of Aristotle, to learn more about what the process entails.

Some of the world’s largest internet gambling sites use Aristotle’s Integrity software suite to help guide them through the process of certifying consumers’ ages. Phillips told Poker News Daily, “They are, generally speaking, the more responsible sites who are in it for the long-run and view the two second process of verifying age as being a necessity. The process costs less than $1 per person and it only has to happen once. We guarantee the results.” Integrity matches driver’s licenses and government-issued identification, among other criteria, and works in 157 countries around the world.

So how does Aristotle match up against its competition? Phillips explained, “The main reason we win business is because we have global coverage. There are companies that work in the United Kingdom or the United States, but when it comes to a one stop solution, Integrity is the only place to go. Business factors also include cost and ease of the customer being able to get through.” Phillips explained that a high match rate is also of the utmost importance. If a customer is unfairly rejected, then the Integrity service loses its validity.

Ironically, the very lawmakers in the United States who have stated that internet gambling by underage Americans is prevalent also use Integrity and other services provided by Aristotle. Phillips explained, “Aristotle has many members of Congress, both Democratic and Republican, as clients. They use it to comply with the rules of the Federal Elections Commission.” Aristotle also offers Global-Locate to government users, which allows searching for an address, phone number, or even gender of any individual anywhere in the world.

Protecting underage children from gambling online is beneficial for a company’s goodwill. When the company is publicly traded, as is the case with firms like Party Gaming or 888, keeping children out of online poker rooms carries an even greater significance. Phillips revealed, “There are a growing number of companies that are determined to comply to the extent that they can with regards to protecting children from playing. It’s very important to get it right. Failing to do so has disproportionate consequences in the legal and public relations worlds.”

Despite the presence of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in the United States, companies that cater to the U.S. market are still focused on providing top-notch age verification for their customers. Phillips commented, “There are an increasing number of companies that are committed not to take wagers from children, even if they disagree with the law regarding the ban.”

Age verification is not Aristotle’s only core business. It also operates an extensive self-exclusion list, part of the company’s “one stop shop” for businesses. Should a person whose name appears on the list attempt to sign up for an online poker room, Aristotle’s software will deny the account. The company is also in talks with the National Council on Problem Gaming to assist with the treatment of those who may sign up for the self-exclusion list. When consumers add their names to it, they can do so for a time period ranging from one year to a lifetime exclusion from participating internet gambling sites. Requests for removal take a minimum of seven days to process.

Visit Aristotle’s Integrity age verification for more information. A special thanks from all of us here at Poker News Daily to John Aristotle Phillips for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk with us.