TLDR
- Jumio’s 2026 Online Identity Study surveyed 8,003 adults across four countries about online age verification
- 81% of respondents worry about minors accessing age-gated content, but many resist sharing full personal data
- Digital ID technology lets users prove eligibility without handing over complete personal details
- Privacy groups including the ACLU warn digital ID systems could track users or be revoked by governments
- Gambling operators like DraftKings and Novig already use identity verification tools to meet legal requirements
Online gambling operators are preparing for their busiest stretch of the year as the NFL season begins. Along with chasing new customers, companies must confirm those sign-ups are old enough to gamble legally.
Failing to verify age can lead to fines. Ontario regulators recently fined casino operator Betty $120,000 for age verification failures.
DraftKings said it has “zero tolerance for underage access.” The company verifies every customer’s identity and age before allowing account creation, using systems similar to those used by banks and government agencies.
What Consumers Want From Age Verification
New data from Jumio’s fifth annual Online Identity Study offers insight into consumer attitudes. The company surveyed 8,003 adults in the US, UK, Mexico, and Singapore across ten online industries, including gambling and banking.
Most respondents, 81%, said they worry about minors accessing age-restricted content online. They see protecting minors as a shared job between parents, platforms, and government agencies.
About 75% said they are willing to verify their age online. But 65% would rather verify once and reuse that verification across platforms.
Roughly a third of respondents said they would avoid a platform entirely if asked to share personal data just to prove their age. Jumio’s Philipp Pointner said this shows people accept identity checks when needed, but do not want to give away full identity details every time.
How Digital ID Technology Works
Older verification methods relied on security questions, like naming a first car or a mother’s maiden name. Newer systems combine data analytics with ID document checks.
Many companies now start with less invasive methods first. Age estimation tools analyze a photo to guess a person’s age before requesting further proof.
Pointner said these tools have become highly accurate. Full ID checks are only used when someone’s estimated age falls close to a legal limit.
Digital ID takes a person’s identification information and moves it into a digital format. In the US, about 20 states plus Puerto Rico now offer mobile driver’s licenses.
Some states use their own systems, like New York’s MiD App. Others rely on digital wallets from Apple, Google, or Samsung.
One benefit of digital ID is selective disclosure. This lets users share only what a specific transaction requires instead of their full personal profile.
Jumio built a reusable digital identity tool called selfie.DONE. Once a customer verifies their identity with one company, they can share that verification with another company using only a selfie, as long as both use Jumio’s system.
Privacy Concerns Remain
Civil liberties groups have raised concerns about digital ID systems. Last year, more than 80 organizations led by the ACLU called for stronger privacy protections in digital identity systems.
ACLU policy analyst Jay Stanley said tracking every time someone uses a digital license could create serious risks. He said privacy protections need to be built into these systems from the start, not added later.
Pointner acknowledged these concerns are valid. He said some countries’ systems, like Brazil’s QR code license, allow the government to track exactly where and when someone scans their ID.
The European Union’s digital ID does not use this kind of tracking. Pointner said the outcome depends entirely on how each country builds its system.
Governments could also revoke a digital ID entirely, cutting off someone’s access to services. Despite these risks, Pointner said people generally choose convenience over privacy.
Gambling Industry Applications
Gambling companies have a strong interest in verifying full customer identities. They face added pressure from fraud, bonus abuse, and money laundering concerns.
Prediction market platform Novig recently introduced its own responsible trading framework. Unlike many prediction markets that accept users at 18, Novig requires users to be 21.
Novig co-founder Jacob Fortinsky said the company verifies each member’s name, birth date, address, phone number, and Social Security number during onboarding. Suspicious cases receive additional review, sometimes including a government-issued ID request.
Jumio has avoided working with prediction markets so far due to unclear legal rules in that space. Pointner said gambling operators are likely to keep exploring digital ID options as competition in the industry grows.
