The e-gaming industry is gradually becoming the nerve center of cybercrime against minors. With a growing influx of predators as well as young children on the platform, online age verification systems are becoming increasingly necessary to be implemented. The right legal regulations along with the right online age verifiers can be great for protecting minors online.
To learn more about age identification solutions, keep reading.
The online gaming industry is a rapidly growing industry. In just a few years, the industry has seen unexpected growth and elevation that not many till date have experienced. From the launch of the first internet game in 1978 to a $365.60 billion worth in 2023 the industry has come a long way.
However, thanks to its fast-paced growth, the e-gaming domain has also, naturally, become very crowded, and as of right now, about 3.2 billion people are engaged within the industry.
Crowds and crime go hand-in-hand, and lately, we’ve been seeing much horrifying news coming from the gaming world.
Why the e-Gaming Industry Needs Online Age Verification Systems:
As just discussed, the online gaming industry has been harboring a lot of cybercrime. No one knows who is sitting behind the computer screen, and this anonymity makes the industry extremely susceptible to crime. Moreover, an extreme lack of regulations within the industry makes it even more vulnerable to crimes such as money laundering, fraud, identity theft, and minor exploitation.
While there are a multitude of avoidable crimes, online age verifiers can be great for curbing minor exploitation within the digital world.
How a Lack of Online Age Verification Systems Has Been Enabling Child Exploitation Within the E-Gaming Industry
An increasing industry boom coupled with a massive influx of children within the e-gaming industry during COVID-19 lockdowns led to a celebratory era for those who were already hunting for kids on the internet. The prevalence of child groomers was already well-known by the world, but there were no specific regulatory laws to verify customer age through online age verification systems in the e-gaming industry to protect children.
Besides child groomers, the industry is also filled with harmful PG-rated content which includes, but isn’t limited to, graphic images and obscene language. The industry is currently one of the easiest ways for predators to access children.
Why Online Age Verifiers are Necessary And How They Work
While there are many age verification methods that can be applied in order to identify age online, regulated online age verification systems offer a much more extensive and well-automated solution to the problem.
These identity and age verification systems are very extensive and make use of technologies such as biometric verification, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to ensure that they do what they’re supposed to do most efficiently. These systems work such that every incoming user is asked to upload some form of ID proof which is then checked for authenticity and then measured against trusted sources. Overall the process is very simple, and can easily be implemented, without any hurdles.
The Types of Age Identification Solutions that Exist in the Market
There are multiple types of systems that can be set up for age verification.
Self-reporting by the user:
The simplest and most common system for doing age checks is very straightforward albeit full of false reports. Here, the system puts in front of the user a statement asking them to confirm if they are over the age of 18. The statement is followed by two options i.e., “Yes” and “No”. If the user says yes, the system moves forward.
Age verification through facial recognition:
Age verification through selfies is another method that can be used for age verification. Within this system, to verify age, the user is asked to upload a selfie. Once the selfie is submitted, the system analyzes the selfie using AI models for biometric facial recognition to estimate the uploader’s age. This method is, however, fairly controversial due to privacy concerns, and also bears a massive risk of errors.
Age verification through credit cards:
This system asks the users to enter their credit card information and then checks for the authenticity of the card information as well as the details of the account holder. While using credit cards to verify age seems like a straightforward solution because falsifying a card isn’t easy for most minors, this system has a big loophole of its own. The loophole here is that kids can simply make accounts with their parents’ names and use their credit card information; this is a very commonplace practice and puts these kids at risk.
Shufti Pro’s Online Age Verification System and How It Works.
Out of the multitude of age identification solutions available, Shufti Pro uses one of the most effective methods to help its users verify the ages of their customers. Shufti Pro’s Online Age verifier works by taking the end users through the following series of steps.
- Once the need for age verification arises the user is asked to share their details which include their legal name and date of birth.
- Next the user is asked to upload a legal identity document. This document can be any ID issued by the government and includes documents such as a driver’s license, passport, etc.
- Once the details are successfully uploaded and submitted, Shufti Pro moves forward by analyzing the authenticity of the documents and the credentials and then matches them with one another.
- Post analysis, the result can either be a match or a non-match resulting in the acceptance or decline of the user’s request to Shufti Pro’s online age verifier. The results are then displayed infront of the user.
Shufti Pro’s online age verification system is one of the best solutions for age identification and offers a great answer to curbing child abuse within the e-gaming industry.
