Age Verification – A Must-Have Solution for Gaming Companies

Technology plays an integral role in the industrial revolution across industries and the gaming sector is no different. In recent years, it has undergone significant transformations, enhancing the game world to become more like reality. It is no longer a hobby to enjoy in free time, rather it has become a full-time and competitive career after the recognition of esports globally. As it grows, so do the challenges for video game companies to prevent fraud and provide and ensure age guidelines are met. Games portray real-life scenarios and can include age-restricted content. According to the survey report, over 24% of gamers in the US are under 18. This is where age verification solutions assist firms in regulating authority. This blog will cover the advantages of incorporating age-verification solutions for gaming platforms.

How Age Verification is Transforming Gaming Industry

Age verification benefits businesses across diverse industries in several ways, including:

1. Secures System Access
2. Enhances Interaction Trust
3. Prevents Digital Fraud
4. Ensures Compliance
5. Protects Online Privacy

Challenges of the Gaming Sector

The gaming sector faces many challenges other than just regulating age controls. As online gaming attracts more players, fraudsters are devising new ways to exploit them. Here are some age verification scams and the consequences of failure. 

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is a prevailing issue across the gaming industry where people of higher ranks bully novice players. This can be seen across all major competitive titles. With no proper age verification checks, kids and underage individuals can access the game where they might get bullied by other people online. This abuse of in-game interaction can have a negative impact on mental health. According to a survey, 76% of US respondents stated that they had been called offensive names while playing video games. For children, this behaviour can become more aggressive and can lead to severe consequences such as depression and low self-esteem.

Age-Restricted Content

Just like the film industry, the gaming sector also features real-life stories and scenarios that involve adult content. Many games portray crime, gambling, use of drugs, and other age-restricted content. Traditional date of birth check is no longer suitable as kids can log into the game environment by filling wrong information and showing themselves as adults to the system. Gaming platforms need to verify biometrics to ensure that the right person is playing behind the screen. Age verification is a must here to protect audiences from accessing age-restricted content. 

Fraud

In-game fraud is also on the rise as more and more titles have started charging players for exclusive items such as weapon skins and player moves. As people invest money in the game, fraudsters try to trick them into stealing their finances. They can easily distract kids or underaged individuals who play the game from their guardian profiles or show themselves as age-verified. 

Money Laundering

Speaking of in-game purchases and involvement of finances, money laundering is also a major concern that is on the rise. Games like virtual poker, sports betting, and casinos are full of bad actors utilising the platform to move their illicit finances from one place to another. Once the transaction is complete, they sell that account to avoid being caught by the authorities. Kids fall prey to these attackers as they buy those profiles only for some in-game benefits, resulting in other major issues. 

Fake Identities

The use of fake identities is also common in gaming. This is why kids need to avoid interaction online, as they never know who is behind the computer on the other side. Fraudsters commonly use fake identities to commit fraud, causing reputational damage to gaming platforms.

Age Verification in Gaming Fraud Statistics

• 24% of Gamers in the US are under 18.
• 1.44 Hours Average Time Spent Daily on Gaming 
• 66% of Americans Report Being Trolled/Discriminated Whilst Gaming

Source: Statista

How Gaming Platforms Address These Issues

Gaming platforms implement multiple security issues to counter these attacks and keep the gaming community safe for everyone. The most important part is the verification of real player identities. This includes the use of technology such as neural networks and AI for the age verification process. While biometric verification using physical devices is a hectic process, gaming companies implement face-matching solutions that register players using real-time face-matching when creating profiles. Some platforms also prompt the player to upload an image of a government-issued identity card to verify their age.

Modern Age Verification Solution Using Face ID

Speaking of biometrics in age verification, firms need to implement modern-day solutions as fraudsters also use spoofing attempts to lure basic face recognition systems. Businesses must incorporate ingenious approaches such as liveness detection to make the gaming world a better and fair place to enjoy. 

Here are the top 3 advantages of age verification using facial recognition technology:

Minor Protection

Using face recognition technology, gaming platforms can secure access to in-game environments. This includes the process of facial verification that utilises human facial characteristics evaluation through AI to instantly verify the user’s age. Minors cannot access such systems as AI automatically flags them as underage. To ensure accuracy, game platforms also compare it with the image from the official IDs. These systems safeguard online experiences and protect minors from accessing inappropriate games.

Legal Compliance

There are regulatory authorities that provide fair play guidelines and evaluate the age ratings for each new title for parental guidance. Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and Pan-European Game Informer (PEGI) are those companies that assign the age and content ratings for digital entertainment. Companies and game publishing enterprises must follow these guidelines to comply with regulations that are made to protect minors, mitigate fraud, and safeguard online channels. The age verification process ensures that compliance is met by restricting minors as well as fake ID holders from accessing the games. 

Enhancing User Trust

Age verification ensures a fair play mechanism across modern competitive titles. It enhances users’ trust level when playing games involving real financial exchange. With a proper AI-powered age verification system, companies can regulate platforms, acting as a shield for all fraudulent activities such as money laundering. Following the legal guidelines, players of diverse age categories can enjoy games securely. 

How Facia Fits in the Puzzle

Online gaming is a booming industry with a lot of future potential. Regulating this sector is necessary using modern age verification solutions. This is where Facia steps in with ingenious AI solutions that transform the face recognition process, mitigating all the chances of breaches and exploitation. We provide liveness detection to various businesses across the globe that eliminates spoofing attempts and verifies facial characteristics in less than one second. Gaming platforms can also take advantage of our age verification solution, ensuring a fair gameplay experience for everyone. Take a free trial to understand how our face recognition solution works.