UK Gambling Commission reaffirms identity verification rules for remote operators under Licence Condition 17

The UK Gambling Commission has repeated that remote gambling operators must verify a customer’s identity before allowing that customer to gamble, with Licence Condition 17 still sitting at the center of the rulebook. For PSPs and operators, the practical point is simple: if verification is pushed too late in the journey, withdrawal-time checks stop looking like control and start looking like a compliance problem.

1. Licence Condition 17 requires remote gambling licensees to obtain and verify a customer’s name, address and date of birth before the customer is permitted to gamble. The Commission also says operators must take reasonable steps to ensure that identity information remains accurate.
2. The regulator’s position is that identity verification should not routinely be delayed until a customer tries to withdraw funds if the information could reasonably have been collected earlier. In other words, “we’ll sort it out at cash-out” is not the model the Commission is looking for.
3. The current LCCP, effective from 29 July 2026, continues to list customer identity verification as Licence Condition 17 in the operating licence conditions. That keeps the requirement firmly inside the standard regulatory framework, rather than treating it as a temporary campaign or special project.
4. The Commission says early verification gives greater certainty before gambling starts and can support wider controls, including self-exclusion, detection of multiple accounts, and measures addressing crime, money laundering and other regulatory concerns. It does not prescribe one universal technological method, and says operators may use electronic verification services, documentary checks or other appropriate methods depending on their circumstances.

For high-risk operators, the useful takeaway is that identity verification is not just a KYC box to tick at sign-up. The timing matters, the withdrawal flow matters, and the Commission is explicitly telling firms not to bury the check until the customer wants their money back.