Keir Starmer’s Digital ID policy is both bold and polarising, but could pose a significant risk if done incorrectly, warned Capitalixe’s Lissele Pratt.
Sparking significant backlash, the Prime Minister announced this morning that Digital ID would be mandatory for workers in the UK by the end of Parliament.
It follows the lead of many European countries, with Bulgaria and Cyprus the only two countries within Europe not currently having digital ID.
Speaking to iGaming Expert, Pratt stated: “If designed well, digital ID in Britain could be a real boost to AML in high risk sectors. A government verified source of identity would speed up onboarding, reduce manual checks and create stronger audit trails, which is especially valuable in industries like gaming, crypto and cross-border fintech. It could even enable continuous KYC, where updates flow automatically and compliance becomes smarter, not just reactive.
“However, we should be clear about risks. A national digital ID creates a tempting target for criminals and it will face civil liberties scrutiny. The UK must avoid a centralised database model that erodes trust and instead adopt a privacy preserving, federated approach with consent, data minimisation, strong breach reporting and clear liability allocation between the state and private firms. Get that right, and you strengthen fraud controls without locking out legitimate customers.”
In its initial form, the Britcard is somewhat limited. However, should it evolve it could have a significant impact when it comes to safer gambling and a single customer viewpoint.
BetBlocker’s Duncan Garvie, told iGamingExpert: “Whilst I have personal reservations about the introduction of mandatory digital ID on the grounds of civil liberties, privacy, and the efficacy of this approach being introduced as a panacea to the problems of immigration, a mandatory ID card does present certain opportunities for the gambling industry.
“If combined with a license enforced requirement to provide an ID card number at registration this move could make it easier to prevent underage access to gambling services, enforce GAMSTOP exclusions, and prevent identity theft and fraud.
“This could also make it easier to achieve a single customer view, in order to facilitate improvements in affordability assessments.”
He did however emphasise that there is a long way to go in terms of digital ID having these capabilities within the UK market.
Garvie continued: “The introduction of an ID card by itself wouldn’t achieve this without a lot of work around privacy and data sharing. The digital ID simply provides a more standardised identifier of an individual. A whole system would still need to be built around this to tie financial reports to that identifier and facilitate safe and secure access to that information before the Digital ID would become an effective tool for affordability checks.”
The UK will look to learn lessons from more developed forms of Digital Identification, particularly in the UAE and Singapore where Digital ID has boosted onboarding efficiency.
Pratt commented: “The UAE and Singapore show how powerful a digital ID can be when it’s embedded into financial services. In the UAE, Emirates ID and UAE Pass give banks a direct line to government systems, so onboarding is faster and assurance is higher.
“Singapore has paired Singpass with reusable verified data, letting customers share pre-approved information in seconds. The lesson for the UK would be that combining strong identity with consent driven data sharing and clear rules for firms, a digital ID can both raise AML standards and improve the customer experience.”
Central to the plans is the ability to combat illegal working, however, a government update also revealed that the roll out will save time by ending the need for complicated identity checks which often rely on copies of paper records.
Additionally, making it simpler to apply for services like driving licences, childcare and welfare, while streamlining access to tax records. The new digital ID will be held on people’s phones, just as millions already use the NHS App or contactless mobile payments.
Starmer said: “Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK. It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure. And it will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits, like being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly – rather than hunting around for an old utility bill.”
