New benchmarking results find strong compliance with age verification in UK gambling sector
Members of the Betting and Gaming Council achieved the highest pass rate among all sectors in the benchmarking.
UK.- Independent test purchasing has found strong compliance with age verification requirements among land-based gambling businesses in Britain. Carried out by Serve Legal, the study found that members of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) achieved an overall pass rate of 97 per cent between May 2025 and April 2026.
The betting sector’s pass rate was the highest result among all sectors included in Serve Legal’s benchmarking, ahead of supermarkets at 80 per cent, convenience stores at 77 per cent, specialist vape shops at 61 per cent and delivery services at 44 per cen. The latest result also represents a five-percentage-point improvement for the sector on the previous year. It’s the highest recorded by BGC members across the four annual reporting periods included in the analysis.
Serve Legal carries out independent test purchasing to assess how businesses apply age-verification procedures when younger customers attempt to access age-restricted products or services. The BGC said the results demonstrated its members’ commitment to protecting young people, with strict age-verification measures, effective staff training and Challenge 25 policies central to maintaining high standards across regulated betting and gaming businesses.
Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, said: “These are excellent results and a clear demonstration of the high standards being delivered across the regulated betting and gaming sector. Protecting young people is a fundamental responsibility for every regulated operator, and these results show our members are taking that responsibility seriously.
“It is particularly encouraging to see BGC members outperform every other sector included in the benchmarking. That is something the industry should be proud of, while continuing to learn from every failed test and drive standards even higher.”
Kate Rand, Chief Executive of Serve Legal, added: “These results demonstrate a strong performance by BGC members and underline the value of regular, independent test purchasing. Testing helps businesses understand where their age-verification procedures are working effectively and where further training or operational improvements may be needed.
“For BGC members, this means moving from understanding to action: using evidence to close the gap between policies in the office and service reality on the ground. As Serve Legal continues to invest in technology and data-led insight, our ambition is to help businesses go further still – from measuring compliance, to identifying patterns, predicting risk, and focusing action where it will have the greatest impact.
“The improvement in the overall BGC pass rate is encouraging, and continued testing will help members maintain these standards, strengthen operational consistency, and target the areas where further progress can be made.”
The BGC said it would continue working with Serve Legal and its members to review unsuccessful tests, share lessons and strengthen age-verification standards across the regulated sector.
