Bill 3,626/2023, addressing regulation of sports betting, continues to progress in the National Congress. Last November 22nd, it was approved with changes in the Senate's Committee on Economic Affairs (CAE).
A noteworthy change involves the approval of an amendment emphasizing the need to integrate facial recognition technology into the process of identifying bettors. To aid in understanding, this blog provides details on this requirement and strategies for its implementation.
What the amendment says about mandatory facial recognition
Amendment 103 to Bill 3626/2023, proposing mandatory facial recognition, was introduced by Senator Jorge Kajuru (PSB/GO) and received partial approval from the CAE, with a new wording.
In the final version, as per the rapporteur's opinion, Senator Angelo Coronel (PSD/BA), it is determined that "the betting operator must adopt identification procedures that allow verifying the validity of the bettors' identity, with the use of facial identification/recognition technology being required."
These procedures include obtaining, verifying, and validating the authenticity of the bettor's information, potentially involving comparison with public and private databases, if necessary.
What was the justification for including the amendment in the project?
The justification presented for including the amendment in the project was to reinforce security and integrity in betting operations, contributing to preventing fraud, protecting minors, and facilitating oversight to ensure the sector's integrity.
"With this measure, it becomes considerably more challenging for ill-intentioned individuals or minors to circumvent the rules, something crucial to maintaining the integrity of the sector and allowing only authorized individuals to participate," says the justification of the amendment presented by Senator Jorge Kajuru.
The text also highlights the widespread acceptance of this technology in other areas, reinforcing its reliability and effectiveness as a measure to ensure a fair and safe gaming environment.
The next steps of the bill
After being approved with changes by the CAE, where facial recognition became mandatory, the Bill 3626/2023 continues its process with a vote in the Senate plenary, initially scheduled for this week on Wednesday (11/29/23), but postponed to the next week.
Considering that the proposal originated in the Chamber of Deputies and underwent adjustments during the Senate's analysis, after the vote in this instance, it will be returned to its original house, the Chamber of Deputies, for further discussion and voting.
Thus, although the proposal may undergo further changes, it is important to note that the mandatory facial recognition does not represent a controversial point that could generate disputes. On the contrary, it aims to ensure the integrity of the sector and promote a fair and safe gaming environment.
This suggests that the measure has good prospects of advancing in the upcoming stages without undergoing major modifications.
How to comply with mandatory facial recognition
The most recent requirement added to the sports betting regulation project, facial identification/recognition is nothing more than a form of biometrics that uses distinctive features of a person's face to verify and identify their identity.
In the process of capturing the facial image, the system performs a detailed analysis of contours, proportions, and patterns, representing a practical application of facial biometrics. The information resulting from this scan is then compared to a database to identify matches.
At first glance, integrating facial recognition and biometrics may seem challenging for sports betting operators. However, it is crucial to emphasize that there are established and extensively tested technologies for this purpose, as we will see below.
Identity validation in practice: How Caf can help
Caf stands out for its expertise and a wide range of solutions in identity verification. We are ready to assist companies in the sports betting sector in meeting the requirements of mandatory facial recognition, just as we already support other industries such as financial services, catering to banks, fintechs, and payment institutions.
Here is a summary of our approach to fulfilling the requirement of mandatory facial recognition:
Utilization of facial biometrics
Facial biometrics are employed to perform facial identification/recognition, comparing the captured image of the user with images in both public and private databases. This approach provides comprehensive coverage, complemented by the integration of other technologies.
Proof of life and anti-spoofing technology
We emphasize that the user photo capture in our process incorporates proof of life technology. Caf's liveness solution employs advanced spoofing detection technology, ensuring a reliable verification of the user's presence and vitality during authentication processes. This prevents the use of false representations, such as pre-recorded photos or videos, ensuring efficiency in the process and protection against fraud attempts.
Document analysis technology
For situations where users are not registered in public or private face databases, we suggest combining facial biometrics with document analysis technology. In this process, we request a photo of the document along with the user's selfie.
Thus, the selfie photo is compared to the image on the document through the face-matching process, complemented by document authentication to ensure the user's identity.
With this robust mix of solutions, we are ready to be your partner in reliable bettor identification and fraudulent activity detection, meeting the requirements of mandatory facial recognition/identification.
If our expertise has sparked your interest, click on this link to get in touch with one of our specialists and request a demonstration of our platform.
Choose Caf to enhance security and reliability in your operations, staying ahead in the sports betting sector.
Source: Caf
