Prove Executive Warns Disconnected Identity Checks Reject Legitimate Gambling Players
Caleb Sims of Prove says operators may be losing legitimate players during sign-up because different identity systems can reach different conclusions about the same person. He calls for carrying trusted identity signals throughout the player lifecycle rather than starting from zero. Prove lists up to 79% faster onboarding, 35% lower onboarding abandonment but does not publish a gaming-wide false-rejection rate.
SCCG Take — Operators should embed continuous identity infrastructure to cut abandonment while satisfying compliance, converting a regulatory task into measurable competitive advantage.
Online gambling operators risk losing valid customers when separate identity systems produce conflicting results on the same individual during sign-up. Caleb Sims, Head of Gaming GTM at Prove, told Gambling Insider that information trusted enough to pre-fill an application can be re-evaluated differently seconds later once verification begins.
“So you can have a player whose information was trusted enough to populate the application, only for that same information to be re-evaluated differently a few seconds later. Context gets lost between the two systems, and a legitimate player can end up being challenged or rejected,” Sims said. He urged operators to treat identity as infrastructure that preserves trusted signals across the entire player lifecycle instead of restarting from zero at each step.
Risk-Adjusted and Persistent Verification
Verification requirements should shift according to the risk a player presents rather than apply uniform friction to everyone. “I don’t think the line is fixed. It should move with risk,” Sims said. Strong signals from a trusted device or phone ownership should allow lighter processes, while new risk indicators trigger stepped-up checks. This logic extends beyond registration into continuous verification that maintains confidence without repeated interruptions.
Prove reports its solutions deliver up to 79% faster onboarding, 35% lower onboarding abandonment and a 90% match rate. The company has partnered with FanDuel in May 2023, BetMGM in April 2024 and Hard Rock Bet in Sept. 2025. Sims cautioned against treating Prove’s broader abandonment figure as the result of any individual operator deployment and noted the firm does not publish gaming-wide false-rejection rates.
Sims identified AI agents as an emerging risk that will require operators to verify not only identity but also authorization and permitted actions. He expects a shift from passwords and SMS codes toward passkeys, trusted devices and persistent identity intelligence. Operators that integrate these elements stand to reduce both fraud losses and unnecessary customer friction.
Reporting: Gambling Insider
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
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