Entain Highlights Digital Identity’s Potential for KYC
Portugal.- 28 August 2026 | www.zonadeazar.com Andrea Carvalho, responsible for legal affairs, compliance and anti-money laundering at Entain, has highlighted the potential of digital identity wallets to simplify certain customer-verification processes across regulated markets.
Carvalho will participate at SBC Summit 2026 in a panel examining whether EUDI wallets can usher in a new era for KYC or simply shift complexity into other parts of the regulatory process.
Digital Identity and KYC
Carvalho believes the EUDI wallet can significantly simplify identity verification, one of the core components of KYC.
The system allows customers to securely share trusted digital credentials issued by recognised authorities.
This could make identity checks:
- Faster.
- More accurate.
- More secure.
- Less dependent on manual processes.
- More efficient for compliance teams.
KYC Extends Beyond Identity
However, Carvalho stressed that identity verification represents only one part of the wider process.
Regulated operators will still need to meet obligations involving:
- Customer-risk assessment.
- Anti-money laundering.
- Enhanced due diligence.
- Ongoing monitoring.
- Fraud detection.
- Responsible gambling.
Digital identity wallets should therefore be viewed as a complementary tool rather than a complete compliance solution.
Less Manual Document Validation
Successful implementation could allow compliance teams to spend less time manually validating identity documents.
Resources could instead be directed towards higher-value activities such as risk analysis, transaction monitoring and financial-crime prevention.
Automating certain checks could also reduce friction during customer onboarding.
Selective Data Disclosure
One of the central principles behind EUDI wallets is the ability to disclose only the information required for a specific purpose.
For example, a customer could prove they are over 18 without providing the operator with every piece of information contained on an identity document.
This model is closely aligned with the European principle of data minimisation.
Privacy and Compliance
Carvalho argues that privacy and regulatory compliance should not be viewed as conflicting objectives.
An effective compliance process is not about collecting the maximum amount of information possible but obtaining the correct information for the appropriate regulatory purpose.
Selective disclosure can therefore strengthen privacy, security and consumer trust simultaneously.
Risk of European Fragmentation
Implementation also presents challenges.
Differences between EU member states in implementation timelines, technological maturity and technical standards could create new operational complexity for international companies.
Interoperability will consequently be critical if the framework is to achieve its full potential.
Risk-Based Customer Experience
Entain believes customer onboarding should not require every regulatory control to take place at the initial registration stage.
Identity verification may become almost instantaneous, while additional controls can be triggered later according to customer behaviour and risk profile.
This allows operators to apply proportionate levels of scrutiny.
Lower Friction for Legitimate Customers
Technology can significantly reduce onboarding friction.
The aim is to protect consumers and satisfy regulatory requirements without imposing unnecessary controls on customers presenting lower levels of risk.
Proportionality therefore remains a central principle of the model.
Potential Application in Brazil
Carvalho also identified opportunities to apply some EUDI principles beyond Europe.
Brazil has already made significant advances in digital identity and authentication.
She believes the market could explore systems allowing regulated companies to verify specific attributes without requesting complete copies of personal identification documents.
Age Verification
Age verification provides a clear example.
An operator could receive confirmation that a customer is over 18 without accessing additional information irrelevant to that specific legal obligation.
This could reduce unnecessary data storage and associated privacy and security risks.
No Automatic Replication of European Model
Carvalho stressed that Brazil should not simply replicate the European framework.
Each jurisdiction needs to build solutions around its own legal, technological and regulatory foundations.
Principles such as security, privacy, trust and interoperability can provide useful reference points but require local adaptation.
Fraud and Financial Crime
Trusted digital identities can also help reduce certain forms of fraud.
These include:
- Forged documents.
- Stolen identities.
- Weaknesses in manual verification.
However, emerging threats including synthetic identities and increasingly sophisticated fraud techniques mean additional controls will remain necessary.
Ongoing Monitoring Remains Essential
Even where identity has been reliably verified, operators must continue monitoring customer activity.
An effective framework should combine:
- Trusted digital identity.
- Transaction monitoring.
- Behavioural analysis.
- Fraud detection.
- Continuous risk assessment.
A digital wallet therefore provides an additional layer of protection rather than a standalone answer to financial crime.
SBC Summit 2026
Carvalho will appear on the panel “EUDI Wallets & Digital Identity: A New Era for KYC or Just More Complexity?”.
She will be joined by Novibet CTO Yainnis Stavroulas and blockchain architect Jean-Michel Azzorpadi.
The discussion will be moderated by Chevron Group CEO Jochen Biewer.
Industry Context
Digitalising KYC is becoming increasingly important for regulated operators.
Companies are looking to reduce onboarding friction without weakening AML, responsible-gambling or data-protection controls.
Digital identity wallets could become an important infrastructure layer for achieving that balance.
Next Steps or Impact
EUDI implementation across Europe will provide an important test of whether digital identity can simplify regulated customer journeys at scale.
For operators such as Entain, the challenge will be integrating these tools without reducing ongoing monitoring or risk-based controls.
In markets such as Brazil, attribute-based verification could create new opportunities to improve customer experience, privacy and regulatory compliance at the same time.
Editó: @fonta
