Will I really lose access to my account if I don't verify by January? 
Yes, that's why you have to comply to KYC to verify your account so do it before the deadline.I refuse to upload my documents because I was told I would never have to do so. I guess they lied to me when I signed up.
They don't have a crystal ball to predict what those damn government people will think in the future. If they really told you in the past that they would never ask you for documents, it was because they didn't know that one day the governments would also ask for KYC like they do in physical casinos. You can't enter a physical casino without being asked for ID, at least that's what I've seen in physical casinos in my country. So why would governments require KYC from physical casinos and not from online casinos? It doesn't make sense and how could online casinos prevent minors from using the casinos if the online casino doesn't ask for KYC? My advice: do KYC, as far as I know at level 2 you just upload your National ID. This is not a difficult task