Online Casino Verification Demystified

Regulated and licensed casinos will ask you to verify your account. Therefore, I recommend you check first if the casino will accept players from your country. Account verification after you have submitted a cash-out request can be very annoying. My advice is that you prepare these documents before signing up so you don’t need to stress about them later on.

So regulated online casinos with gaming licenses have one thing in common: they might ask you to verify your identity before you can start to play with real money or when trying to withdraw any funds. But what exactly is the purpose of it? Are you concerned to share your personal details and do you fear security issues? Do you think it’s an annoying delay caused by the casinos to hold you back from withdrawing funds? Let’s have a deep dive on the topic of online casino verification and see what it is all about.

Verification depends on gaming licences

Depending on where the casino is based and which gaming licence it holds, different requirements for the verification process may apply. For example, casinos like CasinoLand or CasinoNile are licenced by The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and by the UK Gambling Commission. There can be differences in what it means in terms of verification, and it is not easy to know the exact requirements in each jurisdiction. All verification processes follow some basic rules though which makes it easy for you as a player.

Know Your Customer (KYC) for online casinos

Companies which perform financial transactions and process payments are required by law to make an effort to understand who they are dealing with. Is the individual really the person he or she pretends to be? Are the funds legit? Are there any conflicts of interests? These are important questions for companies which process funds internationally. For you as a customer these checks are a good sign. You can be assured that companies who are doing their due diligence are more trustworthy than those who will just accept your money and don’t ask any questions.

So the process is called Know your Customer (KYC) and has some basic requirements which are very similar across the globe.

Verification documents for players

So usually you are asked for a couple of identification documents. So when signing up to any casino website, I am advising you to have the following documents at hand to avoid any troubles.

A clear copy (front and back side) of your government issued ID or passportVerification through Passport or ID

You can simply use your phone and take photos of both sides of your ID or passport. Your document should be valid, and you need to make sure that all details can be seen clearly and that the edges are not cut off. That’s very important. If the corners are cut off, your documents will be automatically rejected. Do not use flash on your camera as it can cause reflections on your document and some data might be difficult to read. Also, your name needs to match with the company’s records. I am mentioning this as some people prefer to shorten their name or use an alternative version of their actual name.

Proof of Address for account verification

So after your identity is verified, they want to see your address, and usually they will ask for a recent utility bill (not older than 6 month).

What is a utility bill? A utility bill should be from an electricity, gas or water provider and your recent address, your name and the date should be included. Phone bills cause problems usually, unless it’s a landline phone. Alternative documents such as bank account statements, letters from the city hall, insurance papers etc. might be accepted as well as long as they show the date, your name and your address. This comes down to the compliance departments and regulations in the jurisdiction.

Verification through Utility Bill

Credit card verification

This is the part where most people really get a bit sensitive… Understandably, but if we take a closer look at things it becomes less concerning. Bottom line here is that the company can not do anything with your credit card details if you follow some security precautions.

They are asking for this information as they want to see that the credit card is actually in your possession — so again, these measures are designed also for your protection.

It’s enough if they can read your name on the credit card, expiry dates and the last 4 digits of your credit card number. They do not need the full details!

Credit Card verification

On the back side you should cover the CVV code and only show your signature. By this, you are not providing the company with any additional personal data. The only thing you do is to confirm the already delivered credit card information once again by showing that you physically possess the card.

And that’s it, basically. If you have all these documents at hand and prepared before starting to play, it can be a very quick and easy process that you do not need to worry about.