When gambling online, at some point, you are required to verify your identity. It might come as a surprise for the uninitiated, but it is a common practice.
Gambling websites, by law, have to verify the players’ identities through a process called Know Your Customer or KYC. The process involves stringent scrutiny of the players to ensure they are whom they claim to be. Gambling businesses handle monetary transactions governed under the same laws as other Non-Financial Banking Institutions.
Don’t be surprised if your favorite gambling site asks for documents to verify your identity when you create an account or withdraw your winnings. It is also known as Enhanced Due Diligence, which requires heavily regulatory online casinos to ensure that players are not participating in crimes like terror funding and money laundry. Online casinos allow players to bet without sending any documents, but they are still less in number.
Why do you need to provide your documents?
Gambling sites ask for your information identification documents like license and Social Security Number for three main reasons:
- To verify your age and ensure you are old enough to gamble
- To confirm your identity
- To check if you are self-excluded from gambling
In countries like the UK and the US, all gambling businesses, whether online or offline, must verify the age of players before allowing them to gamble.
Also, if you make a considerable deposit or win big, you may be asked to provide bank statements and other credit information to verify the sources of information. Usually, online casinos and gambling websites capture your identification from the payment methods you use. However, if the information is insufficient, you may be asked to provide copies of identification documents.
Caution is necessary when sharing documents with online gambling websites
Before you share your information with any online betting site, verifying that your information will be protected is essential. Gambling websites must be licensed by appropriate agencies like the UK Gambling Commission. Do not share the documents with websites that are not correctly licensed.
Furthermore, a gambling website must have taken all security measures to keep your information secured. Sites you share your documents with must have SSL protection to keep the information encrypted. Such sites must have PCI compliance and other security measures to protect your data at all times. Betting sites without KYC offer a better alternative for players who do not wish to share their documents.
Conclusion
Being cautious when sharing your documents with an online gambling site is essential. If you are not comfortable with the idea of sharing your records, you can try online gambling sites where you can bet without sending any documents. These provide anonymity to players and often utilize payment methods to verify players’ IDs without asking for any documents. Some no-verification gambling sites support cryptocurrencies for absolute anonymity. As crypto does not have any scope to leak the identity of the withholder, they are safest to gamble online with complete privacy.
