Why Do I Need To Provide My Online Casino With Proof Of ID?

To play with real money at a fully licensed online casino, you first need to register an account and to do so, you must be of legal age in your jurisdiction.

To prevent underage gambling, multiple accounts from being opened by the same person, and any other fraudulent activity from taking place, you would also need to provide the casino with proof of identification before you could withdraw any winnings you make.

Let’s take a closer look at what forms of ID are generally accepted and what the account verification process (aka Know Your Customer) actually entails.

Why must I send proof of ID to the online casino I just signed up to?

Today’s most reputable online casino operators will, at some point, request some form of ID just to prove you are who you say you are because there is a minimum age restriction in each country where it’s legally permitted to gamble at online casinos. This could be 18, 19, or 21.

If you didn’t have to provide them with proof of ID, pretty much anyone could sign up to an online casino, and underage gambling/fraud would be rife. The online casino verification department will then check that the document you provided is correct and matches up with the information you provided when you first registered an account.

They will also request a proof of address, which must clearly have your name and address on it. It must match the address that you entered when you signed up to the casino.

The 32Red Online casino blog sometimes has useful information about the verification process and other important topics players should be aware of.

The proof of address document must be less than three months (12 weeks) old, and the passport or driver’s license (or any other nationally accepted ID card) must be valid (not expired) and clearly show your name and date of birth.

What documentation can I send to prove I am of legal age?

Most online casinos today will accept things like a yearly mortgage statement, a recent bank statement, a mobile phone/landline telephone bill, or an energy bill (e.g., gas or electricity).

You can upload the documents from the moment you sign up to the casino or wait until they request this from you. The best thing to do would be to send the casino your documents as soon as your new account has been activated because it can take up to 48 hours for the entire process to be completed.

When uploading your documents, you don’t need to send the originals. Simply make a scanned colour copy of both the ID and proof of address documents, and then make sure that the documents are clear/in focus and easy to read.

If they are unreadable or blurry, so you can’t tell it’s an image of your face, then the verification department will most likely reject it, which will prolong the account verification process. In other words, get it right the first time by sending in exactly what they are asking for.

Some online casinos today have been known to complete the verification process in as little as two hours. It depends on how busy they might be. You can upload the documents from your smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer.

What happens if I don’t want to send the casino a copy of my ID/proof of address?

A couple of things will inevitably happen if you decide against sending the casino a copy of your ID/proof of address. You would still be able to log in to your account, but you wouldn’t be able to deposit or withdraw, so there’s no point in having the account open.

The worst-case scenario, which is what you can expect to happen if you don’t send them the necessary documentation, is that your account will either be temporarily frozen until you send them the documents and it gets fully verified, or your account will be permanently frozen.

If you don’t want this to happen, send them the documents. As soon as your details have been verified, any restrictions the casino’s verification department placed on your account will be lifted, and there will be no more issues with depositing or withdrawing.