How Does Online Casino Verification Work?

Online casino verification is a method which casinos use to ensure that they are not subject to any illegal activity. If a gambling law gets broken then the casino could lose their licence. In the UK, the UK Gambling Commission provides protection for the players. As part of the UKGC age verification, a casino must complete a Know Your Customer process. This involves seeing some photographic identification from a new customer. The reasons for this are to check that the customer is of legal age to gamble, ensure that are who they say they are and then know that they have not self-excluded themselves from gambling before.

What is the Verification Process?

To casino verification process can be quite time consuming but it is something you must go through. The first piece of verification needed is a photographic ID. This is usually provided through a passport or driving licence. The next item required within the verification process is proof of address. This can be a bank statement (within the last three months), a utility bill (gas, water or electricity) or another government document which is dated within the last three months. However, a few customers try to use a mobile phone bill as part of the proof of address in the verification process. Unfortunately these types of documents do not get accepted. The final part of this involves the customer requiring to provide a proof of payment to the casino. This is most commonly done by sending a picture of the user’s debit card. This is just to ensure that the method of deposit belongs to the account holder. This information will always be stored securely.

Why is there a Verification Process?

It is important for the casino to battle against fraudulent use of payment, bank accounts or credit and debit cards. A strong verification process when setting up an online gambling account allows for the most security possible against these means. A casino without any verification means that they could lose their license.

The verification process does not just have the casino’s best interest at heart, it is also protecting the customers. Some customers may have had a problem with gambling in the past such as addiction. A process which is often taken to help battle addiction is self exclusion. Self exclusion is exactly what it sounds like, the customer will ask the gambling site to terminate their account and not let them reopen it ever again. In order to honour the seriousness of this, it is vital that the casino know that each new account will not be someone on a dodgy new name trying to get around the self exclusion. Another reason for verification is to try and prevent addictions from originating. This can be done by ensuring each player is at the minimum legal age to gamble in the country. In the UK that age is 18. Customers are more likely to develop bad gambling habits if they are underage which is why they must reach the legal age when they register.