A Guide to Bookmaker Sign Up & Verification

Once you've filled in the basic sign up information and entered one of the bonus codes, the next step is to undertake the verification process. The requirements of this process can vary depending on factors such as whether you are on the electoral roll. This page explains what you'll need and guides you through this usually simple task.

How to Verify Your Identity

The exact information requested and how to provide it will vary slightly depending on the bookmaker, but there are some basic guidelines.

When you register your account, the bookmaker may be able to check your details against existing databases such as the Electoral Roll or Credit Reference agencies.

If the information obtained from these places is not enough to verify all your details, you might be asked for more details. Typically, photos or scans can be uploaded via the providers' website or sent by email, but this will be clarified when asking for the ID. Bookmakers cannot allow you to place bets without verifying your identity.

Typical documents

Documents requested to verify your identity typically include:

• Photo ID – Driving License, Passport or National ID Card.
• Proof of Address – Generally a utility bill, Council Tax bill or bank statement dated within the last 3 months.
• Payment ID – A scan of your debit card or a recent bank statement.

Some bookmakers might also ask you to provide a selfie alongside your photo ID to verify your identity further.

Verification Tips

Usually, verification takes place within hours as bookmakers are keen to make your sign-up process as easy as possible, but to ensure it goes smoothly and without delay, you can follow some simple tips.

• Ensure you take photos of both sides of your ID, Driving License or Debit Card.
• Use a piece of paper or editing software to ensure that your CVV number is not visible on photos of your debit card. You can also cover the middle numbers of your card number, leaving only the first 6 and last 4 visible.
• Ensure photos or scans are clear and all corners of the documents are visible.
• Make sure images are large enough to be read easily.

What to do if your verification is refused

On most occasions, verification does not take long. The most common reasons for verification being refused are unclear pictures or incorrect documents being sent. In this instance, the provider will typically come back to you and ask for the missing information or clearer images. Providing this will usually rectify the situation quickly. If you provide the correct legal information to confirm your identity and that you are using your own funds, there is no reason for a betting site to refuse your account. However, suppose you feel a site is treating you unfairly or rejecting your account for no good reason. In that case, you can give up and try another site or approach the Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS).

What if you are not asked for verification?

If you have not been asked for verification and you are not sure of the site's legitimacy, the first thing you can do is check they are registered with UK Gambling Commission. UK registered sites will show their registration number, generally in the site's footer, and you can confirm this on the UK Gambling Commission website.

If you are sure that the site you are using is reputable, then there are a couple of other reasons you might not have been asked to provide documents.

• The Betting site has verified your identity automatically using the Electoral Roll or soft Credit Checks.
• Your basic details such as identity and age have been verified, but you have not yet reached the threshold for further financial Know Your Customer (KYC) checks. Some bookmakers will allow you to withdraw up to £2,000 before conducting further fraud and money-laundering checks.

International Verification

• Australia - Since September 2023 Australian law now requires that a customer’s full legal name, date of birth and address are verified before they can place a bet. Previously operators had 72 hours to verify a customers identity.
• Canada - Most bookmakers, accessed from Canada will likely be registered with the UK or Malta Gambling Commission and abide by their rules. Suppose you have registered with a reputable site such as Bet365 Canada. In that case, you will probably be asked to verify your identity when signing up or making your first withdrawal in line with requirements in other countries. Since 2022 bookmakers can also be registered with iGaming Ontario and must verify a customers identity when they create an account.
• Republic of Ireland - Irish Gambling laws have been under review for some time. In December 2020 the Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Act 2019 set a minimum legal age of 18 for gambling in Ireland. No verification is required to sign up with an operator, but age verification will be carried out before any withdrawal can occur. Requirements may vary between operators. The Gambling Regulation Bill was published in December 2022 with the aim of it being operational by the end of 2023. At the time of writing in November 2023 it had yet to be implemented.
• United States - In the US, gambling online is regulated and licences issued by individual States and currently, only a small number of states allow online gambling. Customers must provide their full legal name, date of birth and address to register with an operator, but how and when this is verified will vary from state to state. The legal gambling age also varies between states but is generally either 18 or 21.
• Brazil - "Games of Chance" are illegal in Brazil, and fixed-odds sports betting was only legalised in 2021. However, many offshore online casinos offer their services to Brazilian players. Their verification procedures will depend on their license regulations, such as the UK or Malta Gambling Commission. In 2023 Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies approved the government’s gambling bill, taking a further step towards regulating casinos in the country.

Bet365 Age Verification

There are slight differences from country to country in the age verification requirements for Bet365.

Most English-speaking countries, including Canada, the UK, Ireland and Bet365 New Zealand require you to verify your name, date of birth and address before you make a deposit. The time scale can be up to 48 hours to complete this when documents are uploaded to the website, but it will usually be quicker.

Source: help.bet365.com/my-account/account-verification

Why do I need to verify my identity?

Online bookmakers in the UK are required to ask customers for proof of ID, address and ownership of the payment method used by law as a condition of their gambling license. This might seem odd when anyone can walk into a High Street bookmaker and place a bet, but specific issues with online gambling make this necessary. In a High Street bookmaker, the Cashier can visually assess age, and CCTV cameras combined with a public space mean anonymity is not guaranteed. These checks need to be carried out in an online space to make sure any gambling is safe and legal.

• Age - The minimum age for gambling in the UK is 18, and bookmakers need to confirm your age before you can place a bet of any kind, including free bets. If you are on the electoral roll at your registered address, this can often be automatically checked when you register. Otherwise, you may be asked to send proof of ID via upload or email.
• Self Exclusion - The UK Gambling Commission offers gamblers the opportunity to self-exclude from any licenced gambling site. If a player has self-excluded, a site cannot accept any deposits or wagers, so identity must be checked against this database when a new account is created.
• Fraud and Money Laundering - Criminals can use gambling sites to “clean” funds obtained from illegal activities. Any profits from bets placed with these funds are then legal winnings.

Age Verification and the Law

The Gambling Commission regulates online gambling operators in the UK, and since The Gambling Act of 2005, operating an unlicensed online bookmaker in the UK has been illegal. This was the first major piece of gambling regulation since off-course betting was made legal in 1960 and represented a significant change in gambling.

Old rules gave operators 72 hours to verify a customer’s identity, during which time they could access the site but not withdraw funds. Since May 2019 these rules have changed, and operators are now required to verify, at the minimum, a customer’s name, address, and date of birth before they are allowed to access a site, including free-to-play games or bonuses.