Why Online Bookmakers ask for ID verification Updated for August 2025

Updated: 24th August 2025

When you open an account with an online gambling business, the business has to examine who you are. It does this for 3 primary factors:

1. To examine you are old enough to bet
2. Whether you have self-excluded from gambling
3. To validate your identity.

The business can typically do this by taking a look at databases that hold a series of info about individuals and matching that with the details on your account.

However there might be times when this info is insufficient to validate who you are.

For instance, if details have been spelt mistakenly or individuals with comparable names live at the very same address. In these scenarios you might be asked to supply copies of files that show who you are.

This might consist of passports, driving licences and household utility bills.

Making Sure you are Old enough to bet

If you have already opened an account and transferred cash, the bookmaker has 72 hours to inspect and make sure you are old enough to bet. If it cannot validate your age within that time, it should freeze the account.

You will not be permitted to withdraw any winnings up until your age is validated.

If the business's checks reveal that you are not old enough to bet the cash that you staked or transferred in your account needs to be returned, however you will not get any winnings.

Inspecting you have not self-excluded

You can ask to self-exclude from a gambling bookmakers website. If you do that, the betting site should take sensible actions to avoid you from gambling.

Those actions can consist of examining that somebody opening an account is not a self-excluded individual attempting to bet under a different identity. Enhanced due diligence is necessary for customers deemed higher risk.

This involves more thorough checks, including additional scrutiny of documentation, to ensure compliance with international anti-money laundering regulations.

Bookmakers must identify such individuals and take extra precautions to verify their sources of funds and establish their identity beyond standard checks.

Examining you are not utilizing criminal profits

There are laws that aim to avoid crooks investing ill gotten gains through criminal offenses and turning it into genuine looking funds.

They might try to utilize gambling sites for this function and gambling companies should handle that threat by examining the identity of their clients. Compliance with international regulations, such as those set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), is mandatory.

These regulations require that online bookmakers perform thorough identity verification and transaction monitoring.

These actions help to prevent money laundering and other illicit activities by ensuring customers' identities and transactions are properly vetted.

In the guidelines of the UK Gambling commission they state that gambling companies need to have the ability to recognize different accounts that are accepted by them by the exact same individual.

Recent Developments in ID Verification Technology

Recent advancements in ID verification technology, such as biometric identification and artificial intelligence, are enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of verifying users' identities.

These tools help online bookmakers quickly match documents and detect potential fraud, providing a reliable layer of security for both the business and the customers.

It is for the companies to decide whether they permit consumers to have more than one account.

If one does not, it might request details to assist it make certain that a consumer just has one account.

If a business does allow several accounts, it might opt to ask consumers for info to assist it to keep an eye on those accounts, including for the reasons discussed above.

Deals developed by the business, such as complimentary bets and perks, are frequently restricted to one per consumer.

It might inquire to inspect that clients are not misusing these limitations.

When the gambling business is examining your identity for another reason, it can freeze your account until it has verified who you are.

There is no time limitation on for how long it can do this for.

The UK Gambling Commission tells the online bookmakers that they should understand their consumers are old enough to bet and verify their identity.

They do not state exactly what sorts of details they ought to request.

If you are not pleased about the info you have been asked to offer, you should to get in touch with the online bookmaker directly.

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