Is it mandatory to verify my identity in a bookmaker?
Chances are that in recent weeks, you have received emails or notifications when logging into your online betting, casino, bingo, or poker room account to verify your identity. In fact, identity verification is mandatory since April 1st, 2019, and many betting operators have launched incentives for their users to verify their identity like the free bonuses for players who verify the account. But what is identity verification? What is it for? How is it done? Let's answer the questions about verifying betting accounts.
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What is identity verification
Identity verification is a requirement introduced by the General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) to protect the player and prevent fraud in the online gaming sector, which continues to grow in our country. When we register with a betting company, we have to provide personal information such as our name and surname or ID number. The goal of identity verification is to ensure that the registration information matches the user's personal data. In other words, that you have not made them up and signed up with a fictitious identity.
Is it mandatory to verify my account?
Although account verification has been mandatory since April 1, 2019, we can still bet or play on our favorite online casino as if nothing has changed... except for two key moments for any player. The first one is make deposits over $150, a necessary amount to access some welcome bonuses, although it is also true that some betting houses or casinos have reduced their bonuses to require users to make deposits lower than this amount.
The second moment when you will need to have your account verified is withdrawal of funds. If you haven't verified your account, you will not be able to request any fund withdrawals. Verification is the only way for online gaming operators to verify that the identity of the user requesting the withdrawal matches that of the registered player. In parallel, online bookies or casinos have their own mechanisms to ensure that the money will not end up in the hands of third parties.
How to verify your identity
Verifying the user's identity is very simple. You just need to send your ID or NIE to the betting house or online casino. To do this, you need to scan or take a photo of both sides of the identification document with a good resolution, and send them. We have two options for this:
- By email: you only have to attach the images of the front and back of your ID card or NIE and send them by email to the operator's email address or as a reply to the email they sent you.
- From your user area: From our user area, you can access verification. You just have to upload the two images of your identification document and the operator will confirm it.
After sending the documentation, the betting house or online casino will verify it with the data you provided at the time of registration. Once they have verified it, you will receive a confirmation email, and you will be able to withdraw funds or make deposits over 150$.
Why can't I verify my identity?
Don't worry if you haven't received the confirmation email yet, as the verification process take a few days. The fact that it takes a little longer doesn't mean there are any issues. Moreover, in case of inability to verify your identity, the online casino or betting house will contact you to solve the problem. These are the most common causes of problems in user identity verification:
- Invalid format: images in JPG, PNG or even PDF format do not cause problems, but if you sent them in another format they be unreadable, and cannot be verified.
- Cropped or poor-quality image: if a piece of the document is cut off when scanning or if the photo has poor lighting or low resolution that makes it difficult to read, the account cannot be verified.
- Expired document: your identity cannot be verified if your ID card or foreigner identification number (NIE) has expired or if you send it after it has already expired.
As you can see, these are small details that can be easily resolved. Make sure to send a readable document in a common format, that has not been modified or edited to avoid suspicion and problems. If they are unable to verify your account, you will have to resend the ID or NIE image with that issue resolved: better quality or definition, in a common format, with the entire document visible, etc.
good morning they ask me exactly that but it is also necessary to send my account number and a photo
Good morning, I hope and you can advise please, and in advance I apologize for not publishing my name. My case is as follows, 2 months ago I was a victim of identity theft, and they used my personal and financial information to bet in a casino called Codere. The problem is that they made a codere account to which they associated my email, my name, my phone and my bank account with which they made bets for $130,000 Mexican pesos, the problem is that they made the purchases with my digital card and now I'm battling with the bank to get that money back. I contacted the casino and the customer service people did not give me information because they asked for my username and when I contacted them via email and explained my situation they just ignored me, I began to read their gaming contract that they publish and I realize that they violated the policies for verification and validation of identity that they publish in their contract. And the biggest proof is the following: When I contacted Codere customer service by telephone, the advisor who answered me told me to check my email in detail because at some point they had sent me an email, and indeed, those emails were in the spam folder and that is why I was not aware, BUT, in an email they tell me that the documentation sent to verify my identity has been rejected, and despite the fact that they rejected my supposed identity verification, they proceeded to allow bets for $130,000 Mexican pesos or $6,500 on that account when it is supposed that legally only $150 in total is allowed until the identity of any duly verified and validated account is validated. There is also another email that was sent 14 days later when all the charges had been made to my card, in that email they say that they supposedly correctly validated my identity and that now they were going to proceed to validate my bank account. I will send them so many emails asking for an explanation and they only tell me that my query has already been sent to the corresponding department but they only answer that, just like when I talk to them on the phone they tell me that they do not have access to that information. It's been 2 months now and I haven't received any response from the CODERE casino. I live in Mexico. I would be infinitely grateful if you could advise me on what I can do because that money is my life savings, it was to buy my house.
I would like to know how much the tax office will deduct from me but I have not received the account verification. I am worried.