KYC in Online Casinos – Withdrawal Speeds, Security and Tips
KYC in online casinos, or Know Your Customer, is a crucial process that financial institutions, including gambling ones, perform on their customers to verify their identity and establish a healthy business relationship between the two parties.
It is an invaluable aspect of each online casino business. The lack of such practices is a red flag, as money laundering and fraud can go under the radar. Our article will be an in-depth analysis of KYC, and, most importantly, its effect on withdrawal speeds of gambling operators. Read along to be informed of this.
- š§ How KYC Works
- šø Impact on Withdrawals
- š¼ļø Security/Speed Balance
- š Tips for Players
- āļø Conclusion
What is KYC and Why is it Important?
The Know Your Customer concept is widely used among the gambling industry mainly to prevent several illegal activities – fraud, underage gambling, ML/TF, and more. The method is also commonly used to build a healthy relationship with the customer and the party.
Most reputable online casinos will always implement KYC as standard practice. It indicates that no fraudulent operations will be done on the backend and that responsible gambling[1] practices can be implemented.
There exist many “non-KYC” operators which are often sought-after by gamblers due to them being able to skip the verification process and jump straight into the action. They also believe that it is reasonable not to hand out their data to the casino.
The red flag that pops up in this situation is the opening for money laundering schemes, security threats, reputational damage, and many more unlawful activities. As such, we recommend that you always play at a reputable, KYC-implemented operator.
The most common KYC policy[2] is for the gambler to provide ID after they have registered their account at the casino. After this, proof of address, age, payment method, and source funds verifications are implemented before the player is allowed access to the operator.
This is beneficial for both the casino and the user, as safety should be the number one priority, and KYC accomplishes just that – prevention of unlawful behavior, along with responsible gambling organizations solving problem gambling.
The KYC Process in Online Casinos
Before the gambler is allowed access to the casino, the KYC check takes place. We mentioned the importance of it, so this section will cover the process and steps to partake in themselves.
Common documents that will be required are ID cards, passports, driver’s licenses, proof of address documentation, bank statements, and others. When it comes to implementing the KYC practice, see the information outlined below:
Required step/document | Process |
---|---|
Account registration, basic information | User creates an account with their date of birth, email, and address. |
Document verification | Government-issued ID, proof of address, bank statement, liveness detection |
Age verification | Detected via the ID – 18, 21 or above |
Payment method verification | The system will check the payment method you have provided. |
Monitoring | Casino tracks accounts to make sure no fraudulent activity is taking place |
As you can see, KYC verification is quite a lengthy process, but it is worth it in the end. Although it may seem like a hassle and frustrate users, we encourage them to go through it instead of going to a casino that skips these checks. There may be issues that arise with this process.
When providing documentation like IDs or passports, the casino’s internal system needs to scan and verify them. Usually, you will need to submit a picture of your document. If the system is under load, this may take time and the process will end up being delayed.
Sometimes, other issues may pop up such as the system declining your ID or your payment method verification document. You can try closing your browser window or clearing your cache, but if nothing works, you may end up needing to reach out to the casino’s customer support for assistance.
Impact of KYC on Withdrawal Speeds
As useful as KYC may be, there are downsides, and the main one that pops up is KYC withdrawal speeds. The checks that need to be done on the casino’s internal processing system sometimes may result in users having to wait significant amounts of time to receive their funds into their accounts.
This depends on the thoroughness of the KYC implementation itself. We would like to mention that our recommended fast withdrawal casino will have its systems made as quick as possible so the KYC check remains secure, but also swift.
We always recommend doing your research before choosing a gambling operator to play at. KYC casinos are recommended, but ones that have unpractical withdrawal times are not a good option as well. The processing time for withdrawals will vary from one casino to another, but a good operator will always implement their system in the best way.
Balancing Speed with Security
The line between speed and security must be balanced for KYC to be useful and practical for both the player and the casino. As such, casinos need to optimize their system to be as fast as possible and not skim on security protocols.
Gamblers on the other hand should also aim to be thorough and follow the process asked for by the casino’s system. With the rise of AI, both the speed and the security of the implementation and KYC security can be drastically improved.
As we discussed, the KYC process can influence withdrawal speeds and slow times down dramatically. As such, casinos must always aim to have their system balanced. When a withdrawal is requested, the KYC check should take as little time as possible, and, when approved, the customer’s funds should appear in their account.
This entire process must be done following compliance procedures, and adherence to the legal requirements. When these elements are combined, the customer should be left satisfied, and the casino will remain as secure as possible.
Tips for Players
We would love to offer some advice to the players who will go through checks at online casinos, providing the best KYC player experience. Being prepared will make the process both smoother and faster and will allow much faster withdrawals. Here are some tips you can keep in mind:
- Read through the casino’s KYC requirements and have documents ready.
- Make sure you take a clear picture of your document.
- Follow the process thoroughly as asked, and do not skip steps or go too quickly.
- Ensure that you have followed the guidelines, so withdrawal speeds are as fast as possible.
- Contact the customer service team in case of issues.
- Gamblers should stay updated on changes in the KYC gambling regulations.
These are our KYC tips to players, but casinos should also adhere to the strict policies that this process enforces. Aside from the process being streamlined, operators must be sure they have a money laundering[3] reporting system in place.
Casinos should also be sure to check their ongoing monitoring system that will spot fraud before it happens. And most importantly, they must aim to have a balance between safety and security so withdrawal speeds for customers are affected as little as possible.
Conclusion – Our Final Thoughts
It is time to conclude our article and present you with our final thoughts and remarks. We discussed the main aspects of why KYC checks are especially important in the gambling industry. They prevent fraud and money laundering while keeping a casino as secure as possible.
KYC is an invaluable element of each reputable casino for security and overall presentation. As such, users should avoid casinos which skip these checks.
However, always be sure that the casino you have chosen has the KYC system implemented well. Nobody wants to wait for days for their single transaction to come through. The best gambling sites in the UK will always be competitive and geared towards all types of gamblers.
We would love to hear your feedback on what we discussed, so feel free to leave your ideas and thoughts on the topic in the comments section. Also, if you like what you read, you can subscribe to the blog so you never miss other insightful articles regarding the world of online gambling.
References and Useful Links
The section below will provide some of the research materials we have used to compile this article and make it as accurate as possible. Feel free to click on the links that will take you to the relevant resources.
- Responsible Gambling – BeGambleAware Available at: https://www.gambleaware.org/ (Accessed 13.05.2024)
- KYC, Know Your Customer, General Terms – Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_your_customer (Accessed 13.05 2024 )
- Anti-Money Laundering Policies – Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti%E2%80%93money_laundering (Accessed 13.05 2024 )