- What is KYC?
- Affordability Checks.
- Source of Funds
- Why regulation is your friend.
- Steps to make the process easy.
In recent times pressure has been mounting on operators to do more when it comes to protecting their players. When we hear stories in the press regarding problem gambling, it is often aimed solely at the operator with the claim they should have done more. This has led to some operators imposing more stringent checks on players when they sign up. This process is called Know Your Customer (KYC) and is an important tool which provides safety and security to players and one that players should welcome.
What is KYC?
Know Your Customer (KYC) is a process of collecting information on players by operators. They will then use this for checking some of the following,
- Name of the player
- Validating the address of the player
- Confirming the player is of legal age to bet
- Checking the player has not previously self-excluded
To complete this process players will be asked to provide documents which are no more than 3 months old which can confirm the above information. A copy of your driver’s license, and bank statement is the standard documents they will ask you for.
Affordability Checks
This will happen once you have triggered a threshold set by the operator. As standard it is usually around the £2000 in deposits. The operator will contact you and request information/documents to be used to check you can afford to bet at the level you are.
They may simply require you to provide your annual salary and in some cases will need you to provide bank statements showing this is true. Whilst this process is taking place you will often not be able to deposit or withdraw funds from your account.
Whilst this can feel intrusive, the process is normally quick if you provide the information they are requesting.
It is at this stage operators may step in if they feel your spend is not in line with the information you have provided. Let’s say you tell them your salary is £30k per year. If you have deposited £2k in your first month, at that rate you could potentially deposit £24k over the course of a year. That relates to 80% of your income. They may then impose a deposit limit on your account to reduce the amount you are playing with. Whilst you may not agree, this decision is taken to protect you.
One thing is for sure, if you are using 80% of your salary on betting, there will be pressure to succeed. Betting should be entertaining and enhance your experience of sports. You may not see it at this point but the action the operator takes may be the best thing for you and bring your betting back to a point of enjoyment.
Source of Funds
Operators will use the information you provide to ensure the funds you are using have come from legitimate sources. Bank statements showing regular incoming payments from your employer will obviously confirm this. If you do however have considerable cash deposits in your account, you may well be required to show further evidence that those funds have been legitimately sourced.
Why Regulation is Your Friend
In one way or another everything we do in life is regulated, whether that pay car tax or your tv license. When it comes to betting you should view regulation as something which helps not hinders your experience. At the end of the day you are depositing your money into the account of another company. Not only do you want those funds protected but you should view the checks they carry out as part of the protection they are offering you.
Steps to Make the Process Easy
Most operators will take anywhere between 2-48 hours to complete these KYC checks. As they will often impose restrictions on your account whilst they are verifying your documents, there are some things you can do to speed up the process.
Make sure you check what they are asking for, if it is a copy of your driving license, they may need photos of the front and back of your card. When it comes to bank statements, they will always ask for these to be in PDF form. Making sure the information you provide is correct will allow them to verify quicker.
The best thing you can do is provide this information when you sign up. Most operators have a service where you can upload these documents whenever you want. By doing this, you allow them to verify you from the start and confirm you can play at the level you have set yourself.
If you don’t want to comply with what they are asking, you shouldn’t be taking that frustration out on the operator, you should be asking yourself why?
As the pressure from outside agencies grows on the operators, we can expect these types of checks to become more frequent, they may need more information about your finances, and we should be prepared for that. Unless you have something to hide, you will be fine. This process is there to make sure you are betting with funds that are yours and are not putting you financially at risk.
As a responsible punter you should have no issues providing this information and the operator wanting to make sure you are betting what you can afford should be welcomed.
