Age Identity Verification

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Why do I need to verify my age and identity?

We are required by law to ask you to prove your age to ensure that you are over the age of 18.

It is also part of our regulatory requirements that we ask you to prove your identity upon opening an account for you and also periodically whilst your account is open.

We also need to make appropriate checks to satisfy ourselves that you have not self-excluded from gambling from time to time.

Why do you need to ask me for further information?

In most cases, you will not need to do anything as we can often verify your age and identity electronically upon registration and when adding a payment method. We do this by using third parties (such as Experian) to confirm your age and address.

This is standard industry practice so please do not worry, this is not a credit check and will not impact on your credit score.

We will only request further documents for verification purposes if we are not able to verify your age, identity or residential address via our electronic checks. There are several factors that could affect this, the most common reason is a discrepancy between the information we have access to and the information you used to register your account. For example, if you have recently moved and your address details have not been updated yet.

In the event that our checks fail to verify your age or identity, we will request some documentation from you.

Please note that if you are a new customer from Great Britain and Northern Ireland you will not be able to use the account to deposit monies or gamble until we have verified your age and identity. If you are from outside these areas, you will have 72 hours to verify your age. Please also see our section below on “Can I still play while my documents are under review”.

We are also required to take steps to help make sure that your gambling is fair, open, not linked to criminal activity and that it does not lead to potential harm for you or anyone else. Therefore, we may ask you to provide information regarding the source of funds you are using.

We understand that you may find these requests intrusive and feel that they are unnecessary but they are intended to protect you and our other customers and are a requirement of our providing gambling related services to you.

What do I need to do if you ask me for more information?

We will provide you either with an email setting out specific instructions as to the documents we require and also the secure email address for you to use to send your documents to us or we will provide on-screen prompts telling you what you need to do and how to do this at the appropriate times.

Typically, if the device you are using has a camera on it, then you will have the option of providing us with your proof of age and identity by taking a picture of the required ID and uploading it to us.

To do this simply login to your Betfred account and select "Submit My Documents" and you will be prompted to upload your documents directly. We use a service called Mitek to do this.

Unless you are submitting your photocard driving licence (which we are allowed to accept to prove your age, identity and address), you will need to submit one document as proof of your address and another as proof of your age and identity. A list of acceptable documents is set out below.

Alternatively, if you do not complete the verification process provided by Mitek (for example if you do not have your documents to hand), our Security team may be able to use a combination of background checks in order to verify your age and identity. These checks could include checking the electoral roll and other data that is publicly available. You will not need to do anything at this stage and if our Security team is able to help, they will but this could take a further 24 hours. Please note that if these checks are not able to verify you, we will still need to verify you and will need to discuss further options with you.

What documents can I use?

You can use your photocard driving licence as proof of your age, identity and address provided it has a valid expiry date and shows your photograph and driving licence number in full.

You can use your passport as proof of your age and identity provided it has a valid expiry date and shows your photograph and passport number in full.

You can use any official utility bill or bank statement that is dated within the last 3 months as proof of your address.

Why are you asking me for a ‘selfie’ with my ID?

In order to avoid identity theft and your account being used by someone else, we may ask you for a selfie along with your ID to make sure that it is you that is in control of your account and doing the gambling and not someone else.

Why have my documents been rejected?

Some typical reasons why we might not accept a document are as follows:

• The document is distorted, unclear or missing required information.
• The relevant parts of the document are not captured.
• The document is no longer valid.
• The proof of address is older than three months.
• Your registered account details do not match the information shown on the documentation.

Can I still play while my documents are under review?

If you are a new customer in Great Britain or Northern Ireland we must ask you to prove your age and identity before you gamble and so you will not be able to use the account until your age and identity is verified.

If you are a new customer outside of Great Britain or Northern Ireland, you will be able to deposit funds and gamble for up to 72 hours while we are verifying your identity. You will not be able to withdraw any deposits or winnings until we receive the requested documentation from you and are confirmed as being over 18 years of age.

If you are an existing customer and have been asked for further information then we will let you know, at the time of our request for documentation, whether you are still able to gamble with us or whether you need to be re-verified first.

What happens if I do not provide the information you have requested?

We normally ask for information to be provided by a certain date and time.

Where it becomes apparent that you are underage, we will suspend your account, void all bets you have made and will make your deposited funds available for return, in line with our policy on underage gambling which can be found here.

Where you simply do not provide the requested information then we may not be able to accept any further business from you and this will depend on the information that is required and the reason for its requirement. We will set this detail out in our request.

I have a cash balance in my account but I do not want to provide the information you have requested, can I withdraw my money?

Provided we are legally allowed to do so, you will be able to withdraw any cash balance back to the payment method you used to deposit monies with us on the verification screen or by calling Customer Services on 0800 028 7747 (UK) or +44 (0)1925 878269 (rest of the world).

Why do you want to know about my finances?

We are required by our regulators to know all about our customers so that we can provide the best possible service and ensure that gambling in Great Britain is fair, safe and free of crime.

Our aim is to keep crime and money laundering out of the gambling industry and we do not want our customers to fall into financial difficulties.

What information do I need to provide you to show my financial status?

We ask for copies of your bank statements to help check that your source of funds are legitimate, and as part of our anti-money laundering checks

Aside from studying your bank statements, we may also ask you for information to explain irregular income patterns in your account, for example, a pending house sale.

What do I need to provide if you ask me about the funds I have deposited?

If you are asked to give information about the funds you have deposited with us, this may be to establish the source of those funds or to confirm that you have sufficient funds to support your gambling activities. The type of information we will expect to see includes:

• If you are currently employed we will ask you to provide one of the following: three recent payslips, or a P60 issued to you within the last 12 months.
• If you are currently retired, we will ask you to provide details of your annual pension and a copy of your most recent pension statement or bank account showing the lasts 3 months pension payments.
• If you have your own business we will ask you to provide your latest personal tax return.

How will you use my information?

Please see our Privacy Policy for more information on how we may use your information.