Regarding the quite unorthodox request for the ID verification, without going into details about the person, this is our take:
- The customer in question was unable to provide us with proper ID (Driver’s license or Passport).
- A birth certificate is not a valid form of identification. What other casinos do are irrelevant, we need to have a proper ID to follow our licensing requirements.
- The above is underlined by the provided birth certificate itself with the text “Warning: A certificate is not evidence of identity”.
- Therefore, he was asked to either get a couple of family members OR a partner OR an employee to sign a form - acting as people verifying this customer's identity. They were of course required to send in their ID's for us to be sure that they are over 18 years of age.
We understand that our customer(s) might find this odd, but at this moment this is the only method that we can use to identify a customer who has not got a passport or driving license.
We hope this gives a satisfactory reply on the question on the identification.
As always, should you have any question please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Service (
[email protected])
Best regards,
Jonas at Mr Green
This is just another way of asking for a "Notarised ID". The problem some players will have withy this is that they have to involve others, and this can be a problem if they want to keep their gambling secret from their partner, family, employer etc. The others also have to send in their documents, and even if not a problem for the player, could be a problem for the others involved who will want to know where their documents are going.
The problem is down to the documents being provided by many countries being unsuitable for online verification. The discussion centres around two points:-
1) Why will some governments simply not bring their ID documents and procedures up to date such that citizens can partake of internet commerce where their ID needs to be verified.
2) Governments ARE satisfied that the documents currently supplied are good enough for online ID verification, but is is CASINOS that are being awkward about it and trying to do it "on the cheap" using "off the shelf" procedures that are NOT always suitable for the country in question.
It is something that governments and regulators need to address, so that honest players are not screwed over simply because they don't drive or travel abroad as a lifestyle choice, or even down to a medical issue.
The UK is one of these "difficult" countries because there is no national ID card scheme, and the driving licence is widely used as a proxy ID card. Other ID card schemes are part private, part local authority, and although they follow a national standard, there is no one overall design or format - it varies from council to council. Worse, unlike other countries, there is no facility to get an "ID only" driving license photo card - at least one category has to have been tested for, and passed, even if there is no intention to ever use it. The passport option is not as simple as it used to be, since border control, rather than ID verification, is it's main function. If you have one, fine, but if you have never needed one until a casino asks for it you have a MINIMUM of 6 weeks to wait, over £100 to pay, and have to travel to a place of interview that can be some way off.
If you are a UK player, and have a passport, DON'T let it lapse. Even if you have no plans to cross the border, it can come in handy if you encounter problems at a casino. It will also be handy if you win one of those big prizes from a casino competition (which is why I got mine in the first place, after 45 years without one).
Until this issue is sorted out, players who have no other photo ID should consider getting a passport just in case they encounter such problems, even if "other casinos" have been happy to verify them by other means, or small wins have been paid out without ID issues.
