It would help allay fears if the process were not so secretive. It is far more secretive than is necessary to prevent copycat fraud. There should be figures compiled and released that show what percentage of players are "flagged" and have to go through extra hoops to get paid, and for what kinds of amounts. Further, there should be figures on how often the casino gets it wrong, and accuses an innocent player of fraud.
The biggest problem is not players having to produce extra information & documents, but that CS suddenly treat them like something the cat dragged in last night, rather than affording them the courtesy expected between business and customer - and this happens BEFORE any case is proven either way.
Production of documents is the norm, however, the insistence on a photo ID is not justified by the checking process available to the casino, as they have no means of verifying the photo on the document against the face of the player, since they never meet face to face. What is important is not the presence of a photo, but the nature and authority of the document itself. A GOVERNMENT issued document that gives certain rights to the holder should be good enough, photo or not, since the rights given imply the authorities have had to check that the applicant has earned them, such as a FULL drivers licence (not provisional), and a Passport (which has long had a photo anyway). Because of the lack of a national identity card system here in the UK, it is down to local government to issue such documents on request, but unfortunately they differ in form, some have a photo, and some don't. Britain is considered to be "in the 21st century", so this should not be a problem, so why is it?
Getting documents notarised in the UK should not normally be expensive, but you have to know where to go. A solicitor will usually charge a fortune, but their are cheaper ways, such as a "swearer of oaths" (Notary), who will charge around 5 per page/copy. The Notary will photocopy the document, and then attach a seal to signify they have "Notarised" it. ONLY where a request for NOTARISED documents has been made, does a photo become relevant, as the Notary will have the opportunity to meet the applicant in person, and can notarise that the photo on the document matches the applicant.
There has been a considerable shift towards demanding increasing levels of documentation from players from ALL casinos, not just Rival. SOME players are getting caught out by this because they have been playing for some time and have never had to produce documents before, and are unprepared when asked.
Players should try to make sure they have one form of PHOTO ID, and one other form of ID that independently verifies their address. This should be considered a MINIMUM. Players unable to meet this minimum MUST get themselves verified by the casino BEFORE they play, as they would be unable to comply with the routine request on withdrawal. The casino can then either pass or reject the player at that point (and casinos CANNOT OK a player, and then change their mind when they win, this would be considered rogue behaviour).
What is also needed is a guide for players in how to deal with these ID issues, especially when they have fallen foul of them, and need to know how to best go about verifying their ID without making themselves look even worse, such as thinking of adding their photo by photoshopping a non-photo ID document just to comply with the casinos request for a photo on it - this may be a foolish attempt to comply, but looks like the person knows about fraud, and makes them look more like a fraudster.
