The whole Identification scenario (Passports)

[sparkz]

Havent been on for ages as I have completely given up gambling, but 1 thing that always had me stumped was casino's requests for identification. For UK members the norm is to ask for passport or driving licence as identification.

I remember a lot of discussions and things where a lot of members (many from other countries) basically gave the opinion of... "It's not hard to get a passport, if you cant pay the cash for a passport, you shouldn't be gambling online".

After quitting gambling and being many months gamble free, I have actually applied for a passport, not for casino ID purposes of course, but for overseas visits that I am planning.

I have now nearly been through the full process required, and I can actually say that for UK members, it is a difficult a long process... and I went down the easiest possible route.


- Filled in forms online, had forms printed and sent to me (via 2nd class post), took nearly 2 weeks to arrive.

- Had to order a certified copy of mine and my mothers birth certificates from the general registry office (£10 for each).... Took 6 weeks to arrive.

- Got passport photo's taken....£5... These have to be less than 30 days old when sending off my application.

- Spent days phoning round to see who I knew to countersign my passport (has to be someone who is classed as a "professional"). Took a good few weeks to find someone and ask them to take a few minutes out of their busy working lives to countersign my application and passport photo.

- Took the whole lot into the post office to use their "check and send service".... Passport application was returned due to 1 or 2 things missing from the form. Still had to pay £10 for that service.

- Got hold of the person countersigning for me, as they were busy I had to book an appointment a week later.

- Post office accepted forms via "check and send" service.

With the next steps being:

- Attend an interview in a few weeks time in another town, costing £30+ train fare, plus extra on taxi's.

- Wait for passport to arrive (Expecting it around mid-Jan)



Just wanted to share that with people as I remember when I was an active member here, there were a lot of debates and people assuming it's easy to get a passport to use as identification when playing at casino's.

By time I get my passport, the whole process would of cost me nearly £200 and would of taken around or over 3 months.

Worth the cost and wait?? Probably, but only because it mean's I can have some nice holidays away.

Worth the cost and wait just to show a casino it as "identification"??? No way.... Unless someone has a huge win and has iron willpower to not reverse and lose the lot in the 3 months it takes to receive their passport.

 

[zreb]

Are you sure the casinos won't accept other government issued ID, such as a driver's license? Surely there are a ton of people who deposit and play at online casinos without a passport, would be very strange if all those people had to wait months for a withdrawal. I think with birth certificate + driver's license you could get a notarized id, maybe that would be faster, but don't know how things work in the UK.

Might depend on the individual casino what they need, some casinos are pretty lax, some put you through every annoyance under the sun.

 

[Jasminebed]

Not everyone drives zreb.

Before I got a passport I would check with a casino to see if my ID was satisfactory, at least after having an additional photo request myself and reading of people's issues here at CM. If an amount was large enough and I had to get one, I would have, just like I'd get notarized copies if I had to, not something I expect to have to unless it was a progressive.

You have a wonderful holiday sparkz. Should I assume you are going with your mom? Have you picked a spot, or are you waiting until you have your passport to book?

 

[sparkz]

Yeah without a doubt, many casinos always had some sort of common sense and would accept birth certificates but there was still quite a lot that wouldnt.

I think nowadays in the UK a lot of people do have either a passport or driving licence, so they have no problem, however there are still a lot that don't and to get either is more hassle than it's worth. There is no government ID cards in the UK, it's not mandatory for anyone to have any sort of ID on them.

The process I went through to get my passport has been a lot easier than the process of getting a full UK driving licence (Driving licence's require many driving lessons at a £10 an hour cost, taking and passing a theory and practical test).

 

[sparkz]

Thanks Jasmine.

Im hoping to go by myself. Really want to get into touring different places and seeing different cultures. Hopefully once the passport finally I arrives I will look into a few last minute flights to get me started. Planning on visiting America and hopefully Tunisia at some point

 

[vinylweatherman]

This is the process for getting a first ever passport. In 10 years time, renewal will be easier as many of those steps are one time only, such as verifying birth certificates. I believe the mandatory face to face interview is also for first time applications. Renewal costs £75, but may have gone up because it's the same site that told me it cost £15 to renew a photo driving licence, and having just got my forms through for this, I see it is now £20.

I only got a passport in 2006 because I won a trip to Germany at a casino. Before this, I had never been abroad, and had no immediate plans to do so, so didn't bother getting a passport.

The problem now is not photo ID (I have a choice of 2), but those utility bills. Everything has been going online, and posted paper bills are a thing of the past. Other letters that will suffice are not sent on a regular basis, so there are spells throughout the year where nothing is less than 3 months old.

 

[dunover]

This is the process for getting a first ever passport. In 10 years time, renewal will be easier as many of those steps are one time only, such as verifying birth certificates. I believe the mandatory face to face interview is also for first time applications. Renewal costs £75, but may have gone up because it's the same site that told me it cost £15 to renew a photo driving licence, and having just got my forms through for this, I see it is now £20.

I only got a passport in 2006 because I won a trip to Germany at a casino. Before this, I had never been abroad, and had no immediate plans to do so, so didn't bother getting a passport.

The problem now is not photo ID (I have a choice of 2), but those utility bills. Everything has been going online, and posted paper bills are a thing of the past. Other letters that will suffice are not sent on a regular basis, so there are spells throughout the year where nothing is less than 3 months old.

Yes, you took my words there. He'll be OK for 10 years now, and the process next time is simple - send expired passport back with application and a new photograph, and it takes literally days.

 

[Redbet-Andy]

- Spent days phoning round to see who I knew to countersign my passport (has to be someone who is classed as a "professional"). Took a good few weeks to find someone and ask them to take a few minutes out of their busy working lives to countersign my application and passport photo.

Just for anyone else going through the same thing with regard to this part.
There are loads of authorised people now.
Nurse, Teacher, pharmacist, journalist - your local pub landlord can sign, even I can sign them. People tend to look for lawyers or solicitors which can be a hassle.

 

[sigothx1]

I have both a passport and a driving licence, i was a bit daunted when i had to first provide ID at betat, so i sent alot more than id probly need haha

i didnt have a utility bill as i dont pay them i pay rent to my mother :/

so i provided a junk letter with my name and address on it, which was fine at both omni and betat.

 

[KasinoKing]

The problem now is not photo ID (I have a choice of 2), but those utility bills. Everything has been going online, and posted paper bills are a thing of the past. Other letters that will suffice are not sent on a regular basis, so there are spells throughout the year where nothing is less than 3 months old.

so i provided a junk letter with my name and address on it, which was fine at both omni and betat.

You took the works right out of my mouth!
I expect most people are like me - I get masses of "junk mail" from casinos and virtually NO utility bills though the post.
Casino's ought to accept other casino's junk mail as a form of ID!

KK

 

[vinylweatherman]

You took the works right out of my mouth!
I expect most people are like me - I get masses of "junk mail" from casinos and virtually NO utility bills though the post.
Casino's ought to accept other casino's junk mail as a form of ID!
KK

They may do if said junk mail is to welcome you to the very highest VIP level because you have dropped an absolute fortune there over the past year. They would not want to put off a player who is clearly a "whale" once they get past the "newbie" stage at any casino.

 

[GrandMaster]

This is the process for getting a first ever passport. In 10 years time, renewal will be easier as many of those steps are one time only, such as verifying birth certificates. I believe the mandatory face to face interview is also for first time applications. Renewal costs £75, but may have gone up because it's the same site that told me it cost £15 to renew a photo driving licence, and having just got my forms through for this, I see it is now £20.

I only got a passport in 2006 because I won a trip to Germany at a casino. Before this, I had never been abroad, and had no immediate plans to do so, so didn't bother getting a passport.

The problem now is not photo ID (I have a choice of 2), but those utility bills. Everything has been going online, and posted paper bills are a thing of the past. Other letters that will suffice are not sent on a regular basis, so there are spells throughout the year where nothing is less than 3 months old.

Click2Pay was the worst. It insisted on a bank statement which was at most a week old.