The Verification Nightmare: What Casinos Can (And Can’t) Demand

I won €480 playing blackjack. Hit withdraw, felt good about it. Three hours later, I got an email: “Please submit proof of identity, proof of address, and a selfie holding your ID next to your face.”

Fine. I’d heard about KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements. Sent everything over. Two days pass. Another email: “Please provide a bank statement showing the deposit transaction, plus a second form of address verification dated within the last three months.”

That’s when I started wondering—where does legitimate verification end and stalling tactics begin?

After dealing with verification at six different casinos (and one dispute that took three weeks to resolve), I learned exactly what casinos can legally demand and what crosses into unreasonable territory.

Verification processes vary wildly between casinos—some request documents upfront during registration. At Boo Casino, they urge New Zealand players to verify accounts before attempting withdrawals from their NZ$2,000 welcome package, with 24/7 support available to guide through the process.

Standard Verification vs. Fishing Expeditions

Every licensed casino needs to verify your identity. That’s not optional—it’s legally required under anti-money laundering regulations. But there’s a massive difference between standard KYC and what I call “verification hell.”

Standard verification requests:

• Government-issued photo ID (passport, driver’s license, national ID card)
• Proof of address dated within 90 days (utility bill, bank statement, tax document)
• Proof of payment method (photo of credit card—front only, with middle numbers hidden)

That’s it. If a casino asks for these three things, they’re following normal protocol. You provide them, they verify within 24-48 hours, and you get paid.

Red flag requests I’ve encountered:

• Bank statements going back six months
• Proof of income or employment contracts
• Notarized copies of documents
• Video calls to “verify identity”
• Source of funds declarations for wins under €2,000

One casino asked me to explain where my deposit money came from. I’d deposited €100. They wanted payslips, tax returns, or bank statements showing my income. For a hundred euros.

That’s when I learned casinos do have some right to ask about fund sources—but context matters. If you deposit €50 and win €300, demanding financial history is overreach. If you deposit €10,000, they have legitimate reason to verify it’s not laundered money.

When Delays Become Deliberate

The verification process shouldn’t take more than 72 hours for straightforward cases. I’ve had accounts verified in six hours. I’ve also had one casino take 19 days—during which they requested the same documents three separate times, claimed they “didn’t receive” my emails (I had read receipts), and finally approved everything without explanation.

Here’s what I discovered: casinos sometimes delay verification hoping you’ll reverse your withdrawal and gamble the money back. It’s a known tactic. The longer they make you wait, the more likely you’ll crack and redeposit.

My rule now? If verification isn’t acknowledged within 48 hours, I contact support directly through live chat. I ask for a timeline. If they’re vague or unresponsive, that’s a warning sign about the casino’s reliability.

The Selfie Trap

The “selfie holding your ID next to your face” request has become standard. I don’t love it, but I understand why—it proves you physically possess the document and aren’t using stolen images.

But some casinos push this too far. One asked for a selfie holding my ID, a handwritten note with the current date and casino name, AND a newspaper showing that day’s date. Another wanted me to hold my ID and credit card together in frame.

These elaborate selfie requirements sometimes indicate a casino that’s either paranoid about fraud (which might be understandable) or deliberately making withdrawal difficult (much more common).

Document protection tip: When submitting card photos, black out the middle 8 digits and the CVV. Only the first four, last four, and your name should be visible. Any casino demanding full card details is either incompetent about security or running a scam.

What Happens When They Refuse

Sometimes verification fails for legitimate reasons—blurry photos, expired documents, name mismatches. But what if you’ve submitted everything correctly and they still won’t pay? Players often wonder whether can a casino refuse to pay out their winnings, and the answer is yes—but only under specific conditions like bonus abuse or underage gambling. If you’ve followed the rules and they’re still stalling, you can file complaints with licensing authorities.

I had one €680 withdrawal rejected because my utility bill showed a slightly different address format than my ID. The street name was abbreviated on one document. After two weeks of back-and-forth, I escalated to their licensing authority (Malta Gaming Authority). The casino approved payment within 48 hours of my complaint filing.

Licensing authorities exist for exactly this reason. If a casino is licensed in Malta, Curacao, UK, or elsewhere, they answer to a regulator. Use that leverage.

What I Do Now

My verification strategy has become proactive rather than reactive. Before depositing anywhere, I check reviews specifically mentioning withdrawal experiences. I look for patterns—multiple complaints about verification delays signal trouble.

When I register, I immediately upload documents even if not required yet. Some casinos verify you during registration, which means withdrawals process faster later. If they don’t have early verification, I make a small deposit, play minimally, and test withdrawal with €20-50. If that goes smoothly, I know larger withdrawals will likely be fine.

I also keep a verification folder on my computer with pre-prepared documents: ID scan, recent utility bill, card photos (properly redacted), and a current selfie. When verification requests come, I respond within an hour. Fast responses reduce delays.