Anti-Money Laundering

Account Verification and Crypto Casino KYC – Complete Guide

Published

3 years ago

August 30, 2022

The online casino industry has snowballed against all odds. It’s no longer a secret that the industry is fast-growing, with experts foreseeing a $94.4 billion worth by 2024. The industry has successfully grown since its first gambling software appeared on the scene decades ago. Today, several innovations have sustained its spread across the globe.

The Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure is a common trend across traditional fiat money gambling sites. Moreover, some crypto casinos apply such safety procedures despite claims of anonymity. The internet is a wonder. You’ll get to see the good, bad, and terrible side of it. Is KYC needed? What are the downsides to this process? Perhaps it’s a process to keep gamblers safe? This review explains everything regarding the crypto casino KYC process to help you always select the best crypto casinos.

Know Your Customer Verification: What is it?

The Know Your Customer (KYC) Verification is a procedure adopted by gambling sites to eliminate financial crimes. The process is also called Enhanced Due Diligence and is mandatory for online casinos. Essentially, the procedure aims to verify players’ identities and establish a connection between the information provided during registration and the legal government documents of the player.

Specific documents such as government-issued ID, bank statements, credit/debit card information, and proof of address are required for a KYC procedure. This process can be done immediately after registering, but it is required before a player can initiate a withdrawal. What’s more, best crypto casinos like those found on cryptocasinos.net carry out the process once. Therefore, gambling sites do not require a KYC now and then. The only exception is when there is a change in the player’s payment choice.

Why is KYC Verification Phase Necessary?

KYC verification is a means to create a safe and responsible gambling space. For instance, it prevents underage individuals from exploring bitcoin casinos. And problem gamblers won’t be able to open multiple accounts. Here are more spectacular reasons why some crypto casinos subscribe to this process:

Preventing Fraudulent Practices

The information required for a KYC process contains sufficient details about the player and his means of income. This information can be leveraged by relevant authorities if there are possible scam complaints in the future.

Anti-Money Laundering (AML)

One of the primary reasons for the KYC checks is the potential threat of money laundering. BTC casinos are under scrutiny by regulators to curb such excesses within the industry. In a bid to clean dirty money, money launderers use online gambling sites for such activities. The KYC checkmates the source of income of the potential player and ensures it is not illegal or unknown.

Proving Source of Income

With a complete KYC check, the origin of funds would be ascertained. The Proof of Sources of Funds is another document required during such procedures on the best crypto casinos, covering withdrawals and deposits of the potential player. Btc casinos can ensure your online safety, fight fraud, and they can avoid being labelled or linked to financial crimes.

Avoiding Funnels for Nefarious Activities Such as Terrorist or Crime-Based Cartels

Data collected during the KYC checks can be helpful when tracking activities connected with nefarious activities such as crime-based operations or terrorism. The financial organization can be corporate with state security to track, identify and cancel such operations.

Self-Exclusion Tracking

Know Your Customer is ideal for problem gamblers. The best bitcoin casinos can easily protect vulnerable players using the information provided. If a player opts for self-exclusion, the relevant organization can stop them from opening another account with another operator, thereby restricting their access till the self-exclusion is over.

What Documents are Required for KYC?

The KYC verification process requires certain unique documents. These documents would be uploaded to the crypto casino site to prove your identity, source of income, and location. The process takes between a few minutes to a full working day. Here are some of the documents needed:

Photo ID

Bitcoin casinos require players to upload a photo ID. You can scan or take photos of the document using a smartphone device. This photo ID proves your identity. A government-issued ID – a driver’s license, national identity document, or passport, is requested for this phase. Best crypto casinos may request additional documents like your birth certificate.

Proof of Address

During registration, players fill in their addresses. The document upload would have the address you provided to prove you live there. The proof of address helps the crypto casino understand the jurisdiction and what gambling laws and regulations are administered in your location. Utility bills (gas, water, electricity) or a bank statement having your full address are unique documents that can be used for proof of address. What’s more, these documents must be within the last three months.

Proof of Funds

The best crypto casinos require proof of funds. This is to verify your means of income and to ensure that the bank account or e-wallet provided is yours. When a player cannot provide such documents, the means of income is questionable, and such an individual could be involved in a financial crime. Documents needed for the proof of funds are a picture of your e-wallet or credit/debit card front page, job payslip, bank statement, etc.

Crypto Casinos? Do They Require KYC?

The KYC verification phase can sometimes be skipped. It depends on the preferred crypto casino operator and its operations’ rules. Most licensing authorities demand the verification of each user. If you love your anonymity, you can opt to get BTC casinos that bypass this phase.

However, demanding verification is a means the bitcoin casino uses to protect its players. Most gamblers see this as a sign of reliability, responsibility and security and would not hit the sign-up button if this phase is skipped. Moreover, it shows that a preferred bitcoin casino would comply with financial legislation.

KYC vs. No KYC Crypto Casinos: Pros and Cons

Regardless of your preference, KYC and no KYC crypto casino have upsides and downsides. Here, we highlight some basic pros and cons of each gambling brand.

Pros of KYC casinos:

Proves credibility and reliability of the crypto casino.
Once done, allows withdrawals/deposits using the same payment method
Prevention of fraudulent activities, international crime & money laundering
Increased protection for problem gamblers

Cons of KYC casinos:

A fresh KYC check is needed when a new payment option is added
Delays in withdrawals

Pros of No KYC Casinos:

Absolute anonymity
No delays in withdrawing winnings
Players can use any payment option of their choosing
Freedom to access gambling products and services from restricted areas

Cons of No KYC casinos:

Sign of potentially joining a scam operator
Problem gamblers can skip self-exclusion

Let’s Sum It up

The KYC verification phase is an excellent means of curbing many fraudulent activities in the gambling space. However, it is a phase that can be skipped and would not undermine your security. Players love to explore and enjoy the best crypto casinos, still keeping their digital footprints away from prying eyes.

Regardless of what your preference is, it is mandatory to gamble responsibly. Do due diligence on the casino operator you are interested in becoming a part of. Ensure they tick every box of making a good operator. Best of Luck!

AML

Payments Under Scrutiny: Polish Example

Published

1 week ago

October 8, 2025

Zoltan Tundik

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Online gambling continues to thrive in Poland, despite the country’s strict regulatory framework. Virtual casinos and betting platforms still attract players with the promise of easy access and quick winnings. Yet, their operations would not be possible without the involvement of payment institutions that process transactions for entities operating outside the boundaries of the law. Behind the scenes lie not only questions about compliance with Poland’s Gambling Act, but also serious concerns about money laundering and the potential financing of criminal activity.

PSPs Legal Responsibility

The key question remains the legality of actions taken by payment institutions that handle transactions linked to illegal online gambling. Do they, even unintentionally, help such operations thrive? Under Polish law, payment service providers are required to monitor and limit high-risk transactions. In practice, this means that every deposit or withdrawal connected to unlicensed gambling activity should be treated as a red flag. Special attention is also given to transactions made through popular mobile payment systems such as BLIK. While BLIK itself is not a payment institution under Polish law, the banks and financial operators using it are and it is they who bear responsibility for preventing the flow of funds that may support illegal gambling activities.

Clear Legal Framework, Limited Excuses

Polish law leaves little room for speculation here. The register of domains used to offer illegal gambling, the ban on processing payments for unlicensed operators, and the penalties outlined in the Fiscal Penal Code and Criminal Code set clear boundaries of responsibility.

The Anti-Money Laundering Act (AML) and the EU Regulation 2023/1113 require payment institutions to actively monitor transactions, block suspicious transfers, and cut off risky relationships. Guidance issued by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF/UKNF) and the National Risk Assessment, along with its sectoral annex, describes typical abuse schemes and makes it clear that payments directed toward online gambling should be treated as a major warning signal. In practice, this means that financial channels supporting illegal gambling must be identified and shut down before the funds return to players as so-called “winnings.”

And this principle is now being actively enforced. Recently, the Financial Supervision Authority (UKNF) went a step further, issuing a sector-wide warning urging payment service providers to block financial flows to unlicensed operators. In response, Polish payment providers have begun withdrawing support for illegal gambling sites and removing payment options such as BLIK from unlicensed platforms.

The Hardest to Detect: The Intermediary Role

The flow of funds into illegal online gambling can take many forms, depending on the relationships between the parties involved in the transaction. The most difficult to detect, however, is the scenario in which a payment institution acts only as an intermediary within a larger payment chain transferring money between other financial service providers without directly serving the payer or the recipient. Even in such cases, the institution is not exempt from its obligation to continuously monitor and analyse all transactions.

Depending on the type of payment, it should apply different verification methods, all aimed at determining whether executing a transfer on behalf of another provider could, in practice, end up funding entities that organize illegal online gambling. The institution must obtain information from the ordering provider about the recipient, determine whether it is engaged in gambling related activity, and verify its legal status. If red flags arise during the analysis such as missing data in the payment chain, a domain listed in the official register, or the absence of the website from the list of legal operators the transaction should be paused or rejected and properly escalated. This includes raising the risk level, notifying the relevant authorities, or even terminating cooperation. When dealing with correspondent relationships involving other institutions, including those based within the European Union, heightened caution is essential.

Grey Market Fuelled by Inaction

Illegal online gambling would not exist without the support of the payment system. Although the law clearly defines the obligations of financial institutions, in practice it is often these very institutions that knowingly or not enable the flow of money into illegal online gambling. This is why effective identification and blocking of such transactions is crucial, especially within complex payment chains where tracing the connections can be most difficult. Every transfer made in support of illegal online gambling represents not only a legal risk but also real support for the shadow economy that thrives on the lack of vigilance within the financial sector.

This article was supplied by:

Marek Plota

Founding Attorney at RM Legal & Gaming In Poland •

Marek is a founder and a head of the legal team at RM Legal Law Firm and Gaming In Poland, jointly providing multidisciplinary and multijurisdictional support for leading international gambling operators in the Polish, European Union, and African markets. His gambling practice includes regulatory support at the pre and post-licensing stage, IT, and taxation services, as well as the unique service of performing a function of a gambling representative. RM Legal is the only law firm in Poland representing offshore companies operating legally in the Polish gambling market. Apart from gambling Marek specializes in corporate commercial law and international investment projects.

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