So I am new to Unibet. Signed up and account was electronically verified. I checked the verification tab and it said I am free to play and don’t need any further verification.
Deposited a sum of money and subsequently won a bet. Tried to withdraw and get hit with the verification needed.
The UKGC explicitly say this is against operators license conditions.
Quoted from UKGC website;
“We are continuing to receive complaints from gambling consumers concerning operators only asking them for ID at the point they ask to withdraw funds from their account.
All remote operators should be aware of the changes to the LCCP introduced on 7 May this year.
Where an operator delays a request to withdraw funds due to insufficient ID being verified, that operator may be in breach of a new licence condition and may find themselves subject to regulatory action as a result.
The new licence condition, Licence Condition 17 – Customer identity verification, requires that:
1 Licensees must obtain and verify information in order to establish the identity of a customer before that customer is permitted to gamble. Information must include, but is not restricted to, the customer’s name, address and date of birth.
2 A request made by a customer to withdraw funds from their account must not result in a requirement for additional information to be supplied as a condition of withdrawal if the licensee could have reasonably requested that information earlier. This requirement does not prevent a licensee from seeking information on the customer which they must obtain at that time due to any other legal obligation.
3 Before permitting a customer to deposit funds, licensees should inform customers what types of identity documents or other information the licensee may need the customer to provide, the circumstances in which such information might be required, and the form and manner in which such information should be provided.
4 Licensees must take reasonable steps to ensure that the information they hold on a customer’s identity remains accurate.
This means that licensees must have verified, as a minimum, the name, address and date of birth of any customer – new or existing – before permitting that customer to gamble.
“Additional information” in paragraph 2 means anything in addition to information required to verify the name, address and date of birth of the customer as required by paragraph 1.
The key expectation of paragraph 2 is that licensees should ask their customers for any additional information promptly where they have identified a need for that information based on their risk assessment, and that such information should not be requested solely at the point of withdrawal. This is consistent with AML regulations and our published guidance on AML and POCA which require ongoing monitoring of customer relationships and that risks are considered by the licensee at all stages of the relationship.
Paragraph 2 states that the requirement does not prevent a licensee from seeking information on the customer which they must obtain at that time (ie the time the withdrawal request is made) due to any other legal obligation.This acknowledges that there will be circumstances where an identifiable risk (for instance relating to money laundering) only emerges later in the relationship, or for example where another enforcement body requires the licensee to terminate transactions with the customer subject to information being verified.
However, operators would not be able to rely on this provision in any case where information could reasonably have been requested earlierthan the point the withdrawal request is made.
Operators should also remember that they cannot confiscate a customer’s funds on the basis that they have not provided ID. Last year, on the back of action it had undertaken in the remote gambling sector, the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) provided its view that consumers are legally entitled to money which they have deposited in their account, to winnings made with money they have deposited and gambled, and winnings made from a bonus where the relevant conditions have been met (subject to AML or other regulatory requirements).”
So a couple of main points I take from this, operators should not be requesting verification at point of withdrawal when this information could of reasonably been requested sooner.
Of course Unibet come out with the expected spiel about it being part of their Terms and Conditions that I agreed to upon signing up.
The point is this is against licence regulations and Unibet are in breach of their license, this is evident to me due to the numerous other posts I’ve seen on this website and other websites about players only being requested documents at point of withdrawal. The UKGC explicitly states;
“However, operators would NOT be able to rely on this provision in any case where information could reasonably have been requested earlier than the point the withdrawal request is made.”
Seen as my case is not the exception Unibet frequently only request for verification at point of withdrawal.
Just because the Terms and Conditions state you are allowed to request verification at any point does not mean it is against operators license conditions to ONLY request at point of withdrawal, which appears to be the case with Unibet.
“Licensees must take reasonable steps to ensure that the information they hold on a customer’s identity remains accurate.
This means that licensees must have verified, as a minimum, the name, address and date of birth of any customer – new or existing – before permitting that customer to gamble.”
So I was allowed to deposit, so to be complying with their licence Unibet must have verified my name and date of birth and address at time of registration and before I was allowed to deposit. Yet when I want to make a withdrawal suddenly you need extra verification. But the initial verification was enough to allow me to deposit but not withdraw?
Of course I could easily upload required documents but this is besides the point. The UKGC set these regulations and license requirements to protect players from Casinos delaying the withdrawal of funds.
“The key expectation of paragraph 2 is that licensees should ask their customers for any additional information promptly where they have identified a need for that information based on their risk assessment, and that such information should not be requested solely at the point of withdrawal. This is consistent with AML regulations and our published guidance on AML and POCA which require ongoing monitoring of customer relationships and that risks are considered by the licensee at all stages of the relationship.”
So once again, why was this only done at point of withdrawal, is it simple repeated coincidence that Unibet do this to a number of players at point of withdrawal and not before.
“Operators should also remember that they cannot confiscate a customer’s funds on the basis that they have not provided ID. Last year, on the back of action it had undertaken in the remote gambling sector, the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) provided its view that consumers are legally entitled to money which they have deposited in their account, to winnings made with money they have deposited and gambled, and winnings made from a bonus where the relevant conditions have been met (subject to AML or other regulatory requirements).”
So the UKGC and CMA state a customer is legally entitled to their winnings regardless if the ID is provided. Yet Unibet are stating they will not release my funds.
Unibet could of reasonably asked me for this verification sooner and not at point of withdrawal. I am allowed to deposit my money into Unibet pockets but when it comes to withdrawing it’s a different story. These regulations are here to protect customers from that and as it stands Unibet have failed their customers and the license requirements.
Again I know somebody will state T&Cs say they can request at any point, but it’s a bit of a coincidence it’s only when I go to withdraw. If I hadn’t requested a withdrawal and continued to deposit would I of been asked to verify? Of course not! And this is the part that is WRONG.
This is against not only licence conditions but it is also immoral. I have signed up to numerous other major UK betting companies and they either request verification documents at sign up or they will allow you to withdraw without a sudden request of verification documents.
If you allow a player to deposit. You simply must allow them to withdraw.
Requesting Verification Only At Point Of Withdrawal
in Verification Help
Posted
Hi,
So I am new to Unibet. Signed up and account was electronically verified. I checked the verification tab and it said I am free to play and don’t need any further verification.
Deposited a sum of money and subsequently won a bet. Tried to withdraw and get hit with the verification needed.
The UKGC explicitly say this is against operators license conditions.
Quoted from UKGC website;
“We are continuing to receive complaints from gambling consumers concerning operators only asking them for ID at the point they ask to withdraw funds from their account.
All remote operators should be aware of the changes to the LCCP introduced on 7 May this year.
Where an operator delays a request to withdraw funds due to insufficient ID being verified, that operator may be in breach of a new licence condition and may find themselves subject to regulatory action as a result.
The new licence condition, Licence Condition 17 – Customer identity verification, requires that:
1 Licensees must obtain and verify information in order to establish the identity of a customer before that customer is permitted to gamble. Information must include, but is not restricted to, the customer’s name, address and date of birth.
2 A request made by a customer to withdraw funds from their account must not result in a requirement for additional information to be supplied as a condition of withdrawal if the licensee could have reasonably requested that information earlier. This requirement does not prevent a licensee from seeking information on the customer which they must obtain at that time due to any other legal obligation.
3 Before permitting a customer to deposit funds, licensees should inform customers what types of identity documents or other information the licensee may need the customer to provide, the circumstances in which such information might be required, and the form and manner in which such information should be provided.
4 Licensees must take reasonable steps to ensure that the information they hold on a customer’s identity remains accurate.
This means that licensees must have verified, as a minimum, the name, address and date of birth of any customer – new or existing – before permitting that customer to gamble.
“Additional information” in paragraph 2 means anything in addition to information required to verify the name, address and date of birth of the customer as required by paragraph 1.
The key expectation of paragraph 2 is that licensees should ask their customers for any additional information promptly where they have identified a need for that information based on their risk assessment, and that such information should not be requested solely at the point of withdrawal. This is consistent with AML regulations and our published guidance on AML and POCA which require ongoing monitoring of customer relationships and that risks are considered by the licensee at all stages of the relationship.
Paragraph 2 states that the requirement does not prevent a licensee from seeking information on the customer which they must obtain at that time (ie the time the withdrawal request is made) due to any other legal obligation.This acknowledges that there will be circumstances where an identifiable risk (for instance relating to money laundering) only emerges later in the relationship, or for example where another enforcement body requires the licensee to terminate transactions with the customer subject to information being verified.
However, operators would not be able to rely on this provision in any case where information could reasonably have been requested earlier than the point the withdrawal request is made.
Operators should also remember that they cannot confiscate a customer’s funds on the basis that they have not provided ID. Last year, on the back of action it had undertaken in the remote gambling sector, the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) provided its view that consumers are legally entitled to money which they have deposited in their account, to winnings made with money they have deposited and gambled, and winnings made from a bonus where the relevant conditions have been met (subject to AML or other regulatory requirements).”
So a couple of main points I take from this, operators should not be requesting verification at point of withdrawal when this information could of reasonably been requested sooner.
Of course Unibet come out with the expected spiel about it being part of their Terms and Conditions that I agreed to upon signing up.
The point is this is against licence regulations and Unibet are in breach of their license, this is evident to me due to the numerous other posts I’ve seen on this website and other websites about players only being requested documents at point of withdrawal. The UKGC explicitly states;
“However, operators would NOT be able to rely on this provision in any case where information could reasonably have been requested earlier than the point the withdrawal request is made.”
Seen as my case is not the exception Unibet frequently only request for verification at point of withdrawal.
Just because the Terms and Conditions state you are allowed to request verification at any point does not mean it is against operators license conditions to ONLY request at point of withdrawal, which appears to be the case with Unibet.
“Licensees must take reasonable steps to ensure that the information they hold on a customer’s identity remains accurate.
This means that licensees must have verified, as a minimum, the name, address and date of birth of any customer – new or existing – before permitting that customer to gamble.”
So I was allowed to deposit, so to be complying with their licence Unibet must have verified my name and date of birth and address at time of registration and before I was allowed to deposit. Yet when I want to make a withdrawal suddenly you need extra verification. But the initial verification was enough to allow me to deposit but not withdraw?
Of course I could easily upload required documents but this is besides the point. The UKGC set these regulations and license requirements to protect players from Casinos delaying the withdrawal of funds.
“The key expectation of paragraph 2 is that licensees should ask their customers for any additional information promptly where they have identified a need for that information based on their risk assessment, and that such information should not be requested solely at the point of withdrawal. This is consistent with AML regulations and our published guidance on AML and POCA which require ongoing monitoring of customer relationships and that risks are considered by the licensee at all stages of the relationship.”
So once again, why was this only done at point of withdrawal, is it simple repeated coincidence that Unibet do this to a number of players at point of withdrawal and not before.
“Operators should also remember that they cannot confiscate a customer’s funds on the basis that they have not provided ID. Last year, on the back of action it had undertaken in the remote gambling sector, the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) provided its view that consumers are legally entitled to money which they have deposited in their account, to winnings made with money they have deposited and gambled, and winnings made from a bonus where the relevant conditions have been met (subject to AML or other regulatory requirements).”
So the UKGC and CMA state a customer is legally entitled to their winnings regardless if the ID is provided. Yet Unibet are stating they will not release my funds.
Unibet could of reasonably asked me for this verification sooner and not at point of withdrawal. I am allowed to deposit my money into Unibet pockets but when it comes to withdrawing it’s a different story. These regulations are here to protect customers from that and as it stands Unibet have failed their customers and the license requirements.
Again I know somebody will state T&Cs say they can request at any point, but it’s a bit of a coincidence it’s only when I go to withdraw. If I hadn’t requested a withdrawal and continued to deposit would I of been asked to verify? Of course not! And this is the part that is WRONG.
This is against not only licence conditions but it is also immoral. I have signed up to numerous other major UK betting companies and they either request verification documents at sign up or they will allow you to withdraw without a sudden request of verification documents.
If you allow a player to deposit. You simply must allow them to withdraw.