Having to reveal your identity mitigates one of the advantages of using an end-to-end crypto gambling site. And as crypto people, we know the site operator might misuse our information, share it, or have it taken from them by nefarious actors such as identity thieves or governments.
So BitEdge has done dozens of real-world tests, had hundreds of conversations with customer support and read through the terms and conditions of the top 20 crypto gambling sites to see which are more or less likely to require your identity documents.
Sites that let you remain anonymous
Sites that might ask for ID
- Betcoin
- BitCasino
- Bitsler
- bitStarz
- Cloudbet
- mBit
- Primedice
- Rocket
- Sportsbet
- Stake
- TrustDice
- 7BitCasino
All sites will let you sign up, deposit and play anonymously, it’s when you withdraw that they might ask for ID. They don’t always require ID but they might. They are more likely to ask for ID if your account seems higher risk or has unusual activity. For example, if you:
- Sign in from different countries.
- Use VPNs.
- Use your account for other transactions like it’s a personal crypto wallet.
- Deposit/bet/withdraw large amounts.
- Deposit and withdraw without betting.
- Make a lot of deposits and withdrawals.
The sites that give themselves the right to request ID also give themselves the right to postpone your withdrawal until you provide your documents. They then state that if you do not provide a valid ID they have the right to close your account and keep your balance!
Why do sites require your ID?
Generally, crypto gambling sites don’t actually want to do this. It’s a waste of their time and money, and it makes them the victims of identity fraud when people submit fraudulent IDs. However almost all crypto gambling sites now have a gambling license, and it’s these licenses that force Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements into the site’s terms and conditions.
Despite the licenses meaning very little, they are required by many external providers that the crypto gambling sites rely on, such as:
- Casino game providers.
- Live dealer providers.
- Sportsbook odds and risk management providers.
- Technology providers.
- Financial providers like banks, crypto exchanges and payroll services.
Those providers require the sites to have licenses and the licenses require the sites to do KYC. Having bettors’ IDs can also be useful for gambling sites in the following ways
- Prevent bonus abuse.
- Limit long-term winning sports bettors.
- Prevent multi-account collusion, for example, 1 person pretending to be 2 people at a poker table.
- Prevent internal fraud by their own staff.
However those are minor details and the site would still rather not have to do KYC and then deal with those problems in other ways, it’s really all about the gambling license. In fact, all 5 crypto gambling sites that don’t request your IDs, don’t have licenses. 14 out of the 15 crypto gambling sites that might request your ID, do have licenses! See details about crypto gambling licenses.
Conclusion
Giving your ID to a site is as much of a risk as playing at an unlicensed site. Neither are big risks, we have provided our ID to dozens of crypto gambling sites and never had a problem.
At the end of the day privacy is one of several things to consider when deciding where to bet. By far the best and most trustworthy crypto gambling sites are Sportsbet, Cloudbet and Stake and they all might ask for your ID, however, in practice, they usually don’t.
About
I am a sports bettor returning 4% profit.
I have been living on crypto since 2013.