Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Policy

This page focuses on money laundering in relation to online casinos and online gambling. We will also discuss the position of an online gambling review site and the user experience when a licensed operator uses verified transactions or identities. We do not handle user deposits, withdrawals, or players’ funds. We review online gambling operators and attempt to provide user feedback on operators that comply with AML regulations.

What Money Laundering Means

Money laundering is the process of legitimizing illicit funds.

There are generally three steps in laundering:

1. Placement – illicit money is put into the system (for example via small deposits).
2. Layering – the money travels through a number of transactions, instruments or accounts which hide the origin of the money.
3. Integration – the criminal is provided with money that looks like it has a legitimate origin (for example from the proceeds of a bet).

Gamming operators are susceptible to money laundering because there is a large volume of small and fast transactions. Bookmakers and licensed casinos are obliged to carry out customer identification, transaction monitoring, and reporting of suspicious transactions to the relevant enforcement authorities. These rules have been set out by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and translated into local rules by the relevant regulatory authorities.

Our Role as a Review Site

We provide review articles, comparisons, and guides. We do not charge or hold any information about you. Any link we provide will take you directly to the provider where you will register and make all payments. You will be entering into agreements with that provider, and that provider will be responsible for meeting its own AML requirements.

• We do not ask for passwords, ID documents, card details, or deposits from you.
• We will not call you to speed up a payment, verify an account, or unlock a bonus for a fee.
• If you are contacted by someone claiming to be from us and asking for personal information or money, this is fraud and should be reported to us.

How We Check Operators’ AML Standards

Operators must undergo identity and payment checks prior to being included in our lists. These checks include:

1. Regulatory license held and registerable on the regulator’s public registry
2. A KYC or AML policy that states what information is required and at what time
3. Identity verified prior to first withdrawal
4. A statement of payment options and whether withdrawal methods must match the original deposit method
5. Know your customer and transaction limits, with extra scrutiny applied to large deposits or withdrawals
6. Use of encryption on payment and account pages

Should an operator stop performing any of these checks, make large payments without identity verification, or close a number of accounts without apparent reason and receive a number of complaints regarding this behavior, we will reassess their position in our lists and potentially remove them.

What KYC Verification Looks Like

KYC, or ‘Know Your Customer’, is the verification process that must be carried out by regulated sites as part of their AML compliance. The following may be required by one or more of the following:

• ID – Driving license, national ID or passport
• Proof of address – Recent (within 3 months) bank statement or utility bill
• Proof of payment method – Full card image (with middle digits obscured) or bank statement or e-wallet screenshot displaying your name
• Proof of funds – Tax returns, payslips or other similar documents, often required with large deposits or withdrawals

Verification may take between 24 and 72 hours, but this can vary considerably between sites and also depend on the quality of the provided documents. In order to minimize verification time, please:

• Fill in your full name and date of birth to match those displayed on your ID
• Provide full color images or scans that are fully cropped and show all four corners of the document
• Ensure the documents are up to date and not expired
• Complete verification prior to first request of a withdrawal

Rules That Keep Your Withdrawals Moving

There are many delays in payments due to violations of the AML rules. Please be aware of the following:

• Only use payment methods that are registered to you. Third-party wallets and cards are typically rejected.
• Withdrawals will be sent back to the same payment method that the deposit was made with if the payment method supports withdrawals.
• Some sites do require that your deposited funds must be used at least once before you can request a withdrawal. Requests to deposit and then request a withdrawal without wagering the funds may also be subject to a site audit.
• Only have one account per site. Multiple accounts are often rejected, and funds may also be held.
• For cryptocurrencies, use a wallet that you control. Some sites may require proof of ownership of the wallet.
• Respond all verifications properly. Incomplete or falsified documentation may result in the suspension of your account.

Warning Signs at a Betting Site

Exercise extreme caution with any platform that:

• Allows high cash-outs without identity verification.
• Requests funds be sent to a private number, phone, wallet, or card.
• Promises to ‘clean’ funds or lets third-party deposits be made.
• Displays no license or a non-matching license number from the regulator’s list.

These platforms can leave you with frozen funds and potential legal issues, even if you have committed no offense.

Reporting Suspicious Activity

If you believe money laundering is taking place on one of our websites, you can report this to us through the Contact Us page. If you believe any member of our staff is being impersonated on one of our websites, please report this to us through the Contact Us page. Please provide as much information as possible, such as the name of the person concerned, a short description, and any useful images or screenshots. We will look into all reports and remove or edit the offending person from our site. Where legally possible, we will also pass on information to the appropriate criminal enforcement authorities.

You should also report any suspected crime to your local police or financial crime unit.

Policy Updates

We update this page when regulations or our review criteria change.