How-to
Verifying your age and identity in a betting app
You verify your age and identity in a betting app by entering your details at sign-up and uploading the documents the operator asks for. Irish law requires a licensed operator to check your identity and age before it opens your account (s.169, in force since 5 February 2026). Nobody under 18 may take part (s.158).
Editorial team · checked
What to have ready
- A phone with the app installed from the App Store or Google Play (iPhone steps, Android steps).
- Your full name, date of birth and home address, spelled as on your documents.
- A photo document that shows your date of birth.
- A document that shows your address.
- A bank statement from the last 6 months.
The last three items match the additional verification method in S.I. No. 315/2026, made on 6 July 2026. Which documents a given operator accepts: Not checked.
In short: have your name, date of birth, address and documents ready before you register.
The five steps
- Check the licence. Follow the licence check before you register.
- Result: you know the licensee name and number.
- Common mistake: registering first and checking later.
- Enter your details. Use your legal name, date of birth and address as on your documents.
- Result: the operator can match you to your documents.
- Common mistake: a nickname, an old address or a typo in the date of birth.
- Upload your documents. Use the upload screen inside the app, or on the operator's own site opened from the store listing.
- Result: the operator can start its check.
- Common mistake: sending ID by email or message to someone who contacted you first. See the red flags.
- Where the upload screen sits in each app: Not checked.
- Wait for the result. The law puts the check before the account opens (s.169).
- Result: the account opens, or the operator asks for more.
- Common mistake: opening a second account with different details while the first is pending.
- Timescale: Not checked. Quote only what the operator publishes.
- Set your limit before you deposit. Follow the deposit limit steps.
- Result: your own cap is in place. Operators must let you set a limit (s.164).
- Common mistake: depositing first and meaning to set a limit later.
In short: licence first, exact details, upload inside the app, then set a limit.
What the law requires
| Rule | What it says | Status |
|---|---|---|
| s.158 | A child (under 18) may not take part in gambling. | In force since 5 February 2026 |
| s.169 | The operator verifies identity and age before it opens an account. | In force since 5 February 2026 |
| S.I. No. 315/2026 | Sets an additional verification method for operators (see the list above). | Made on 6 July 2026 |
These duties fall on operators, not on this site. The wider legal picture is on what the law requires before an account opens.
In short: the check comes before the account, and under-18s are barred.
If it does not work
- Documents rejected. Compare each detail with the document. Ask the operator's support, in writing, what is missing. Keep the reply.
- You are under 18. The law bars you. Do not try another operator.
- No reply, or you disagree. Follow the order in complaining about a betting app.
How long it takes: Not checked. We quote a timescale only where the operator publishes one.
In short: ask in writing, keep the reply, then escalate in order.
How we checked
- Law: ss.158 and 169 and S.I. No. 315/2026, read on the Irish Statute Book.
- Still to capture: the documents, upload screens and timescales that three operators publish. Source: their help pages, with the date.
- We did not open accounts or upload documents to test any service.
In short: the law is sourced; operator details are not checked yet.
What changed
- 7 November 2026: first version of this page.
In short: no earlier versions exist.
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