How to FICA on Hollywoodbets

Accepted proof of identity

A copy of your ID. Hollywoodbets' FICA page is as short as that: "FICA is a copy of your ID", and under proof of identity, "ID copy, or Passport". If you are using a smart card ID, it asks for a picture of both the front and the back.

The copy has to be readable. The page asks that "the information and photo must be visible" and that you "provide a colour copy or clear photograph".

Where a driver's licence does and doesn't count

Not as your ID. Hollywoodbets' FICA page is specific: "A driver's license will only be accepted as a supporting document for customers who only have a temporary ID or their ID documents are damaged."

Its terms are slightly wider. Clause 6.6(ii) says a licence "may be accepted as proof of identification" where the customer "is unable to produce an Identity Document for reasons which are acceptable to Hollywoodbets", provided it is valid and shows the photograph, name, date of birth and ID number. Both versions agree on the point that matters: the licence is what you send when an ID is not available, not instead of one.

Clause 6.6(iii) also allows a valid work permit or an asylum seeker or refugee permit, at Hollywoodbets' discretion.

Betway handles the same document differently on paper, which is worth knowing if you hold accounts at both. Its FICA page lists a driver's licence alongside the ID book while its terms restrict it — see how to FICA on Betway, and Betway against Hollywoodbets for the two accounts side by side.

Proof of address and proof of your bank account

Here the FICA page and the terms do not say the same thing. The FICA page asks for identity only. Clause 6.1 says you "may be requested to provide documentary evidence of your identity and, in some cases, your residential address", and clause 6.9 says that at registration "or at any stage" Hollywoodbets may require your ID, proof of physical address and proof of banking details. We would go by the terms: send the ID first and be ready for the rest.

Both of the extra documents carry a three-month limit (clauses 6.6(iv) and 6.9). Accepted proof of address in clause 6.9 is "a statement/invoice of account rendered by a City Council or Municipality or a bank in the case of mortgaged property".

For an EFT withdrawal, clause 12.11 wants a nominated bank account in the account holder's name and a copy of the account holder's ID. Hollywoodbets says it may verify the banking details "using Nedbank's banking security solution or by requesting a stamped bank statement", and may ask for a sworn affidavit that the bets are the customer's own.

Taking cash at an outlet needs an ID, and clause 12.10(ii) says that above certain limits "valid proof of residence may also be required".

Four routes, all published by Hollywoodbets. The self-service upload is at fica.hollywoodbets.net, reached from the "Upload FICA Now" button in the site header, and it lets you "upload documents on your mobile phone by taking a picture or uploading files already saved on your device".

The FICA page also lists handing it in at any Hollywood branch, faxing it to 086 673 2627, or emailing it to HWHelpline@hollywoodbets.net.

The self-service page asks for an ID number, passport number or cellphone number to start.

Hollywoodbets does not publish a review time. We read its FICA page, its registration page and its general terms, and none of them says how long a document check takes. The closest the FICA page comes is "Once we have this you can start playing!", which is not a duration.

We have not borrowed a figure from anywhere else. For comparison, three of the ten sites we track do publish one: Betway says up to 24 business hours, Easybet within 24 hours and Sunbet up to 48 business hours.

The payout clock is separate, and Hollywoodbets' terms give two answers for it. Clause 12.11 says EFT withdrawals are "processed within 24 hours of a request", subject to banking hours. Clause 12.15, in the same document, says Hollywoodbets will transfer the money "within 72 hours of confirming the availability of the amount".

Cash-send methods are 72 hours under clause 12.12. The Hollywoodbets review lists every method with its minimum and stated speed.

Because the terms do not allow it otherwise. Clause 12.2: "No withdrawals from a betting account will be possible or permitted unless the identity of the Customer requesting the withdrawal has been established and verified by Hollywoodbets."

It starts earlier than the payout. The registration page says FICA documents are needed "in order to complete your registration and for us to activate your account", and clause 6.5 says no betting account will be created until identity has been verified. Deposits by crypto are blocked until the account is "completely FICA verified" (clause 11.8).

The second rule to know is whose account gets paid. Clause 12.3 says payment goes to the account holder "and not to any third party in any circumstance", clause 12.14 repeats it for bank accounts in anyone else's name, and 12.14(iii) says changing your nominated account needs a formal request with proof of the new one.

The requirement is not Hollywoodbets' invention. Its clause 6.2 says plainly that it "is classified as an accountable institution in terms of FICA", which is what Schedule 1 of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001 makes a licensed bookmaker.

Which province licenses Hollywoodbets is a separate check: how to check a South African bookmaker's licence.

Hollywoodbets publishes nothing about rejected documents. No page we read says what a failed check means, how to resubmit or whether you are told why. What its terms do set out is the consequence of a document never arriving: clause 6.9(ii) suspends and deactivates the account until the information is provided, and allows permanent termination if the customer refuses, and clause 6.13 reserves the right to suspend an account that has not met FICA requirements.

From what Hollywoodbets does publish, these are the checkable causes: a driver's licence sent as the only ID, one side of a smart card instead of both, a copy where the photograph or the information is not legible, a proof of address or bank document older than three months, or a nominated bank account that is not in your name.

A withdrawal that comes back from your bank is a different problem. FICA is about proving who you are; a bounced payout is about the account it was sent to, and Hollywoodbets will only pay an account in the account holder's name (clauses 12.3 and 12.14), with a formal request and proof needed to change it (12.14(iii)).

Either way the route is Hollywoodbets' own: HWHelpline@hollywoodbets.net or 087 353 7634. The FICA hub compares all ten licensed sites on the same step.

This guide is part of FICA verification for South African betting accounts, which compares what every licensed South African betting site asks for.