Crypto stuck in sports betting site, now they want KYC

[nascarodds]

I'm from the states and have been using a betting website to do some light sports betting. They do not allow US citizens and so I used a VPN to gain access. They only require an email address to create an account, and no KYC unless you want to buy crypto directly from them. I will not name the site for various reasons.

Anyways, sometimes I try to login to the site before setting my VPN and it simply tells me I'm in a restricted area. Never had any issues though, I just flip on the VPN and all good. I've been using this site for about 2 months now. Today I logged in and and it was requesting I input my phone number to proceed. It said I can withdraw funds but services were restricted until I enter my phone number. So I created a fake number from Hong Kong, and entered it in. It sent me a code and I entered it. Little did I know Hong Kong is also banned from this site (I know I know, I was just in a hurry to place a bet). Now my account is locked and they will not allow me access to even withdraw until I go through full KYC.

I have about $1,200 of BTC in there, nothing crazy. If I KYC myself they will simply say I broke their TOS and lock me out forever (I did the research on this already). KYC consists of ID, recent bills, and photo of yourself holding ID. The only piece of information this site has on me is an email address.

I have friends who have friends in other countries. Some of those friends of friends live in impoverished countries. What's stopping me from using them to KYC my account and then giving them a piece of the stuck funds? I would only need to gain access to retrieve the funds and would not continue to use the account or website.

Is this a good idea and do you think it will work? Worth the $1,200? My only hesitation at this point is asking the friend and they go through the hassle but then it goes sideways and still do not gain access to my account.

 

[fidelbet]

I doubt you will succeed in this attempt. You can do it nonetheless. I think it would still be worth it to try. In fact even the one who would do the KYC would also think it is worth it even if it would go unsuccessful and he won't be receiving anything. You mentioned you've got friends of friends who are living in impoverished countries. Even if you give them the $200 of your $1,200, it must already be worth trying for them. Or perhaps you might want to give a little for the effort even if the KYC fails.

More likely it will fail. Your real IP is already detected. When you switched to a VPN, you're probably caught using it. That's another violation. And then all of a sudden, you will be detected logging in from another country and submitting KYC from there. All of these are definitely red flags in their system.