Online Gambling Deposit Methods

Walking into a casino or poker room and exchanging a wedge of cash for a tray filled with chips is pretty straightforward, but things are a little more complicated in the online world and there’s a lot of stuff that needs to happen in the background when you want to put money on an online poker site, sportsbook or casino, particularly if you’re an American player where the banks make things even more awkward.

These days there are a myriad of ways to deposit to online casinos, bookmakers and poker rooms but of course only one or two will suit most people. Some don’t have credit cards, some don’t have debit cards but fear not there are still ways to get your gamble on!

Credit Card Deposits

The most common of the online gambling deposit methods is still the simple credit card. Be it Mastercard or Visa, every reputable online gambling site accepts these and paying with a credit card is one of the safest methods to pay for stuff online and you’re offered a lot of protection from fraud and other nasty stuff. The best all-in-one gambling site for non-US customers is Bet365. They’re the biggest online gaming site in the world and offer the best sports betting interface as well as a busy poker room and a comprehensive casino and mobile betting service. For American customers I recommend you go with Bovada. They’re one of the most trustworthy names in American betting at the moment and have very high credit card approval rates.

PayPal Deposits

PayPal is probably the best known online payment processor,but it is not all that widely accepted by online gambling sites. Your best bet here is to use 888. Americans unfortunately can’t use PayPal for gaming transactions. You can read more about PayPal Casinos here.

Debit Card Deposits

One of the simplest ways to deposit to online gambling sites is through a debit card. You don’t have to remember to pay any bills, the money is simply taken straight out of your bank account. Every country has its own debit card system such as VISA Debit in the UK and Ireland and Bancontact in Belgium, but once your card has the Maestro logo you should have no problem depositing at any of the major sites.

US players can try to deposit with a debit card, but the success rate is quite low, however it is certainly worth trying. As with credit cards, Bovada is the site with the highest reported success rate.

eWallet Deposits: Skrill and Neteller

Skrill (formerly Moneybookers) and NETeller are the two biggest eWallets and what they do is essentially act as an intermediary between you and your bank and allow you to store money online. This is a great deposit method if you want to keep gaming transactions of your credit card or bank statement which will help if you’re applying for a loan or mortgage. US customers can hold accounts, but can’t use the money for gambling purposes. When you lodge money, make sure that you indicate that you intend to use it for gaming or you’ll be prohibited from doing so. The best all-in-one gaming sites which accept eWallets are Bet365 and 888. In fact, these two accept virtually every deposit method from non-US players so they’re always going to be your best bet.

One eWallet option that is open to US customers is EWalletXpress which is accepted by Bovada. You can link your US bank account to your EWalletXpress account making depositing easy.

Prepaid Card Deposits

There are a variety of pre-loaded cards that you can buy in shops which will allow you to deposit to gambling sites simply by entering the number on the card. The most popular of these is Ukash which can be bought in over 50 countries around the world. Prepaid cards are great because there’s no interaction with banks and you don’t have to worry about fraud or identity theft. If you win, you can just get the site to send you a cheque. Unfortunately, pre-paid cards can’t be used by US customers.

Other popular prepaid cards are the PaySafeCard and Entropay. These cards are most popular in the UK but can be found all over the world and are accepted by all of the big sites like 888, Bet365, William Hill and Ladbrokes.