The anticipation of winning a gambling round will give anyone an adrenaline rush, let alone a casino fanatic like you! Undoubtedly, the most exciting part of gambling is winning real money. Many popular online casinos come with the option to bet and win real money as they should!
These casinos generally have a safe interface that guarantees the security of your funds. So, all that you need is an equally safe yet convenient payment method to withdraw your winnings.
A much-appreciated thing about online casinos is they offer three or more payment methods–you can choose the one that suits you the best. This post spills the top 5 reliable payment methods you can choose to withdraw your winnings from online gambling.
Why Do You Need a Payment Method for Gambling Online?
Almost every online casino offers gambling activities involving real money. So naturally, you’d need to set up a payment method to deposit your funds and withdraw your winnings.
For example, one of the most popular gambling categories is a $20 deposit online casino. In these types of casinos, you have to deposit $20 in your player’s account to take part in the gambling games and slots.
Most players view this as a convenient option considering that $20 is a minimal investment. It’s enough to get you decent winnings without putting too much at stake.
5 Payment Options for Online Gambling
Here are the top 5 safe and reliable payment options to go for if you’re gambling in online casinos:
One of the most popular as well as the safest payment method is a credit/debit card. Since they’re directly linked to your bank, you do not have to worry about unwanted frauds and scams.
Also, since they’re a popular payment method, almost every online casino will have this payment option. Which card you carry also doesn’t matter–be it MasterCard or American Express, you can deposit and withdraw accordingly.
Pros of Using a Debit Card or a Credit Card
- No Risk of Debt
Since debit cards only allow you to withdraw funds from your own bank account, you do not run the risk of incurring debts. Although gambling is fun and profitable at times, it can certainly be addictive. However, with debit cards, you can prevent yourself from betting all your money in gambling.
- Secure Transaction
Credit/debit cards are generally issued by banks–except a few non-bank financial institutions (which are also reputable and reliable, in case you’re wondering). Hence, you don’t run the risk of failed transactions or missing funds.
The payment will occur securely through your bank’s encrypted network, allowing you to send and receive any amount you want without losing a single penny.
- Opportunity to Waive Off Annual Fee
Credit cards come with an annual fee. However, if you’re using your card for regular transactions–even if it’s for your gambling activities–your bank might waive off the annual charge.
Keep in mind that you might be required to spend the minimum amount decided by your bank to avail of this benefit.
Cons of Using a Debit Card or a Credit Card
- Managing Credit Score Is a Hassle
If you have a credit card, you need to be very careful about your credit score. After all, this score decides your future financial potential when it comes to buying insurance or taking loans.
A better credit score will help you land cheaper interests, while a poor credit score will slim your chances of getting an affordable interest rate on loans.
The biggest downside to using credit cards is that they cause people to overspend by offering easy loans. While easy loans are certainly lucrative, they can catalyze your gambling activities. Failing to repay these loans on time will further hurt your credit score.
2. Direct Bank Deposits
If you don’t want gambling activities and payment histories on your card, a direct bank deposit will be a safe and convenient alternative for you.
However, you will have to share some basic information like:
- Bank name
- Bank account number
- Beneficiary name
- Any other code as required by your country’s laws
Once the casino has these details, they can directly transfer the money from their account to yours. Similarly, you can use direct deposit to recharge your player’s account too.
Pros of Using Direct Bank Transfer
- Convenient Transactions
For people who prefer to stick to traditional payment methods, direct bank deposits are a great choice. When you choose to get your winnings transferred directly to your bank account, you neither have to set up a third-party payment app nor apply for credit cards. All that you have to do is share your bank details and get the funds transferred instantly.
- No Delay in Payment
Direct bank deposits are popular for their quick payment processing and minimal delays. Many players prefer to place their next bet from the winnings of the previous round.
If quick transactions are your priority, direct bank deposits are the perfect payment method for you.
Cons of Using Direct Bank Deposits
- Not a Popular Payment Method
The only problem with direct bank deposits is that it’s not a very popular payment option, especially when it comes to online payments for casinos and gambling.
Bank deposits demand a lot of information about the payee. Whereas in other payment options, you can transfer any sum in just a few clicks without getting too personal! That’s why not many online casinos will have the option to transact through direct bank deposits.
3. PayPal
Currently, PayPal is one of the most popular online payment methods that’s used by millions worldwide. Founded in 1998, it allows people to send or receive money from their friends, family, and others globally.
It’s also actively used by small-scale businesses, self-employed individuals, and merchants to manage financial transactions with their clients and customers.
PayPal has approximately 361 million users worldwide. Its colossal popularity is the reason why multiple online casino sites list PayPal as one of their top payment methods.
Pros of Using PayPal
- Global Operation
The biggest benefit of using PayPal is its wide global network that allows you to send or receive money from anyone from over 200 countries in the world.
For example, a US citizen can easily gamble at online casinos in Europe and transfer back their winnings to their bank account back at home in just a few clicks.
- Secure Encryption
One of the biggest concerns that most people have when using a third-party app for payments is their personal data’s security. When it comes to PayPal, rest assured because your information will be kept confidential.
According to the company’s policy, they encrypt all information related to your bank account, credit cards, and even your personal data.
- Protection Against Fraud
PayPal offers excellent protection against frauds and scams. For example, if you deposit funds in your casino account but do not hear back from the company, you can seek PayPal’s help to get a refund.
This becomes even more beneficial for online casinos where you do not have the power to hold that virtual entity liable.
Cons of Using PayPal
- Frozen Funds
A very common problem that PayPal users face is the company frequently freezing their funds. This means that sometimes the company will automatically hold on to your funds in case they require more information to authenticate the transaction.
They will not release your money until they are satisfied with their investigation. Although this is a good initiative to reduce online financial scams, it can sometimes affect innocent people who are just transacting their rightfully-owned money.
- Poor Customer Support
Getting your funds frozen is bad, but it’s certainly not as bad as the lack of responsive customer support. PayPal mostly operates through chatbots and pre-recorded solutions. Their emails are automated too, and it takes a lot of struggle to get them to connect you with a human customer care executive.
4. Payoneer
Payoneer is yet another popular payment platform with over 4 million users. It’s designed to support both personal financial transactions as well as business finance management.
Thanks to its mass payment feature, you can also send funds to a group of people at the same time. It’s available across 150 countries. Moreover, the brand also offers decent customer support in over 35 languages.
Pros of Using Payoneer
- Low Charges
The biggest benefit of using Payoneer is its surprisingly low charges on transactions. After all, no one would want to lose a substantial part of their winnings to transaction fees when withdrawing their own money.
Note: Payoneer’s transaction fees vary depending on the currency and mode of transaction.
Here’s a rough guide on their transaction fees:
- For all transactions in local banks and in the same currency, they charge $1.50
- For all local bank transactions in a different currency, they can charge up to 2%
- For credit cards, they charge up to 3% regardless of the currency
- For ACH bank debits, they charge a 1% transaction fee
- Automated & Fast Payments
Managing your transactions with Payoneer is super easy and convenient. Once your account is registered, you will receive every payment that is sent to you within 24 hours, regardless of where it’s coming from.
Also, you won’t have to manually transfer the sum from your Payoneer account to your bank account. The software will automatically forward all the funds you received directly to your registered bank account on a daily basis.
Cons of Using Payoneer
- No Monthly Statement Through Email
A lot of us prefer to get detailed statements of our transactions at the end of each month, preferably via email.
However, with Payoneer, you don’t have access to any such benefit. The only record you will have is your transaction history which you can see on only your Payoneer account’s dashboard.
5. Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrencies are the talk of the town. Ever since their popularity has skyrocketed, they’ve become a popular payment method in many online casinos. You can now pay for your gambling expenses with crypto–be it bitcoin, dogecoin, or ethereum.
Pros of Using Cryptocurrency
- Anonymous Transactions
Although gambling is legal in most states and countries, a lot of people prefer to keep their gambling activities a secret from their family as well as concerned authorities. If anonymity is your priority, crypto will be your ideal payment method.
It’s almost important to track or record transactions made via cryptocurrency–only the concerned platform will have any kind of trail regarding such transactions. Besides, only you will have the permission to view your payment history, assuming that you don’t give your account access to anyone else.
- Secure Transactions
Cryptocurrencies are generally a lot safer than traditional transaction methods, including bank transfers. Other payment methods generally use digital or electronic mediums to transfer money–these are susceptible to hacking.
However, with cryptocurrency, your funds are secured by the blockchain ledger, which uses extensive encryption, complex sets of codes, and pins that are hard to hack. This keeps your money safely locked away in your digital wallet and wards off potential hackers.
- Easy to Transfer
Your cryptos are stored in your digital wallet, so you can easily deposit in just a few seconds. What makes this whole process even easier is that you don’t have to link your bank account with your crypto account to make or receive payments.
Cons of Using Cryptocurrency
- Volatile Currency
Despite all the benefits that tag along with cryptocurrency, one simply cannot ignore the threat posed by its high volatility. Considering how new it is compared to fiat money, cryptocurrency’s value keeps fluctuating.
Moreover, crypto is managed by only a handful of organizations and developers, and it’s fairly easy for them to manipulate the currencies as they please.
- Complicated Concept
Unlike with fiat money, not everyone is experienced with cryptocurrency. In fact, you require substantial knowledge of how the crypto market works before you attach it to your casino wallet. This is why we don’t recommend this method for amateurs.
However, if you have the proper know-how to use cryptocurrency or have been using it for a while, it can certainly prove to be a great payment method for your online casino transactions.
8 Tips to Follow When Choosing a Payment Method
Having learned about the most popular and reliable methods for your casino payments, you now need to know what qualities a reliable and secure payment method should have. This will help you zero in on the best payment method that suits your needs.
1. Choose a Known Service Provider
When it comes to your finances, never trust a company that barely has any market presence. It’s always recommended that you stick to the popular industry leaders that have been around for years, providing excellent services to all the customers.
For example, a registered credit card with your bank is a much safer alternative than a third-party payment app with no substantial record to show for in the recent past.
2. Consider the Commission Rates
Needless to say, every financial transaction that you make with a third-party payment app or even your credit card attracts a commission rate, typically known as transaction charges. You cannot completely avoid this fee, but you can certainly settle with a service provider that charges less.
Note that this transaction fee can either be a flat sum or a percentage of what you receive. We recommend that you always go for flat fee service providers if possible.
For example, if the flat fee for a certain app is $3 and the commission rate for another provider is 5%, then on a withdrawal of $100, you can save up to $2 with the payment app that charges a flat fee. Moreover, your savings will keep increasing as your withdrawal value increases.
3. Check Their Network of Operation
Choose a service provider that has its roots spread all across the world. This will ensure that your gambling activities aren’t restricted to a particular state or country.
Choosing a global service provider will also come in handy if you ever decide to move to a different country. You obviously wouldn’t want to switch from your go-to payment method, especially when you’d already been dealing with the hassle of moving to a whole new country.
4. Evaluate Their Processing Time
Nowadays, financial transactions are no longer meant to be tedious and difficult. So, before you decide to stick with a payment method, make sure you check its payment processing time. Generally, it takes anywhere between a few minutes to a few hours to process your payment–anything longer than that should not be tolerated.
A lot of players like to re-invest their winnings into the next game–it keeps them disciplined and restricts them to a certain predefined amount. Hence, if you use a payment method that takes days to process your payment, it can hamper your game and even snatch from you the control of your finances.
5. Consider Their Efficiency of Processing Payments
The perfect payment method, while facilitating both deposits and withdrawals, should also be efficient. This simply means that your transactions should not fail or be stuck for days.
Never go for payment services that hold your funds against your will for any arbitrary reason–even when it has been released by the casino.
6. Look for a Seamless User Interface
If you’ve decided to ditch the traditional forms of payments like credit cards and opt for a digital payment solution instead, make sure you prioritize a seamless user interface over everything else.
Digital payments should be easy. If you see that the service provider is asking too many questions–making the process extra complicated–and are not transparent with your funds, consider these red flags and walk the other way.
7. Compatible with Every Device
Playing in an online casino that runs smoothly on both your phone and laptop is important, but it’s equally important that you pick a payment method that works on both device types.
Never pick a payment method that only works on your laptop since you won’t be able to access your funds when you only have your mobile on you.
It’s true that nowadays, almost every service is available on every device, be it mobile or desktop, but there’s a catch. Many companies offer limited features on their casino’s browser version to rake up their app download count and climb the popularity charts in terms of the number of registered users.
8. Good Customer Support Department
One of the most important things to consider when it comes to payments and transactions is a liable and responsive customer support department. If you’re using a credit card or direct bank transfer, you can expect decent support from your bank in case an issue arises.
On the other hand, if you’re a third-party payment app user, be a little extra careful. Often the biggest problem with these digital payment methods is the lack of human support they offer their customers.
For example, PayPal only allows interaction with bots. Interacting with human executives could mean waiting for days, sending countless emails, and even after all this, there’s a handsome chance that you might never hear back from them. In such a scenario, having your money stuck could mean losing it forever.
Therefore, you should never compromise with customer support when looking for the perfect payment method to manage your gambling winnings.
Final Thoughts
For people who actually know their way around casinos and gambling, it’ll indeed be fun, and to keep it that way, you need to sign up with a seamless yet secure payment method that’ll safeguard not only your rewards but also ensure timely transfer of the same.
Having learned about 5 immaculate payment methods along with their pros and cons, you’re now fully aware of what an ideal payment method should look like for you.
Pro Tip: List down your priorities and expectations from a payment method and then scour through multiple payment methods to zero in on the one that matches your requirements. This might take a little time, but it’ll serve you well in the long run!
