Types of Gambling Payment Methods and How They Work

Gambling online is a unique and adventurous experience; however, before being allowed to place real money bets at an online gambling venue, players are required to register a real play account and make an initial deposit. They can make deposits using a wide range of payment options such as credit/debit cards, prepaid and gift cards, eWallet solutions, bank transfer, wire transfer, eChecks and others.

Here is a brief overview of the major types of payment methods and how they work:

Credit/Debit Cards

Using credit/debit cards to fund online gambling accounts is widely preferred, but fraught with challenges owing to the unfriendly online gambling laws and lack of proper online gambling regulation in several countries across the world.

For instance, MasterCard holders might be able to fund their accounts, but they will not be able to withdraw winnings to their MasterCard. Only certain MasterCards issued in the UK allow players to both make deposits and withdrawals.

Players holding Visa Cards issued in countries such as USA, India, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Japan and others might be successful in funding accounts, but not in withdrawing winnings. Moreover, a certain percentage of the deposit amount is charged as fees for those use credit/debit cards to fund their accounts.

Alternative Payment Methods (APMs)

Online gambling customers who find it difficult to use their credit/debit cards to fund their accounts are advised to use APMs, which are also referred to as eWallets or electronic wallets.

eWallets are like online bank accounts that can be used to store funds and make payments anonymously to Internet merchants and gaming sites. Players can easily use credit/debit cards and a wide range of other methods to deposit funds into their eWallet accounts. These funds can then be instantaneously transferred to online gambling accounts.

There are two basic varieties of APMs—value added, which function like a bank account and credit-based, in which the APMs advance credit to customers after taking into consideration factors such as credit scores and others.

Some of the most popular APMs or eWallets are Moneybookers or Skrill, Citadel, Click2Pay, Neteller, PaySpark, UseMyBank, ClickandBuy, UseMyWallet and ECOcard, to mention just a few.

Prepaid Solutions

The most widely used prepaid solutions are Ukash and PaySafeCard, which are previously loaded cards that can used to quickly, safely and anonymously fund online gaming accounts. Players can deposit only as much as the cards permit them and once the cards expire, they need to be reloaded.

Other Methods

Players can also use a wide range of other, more traditional, methods such as paper checks, money transfer, MoneyGram, Western Union, Money Order, Bank Transfer, Wire Transfer and others to transfer funds to their online gaming accounts.

One of the newest and most popular methods of funding online gaming accounts is the eCheck, an electronic version of the traditional paper check, which can be used to move funds quickly and easily from bank accounts to online gambling accounts. eChecks are now gaining popularity among US players.

Moreover, these methods prevent players from depositing more than they can actually afford to.