The different banking options available to online casino players in the USA
Casinos are always great fun, but to take the fun to the next level you are going to want to gamble with real money. So how exactly do you get your money on the virtual blackjack table or in an online slot machine?
You’ll need to open an account and make a deposit. But what deposit method is the best? At the end of the day, that’s really up to you. So, let’s lay out your options.
Online casinos are often at the cutting edge of technological advancements. So, it’s no surprise that they offer a great selection of payment and withdrawal methods.
The number of payment options offered by online casinos is actually one of the many ways we use to judge the quality of online casinos.
Credit & Debit Cards
An oldie, but a goodie. Credit cards and debit cards are still a popular payment option at most online casinos. You’ll struggle to find a casino that doesn’t accept at least one or two credit card options.
Mastercard is widely accepted at online casinos, both locally and internationally. But by far the most popular payment method for online casinos is Visa. No matter what online casino you choose, you will usually be able to use your visa debit or credit card to make a deposit and receive withdrawals.
Perhaps not as widely accepted as other credit cards, you can also use your American Express card, and this is especially true when playing at online casinos based outside of the US and Canada.
Pre-Paid Cards
This is a fantastic alternative to more traditional payment options. Pre-paid cards give you the option to load a set amount onto a card. This card can then be used as a voucher to make payments online.
Pre-paid cards are closely linked to eWallets, with both securely falling into the modern payment option bracket. Many eWallet providers offer their customers pre-paid cards in order to facilitate online payments and help provide an added layer of security.
The PaySafeCard is probably the best known, and definitely the most widely accepted pre-paid card. It’s become a very popular deposit method at online casinos. You might also be able to use Play+, Neosurf, EntroPay, EcoCard and PayNearMe.
There is one important caveat when it comes to using pre-paid cards. This is often a one-way transaction. It’s usually not possible to withdraw any money from a casino back onto your pre-paid card. You can often only use pre-paid cards to make a deposit to a casino, it’s often not possible to withdraw as well.
e-Wallets
Essentially an e-Wallet stores your personal and financial information in a secure way online. Using an e-Wallet allows you to make transactions at online stores and casinos without the need to always input all your info. Not only is this quicker and more convenient, it’s also much more secure.
Sometimes referred to as digital wallets, e-Wallets are a great option for players who like the idea of the added level of security offered by cryptocurrency but haven’t gotten round to investing in any themselves.
Neteller and Skrill are popular at online casinos across the globe. Locally you can also regularly use EcoPayz and Citadel. Even though PayPal is the world’s most popular e-Wallet, it isn’t actually that widely accepted at online casinos, so it’s a good idea to sign up for one of the other services.
Bank Transfers
Although the slowest method in terms of online casino payments, you’ll always be able to make deposits and withdrawals with this method.
It’s also the default method for withdrawals, if you opt to use a payment option from which you can’t make a withdrawal, like a pre-paid card or an expired credit card.
On top of being the slowest method, wire transfers often come with processing fees. So, while probably the easiest for the technologically challenged, we recommend you try literally any other method when making deposits and withdrawals from online casinos.
If you do decide to make a transfer, you can go with the classic Wire Transfer. But there are a few newer options available including eCheck where you can transfer to and from your Checking account, as well as InstaDebit and iDeal.
Cryptocurrencies
When most people think of cryptocurrencies, they tend to think of Bitcoin. But there are actually a load more options available. And a lot of them can be used at online casinos. There are even casinos that specialise in one form of ‘crypto’ or all types of cryptocurrencies.
Players like the idea of using cryptocurrencies because it helps protect their anonymity, which is usually impossible to do when playing at an online casino using more traditional payment methods.
A few casinos only allow payments via cryptocurrencies, and even those that offer other payment methods will often give you something special for depositing via crypto, such as boosted welcome bonuses.
Besides Bitcoin, many casinos also accept Litecoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Tether.
Whatever payment method you go with, make sure to read the terms and conditions to ensure that the casino isn’t charging any extra fees and that the processing times aren’t to long.
