Although everyone wants to experience the thrill of winning at a casino, it is not possible for all to go to real-world casino. This is where online casinos come in. Online casinos allow you to gamble on all the games that you would find in a regular casino, from the comfort of your home or workplace. However, online gamblers are often bothered by the fact that they might have to make their payments through the internet.
A lot of people are very apprehensive when it comes to online transactions. They have the right to be, because they cannot see where their money is going. If the system is not safe enough, then there are chances of hackers breaking in. To provide easy and secure transactions, a lot of companies offering online money transfer services have come up in the past few years. Some of them even specialize in transacting with online gambling sites. Here are some of the popular payment options used for online casino real money gambling today.
Credit cards
A credit card is the most popular payment method for any online transaction, not just gambling. There is no shortage of credit cards that can be used for online gambling. Here are the pros and cons of a few commonly used ones.
- MasterCard and Visa: These two are the most widely accepted credit cards all over the world. They are very easy to acquire and even easier to use. But they do have a few shortcomings. In countries like USA where online gambling transactions are illegal, you cannot use these cards for making deposits into a casino account.
- American Express: American Express (Amex) is one of the most widely used credit cards all over the world, and accounts for the maximum percentage of money transfers in the US. The card is relatively new amongst online gambling sites, but many sites are adding it to their accepted methods of payment. The main advantage of using Amex cards is the confidentiality in transactions. You do not have to part with your personal banking details as your Amex account is not related to your bank account in any way. Apart from this, certain casinos and poker rooms offer special bonuses to Amex card users.
- Diners Club: Diners Club International is one of the oldest and the first private credit card company. Diners Club cards are popular all over the world and there are a few casino sites which accept these cards as well. One of the best features of holding a Diners Club card is the customer support. The company has help centers throughout the world, and they provide support in almost every language. But the drawback of Diners Club cards is that some of the casinos do not allow you to make your withdrawals through them. In such cases, you might have to use methods like bank transfers or eChecks for withdrawals.
Credit cards are easy to use and are very popular payment choices. But most of them have certain drawbacks. In most cases, you would have to give your credit card number and other details which many would not like to part with. Also, some of them function only as deposit options and do not support withdrawal. So you should be careful before going for a credit card as your withdrawal option.
E-wallets
Credit cards are popular but a lot of them have certain problems, especially for US players, when it comes to online gambling. Because of this, various e-wallet services have come up to provide players with a safe and simple solution for their online gambling transactions. While using e-wallets, you simply fund your e-wallet service through any of the options that are accepted, and then you can use your e-wallet on gambling sites that accept them. Here are some of the most widely used e-wallets.
- PayPal: PayPal is not very old when compared to some of the credit card companies. However, it already has more than 230 million accounts. Safety offered by PayPal is second to none. There is no third party intervention, as all the account funds are stored by PayPal. Apart from this PayPal insures all your transactions, so even if a particular transaction does not go smoothly, your money will still remain safe. The time it takes for a PayPal transaction is also significantly less compared to some other payment methods.
- Skrill: Skrill is one of those services which gained popularity through online gambling. Apart from the security which the company provides for online transactions, it is also popular because of what it charges for its services. Deposits have a nominal charge whereas withdrawals and transfers are free of charge. The service is available in more than 200 countries with excellent customer support.
- Click2Pay: It started in 2004 and is a relatively new entrant into the market. But it is also one of the fastest growing companies out there. Its transactions are fast, secure, and its services are available in over 180 countries. In addition to that, you do not have to put money in your e-wallet before hand. You can transfer money as and when it is required. For withdrawal, you would need to use checks or wire transfers. US based players will be faced with disappointment as Click2Pay does not take registrations from USA.
E-wallets are becoming a very popular method of payment especially with online casino players. Apart from these three, there are many more such services like Neteller, EntroPay and Ukash that are available to online casino players. But no matter which you choose, you should always exercise caution when going for e-wallet service providers.
Other methods
E-wallets and credit cards are certainly the most popular options, but if you are unable to, or are unwilling to use them, then there are few other options as well. Here are a few of these options.
- Echecks: Using eCheck is same as using a paper check. You have to fill in certain personal details and send it to the casino site. When withdrawing via eCheck, the money will be transferred into your checking account.
- Bank draft: Bank drafts are similar to checks in usage but do not require a checking account for you to use them. They are not accepted by a lot of casinos because of the risk of check frauds.