Money Matters - Deposit and Withdrawal Methods

For the past several years, people have been singing praises about the ease of use and the convenience of playing on an online casino. Unlike with a traditional, brick-and-mortar casino where everything has to be done and transacted face to face with another person, everything in connection with playing in an online casino is done remotely. You register remotely. You play remotely. If you encounter any problems, you complain remotely. Even payments and financial transactions are done remotely with the use of a credit card.

You are then presented with one of the biggest problems when it comes to dealing with online casinos. How will your payments (and you withdrawals) be sent to and from your online casino? Many found it a difficult decision to entrust their money and their banking details to a fairly unknown company, to people they would never meet. It used to be a very complicated affair, but many simpler and more customer-friendly payment alternatives have emerged in the past few years. Where there was previously a dearth of payment methods, there is now an abundance of companies and institutions ready to facilitate such transactions. Even if United States lawmakers have made payments to online casinos a little harder at the moment, several options still remain available for you to choose from.

Direct payment casino methods

The deposit and withdrawal methods that fall under this category don't require you to sign up with any other financial company other than the ones that you've probably already signed up with. Note, though, that players from the United States won't be able to use these payment methods because the US government instructed banks and similar institutions to stop processing payments for online casinos, beginning several years ago.

Credit and Debit Cards
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As long as your legislators haven't banned online gambling in your area, you can most probably use your credit and your debit cards to fund your next deposit. You simply input your credit card details into the form when asked, and then you can just select that card's details the next time you want to send money. It's quit convenient really, so long as you're not very touchy about the subject of giving your credit card details over the internet. Just make sure that it's a fairly reputable online casino, and that you're inputting your details into a secure (the one with the URL that starts with https://) webpage. Visa and Mastercard are the most widely accepted ones.

Bank-to-Bank Wire Transfer
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This method is usually just for withdrawals, but some casinos also allow you to make deposits using direct wire transfer from your bank account to theirs. It's convenient because it transfers funds from (and, sometimes, to) your bank account. Again, this probably isn't suited to you if you're not comfortable sending your banking info over the internet.

Wire Transfer
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This method involves going to a branch of Western Union (or any other fund-sending facility, for that matter) and then sending your money directly to the online casino. It's quite quick and can be used for withdrawals as well in some cases. The charge might make it impractical for frequent usage, though.

Check
This is another payment method that's usually used exclusively for withdrawals, but there are some online casinos that allow you to deposit funds into your casino account by sending them a check from your bank. It offers similar conveniences as the direct wire transfer, but not within the same time frame. It'll obviously take longer because banks take time to process checks, and extra time is needed to physically send the check over. Also, there's usually some charge involved to cover the cost of the courier or the postal service.

Indirect payment casino methods

These payment methods are the ones that require you to send your money to another company or entity - usually a payment processor - before you can send it to your online casino. Withdrawals are the same way, with the online casino crediting your winnings to this external account before you can transfer them to your bank account. Although it isn't the case for many in this category, there are a few payment processors like NETeller that can't be used in the United States anymore because of existing legislation.

Online Payment Processors
This subcategory includes methods like using FirePay, a Citadel account, Click2Pay, moneybookers, and many other similar payment processing services. It's basically an online account that you fund using your bank account or your credit card. When you need to fund your online casino account, you just tell the payment processor to send money to the online casino. In almost all cases where they're accepted for deposits, the methods in this subcategory are also suitable for withdrawals. They're fast - instantaneous in some cases - and always accompanied by a very minimal transaction fee.

Prepaid Cards
In this subcategory, you get methods like Gift2Go and Visa All Access Debit Cards. It works very similarly to purchasing credits or minutes for a prepaid cellular phone. You purchase a card of a certain denomination from a retailer first, and then you can go use your prepaid card to load that amount of money into your online casino account. Some even work like credit cards, complete with the 16-digit card number. Some are reloadable via your credit card or bank account, while some are disposable and must be purchased by denomination every time you want to use them. This is a great option for you if you're a micro-stakes player or if you're not comfortable with sending your banking or credit card details over the internet. In most cases, you can purchase a physical card at a brick-and-mortar convenience store, so you need not even bring out your credit card.

The wide variety of payment methods now available to you is partly due to the sudden growth of the casino industry that now wants to make payments convenient and partly due to the number of rules governing playing on online casinos, which the online casinos themselves now have to work around. And with the sheer number of online casinos currently in operation, you're sure to find an online casino that has a payment method you prefer along with all the other features you're looking for.