Guide to Betting Payment Methods:

How do Online Betting Payments Work?

Online betting payments work in the same way as buying products from online retailers. You log into your betting account and go to the cashier tab. From here, you can choose whether to deposit or withdraw, how much you want to transfer, and which method you want to use. Once you've confirmed the request, it's then processed. 

Deposits are usually immediate, like an online purchase, but withdrawals have to be approved by the betting site before they can go through. You might have to wait up to 48 hours for the approval, but in practice, online gambling sites will process it much faster than that. 

Depositing vs Withdrawing

It may seem strange that there's much of a difference between these two functions, but there are just as many differences as there are similarities. You request both from the same tab in your account, and the money comes and goes from the same place, but withdrawals tend to have a few more steps and limitations. 

Deposits are easy. Just make the transfer, and your funds will be available in your account immediately. You also have many options for how you want to make a deposit, including debit cards, prepaid cards, e-wallets, pay by phone and more. Deposits usually have a very low minimum too, starting at £5 on average and sometimes going even lower. 

Withdrawals are more finicky. First, you usually need a specific amount of money in your account before you can withdraw it, around £20-£50 at most sites. Also, you can't use any method you like. This isn't true at all betting sites, but most sites will make you withdraw using the same method you deposited with — unless your deposit method doesn't accept withdrawals, at which point you must use direct bank transfers. 

Withdrawals come with a much longer processing time, too. Once you make the request, the betting site has to approve it and ensure it's legal. After this, your withdrawal method can take a day or two to actually put the money into your account.

To make the process a little easier for you, we've provided guides on how to deposit into and withdraw from your account below:

How to Deposit into Your Betting Account

1. Find the cashier in your betting account

2. Choose deposit

3. Decide what method to use (you may need to withdraw with this later, too)

4. Input how much you want to deposit

5. Confirm and wait for the transfer to complete

How to Withdraw from Your Betting Account

1. Find the cashier in your betting account

2. Choose withdraw or cash out

3. Pick your withdrawal method from the options available to you — you will likely be restricted to a couple of options depending on how you made your deposit

4. Input how much you want to withdraw, ensuring it's more than the minimum and doesn't exceed your balance

5. Confirm and wait for the site to approve the request

6. Once the request has been approved, wait for the money to enter your accounts

Common Payment Methods

Modern online casinos host many different payment methods, so many that you may not be familiar with all of them. Here's an explanation of all the main transaction types and their strengths and weaknesses. 

Credit and Debit Cards

The most common way to transfer money in the UK is using a debit card like Visa or Mastercard. Almost every betting site supports them, and they usually support withdrawals too. You can also make large transfers using debit cards and they don't take that long. Unfortunately, there's less security with these as you have to submit your card details to the site, but a trustworthy site with a strong security system will protect your sensitive data without issues.

Please note that in the UK, it's illegal to accept credit cards at licensed betting sites. 

E-Wallets

In recent years, the world has turned to e-wallets for their online payments thanks to the high level of security they afford. Services like PayPal are popular internationally, and in the UK, Skrill and Neteller are widely used in the online gambling community. UK sites will usually support at least one of these (most commonly Skrill), and they can boast some of the fastest transfers, both with deposits and withdrawals. However, e-wallets can't usually support large transfers, and they cap out at around £5000. 

Prepaid Cards

Prepaid cards are a less common method that can only take money that's been pre-loaded onto a specific card. The most popular brands are Paysafecard and Visa prepaid cards. This method is an excellent option for people looking to limit their spending since you can't deposit more than is available to you. Prepaid cards are also known for facilitating some of the smallest deposits, so if you're after those single-digit deposits, this could be the way to go. The major downside to prepaid cards is that you can't withdraw using this method. 

Bank Transfers

The standard payment method at any online casino is the direct bank transfer. These are clunky and slow, taking the longest of any method to both withdraw and deposit. However, the trade-off is that they support the largest transfers by a country mile. At some online betting sites, there isn't an upwards limit on how much you can transfer with DBT. Just be aware that many sites impose a transfer fee on DBT, so check out the T&Cs for more info. 

Cryptocurrency

The most recent addition to the payment method lineup has been cryptocurrencies. They're still a rarity in the UK, but some sites have been slowly adding them to their options. Crypto is renowned for being fast, secure and completely anonymous; plus, it can handle very large transfers effortlessly. However, crypto is a difficult business to get involved with since its value changes so frequently. So, if you already hold crypto, this could be an excellent option, but otherwise, you're better off sticking to PayPal. 

Choosing the Right Payment Method

There are many factors to consider when picking out which payment method you want to use. Here are a few things you should think about before you start putting money into your account:

Security Considerations

How much of your personal information do you want to give to your betting site? If you've reached this point, then you've already given them quite a lot, so do you want to add your debit cards to that? If you trust the betting site, you might choose Visa or a direct transfer, but if you're security conscious, consider using an e-wallet, prepaid card or even cryptocurrencies if they're an option. In the case of a data breach, none of your financial details will be at risk. 

Transaction Fees

As a standard rule, transaction fees have fallen 'out of fashion,' so to speak. It's rare to find betting sites charging transaction fees except in specific circumstances, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. In particular, you're most likely to find them attached to direct bank transfers. This might be a fixed fee, or it could be a percentage of the money transferred. 

Processing Times

The general rule is that the smaller a method's minimum transfer is, the faster the transfer will be. While most methods have instant deposits, you can find the average withdrawal times listed in a betting site's FAQs. E-wallets are usually the fastest, at 24–48 hours; debit cards take 1-3 days, and bank transfers can take from 3-7 working days. Withdrawing at the beginning of the week is also a good idea since you won't be held up by the weekend. 

Payment Limit

The type of gambler you are can also factor into this. High rollers will probably prefer large methods like DBT since it can transfer huge amounts of money at one time, and when you're dealing with that much money, a £10 transfer fee is nothing. However, if you're playing on a budget, you might use an e-wallet for the speed since you're unbothered by the much smaller maximum deposits. 

Deposit Limits

All UK betting sites give you the option to put a hard limit on the amount of money you can transfer into your account across a day, a week, a month, or even all three! This is one of the major responsible gambling tools available to you at all UK online gambling sites, and some sites even make you set up a limit upon registration. 

We highly recommend you set up a deposit limit no matter which method you choose to transfer with and be strict with yourself. You can alter your limits down the line (reducing your limit will be instant, but easing up on it will require confirmation and sometimes cool-off periods, too), so don't worry if you don't get it right the first time. 

More Guides for UK Players...

• Guide to House Edge

• How to Play Sic Bo

• European vs American Roulette: What's the Difference?

Responsible Gambling

Using online betting sites is convenient, fun and exciting, but it's also easy to go overboard. So, you should always make sure you're employing responsible gambling tools and maintaining a healthy relationship with your betting. Here are some quick tips you can use today to help keep your habits in check:

• Employ a deposit/wagering/loss limit on your account

• Use time-outs or session timers

• Keep track of how often you gamble and how much you spend

• Ask someone to hold you accountable

• Use self-exclusion if you need it

• Turn to a help line for expert help