Gambling at online casinos is all fun and games, but banking with them is serious business.
From the funds in your casino account to the deposits you make and the withdrawals you request, you need to be sure that your transfers and your personal and financial details are fully secure at all times.
It’s for this reason that the UK Gambling Commission has strict guidelines in place to protect the integrity of your online casino banking transactions and to ensure that stringent security protocols are in place, too.
This guide covers everything from the different types of payment methods available at UK-licensed online casinos to the steps operators must take to protect your data and funds.
Online Gambling Payment Methods
The best online casinos are all about choice and offer players a wide range of ways to deposit and withdraw. The most popular of these include:
VISA: Just as you can pay for purchases with your Visa credit or debit card, you can make online casino deposits with your Visa card as well. Top up your casino account with the funds you need, when you need them, quickly, easily and in real time.
MASTERCARD: Mastercard provides fast, stress-free gambling deposits. As one of the world’s most widely accepted purchase options, Mastercard is offered at the vast majority of UK-licensed online casinos.
MAESTRO: Use your debit card to make online casino purchases and stay within your budget at all times. Accepted at most reputable online casinos, Maestro allows you to transfer money straight from your bank account to your casino account.
NETELLER: Safe, cost-effective, and easy to use, Neteller is a digital wallet that facilitates electronic transfers between your Neteller account and your casino account, with complete anonymity and confidentiality at all times.
SKRILL: Previously known as Moneybookers, third-party payment provider Skrill allows for quick, easy, real-time payments from your Skrill account to your casino account, backed by a world-class reputation for online security and customer support.
SKRILL 1-TAP: A mobile banking method, Skrill 1-Tap makes depositing into your gambling wallet super easy. Simply choose Skrill 1-Tap as your deposit option within the casino cashier, enter your deposit amount and tap to complete the transfer.
PAYPAL: With over 200 million users worldwide, PayPal is one of the internet’s most popular payment methods. Its stringent security measures and widespread accessibility make it an ideal choice for online casino players.
APPLE PAY: If you have an Apple iPhone then you also have a quick and easy way to pay online thanks to Apple Pay. Simply register an Apple ID, link a debit or credit card to your profile and you’ll be able to transfer funds straight from your Apple Pay account to your casino account.
PAYSAFECARD: Enjoy completely anonymous, completely safe online casino transactions with Paysafecard – the unique pre-paid voucher that allows you to make electronic transfers with no bank account, credit card or e-wallet needed.
ENTROPAY: Debit cards are convenient, e-wallets are confidential – Entropay is both. As a pre-paid card, Entropay facilitates safe, stress-free payments online and is accepted at all merchants welcoming Visa, including some online casinos.
ECOPAYZ: Originally launched as EcoCard in 2000, today EcoPayz functions as an electronic wallet, allowing you to transfer funds from your EcoPayz account directly to your online casino account in a matter of seconds.
TRUSTLY: Formerly known as Instabank, Trustly is a hugely popular online payment option for casino players. Simply fund your casino account via your bank account with zero fees or waiting periods.
BANK TRANSFER: Also known as wire transfer, bank transfers allow you to make safe, stress-free deposits from your bank account directly into your casino account. Simple, straightforward and convenient, too.
Understanding Transaction Times
Before choosing your preferred online casino payment method, it’s important to first take note of the transaction times involved to ensure that you always have the funds you need when you need them.
While transaction times do vary between casinos, and are dependent on the type of payment option selected, by and large most deposits will be processed in real-time, with funds available for use in a matter of seconds.
The one notable exception to this is bank transfers, where funds can take up to five working days to be deposited into your wagering account.
Where transaction times most often come into play is in the case of withdrawals, where additional time is needed for verification purposes, as well as for processing.
While withdrawal times do depend on the individual casino and payment method used, the average transaction times are as follows:
Debit/credit cards: 1 to 5 working days
eWallets: Instant to 1 working day
Express bank transfers: Next working day (although processing fees will apply)
Regular bank transfers: 1 to 5 working days
If you feel that your withdrawal is taking too long you can always contact the casino’s customer support team who will be able to investigate and report back accordingly.
UK Online Casinos with Fast Withdrawal Times
As part of the Find My UK Casino review process, we test the withdrawal times of all the casinos we play at.
Here are some of the fastest:
Deposit and Withdrawal Limits
When making transfers to and from your online casino account, it’s worth bearing in mind the various transaction limits that apply to your deposits and withdrawals.
Most online casinos impose certain limitations on transactions, with specific minimum and maximum amounts in place.
While these do differ between casinos, and are often dependent on the type of payment method used, transaction limits generally range from £5 to £20 for a minimum deposit and £1,000 to £5,000 for a maximum deposit.
In the same way, withdrawal limits also apply to cashout requests with players often restricted to a certain withdrawal amount either per week or per month, depending on the individual casino.
While some players, such as high rollers, try to circumvent deposit limits by making several transactions one after the other, withdrawals are often given both time and amount limits, restricting players to a certain withdrawal amount within a certain time period.
As such, it’s important to take note of how much your casino allows you to deposit and withdraw and when so that you’re able to manage and maintain your bankroll as effectively as possible.
In most cases, however, deposit and withdrawal limits can be increased or decreased by speaking with customer support.
Online Casino Payment Fees
While it’s true that most online casinos tend to avoid charging players for making deposits, occasionally certain deposit methods may have fees attached on behalf of the financial institution processing the payment.
Similarly, some withdrawal methods may charge certain fees for processing cashout requests, particularly when receiving winnings via cheque.
From time to time, however, online casinos themselves may levy certain fees for processing banking transactions, or may even charge for additional withdrawals outside of monthly limits.
At Find My UK Casino, we are against this practice and as such, will always flag casinos that choose to do this in our online casino reviews.
Welcome Bonus Deposit Methods
For some players, the welcome package offered by an online casino is a major factor in deciding where to play.
However, not all banking options qualify you to claim a casino’s welcome bonus, most notably eWallets like Neteller and Skrill.
Why is this? In the simplest terms, the anonymity of electronic wallets that works so well for online casino players when making deposits ultimately works against them when claiming welcome bonuses.
Due to the inherent confidentiality of Skrill and Neteller deposits, identity verification and risk assessment becomes almost impossible for online casino operators, which can in turn lead to fraud and bonus abuse.
For this reason, most online casinos choose to play it safe and exclude electronic wallets, and any other deposit methods they may have difficulties with, from being able to claim any welcome or promotional bonuses.
As such, your options as a player are either to claim your welcome bonus with an accepted banking option and then switch to Neteller or Skrill going forward, or to find a casino that allows qualifying deposits from eWallets to begin with.
Either way, it’s always best to read the bonus terms and conditions first in order to avoid any nasty surprises or disappointment before making your initial deposit. Again, you can find this information in casino reviews.
UK Online Casino eWallet Bonuses
If you’d prefer to go down the route of claiming a bonus that accepts eWallet deposits, you can choose from the following UK-licensed online casinos:
Transaction Protocols
As part of the UK Gambling Commission’s guidelines that seek to protect players from unnecessary risks, all UK-licensed casinos are required to deploy an SSL encryption to secure their online transactions.
A cryptographic protocol, SSL (Secure Socket Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security) as it’s more commonly known today, allows two machines or devices to operate securely over the internet.
In this way, SSL is able to protect sensitive data, ensure data integrity and secure credit card transactions and other online payments.
The next time you make an online casino payment, look at the address bar – when the HTTP changes to HTTPS (the ‘S’ standing for ‘secure’) you’ll know your casino and your transactions are completely protected throughout.
Additionally, under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, online casinos are also required to have certain fraud prevention and anti-money laundering processes in place, both to safeguard players’ best interests and to stay on the right side of the law.
In order to comply with these guidelines, online casinos need to conduct regular risk assessments, review their policies and procedures, provide effective training to staff, maintain records of customer due diligence for at least five years and report any suspicious activities that may involve money laundering or terrorist financing.
Over and above this, some online casinos choose to further protect players and their transactions by adhering to PCI DSS – the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.
Launched in 2006 by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and JCB, the PCI DSS ensures that all companies storing or processing credit card information meet a certain level of safety when doing so and that a secure environment is maintained at all times.
It’s thanks to methods, guidelines and protocols such as these that players at UK-licensed online casinos are always able to gamble and transact with complete peace of mind.
Player Fund Segregation - an Extra Level of Security
Another method of ensuring player protection and security, player fund segregation is a safety measure demanded of online casinos by the UK Gambling Commission.
Quite simply, player fund segregation refers to the practice of keeping player funds separate from operational funds – a procedure required under UK law.
However, should the online casino become insolvent, this does not necessarily mean your player funds will automatically be returned to you. Instead, the safety of your money depends on which category of protection your casino falls into – basic, medium, or high.
BASIC: Your money has no extra protection and will be seen as part of the casino’s funds should it become bankrupt.
MEDIUM: Arrangements have been made to ensure that your money will be returned to you in the case of the casino becoming insolvent, but this is not guaranteed.
HIGH: Your money is completely separate from the casino’s money at all times, and is controlled by an external auditor.
UK Casinos Offering High Levels of Protection
Given the various levels of protection offered, it’s important that you first assess how much risk your money is exposed to before committing to a particular online casino.
Obviously, signing up with a casino that falls into the high/medium protection category will always be preferable – here are three UK-licensed online casinos that meet this standard:
Recapping Online Casino Banking
As you can see, banking at online casinos is about more than simply deposits and withdrawals.
It’s about choosing the banking option that suits you best, making informed decisions regarding the safety of your money and being protected by a wide variety of security and fraud prevention protocols.
All of which ultimately contributes to your sense of well-being and peace of mind, from the second your cash lands in your wagering account to the moment your winnings are returned to your bank account or eWallet.
