Payment options are the life line of online casinos. They enable players to deposit funds with the casino for wagering and also to withdraw their winnings. But a player has to choose from the payment options available very carefully. A player is allowed only one option and he cannot make changes to it on his own. A cumbersome process involving the customer support at the online casino is involved. This article provides some tips for the selection of an appropriate payment option.
There are four generic payment options at online casinos: bank transfers, credit cards, electronic wallets and prepaid vouchers. The bank transfer involves direct transfer of funds from the player's bank account to the online casino's bank account. The player can send the casino a check drawn on his bank or give his bank instructions online. The online casino will usually remit funds by check only. Because check transactions can take a week to ten days, this payment option is rarely used and not recommended.
Credit cards and debit cards are the most common options. Their biggest advantage is their familiarity. Credits cards have been around for ages and are used regularly online for purchasing travel tickets and paying utility bills. Most players would already be having credit cards. There are two disadvantages of credit cards that players should be aware of. Some credit card providers do not allow players to withdraw funds from online casinos into the card account in certain jurisdictions. Therefore players in those jurisdictions who deposit funds using credit cards will receive remittances through paper checks. Therefore this situation needs to be cleared before opting for a credit card option. The initial due diligence in case of the credit card option is quite strict with the player having to submit a number of documents to the casino. Therefore players who frequently join new casinos will find this option cumbersome.
This very problem is overcome by electronic wallets. Players can open an account with one electronic wallet provider, fund it using his credit card and then transfer funds to as many online casinos as he wants. The credit card due diligence is done once when the electronic wallet account is opened. The electronic wallet can be funded directly from a bank account and therefore this option is ideal for players who do not have credit cards or have reservations in using them online. Electronic wallets have country and currency restrictions and very few of them operate in the United States. Another drawback is that transactions through electronic wallets may bear a financial cost.
The latest online casino payment option genre is the prepaid voucher. The biggest advantage of this option is that it does away with the involvement of the banking system altogether. Most providers sell prepaid vouchers for cash at retail outlets. These vouchers contain a code that needs to be entered at the cashier of the online casino and the funds are transferred. There is no record maintained outside the online casino of a person's transactions as in the case of credit cards or electronic wallets. This option is widespread in the United Kingdom and growing rapidly in other popular online gambling jurisdictions. Players who do not want to make frequent visits to the nearest outlet can also buy prepaid vouchers online.
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