ShareIn all kinds of technology, there are those things that are seen as essential tools and then many other things that rise and fall in popularity as the next new idea comes along. iPods were once the de-facto option for music, right up until smartphones brushed them aside. Internet Explorer gave way to Firefox which in turn gave way to Google Chrome. It's a constantly changing system.
Making online payments is no different, with the few established names seeing a constant stream of new platforms come and go. Knowing which platforms are worth using for your casino deposits and withdrawals has become trickier than ever, so below is our guide to the all-round best options.
The Basics
For the purposes of this article, we're going to skip over simple card payments such as VISA or Mastercard as these are universal for a reason and anyone playing at online casinos likely knows all about them. Instead, we'll focus on the most established 100% online payment options first.PayPal
To begin with, it's impossible not to mention PayPal here. The original global e-wallet, PayPal has been one of the Internet's most beloved and most used platforms for payments for over two decades. It is likely the most widely-accepted option for online payments around, with many online retailers directly integrating PayPal into all their payments, even those conducted by credit card. A significant portion of payments made to huge sites like Amazon or eBay now use PayPal as a medium
Some industries are more connected to PayPal than others as well, such as the online casino industry where it is a near-universal payment option. For casinos, especially fast payout casinos that pride themselves on processing withdrawals as fast as possible, PayPal will almost always be the main option. The platform is considered trusted by many financial establishments worldwide, making it the fastest, and often safest, way to get your funds from the casino to your bank account. This is especially important for online casino sites where players expect a reliable service as they browse the extensive range of real-money games available.
For high-stakes players, the only real negatives are the fees that can apply to larger transfers in and out of the account.
Other Established Platforms
Aside from PayPal, other major payment platforms that have been around for some time include well-known options such as Neteller and Skrill. With these platforms, you will get the most essential functions for online casinos such as making or receiving payments, while each also has several features to itself.For example, Neteller has the option of the Net+ card which functions much like a Mastercard, and because it was always geared towards online casinos, it has almost universal acceptance across casino sites.
For Skrill, the unique points include the wide range of currencies available and cryptocurrency options. In terms of safety, both platforms rank highly, as they both now fall under the Paysafe banner which operates a range of services beyond these two.
Alternative Options
Beyond standard e-wallet payments, there are a few other payment methods out there which are common to find at many online casinos. For example, the Paysafe company that operates both Skrill and Neteller also operates Paysafecard, a voucher-based system which has the advantage of allowing anonymous payments although also has the downside of being designed primarily for smaller payments than would be needed for high-stakes play.Cryptocurrencies
If you're looking for a newer option that can handle larger payments, the most popular one recently has to be Bitcoin. Cryptocurrency in general is becoming more and more accepted across online casinos in general and comes with a wide range of advantages. To start with, it is well-known for being how secure the Bitcoin payment method is due to its ability to be traced in minute detail.
For high-stakes players, Bitcoin makes an ideal option as most high-stakes casinos will accept it, and even those that don't accept it directly will still accept it via any e-wallets that use it as a valid currency. With the rare exception of sites that only take credit cards or bank transfers, this makes Bitcoin essentially universal. This is also true for a number of other cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, although the sites that will take Litecoin directly are far fewer overall.
One of the biggest positives for cryptocurrency is that, by nature, it is not linked to any traditional currency which makes it international. Players can go from Vegas to Monte Carlo and use Bitcoin in exactly the same way.
While Bitcoin is secure from outside attacks, it does still require caution as you can effectively lose value by just having it in a wallet. Although it is generally seen as the most stable of current large crypto coins, it isn't linked to any guarantee of value which means there is the potential for it to lose huge chunks of value very quickly as it did recently in 2022 during the massive FTX collapse.
The last note to remember with all of these options is that, when it comes to deposits and withdrawals, each website will have its own terms and conditions that dictate how long payments take to process. This means that using the same payment method at different sites may yield different results, so be sure to check the T&Cs carefully before you play.
