How to Deposit with PayPal at Online Casinos
PayPal is the biggest and best known of a class of payment systems known as ‘eWallets’ (electronic wallets). This service was bought by eBay and became popular as a quick way to move money around to make purchases there. It is now a separate company and operates in 190 countries around the world – with billions of dollars going through their systems annually.
US casino fans are not able to use this to fund their casino accounts.
Worldwide this is one of the safest and best trusted methods you will find.
This article gives an overview of PayPal casino deposits and the pros and cons of using this compared to the other popular deposit methods. A step-by-step process of how to make your deposit us then covered. PayPal is not the only eWallet solution, and you will find some of their main rivals in the online casino space summarized below.
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PayPal Casino Deposits – Pros and Cons
First the benefits:
- PayPal is very quick and simple to use once you have an account set up. Your casino deposit will be on board and ready to play with in just a couple of minutes.
- Acts as an intermediary between your bank and online casinos. This means no casino type transactions appear on your bank statement, and you have the additional security of keeping payments separated.
- PayPal only allow big and trusted brands to use their system. This means that having PayPal as a deposit option is a trust signal of its own.
- You can keep a proportion of your gambling bankroll in PayPal, where it is easy to move it around quickly to take advantage of any new casino bonuses or promotions as they come up.
There are also some drawbacks:
- There are transaction fees, with PayPal these hit when you make a withdrawal.
- You will need to set up and fund your account before you can start to use it. While this is a one off setup, it does take time and will require verification via a micro-deposit at your bank.
- Not all casinos accept PayPal deposits (though see above about this being a trust signal).
How to Make a Casino Deposit with PayPal
For this section I assume that you have a PayPal account set up and have some money in your account or else have linked it to your current (checking) account.
I usually recommend some extra checks before you register at any online casino, for example licensing and testing results. Since only the biggest and best known casino brands accept PayPal deposits this is less important. I’d still recommend a quick search to make sure there are no major payment or service issues though.
Next you will need to register an account at the casino, before heading over to the cashier and selecting the PayPal option. When you do this you will be taken to PayPal.com. Make sure that this is in a secure browser window (https://). You log on to your PayPal account, insert the amount that you wish to deposit and check that the deposit is going to the right place. Once you click ‘Pay Now’ your transaction will process. You will see a success message which will also tell you that you are returning to the merchant (alongside a ‘click here if you are not transferred within 10 seconds’ message’). You’ll arrive back at the cashier of your casino – with your newly deposited balance showing.
As you can see this is one of the easiest deposit options available. Note that for security and KYC (know your customer) purposes, many casinos require Id verification before they will allow you to make a withdrawal. As a rule, withdrawals to PayPal are very quick and easy, though keep in mind that you will pay a small fee based on a percentage of incoming funds.
Alternatives to PayPal – Other eWallets
While PayPal is the biggest and best known of the eWallet brands, there are many alternatives. Some of these are country-specific, while others are global. At the moment there are no eWallet services available for US casino deposits. Bitcoin wallets have some of the same advantages, though the volatility of this currency does need to be taken into account.
Here are the main alternatives to PayPal accepted for online casino deposits:
Neteller: This brand has been involved in the gambling business for more than a decade. Neteller was forced to pull out of the US in 2006, after the passing of the UIGEA. The system is very much the same as PayPal. You will find good coverage of this method among online casinos – though it is less common among other types of merchant.
Skrill: This system used to be known as MoneyBookers. It is one of the easiest eWallet systems to use and can even come with a MasterCard that accesses the available balance. This has good coverage among gambling operators and lower fees than both PayPal and Neteller.
WebMoney: This is an example of a regional system which is now expanding to cover much of Europe. WebMoney started off focusing on Russia, though you can use it from all over the world (excluding the US).
These are just a few examples of the many eWallet systems available. There are hybrid prepaid card / eWallet systems and others which are specific to single countries. Examples include EcoCard, Poli and SoFort.
A Brief History of PayPal
This card has some famous founders, including Elon Musk of Space-X / Tesla fame and Peter Theil. It was started in 1998 and became a public company 4 years later in 2002. Later in that year, the company was acquired by eBay, a move which saw its popularity boom.
One of the big selling points of this system was a robust buyer protection policy. At a time when many people were nervous about purchasing online, the ability to file disputes with merchants and get refunds was a big plus.
In 2015 PayPal was separated from eBay and became a stand-alone company once again. They are now innovating in the mobile payments space under the brand PayPal.me.