Introduction
Although online merchants handle various transactions and data, online casinos have a slightly different design and ecosystem, making their payment methods integral to their performance. Sure, if you buy things from a shop online, then you want the payment to go through quickly and with no issues, but rarely do you expect the payment to come back, nor do you expect a withdrawal of a large amount from a retailer.
Online casinos deal with this dilemma every day, but they must simultaneously ensure that customer data and funds remain safe. There are a number of ways they do this and today, we’ll explore the different payment methods used in online casinos, the pros and cons of each one, and how the future of payment methods might shape up in the industry over the next decade.
Traditional payment methods
When casino gamers think of “traditional payment” systems, they often think of everyday payments, such as Visa and Mastercard. While these two payment methods are, of course, some of the most popular in society, traditional payment methods in casino gaming also include many fintech companies.
Although Visa and Mastercard played a pivotal role in transactions in the early days of casino gaming, PayPal and Neteller, two popular e-wallets, also played a major part. While they can still be used in hundreds of modern-day casinos, some people don’t realise just how far back they go regarding the early days of casino gaming.
PayPal is a colossus of casino gaming that continues to facilitate hundreds of millions of dollars worth of daily transactions. Despite first garnering significant attention for themselves in the early 2000s, they have continued to remain a staple of the broader financial world, with rumours of a Pinterest takeover in 2021 highlighting the value of the company.
This is unlike other payment methods of the time, including wire transfers and cheques, which have fizzled into much further obscurity than the likes of PayPal, and to a lesser extent, Neteller. Some casino gamers do use wire transfers, but they often come with long delays compared to other payment methods, and fees at both ends, so they’re on the verge of becoming obsolete, just like cheques, which many casinos do not even accept.
Other popular casino payment methods
As the landscape and dynamic of online casinos changed in the late 2000s and the early 2010s, so did the payment methods that people used. Although many did and still do use Visa and Mastercard, they tended to link their accounts to their e-wallets and used Apple or Google Pay.
This meant that whenever they logged in to an online casino or accessed games through a casino app, depending on the provider they used, they could automatically register the details on the site rather than key them in manually. Technology started to gain traction in the casino gaming world around the same time contactless payments began to take off.
More recently, this dynamic has shifted again to match some of the growing interest in cryptocurrency assets. Not only has Bitcoin hit a new all-time high, but other altcoins like XRP and Solana are close to doing the same. As the retail market for investing and trading continues to grow, more customers are searching for ways to use their digital assets to play casino games.
Regarding payment methods, blockchain and cryptocurrency are among the most intriguing new areas of online casinos; they do not require extensive KYC or hold customers’ financial information on their servers.
A cryptocurrency casino has a specific wallet that stores customers’ funds. So, in the case of a cyberattack, criminals will try to gain access to that wallet rather than a database where customer information is stored, which tends to be the target for hackers looking to gain illegal access to a traditional casino server.
Considerations for different payment methods in online casinos
It depends on the operator you use, but it is always best to check which payment methods incur fees and costs. Generally speaking, more conventional methods will not raise a fee unless you exceed a certain amount or your bank levies the charge themselves. You can check this out with your bank beforehand, and we would also recommend checking out the terms and conditions of the casino you use before depositing your funds, regardless of the payment method you opt for.
Generally speaking, lesser-known payment systems incur fees or have small maximum withdrawal and deposit limits. Some sites also take a percentage of a deposit or withdrawal, so if you have a particularly large withdrawal, then this is something to be wary of. For example, if you deposit or withdraw via a cheque, the casino will often have to pay a fee to either pay it into their branch or issue a cheque to you in the post. These fees or any additional charges will be passed on to you.
Payment methods also have minimum deposit limits and maximum amounts, usually detailed within 24 hours, such as £10,000 limit in 24 hours. Again, check the terms and conditions before you register so you aren’t met with any surprises once you go to deposit or withdraw using your chosen payment method.
Conclusion
As the online casino market continues to grow, many payment methods are looking to establish themselves in the industry. While you may have heard of a few of them, such as EcoPayz and Paysafecard etc, the vast majority of payments are via methods you will be familiar with, such as Visa, Mastercard and PayPal.
The main thing we would advise is to ensure that you are aware if your deposit method comes with fees or any charges. It’s rare to come across this, and in the many years of reviewing this element of casino gaming, I’ve encountered only a handful of platforms that look to charge for specific deposits and withdrawals, especially for common payment methods.
The majority of platforms don’t levy a fee, so it’s counterproductive for those that do, as casino gamers will just move on to the next platform where they don’t have to pay to withdraw or deposit funds.
Article written by Jess Cairns
