Often, the most daunting prospect of a new players online casino journey is at the very start when they need to register an account and share their data and financial information. With the number of fraudulent activities that occur online, we all have a slight aversion to sharing personal information, some more than others. However, we will explain how online casino transactions are just like internet shopping whether it be on amazon, at your favourite clothes store or the weekly food shop.
Our guide will explore the safety and reliability of data and financial transactions, look at the different deposit and withdrawal methods, check out the most trusted and popular UK payment methods, find out the estimated processing times for the different withdrawal methods.
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All reputable online casinos that are regulated by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission must meet certain security standards which includes the utilisation of SSL encryption technology to safeguard all data and financial transactions. Top online casinos have security certificates that ensure the protection of your private data and details can be found for the technical security provider in the footer of their website. Trusted providers to look out for are:
Online casinos need to provide the UKGC with information as to what happens to customers money if the casino should go bust, you will find the information written in the terms and conditions for the online casino. There is a choice of three options which will be provided in a statement:
To meet responsible gambling requirements, UKGC licensed online casinos need to verify your identity, this is completed at registration stage and involves the proof of name, age, address to prevent underage gambling and criminal activities. Typical id required is passport/driving license, utility bill and debit card/bank account statement.
ID verification must be completed before you actively gamble on the site and prior to any withdrawal requests being processed. In 2020 the UKGC issued a blanket ban on all credit card transactions in the UK to reduce gambling-related harm and further encourage responsible gambling.
It is typical practice for online casinos to insist on payouts being returned to the initial depositing method. This is critical when you are looking at which payment method to use as the withdrawal options are not always the same as deposit choices.
Not every online casino offers every possible payment method for both deposits and withdrawals and it’s advisable to check which methods are available prior to register. However, if you can’t see your preferred methods, it’s worth getting in touch with the online casino’s customer support to discuss your options.
It is worth noting that some methods are not available for withdrawals and processing times will vary depending on which method you use. When requesting a withdrawal, most online casinos will endeavour to process the request within 24 to 48hrs. Once they have agreed the withdraw the processing times of your payment provider will vary dependent on the chosen method and their clearance times.
Even though credit cards are not accepted at any UK licensed online casino, there are plenty of other safe and trusted options such as debit cards, e-wallets, bank transfers, prepaid cards, mobile phone payments. Below we have a table of the most popular UK accepted payment methods and their approximate processing times:
Payment Method | Type | Deposit Time | Withdrawal Time |
PayPal | e-wallet | Instant | 2 hours – 3 days |
Visa Debit | Debit Card | Instant | 1 – 8 days |
Neteller | e-wallet | Instant | 2 hours – 3 days |
Maestro | Debit Card | Instant | 1 – 8 days |
Skrill | e-wallet | Instant | 2 hours – 3 days |
Boku | Mobile payment | Instant | N/A |
Apple Pay | Mobile Payment | Instant | 2 – 5 days |
Mastercard | Debit Card | Instant | 1 – 6 days |
Paysafecard | Prepaid Card | Instant | N/A |
ecoPayz | e-wallet | Instant | 1 – 2 days |
Pay By Mobile | Mobile Payment | Instant | N/A |
Entropay | e-wallet | Instant | N/A |
MuchBetter | Mobile Payment | Up to 10 minutes | Up to 5 days |
Bank Transfer | Direct Banking | Up to 2 days | 3 – 10 days |
It is important to note that many of the top online casinos will not charge any fees for deposits or withdrawals, however, it is worth checking with your payment provider as they may attach fees for processing. Although there are wide deposit limits attached to the various methods, e.g., Visa and Mastercard allow £5 – £100,000, the online casino may impose a min/max deposit limit and cap withdrawals at daily, weekly and/or monthly limits.
The list above is not an exhaustive one and there are several more trusted payment methods, these are however, the most popular with online casinos and UK players. Our individual online casino reviews will look at the payment methods specific to each site.