Online Casino Banking: Casino Deposit Methods
Americans wanting access to great casino games must sign up to play at an online casino for real money. Funding a casino account gives players the chance to win real cash, but also incurs risks. Players should consider several factors to lower that risk: casino bonuses, transaction fees, and credit card cashback and rewards.
Odds Shark's online casino banking guides show players how to make deposits and withdrawals, highlight the top casino banking options that US casinos accept, and explore some of the casino bonuses that depositors will encounter.
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Introduction to Casino Deposits
First, sign up for an account to make an online casino banking deposit. Sign in to the account and see the casino's welcome bonus, available when you make the first deposit. If it's not apparent, look at the Cashier page for your options.
- Cashier Page: This is where all financial activity takes place. You deposit money into your account and request a withdrawal.
- Banking Options: The Cashier page shows the available online casino banking methods.
- Read the Fine Print: The payment options on display may not be fully accurate. International casinos tend to list every online casino banking option they accept, even if it isn't available in your region.
- Making a Deposit: Players may be asked for their payment details on the Cashier page or connected to an external website to make the transaction.
Introduction to Casino Withdrawals
Banking is not only limited to making deposits. Eventually, you must cash out your winnings. Before requesting a withdrawal, you'll need to know a few things. These include everything from bonuses to casino withdrawal limits.
- How Bonuses Work: Before you withdraw your winnings from a casino bonus, you'll need to meet its wagering requirements - typically having bet 25 to 50 times the amount of the initial bonus - before you can cash out any of the money you have won using it.
- Payout Methods: Not every available deposit method also has a withdrawal option. For example, almost all casinos offer the ability to make a credit card casino deposit, but some limit credit card withdrawals because Visa and MasterCard don't want to transact gambling payments.
- Credit Card Withdrawals: There may also be additional restrictions, such as only being able to withdraw via Visa, even if deposits are also accepted through Mastercard and American Express.
- Casino Withdrawal Limits: Limits may prevent high-rollers from being able to take as much money out of a casino at a time as they might like to. Some casinos have firm limits regarding how much money you can withdraw for a day, a week, or a month.
Casino Deposit Methods
The average online casino allows you to add money to your account using multiple methods, each with advantages and disadvantages. In this portion of our casino banking guides, we review some of the more common online casino banking methods that your preferred casino might accept.
Credit Cards
The US credit card networks Visa and Mastercard are the most common and secure online casino banking methods. American Express is a distant third. Credit cards are used for all online transactions and have excellent security. They also provide cashback and rewards.
Interac
Interac casino deposits are a popular banking method for Canadians, who use bank-issued debit cards for many types of payments. Canadians living in the US can find some American casinos that accept Interac deposits.
eCheck
ECheck casino payments function like regular checks, so they're a safe and secure deposit method. Similar to Interac, they allow you to use money from your bank account, but the casino never gains access to your banking details. Unlike previous online casino banking options, there is no direct line between the casino and your money.
eWallets
Skrill, Neteller, and Eco Card casino payments allow you to pay online merchants without using your bank account or credit card. An e-wallet is a third-party service in which you store money, so your financial information won't be directly shared with your casino. The drawbacks are that e-wallets charge fees and take more time.
Apple Pay
Apple Pay is Apple's eWallet, allowing users to make online purchases using face recognition or fingerprint technology. Apple Pay might be a bit of a novelty, but there's nothing wrong with adding some extra security or verification measures to casino payment options.
PaySafeCard
PaySafeCard is a voucher that you can purchase in shops or online that has a fixed value, which some casino sites accept. Since every card is worth a fixed amount, you can't use more than that amount - there's no risk of overspending.
Cryptocurrency Deposits
Most of our recommended US online casinos now accept crypto deposits. Cryptocurrencies use blockchain technology to make payments secure, private, and fast. The top options are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Dash.
Introduction to Cryptocurrency Casino Banking Methods
An increasing number of casinos accept Bitcoin deposits and withdrawals. A smaller but still significant number accept altcoins such as Ethereum and Litecoin. When making crypto deposits, you'll need a specialized wallet. Buy the cryptocurrency at an exchange, then move it to the casino. Crypto casino payment options are the fastest and most secure payment method available. Here are a few cryptos US players can use.
- Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency and also the most popular one. Its advantage is that it is accepted at most US online casinos.
- Litecoin: The second major crypto, Litecoin, has a blockchain four times larger than Bitcoin's, and thus, its payments are four times faster.
- Ethereum: Payments with Ethereum are also faster than Bitcoin transactions. Ethereum also supports smart contracts, unlocking many other uses for the currency.
- Bitcoin Cash: This is a hard fork from Bitcoin, available in many online casinos. Like the other later additions, it's designed to be faster than the original crypto.
One thing to remember is that the value of cryptocurrency is constantly fluctuating, so if you deposit a certain amount, it may not always be worth what it is at that time.
How We Rate Banking Methods
Once you deposit, the guesswork should be out of the way. We rank banking methods so you don't have to go through your own trial-and-error. These are the factors that go into how we rate banking methods.
- Availability: How many casino sites accept the deposit method? Players want a flexible, widespread payment option.
- Ease of Use: How easy is this method of depositing cash in an online casino? If it's a crypto payment, is it easy to buy at a crypto exchange and transfer to a casino site?
- Transaction Fees: Is it free? If not, are transactions cheap? Credit and debit cards are free, while Bitcoin payments also are free. Web wallets and bank wire transfers usually cost money.
- Timeframes: How fast is the payment method? Crypto payments are instant or occur within an hour or two. Credit cards take a day or two, while e-wallets take 5 days or more.
- Security: How safe and secure is the banking method? To receive a high rating, online payments must use 128-bit or 256-bit encryption.
- Reputation: Word travels fast on the Internet. If a banking method has problems in certain regions, we'll let you know.
- Player Experience: We compare our experience with the testimonials and complaints from other players.
- Customer Support: Issues happen from time to time. When it does, the deposit method's customer support staff must be knowledgeable, friendly, fluent, and helpful.
- Mobile Compatibility: Banking methods must be compatible with iPhones and Android phones.
Casino Banking FAQ
Do casinos use banks?
No, casinos do not use banks. However, any casino with a gross gaming revenue of over $1 million is considered to be a financial institution and abide by the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act. This act stipulates that casinos must have a written anti-money laundering program in place, as well as file reports for transactions over a certain amount of money. As with banks, casinos make use of a substantive record-keeping system.
Do casinos have more money than banks?
Casinos may not have more money than banks overall, but they typically keep a lot more cash on hand than banks do. This is because they may need to cover multiple players' winnings in a short amount of time. Different states also have different laws: in Nevada, 1% of the prior year's gross revenue needs to be held to be distributed as winnings.
Do casinos lose money?
Casinos can lose money, but not because there are too many online books - the house edge is meant to help cover short-term casino payouts. Casinos might lose money on things like promotions, or if there aren't enough people playing, given that there is a cost to running them like any other business.
Can a casino kick you out for winning too much?
Casinos technically can kick out anyone they'd like for whatever reason, but it's not something they usually do. If you are winning a lot, you might just be getting lucky, and they'd want you to keep playing until that luck changes. Casinos also use big Sportsbooks in their advertising efforts to attempt to attract more players, so there's not really an advantage to showing legitimate players the door.
Can anyone deposit money at a casino?
Yes, anyone over 18 years old can deposit money in a real money casino. If you live in a state with regulated online gambling, then you might need to be 21 in order to make a real money casino deposit.
What banks support gambling?
Any bank that approves an online casino deposit with a credit card. If your credit card declines, it's because the bank that issued it declined the payment. Visa and MasterCard are networks of 20,000 or more banks. When you receive a credit card or debit card, it's issues by a specific bank in the network.
Online gambling payments have a specific code. A bank can choose to decline when that code appears. If not, then your bank supports gambling.
How do you fund an online casino account?
Once you have a player account, sign in to the account. Click on the "Cashier" page, then click "Deposit". Choose your deposit method, input the amount of cash you wish to deposit, and confirm the payment. That's how you fund an online casino account.
