Depositing money to play at an online casino can be just as safe and secure as spending money at any well established online store or service provider; it all comes down to the measures in place by the casino in question.
While there are some rogue vendors out there that have made some people wary about the safety of gambling online, there are many highly reputable casinos operating well above board and offering deposit and withdrawal options that use the highest of Internet security measures – regulated, trusted, and verified.
This article will take you through the safest options when banking at an online casino and the measures in place at reputable casinos to keep payments safe.
How are casino payments regulated and protected?
All the casinos you’ll find endorsed here at RegulatedCasinos.com use a minimum of 128 Bit SSL (Secure Socket Layer) digital security encryption in order to protect all payment made over their site. SSL encryption works by scrambling all data sent over its secure connection, making the information unreadable and unable to be intercepted by hackers. It’s the highest level of security available on the Internet and is the same technology utilised by all the leading online financial institutions, stores, airlines and hotel sites.
How to identify a safe SSL connection
When determining whether a casino cashier is safe, there are visual identifiers that will let you know whether the payment page is protected by an SSL encryption. Look to the URL address bar, a secure site will include an additional ‘s’ in the address (https:// instead of the usual http://) along with a small icon of a padlock. Some sites go the extra yard by making it easier to identify, highlighting the entire URL bar in green to clearly display that the site is SSL protected.
What secure deposit options are there at online casinos?
Deposit options available at our recommended casinos may vary slightly from venue to venue, but typically these are the banking methods you’ll find offered at reputable casinos:
- Credit cards & debit cards – VISA, MasterCard and Maestro
- Direct bank transfers
- e-Wallets – Neteller, Skrill (formerly Moneybookers), ClickandBuy
- Prepaid Services – Paysafecard, Ukash, Entropay
- POLi – an online payment service specifically for Australian and New Zealanders
- PayPal – available to players from designated countries only
- Paysafecard casino sites
Using a Visa or MasterCard to gamble online
Visa and MasterCard are popular payment methods used by online punters, both in credit card and debit card form. These globally trusted brands provide the additional benefit of being protected by strict anti-fraud measures provided by the Visa and MasterCard security teams, which means on the rare off chance that your personal details were to be intercepted a full investigation and reimbursement would be issued by your financial institution.
Be mindful that just like using a credit card in real life, depositing via Visa or MasterCard at an Internet casino means you’re restricted by payment limitations. Credit card transactions typically come with daily limits and once that limit has been reached, you may not be able to make any further deposits within a 24 hour time frame.
For specifics regarding daily limitations, contact the issuing financial institution of your Visa or MasterCard for more details as these restrictions vary between banks.
Depositing via a direct bank transfer
Making a wire transfer direct from your bank account is a safe choice, protected by the high security levels of your online bank. This also gives you the option of physically going into your local bank branch to make a deposit, which may bring extra peace of mind for those who are wary about any online transactions. The downside of making a direct bank transfer is that waiting times usually apply, so you won’t have immediate access to your funds at the casino like a majority of the other banking options.
What is a web wallet?
Web wallets (or e-Wallets) like Neteller and Skrill are hugely popular choices at secure online casinos, providing an extra layer of protection for wary punters. These services allow you to deposit funds to your casino account without having to enter any personal financial information, simply your Neteller or Skrill username and password. The web wallet itself is a secure place online where you can make deposits and store your shipping address in one central place. Services like Neteller and Skrill are a great option for those who play at multiple venues so you don’t have to spread your personal info all over the Web.
eVouchers and prepaid cards
If you’re really concerned about your safety when making an online deposit, prepaid cards like Paysafecard and Ukash are the way to go. These eVouchers essentially work just like you were spending real cash online, with no paper trail or details leading back to you. These prepaid vouchers are purchased in land based retail outlets and in exchange for cash you’re given a unique pin number. That pin code can then be entered at a casino cashier, loading your account with real money to play with, leaving you to gamble completely anonymously with no fear for your security.
How does POLi work?
POLi is an Internet payment service available for Australian and New Zealanders only. Despite being fairly new, the brand has already secured its place as a highly trusted payment method and is now utilised by such big names as Australia Post, Jet Star, Qantas, Virgin and Skype.
When choosing POLi to deposit at an online casino, you’re taken to the login screen of your Internet banking account, proceeding through the prompts to make the deposit just like you would if paying a bill online. The fantastic thing about POLi is that all payments are processed instantly using your Internet banking account, so payments are made with all the same high level of security employed by leading banks like NAB, Westpac and CommBank.
POLi maintains complete user security by never storing any passwords or usernames, so there’s no cached information to be intercepted. The POLi system also regularly undergoes security reviews and software updates to remain on top of emerging technologies.
Can I deposit real money online using PayPal?
PayPal has earned a reputation as one of the most trustworthy payment systems on the Internet, but certain regulations within PayPal’s terms and conditions mean it’s not a common option provided by online casinos. With so many other great, secure payment methods available don’t let it be a deterrent if PayPal isn’t available, simply select from one of the fantastic options mentioned above.