There are many payment methods that can be used to deposit into online bookmakers in the UK. We will list and briefly summarise the most popular below. It is worth noting that the use of credit cards and cryptocurrencies for gambling deposits has been banned by the UK government so they will not appear on our list.
Debit Cards - There are two main types of Debit cards in the UK, which are Visa and Mastercard. Although very similar in most regards, when it comes to payments Visa has in recent years introduced a feature known as “Visa Fast Funds”. At participating banks transfers are carried out in seconds where they used to take hours or even days. Mastercard does not have an equivalent feature and therefore using Visa where possible is advised.
PayPal - Since its acquisition by eBay back in 2002 PayPal has been a UK household name and the number one E-wallet used for online transactions. It has only recently been available for gambling transactions though, and even today not as many bookmakers accept it as some of the other E-wallets. Known for having high fees to upload and receive money this rarely affects customers when paying into or being paid by a bookmaker, since they usually pay this fee, but if you later want to withdraw the money again to your bank account, you may have to foot the bill. High fees and a notoriously obtuse customer service department are the main negatives of using PayPal.
Neteller - In the year 2000 they were processing transactions for 85% of the world's gambling merchants, and this was focused on the US gambling market. In 2006 the SAFE Port Act included a clause making online gambling in America illegal which led to them almost closing and being hit with a huge fine. They did not shut though and later actually in effect merged with Skrill, together becoming part of the PaySafe Group. They have an incredibly similar service to skrill and when it comes to fees, payment times, customer support, and additional features, there is very little to set them apart.
Paysafecard - Paysafecard is a means to deposit into an online gambling account essentially using cash. There are merchants all across the UK where you can use cash to buy originally a scratch card but today simply be given a code, and when this is inputted at the bookmaker your online account is credited the relevant amount. The advantages are that it is entirely secure, you are not giving anyone any financial details at all so you are immune from fraud and your gambling history is completely private. The negatives of using this method is that it is incredibly hard, in fact virtually impossible, to get paid your winnings back to you without adding a debit card or bank account to your gambling account at some point.
Trustly (Bank Transfer) - Trustly is simply the name given to making what is essentially a bank transfer directly from your online bank account to the bookmaker's online bank account. It involves a few more steps than using a debit card or Skrill and can be cumbersome to use. The main advantage of using this method is that the limits are so high per transaction that you can assume it is unlimited. If you win £1,000,000 this is the best way to get paid.
Much Better - MuchBetter is a digital payments company offering a wide variety of payment services including a digital wallet and payments gateway, as well as the MuchBetter prepaid Mastercard. Founded in 2017 in the UK the service is available in over 185 countries and can be used to make purchases at any merchant that accepts Mastercard.
Comparison with other payment methods
The key variations between the main payment methods are:
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