Betting Sites Payment Methods

Depositing into your betting account might not be the most exciting part of your betting experience, but it is a necessary one. In this article, we’re going to go through the wide range of different payment methods for online betting which you’re likely to come across, the pros and cons of each of them, as well as which of our favourite bookmakers offer each of them.

Previously, we took a look at the various betting deposit methods offered by some of the top bookmakers in Australia. Now, it’s time to go into a bit more detail about each of these deposit methods, beginning with the most common option – credit/debit card. 

Credit/debit card

Credit/debit card refers to both VISA and Mastercard, and is in our view the easiest way to deposit with betting sites. It’s available with every bookmaker, and when you use it your funds will appear instantly in your account. Using it for withdrawals is a little different; you’ll need to wait a few days for the money to appear in your bank account, but that’s the same with every betting sites payment method.

• Bookmakers that accept credit/debit card: PlayUp, Boombet, WinnersBet, Bet365, Unibet, Draftstars, Picklebet, Palmerbet, TopSport 

PayPal

PayPal is another very popular payment method for punters. Like credit/debit card, it results in instant deposits, and though it takes a little longer for withdrawals it is still relatively fast. Of course, the primary difference between this and something like credit/debit card is that you’ll deposit and withdraw from and to your PayPal account, rather than your bank account, but if that’s not an issue for you then this could be a good choice. It’s also not available everywhere, but most of the biggest bookies do offer it.

• Bookmakers that accept PayPal: Boombet, Bet365, Unibet, Palmerbet

Apple Pay

Apple Pay is a deposit method which works by linking your Apple device – including iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watches – to your credit/debit card. Once you’ve made this link, this is a really easy way to deposit, and deposits will arrive instantaneously in your betting account. Withdrawals aren’t supported with this method, however, and it’s also only available with a couple of our preferred bookies.

• Bookmakers that accept Apple Pay: Bet365, Unibet

PayID

PayID is another betting site payment method which you can link to your banking account and use to fund your betting account. Setting it up is relatively easy and can be done on your internet banking account – once you’ve done it, deposits are easy and fast, making this a convenient method, but you do of course have to do the linking before you can use it. It’s also only available with a handful of bookmakers at this point.

• Bookmakers that accept PayID: Bet365, Unibet

POLi

POLi is a very easy way to deposit into your bank account, though it’s not available for withdrawals. To use it you simply enter your bank details on the betting site to log in and transfer funds from your bank account to your betting account, and deposits are once again instantaneous. What makes POLi a particularly convenient choice is that it’s available with a huge range of bookmakers, including all nine of our preferred bookies that we’ve listed in this article.

• Bookmakers that accept POLi: PlayUp, Boombet, WinnersBet, Bet365, Unibet, Draftstars, Picklebet, Palmerbet, TopSport

Bank transfer

Bank transfer, as the name suggests, involves transferring money directly between your bank account and your betting account. This is a particularly popular way to withdraw funds, but for depositing it’s a little less so predominantly because it takes a day or two for the money to be sent from your bank to your betting account. With so many other options offering instant deposits that makes this a hard sell, though it is available very widely.

• Bookmakers that accept bank transfer: PlayUp, Boombet, WinnersBet, Bet365, Palmerbet, TopSport

BPay

BPay is often used for payment by bigger businesses because it’s an extremely secure option, so if it’s security that you’re after then it could be the way to go. However, the trade-off for this security is that it takes a day or two for the money to arrive in your betting account, so if you want immediate deposits then you might be best off using an alternate payment method.

• Bookmakers that accept BPay: PlayUp, Boombet, Unibet, Palmerbet, TopSport

Neteller

Neteller is an eWallet in a similar mold to PayPal, though it doesn’t yet have the popularity of its more experienced counterpart. Once you’ve linked your credit/debit card to your Neteller account you’ll be able to make instant deposits to your betting account, and you can also make relatively quick withdrawals. The downsides of this method are that there are small fees involved when you use it, and it’s not yet widely available.

• Bookmakers that accept Neteller: Unibet

Skrill

Skrill boasts many similarities to the aforementioned Neteller, namely in the fact that it’s a relatively new eWallet which isn’t yet available with many betting agencies. It’s easy to use, safe, and gives you instant deposits and quick withdrawals, so once you’ve linked it with your credit/debit card Skrill can be a good option. Of our nine bookmakers in this article, however, it’s only available with Unibet.

• Bookmakers that accept Skrill: Unibet

Ecopayz

Yet another deposit method that can fall into the same category as Neteller and Skrill, Ecopayz works by linking your credit/debit card to your Ecopayz account. Once you’ve done that, instant deposits to your betting account are available, though there is a small fee associated with that and once again it’s not available with very many bookmakers just yet.

• Bookmakers that accept Ecopayz: Unibet

Flexepin

Flexepin is a bit of a strange deposit method, but once you know how it works it’s relatively straightforward and can be worth trying out. You can purchase Flexepin vouchers either online or in certain stores, after which you use a PIN to make deposits. These deposits are instant, but the whole process requires you to purchase a voucher so it’s not as quick as some of the other methods in this list.

• Bookmakers that accept Flexepin: Bet365, Unibet

Paysafecard

Paysafecard is another deposit method which operates in a similar way to Flexepin. You can use it by buying a PIN either at a supported retail outlet or online, with this PIN then used to deposit into your betting account. Once you’ve got the PIN these deposits are instant, though it is worth noting that you can only deposit a maximum of $100 using this method.

• Bookmakers that accept Paysafecard: Bet365, TopSport

Cash in

Our final deposit method is cash in, a payment method for the traditionalists among you. This method takes us back to the old days of wandering into a TAB to place a bet, rather than having everything available at our fingertips online. To use this you need to find a participating outlet, after which you can hand over cash and have it used to fund your betting account. This is obviously a much slower way of doing things, but it is available with a few bookies.

• Bookmakers that accept cash in: Boombet, Bet365, Unibet, TopSport

Considering deposit methods when choosing a betting site is an interesting proposition; it may not seem like the most important thing to think about, and it probably does pale into comparison compared to thinks like how many markets are offered and the odds available for most punters, but at the end of the day if you don’t have access to a payment method that suits you then there’s not much you can do.

Of course, just because you’ve never used a deposit method before, however, doesn’t mean that you never do. You might have a preference in terms of which deposit method you which to use, and in this case it certainly makes sense to look for a bookmaker which offers that deposit method, particularly if you’re tossing up between a few different bookies. However, if you come across a betting site that ticks all your boxes and is clearly the best choice for you, but they don’t offer your preferred bookmaker payment method, that certainly doesn’t have to be a reason not to try them out. As long as you have a bank account, most of the payment methods that we mentioned above will be available to you – it might just be a case of linking it or setting it up, but once you’ve done that you should be ready to go.

Typically, bonuses and promotions don’t have a whole lot to do with the deposit method you use – at least not on the bookmaker side of things. Perhaps on occasion using a certain platform might result in that platform rewarding you in some way, but typically the bookmaker won’t give you extra bonuses or anything like that for using a particular payment method. There are, of course, plenty of promotions available with many different bookmakers, including welcome bonuses, money back bonuses and more – they just aren’t usually linked to the payment method you use.

Using mobile betting apps and mobile sites in place of the traditional desktop site for betting is becoming increasingly common, so you may be wondering whether there are particular deposit methods which are available on mobile that aren’t available on your computer. In short, the answer is no, at least not very often. The deposit methods you’ll find on your computer on a given bookie will generally match those that you find on your phone. You may, however, find a particular payment method easier to use on your phone – for example, Apple Pay can be set up on your iPhone and deposits can then be made, so in this respect it’s easier to be on your phone to set up the account and deposit in the one sitting.