Casino games have been popular for centuries by people around the world, from poker to blackjack, Slingo online, traditional slot games and everything in between. However, as the digital revolution has been fueled by rapid technological developments, online casinos have become more popular than ever across the globe, allowing new groups of people to play that never would have considered stepping foot in a casino before.
However, as the online world has become more sophisticated, so too have people’s expectations for services, in which providers have to continuously come up with new ways to make their offering safe, secure and convenient. One of these ways is by providing new and improved payment methods that offer enhanced safety and convenience for players.
Below, we’ll take a look at the top payment methods to use at an online casino.
Credit and debit cards
Credit and debit cards are one of the most traditional payment options when it comes to making transactions at an online casino. It is worth keeping in mind that many online casino regulators have since banned the use of credit cards for gambling in order to crack down on problematic gaming.
That being said, credit and debit cards are a reliable, simple and convenient way to pay online, in which all payments go through a central banking authority which makes the transactions much safer and trackable in case anything goes wrong.
One of the benefits of using a debit card is that you can of course only spend as much as you have in your account, unless you have an arranged overdraft. If you are able to use a credit card then it can be slightly easier to get into financial trouble if you are not strict with your bank roll, however one of the benefits of a credit card is that you are guaranteed to get your money back if something happens to the casino provider.
E-wallets
E-wallets are a place that stores your money in a digital space that is connected to your bank account for withdrawals and paying in too. So, why store your money in an e-wallet if it’s already in an online banking account, you ask?
Well, e-wallets provide a great deal of added security as providers like PayPal and Venmo follow strict regulations and have their own procedures in place which make it easy for you to claim your money back if you need to.
In addition, they are most useful if you are needing to make transactions in another currency as they can often provide a better rate than a bank can. Bear in mind that there may be a small transaction fee for making international transactions, in addition to a fee for if you are receiving money outside of the ‘family and friends’ option as your transaction is then insured by the e-wallet provider.
Another benefit of e-wallets is that they are often more convenient to use online as you do not need to get up and find your debit or credit card to enter the payment details. Simply login to your online account, verify your transaction with multi-factor authentication to make it extremely safe, and sit back and watch the rest happen for you.
Smartphone payments
As playing on a mobile device becomes more and more popular, people are also expecting payment methods that match this way of playing casino games. Playing on a mobile device means the game is built to be more streamlined on a smaller device and for players on the go. As such, mobile payments through providers like Apple and Google match the convenience of this way of gaming.
ApplePay or G Pay enable mobile players to access their digital wallet on their phone where a debit card is stored. Players can then double click on the side of their device, use a fingerprint, or even facial recognition to pay.
While some people have been wary of mobile payments, they are deemed as a safe way to pay as not only do they use a different transaction ID to the one physical card uses, there is also a limit to how much can be spent using this form of contactless payment.
Cryptocurrency
Some more advanced online casinos are now accepting crypto payments, in which players benefit from a more anonymous and safer way of paying, while also benefiting from the convenience of modern technology.
As crypto payments are not regulated by a centralized banking authority but instead operate on blockchain technology, payments are incredibly hard to track, which creates privacy for players while also helping to protect their identities from financial and identify fraud happening.
Overall, the online casino world is continually evolving at an alarming pace, and so too is the way we make online transactions too. As this world continues to grow, it will be interesting to see how online payments mirror these technological advancements.
