The #1 question we are asked by prospective online poker players, especially those in Australia, is how they can fund their online poker account. In the past, funding an online poker account proved challenging. Luckily, those days are in the past.
Online poker sites now accept a wide variety of payment methods, making it easy to open your account and start playing real money online poker immediately.
This page outlines the easiest payment options available for poker players to get money on and off a poker site. We also have detailed reviews on which sites accept xx payment method as well as complete instructions on how to open an account and load it. If you have any questions pertaining to a deposit method, feel free to contact the poker room’s support team or you can send us an email here.
One of the most commonly accepted methods for making an online poker deposit is via credit card. Many sites accept either Visa or MasterCard with some taking both. In some cases, you may even see cards such as Diners Club International accepted.
Depositing with a credit card at online poker sites is as simple as making a purchase online. Just enter your card information and the amount you wish to deposit. In some cases you may be charged a fee to use a credit card and should you need to deposit in a different currency than what’s standard on the site, you may incur a currency conversion fee.
Another alternative to credit cards is debit cards. They come in two styles, bank debit cards, and prepaid debit cards. These cards work the same as credit cards with a couple of exceptions. First, they are either funded by your bank account, or they are pre-loaded with cash that you can use.
Next, debit cards sometimes are not held to the same strict standards as credit cards. This means that sometimes you cannot make a deposit using a credit card, but debit card transactions work fine.
You may consider investing in a prepaid debit card to use exclusively for online poker deposits. You may also want to contact your site’s customer support to see what debit cards regularly work on their website.
Another popular online poker deposit method is e-wallets. These electronic wallets can be used to make payments anywhere that accepts them. For online poker sites, Skrill and NETELLER are two of the most commonly used e-wallets for online gambling transactions.
The advantage of using an e-wallet over other deposit methods is that there are fewer restrictions. You are essentially making an electronic payment from your wallet to the poker site, and it is treated as a purchase. The funds sent to your account can be drawn directly from your balance or your credit card or checking account.
When using a credit card or checking account, the funds are routed through your e-wallet, and your funding account sees it as a transfer to the e-wallet. This is a great option to get around bank restrictions against gambling transactions.
Bitcoin has been growing in popularity as an online poker deposit method for the last couple of years, and many poker sites are beginning to offer it as a deposit option. Bitcoin is a decentralized currency that is largely unregulated, making it perfect for online poker transactions.
First, you have to buy some bitcoin, and afterward, you can then deposit it to your online poker account. Transfers are done electronically from your bitcoin wallet and are available for play after just a few confirmations.
Some sites are now beginning to accept other forms of cryptocurrency for deposits. The most commonly accepted are Ethereum and Litecoin, but some places will take a wide variety of altcoins. The process is the same as sending bitcoin, but the miner fees in sending altcoins are much less than sending bitcoin.
Online poker sites accept a wide variety of prepaid card options. These cards allow you to pre-load cash onto them and then use them to make payments. The Paysafecard is a popular international prepaid card used by online poker sites.
EntroPay and EcoPayz are two other popular prepaid cards. Their cards are prepaid Visa or MasterCard’s and work on the same concept as a prepaid debit card.
Note that there are a couple of restrictions. First, many sites put a cap on the amount of money you can deposit at one time with a prepaid card. This is done to prevent fraud. Also, you will never be able to cash out using a prepaid card. They are merely used for deposits only.
POLi is a real-time online debit payment method exclusive to Australia and New Zealand. It works similar to an e-wallet, except you are sending payments directly from your bank account. Unlike other deposit methods, no signup is required for POLi.
If your bank participates in the POLi payments network, you may be able to deposit to your online poker account directly. There are no fees to use POLi, and some sites will even waive any associated deposit fees.
If none of the above options will work, then you may be forced to resort to a bank transfer. Depending on your site, this may be done in a variety of ways. Some places use SWIFT to process bank payments, while others use systems such as iDebit. In some cases, you may be using a direct wire transfer to make your deposit using a bank account.
Should you choose to make a deposit via bank transfer, understand that it may take longer than other methods as your site will have to wait for the payment to clear. This can take anywhere from 48 hours to five business days. In many cases, this is more of a last resort option for making a deposit.
Some online poker sites will offer the option for another player to transfer funds directly to your online poker account. Using this method is simple and requires little on your part. Just share your username with the other player and they can transfer funds directly to your online poker account. Once they send the funds, you can play with them immediately.
Note that if someone sends you funds, you will usually be unable to cash them out until you play through them, typically once. This is done to prevent money laundering and also to prevent the online poker site being used as a makeshift bank.
PayPal is the world’s top e-wallet, and a large number of online gambling and online poker sites accept PayPal for deposits. With PayPal, you can deposit using your available balance, or you can connect your PayPal account to your credit card or bank account.
If available, you would use this the same as other e-Wallets. The only exception is if your PayPal account is tied to your checking account. In that case, PayPal makes payments using their E-check service, and with some sites, you may experience a delay in accessing your funds as the check clears.
Unfortunately, Australian online poker sites do not accept PayPal. PayPal prohibits gambling and online poker transactions in Australia. As an alternative, we recommend using POLi or cryptocurrencies.
