An article was published recently in the Augusta Free Press that spoke about the different payment methods that online gamers can use to fund their accounts. The Augusta Free Press no doubt published this article because a new generation of online gamers is coming of age in the United States after the long hiatus created by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) from 2006 that made it difficult to impossible for online casinos to receive payments from financial institutions operating in the United States.
Keep in mind that when the news report used the term “payments” they were talking about deposits to one’s online account.
At Slots Play Casinos we also review payment methods every so often because we find that new players often are somewhat confused by the many different payment methods and also that very experienced gamers stay with one payment method even though a different one might be better suited to them.
Some gamers make payments only when they accept casino bonuses. Some players want the most privacy for their deposits while others don’t care so much. People new to online gaming need to understand the options open to them so they can choose the deposit method best suited to their needs.
So, we will report about the various payment methods as a news item as well as a review of the payment methods our most highly recommended casinos use.
Aside from cash and credit card payments, the other payment methods were all considered alternative methods when they first became available to players and online casinos. By now, however, they are as mainstream as a direct bank transfer. The reason they get into the news sometimes is because so many players are still either unfamiliar with them or are leery of using them.
So, the convenience and trustworthiness of all these different payment methods is still newsworthy to a large number of online casino gamers.
Credit Cards
The most popular way to deposit at an online casino is through your credit card. We will see in the paragraph about e-wallets why some are now using e-wallets instead of credit cards for online casino deposits.
Debit Cards
These have the advantage of limiting the amount you can deposit. The limit is artificial for all intents and purposes since gamers can limit their deposits regardless of the deposit method they prefer using.
Direct Bank Transfers
The big advantage to direct bank transfers is that they are fast. However, all other deposit methods are fast as well. The big disadvantage of direct bank deposits is that they provide no privacy. If you want a lot more privacy in your transactions with an online casino, the following “alternative” methods are better than any of the three mentioned here.
E-Wallets
These are a type of online bank but they serve one very useful purpose that your regular bank cannot provide: they offer much more privacy. You can deposit money to an e-wallet and no one knows where the money will go from there while at a regular bank, your deposit would clearly be a transaction from the bank to the casino.
E-wallets began as a way to make it easier to buy things and actually to sell things online. They have evolved as useful online “banks” that help people make financial transactions. Players who prefer using e-wallets for online banking do so because they have learned that e-wallets are excellent vehicles for the safe and private transfer of money
Pre-paid Cards
These are similar to debit cards but they give gamers an extra layer of privacy. You buy the card with a specific amount of money on it. Many people use pre-paid cards when they are shopping for Christmas presents as they help people stay within their specific budget for Christmas gifts. The same is true for online casino gaming. Whatever your budget is, you can set a pre-paid card in that amount and your gaming session will end when the sum is exhausted, if it is.
Debit cards allow you to add to the amount on the card while a pre-paid card is good only for the amount you put on it. So, gamers who would like an extra amount of control over their gaming budget do well by using pre-paid cards as their deposit method of choice.
Cryptocurrencies
The most famous cryptocurrency is bitcoin but, in fact, there are already several dozen cryptocurrencies. The advent of cryptocurrencies was a political act rather than a banking act or a way to facilitate online business transactions.
Since cryptocurrencies began as a political act, many gamers steer away from them; they understand gaming and creating a bankroll but still do not understand the idea behind cryptocurrencies.
First of all, it is not necessary to fully understand how cryptocurrencies work to be able to use them, usually bitcoin, to make deposits to your favorite online casino. All you need to know is that if the casino accepts a cryptocurrency, then your deposit is recorded as if it was made in a regular government currency.
Here we will explain in short what was behind the invention of cryptocurrencies. We will not attempt to explain the way a block chain works as this is very difficult to explain.
Why Were Cryptocurrencies Invented?
Actually, they weren’t invented exactly. Many things have been use in the past as currency. The term currency simply means “what people will accept as payment for an item or service they want to sell”. In the modern world, no one will accept beads as currency but they were accepted in the past by societies that valued beads over gold.
Gold and silver are the oldest enduring currencies.
Cryptocurrencies were invented as an alternative to government currency. The people who invented cryptocurrencies felt that as more and more people lost faith in the enduring value of government money, they will look for an alternative currency. We still don’t know if people will lose so much faith in government money that cryptocurrencies will become the currencies of choice of a critical mass of people.
None of this matters as some online casinos already accept cryptocurrencies for deposit.
Account Management
We hope that you see that the various banking methods relate to the amount of privacy you want coupled with the amount of extra help in bankroll management you feel you need.
Each of the banking methods is excellent in its own right; the important point is which method best fits the needs of each individual player.
