(Note that not all of these deposit options are accepted by all our recommended online bookmakers and this article should be used as a guide only. Refer to the banking section of your chosen bookie site for specific details regarding payment options for your country.)
Recommended Bookmakers
Deposit options for Australians
Aussies placing real money wagers at sports betting sites can typically choose from a range of deposits in AUD currency including:
- Credit cards and debit cards – Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, MasterPass
- BPay – pay direct from any participating Australian financial institution, with deposits taking 2-3 working days to appear in your bookmaker account
- POLi – pay direct via your online bank account using ANZ, Bank of Melbourne, BOQ, Bank SA, Bankwest, Bendigo Bank, Citibank, Commonwealth Bank, IMB Building Society, ING Direct, ME Bank, NAB, Newcastle Permanent, People’s Choice Credit Union, St. Georges Bank, Suncorp and Westpac.
- Web wallets – secure transactions via Neteller, Skrill, iDebit
- Direct bank transfer – make a direct transfer via EFT using your online bank account or over the counter at a specified Australian bank branch.
- PayPal – only offered at select bookmakers like William Hill
- Prepaid vouchers – anonymous payment using e-vouchers like Ukash and Paysafecard
Deposit options for New Zealanders
New Zealanders can choose between these commonly accepted payment services in NZD:
- Credit cards and debit cards – Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, MasterPass
- POLi – pay direct via your online bank account using ANZ, ASB, BankDirect, Bank of New Zealand, Kiwibank, TSB Bank and Westpac.
- Web wallets – secure transactions via Neteller, Skrill, iDebit
- Direct bank transfer – offered via most leading NZ banks
- Prepaid vouchers – anonymous payment using e-vouchers like Ukash and Paysafecard
Deposit options for British players
Punters from the UK have a range of deposit options at their disposal in GBP including:
- Credit cards and debit cards – Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, MasterPass
- Web wallets – secure transactions via Neteller, Skrill, iDebit
- Direct bank wire – available using FastBankTransfer and most UK banks depending on the bookmaker site
- Prepaid vouchers – anonymous payment using e-vouchers like Ukash and Paysafecard
- PayPal – only offered at select sites like Bet365
- Cheque – personal cheques, cashier’s cheques and international money order are accepted by some bookmakers but will take up to 28 days to clear and often come with high minimum deposit requirements.
Deposit options for Europeans
The deposit options available for Europeans are very similar to the UK, but with more limitations. Generally, these EUR deposit options are commonly offered but with specific exclusions and additions depending on your country within the European Union:
- Credit cards and debit cards – Visa, MasterCard, Maestro
- Web wallets – secure transactions via Neteller and Skrill
- Direct bank transfer – available using different wire transfers methods depending on your location (eg. Nordea Solo in Sweden, Giropay in Germany, etc)
- Prepaid vouchers – anonymous payment using e-vouchers like Ukash, Paysafecard and Entropay
- Cheque – personal cheques, cashier’s cheques and international money order are accepted by some bookmakers but will take up to 28 days to clear and often come with high minimum deposit requirements.
Deposit options for USA punters
The deposit options available for American players differ quite a bit from the countries previously discussed, as players from the US are restricted from betting at several of our recommended online bookmakers due to the US governments Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) which restricts US financial institutions from processing payments at online gambling sites. Bookmakers like Bovada, 5Dimes which accept US punters offer these limited deposit options:
- Credit cards – Visa branded credit cards only (including Visa debit cards and Visa gift cards) provided the card is eligible to make international purchases. You’ll also need to complete a Credit Card Verification Form for each credit card you use to make a deposit, which requires a photocopy of a government issued ID card and full photocopy of both sides of your credit card.
- Rapid transfer deposit – this requires you to attend a Rapid Transfer retail outlet to wire funds directly to the bookmaker site
While many sites will say they offer credit card deposits, often you will find the card will be declined, this will be your specific bank. If you are experience issues like this it’s imperative that you contact customer service and ask them what the best deposit methods at that bookie are at this time.
How do deposit bonuses work at online betting sites
One of the best parts of funding your betting account is often you will be able to get part, or all, of your deposit matched by your chosen bookie. This works in the form of match bets or no deposit bonuses, with these traditionally known as freebets.
The bookies do this so you will bet with them with the competitive nature of online sports betting (there are 100s of sites) meaning there are some great offers available to us.
How do they work exactly? you might ask. Well generally a deposit bonus will match a percentage of your outlay. For instance a bookie might match 100% up to $500. So if you deposit $500 you would have $1,000 in total to bet with.
Some bookies will even offer ‘no deposit bonuses’ which give the punter a certain amount of money for free to gamble with.
Both of these bonus types usually have wagering requirements attached to them, this basically means you have to bet the money a certain amount of times before you can withdraw it.
Customer service at online bookies
Deposits and withdrawals at online betting sites can be difficult if you are in certain countries, so it pays to bet at a website with good customer service. For example, the USA, has very tough gambling laws and attempts to block online transactions with credit cards by forcing the banking institutions to disallow these types of transaction at offshore sites.
Betting sites like Bovada, BetOnline and Bodog88 (which services China) have made an art form of getting around these strict rules and the ways they recommend constantly change, so they set up 24/7 chat lines and phone lines to help you through the process. You can read the individual reviews of each bookmaker (accessible in the table above) to find out about their customer services options.