Best Payment Methods for Secure Deposits
Updated: 28.07.2025
The truly remarkable aspect of the online gambling industry is its very existence. Its genesis can be traced to 1990s, when access to the Internet was still limited primarily to the United States and when the understood potential for the Internet was far from what it is today. This was a time when the vast majority of ordinary folks couldn’t envision how the Internet could be used in their everyday lives. Yet some forward-thinking pioneers did, and they took the by-then burgeoning concept of virtual reality (also bubbling with excitement in the minds of serious techies) and formed something unprecedented: gambling in cyberspace. Now, to 1. do that, pretty much anywhere but in the United States; 2. do that with real virtual money; and 3. do that legally and securely.
US-Friendly Deposit Methods
In contemporary discussions about the range of deposit methods found in online gambling, the simplest way to group them is by geography. Because of the UIGEA, we all understand now that some payment options are U.S.-friendly and some aren't. While the payment methods that online casinos accept have improved significantly since the UIGEA's passage, they still haven't gotten to the point where we can justifiably say that all U.S. customers can enjoy a wide variety of payment options.
The online gambling business in the United States is an extremely large one, bringing in millions of dollars in deposits daily. Obviously, we do have to contend with the risk that the operator might go belly-up, which at times might dissuade us from depositing a significant amount of cash. But what about the operators? Their situation from a legal and financial standpoint has so far been quite bleak. They clearly can pay unreasonably high processing fees that gambling operators in other countries don't have to pay. And they can also interact with American financial institutions without a legal framework that makes either party insecure.
Clicking on any of the links below will take you to a page that contains the details for that specific deposit method.
Payment Methods
Cryptocurrency
In recent years, the way online cash exchanges hands has undergone a major shift. In 2009, a new and decentralized form of currency emerged—in appearance and in practice—as something called cryptocurrency. This highly secure, ledger-based method of paying for goods and services caught fire with the first currency to really take off, Bitcoin. Today, there are hundreds of coins on the market. The online gambling industry was among the first to fully embrace this new technology, especially for processing US deposits. However, these digital currencies also serve as a commodity of sorts and have faced highly volatile valuations over the years. Below is a list of many of the more popular cryptocurrency deposit options.
Non-US Payment Methods
Online gambling transactions are far easier for the rest of the world, particularly for Europe, where stricter regulations of the industry force operators and payment processing companies to comply and become licensed. Unlike the US situation, where many unlicensed operators and processing companies are available, sites in Europe (and those in other parts of the world that are regulated similarly) have to obtain licenses to do business. Once they do, they pay far less in processing fees to legally turn their customers' deposits into bets and to turn winning bets back into deposits.
Naturally, there are numerous other currencies to consider in areas like Europe, and that means that deposit methods can be fine-tuned to an individual nation. As the list below shows, there's no lack of deposit options for online gamblers outside the US, and we've laid out the particulars for all of these.
UIGEA – The Game Changer
The online gambling market was growing at an exponential rate, especially in the United States, where online poker had achieved a level of popularity that made it seem ubiquitous. Unfortunately, the market in the US was unregulated, and many in the federal government were looking for ways to shut the industry down.
Although there were never any laws that expressly made online gambling illegal, the government did come up with a way to stop the money from going offshore. In October 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed, making it illegal for U.S. banks to process online gambling transactions. This then forced many of the market leaders out of the space. They either left or moved to other countries. But there was still a way to online gamble. And that was why this site was created.
What to Look for When Finding a Deposit/Withdrawal Method
Alright, you are now up to date with how payment processing came to be; let us now discuss the deposit methods that you will find at an online betting site. When you research the different sites, you can read our reviews and see a handy list of all the available processing options at any betting site. However, since many of these are regional products (especially in Europe), you can also just navigate to the banking section of a site, where due to your geolocation, you will see a trimmed list of deposit methods available for you in your area.
Nonetheless, there may be dozens of possible processing solutions available to you. What makes one better than another? Here are three factors to consider when selecting a payment solution.
Fees
This impacts mostly withdrawals, but deposits can also suffer. Withdrawing funds to a credit card might cause the issuer to treat the transaction like a cash advance, meaning higher interest charges and less time to pay them off before those charges kick in. Also, the e-wallet services charge fees ranging from 1.5 to 3 percent when you push money into your account. If you're hoping to make money with all this money movement, make sure to read all the fine print beforehand.
Speed
Numerous e-wallet firms mandate a verification duration with the purpose of confirming your identity prior to permitting you the access to your freshly established account for the use of making a deposit at a gambling website that utilizes actual currency. These types of holdups can be exasperating, particularly when the deposit is needed in a timely manner for making a bet on an event that is considered a sport. Preferred are those e-wallets that offer immediate access to your account and your funds.
Security
While it is impossible to know for certain which companies will be targeted by hackers, it is possible to do some research and find out which companies are best equipped to deal with it. After all, security is a real concern today with so many breaches happening, and you want to go with the companies that ask for the bare minimum when it comes to your private info to set up an account. If this is still a concern for you, I recommend going with pre-paid cards, paying in cash, and keeping the whole affair as anonymous as possible.
