Have you ever had trouble making a deposit at an online casino?
If you haven’t you should count yourself as one of the lucky few. Most online casinos are fighting a battle to keep easy ways working for players and prospective players to make deposits.
Credit cards may work one day and not the next and new payment methods pop up and old ones stop working.
The laws change often concerning online gambling and banking so sometimes it’s a challenge for the online casinos to keep up.
One of the newest strategies introduced is the use of prepaid cards.
What Is It?
Prepaid cards usually look like credit cards. Some prepaid cards are credit cards bearing the Visa or MasterCard logo, but not all cards are credit cards.
The next time you take a trip to the super market, Wal-Mart, Staples, or other shopping locations take a look at the wide range of prepaid cards that you can buy. At the local Wal-Mart I saw well over 100 different options.
These cards often work like gift cards. You buy the card at the register and then use the card as a method of payment.
Here’s an example:
You pick up a prepaid Visa card at the checkout line at Wal-Mart and want to put $100 on it. You give the cashier $100 plus a small fee and they give you a card you can use just about anywhere you can use a regular Visa credit card.
If you pick up a regular gift card, like an Amazon card, you won’t have to pay an extra fee.
So why would you need to worry about prepaid cards when it comes to playing slots online?
Many times you can buy a prepaid card with your credit or debit card that you can use to make a deposit when your credit or debit card is declined when you try to deposit.
Prepaid cards are also the easiest way to get cash into an online casino. It’s easy to carry cash into the local casino and get chips, but it’s hard to get cash from your pocket into an online casino.
How to Use It
Before you run out and buy a prepaid card to make a casino deposit you need to find out which cards you can use at your chosen online casino.
The easiest way to find out which prepaid cards will work is not the best way. Here’s both ways to find out.
If you want the easiest way you can look in the cashier section of your chosen online casino. Most cashier areas list all of the available deposit options. I know this sounds like the best way to find out which prepaid cards you can use, but there’s a problem. Prepaid card options change frequently and web sites don’t get updated as often as they should.
What are you going to do if you go out and buy a prepaid card and then find out it no longer works where you want to play?
The odds are if it doesn’t work at your online casino it won’t work at others.
If you’re lucky enough to get a Visa or MasterCard prepaid card you can use it to buy other things you need, but some prepaid cards are harder to use for other things.
The best thing to do is speak to someone in the support department. Explain to them that you want to make a deposit to play slots, tell them how much you want to put in, let them know how you can pay for the prepaid card, tell them where you live, and ask them which options you have.
Different countries, and even different regions within countries, have different prepaid options available. Old options disappear and new options spring up all of the time. Depend on the casino staff to keep up to date on these methods so you don’t get stuck with a card that’s hard to use.
Don’t make the mistake of just buying a prepaid MasterCard or Visa thinking that they’ll always work. I’ve seen instances where one type of prepaid Visa worked and another didn’t, even if they’re available side by side at the store. Let the casino tell you which to use.
Fees
Usually the only fee you need to pay is if the merchant where you buy the prepaid card charges one.
But a few online casinos also charge a fee for certain deposit methods. If you end up paying a fee to buy the card and then another fee when you deposit it can make a big difference.
Here’s an example:
If you buy a prepaid Visa at your local store and put $100 on it, the merchant might charge $3.99. Then if the casino charges 5% to use a credit card you end up paying another $5. So the $100 deposit ends up costing you $8.99.
This may be acceptable to you, but you need to find out about all the fees before you buy a card.
Is It Safe?
Prepaid cards are one of the safest ways to make a deposit at an online casino.
The main safety feature is the prepaid card isn’t attached to any of your bank accounts so the only money you risk is the amount you pay for the card.
If you buy a prepaid card for $100 and lose it or it gets stolen your total risk is $100.
Of course it sucks to lose $100 but it’s better than a thief draining thousands from your bank account. This can happen if you use many of the other available deposit methods.
Conclusion
Prepaid cards aren’t as easy and handy as many deposit methods, but they offer one of the safest ways possible to fund your account. They also offer solutions for players who can’t make a deposit any other way. Talk to support or open the cashier section to see which options are available where you live.
