Popular Online Casino Deposit Methods for USA Players
Every real money online casino player must use some type of deposit method to get funds into their gaming account. Unfortunately, due to current legislation in the region, USA players seem to have the hardest time finding an acceptable deposit method.
If you traverse the web’s multitude of online casinos accepting some, most or all USA players, you are going to find the exact same problem everywhere. Americans have a very limited number of options for transferring funds into their account. The only viable options at the moment are credit card deposits, e-checks (aka instant checks) and cash transfers, and the majority of them only provide credit card deposits for USA players.
Credit cards are the most convenient option. They are an instant means of funding an online casino account, extremely secure and just about everyone owns a credit card. On the downside, however, many USA players have been met with rejection notices from their financial institution when attempting a credit card deposit from US soil. Furthermore, Visa is generally the only credit card option for American online casino players (MasterCard is accepted, but 99.9% of deposits are rejected), and credit cards cannot be used to withdrawal any more than the original deposited amount.
The chance of an American’s Visa credit card deposit being rejected is about 50/50 these days, depending on the gaming site of choice. Some have a better track record than others. The problem is that the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006) prohibits American banks from doing business with known online gambling websites. Therefore, if your bank or credit card company has your online casino on its no-no list, you will not be able to deposit there by this method.
E-checks are another good option, but again, they run the risk of rejection for the simple fact that they are processed directly between the bank and the online gambling site. However, if accepted, they can be very convenient way for non-Visa card holders to instantly transfer funds into their online casino account. The process is exactly the same as writing out a paper check, except that all of the writing is done electronically over the internet. Unlike a paper check, the funds are instantly available for use, not because the online casino receives them immediately, but because they are able to verify the presence of the deposited amount in your account, thus guaranteeing that the deposit is on its way.
Cash transfers are not as expedient and can take some extensive effort on the player’s part to initiate a deposit if facilitated at a local agent office. The two most common cash transfer agencies are Western Union and Money Gram. The traditional way to use these cash transfer methods is to visit the nearest local agent and fill out a transfer form, but this can also be done online at their individual websites.
Before a cash transfer can be made, the player must choose this method at an online casino. The operator will then provide the proper wiring details, which the player must present to the cash transfer agent upon depositing. The player is given a transaction number, which they must go back and supply to the online casino, along with the amount and date/time of transfer. From there, it’s only a matter of minutes before the funds become available for use in the casino account.