The second ingredient can seem unimportant. After all, there are dozens if not hundreds of ways to fund an account, so why should the choice matter?
That mindset can change after one really bad experience, and a few minutes spent on the reasons explained below can help avoid that kind of stress and hassle.
Life moves fast and time is precious, so anything that makes everyday life simpler is welcome. It is common to hold accounts with every retailer from Argos to Zara, each of them storing the same debit card details, which makes shopping a breeze. Until it does not.
Picture a typical case of card fraud. At about four in the morning a text alert arrives on the cardholder’s mobile and, half asleep, the owner ignores it. A couple of minutes later another alert arrives, quickly followed by another, and another, and another.
Within 20 minutes the messages show that more than ten thousand pounds has been spent in America on flat-screen TVs, games consoles and a lay-z-boy reclining chair that Joey from Friends would have died for. It is not the confirmation of a middle-aged bucket list being ticked off; it is fraud, and on a (ten) grand scale.
Because the debit card is linked directly to the bank account, those alerts mean the account has been emptied. The money may eventually come back, but only after weeks of changing cards and account details and hours on the phone.
It is exactly this kind of hassle that makes PayPal the better way to fund an online sportsbook.
As mentioned at the start, two ingredients are needed, and the first is finding betting sites that accept PayPal. For help with that, the excellent www.realmoney.co.uk/sports-betting/paypal/ compares the best online sports betting sites that accept PayPal and offers unbiased views and reviews.
Back to PayPal itself: with this payment method the bettor’s financial information is not disclosed to the betting site, only to PayPal, which significantly reduces the risk. That makes PayPal not only a secure choice but a sensible one. Once the account is set up and funded, it can be used at many different sites, while the payment details are handed over only once.
One of PayPal’s biggest selling points is that there are no charges at all for funding a PayPal account with a debit card, and most online sports betting sites do not charge anything for deposits or withdrawals to and from the sportsbook account.
For anyone who has never used PayPal for sports betting, it is worth a try: it is fast, simple, secure and in most cases free. Setting up an account takes about five minutes, and it brings the protection of the world’s best-known online payment service, already used by more than 179 million customers.
How e-wallet payments work
An e-wallet sits between the bank and the merchant. The account holder funds it from a bank account or card, and payments to a sportsbook are then made from the e-wallet. Because the payment passes through the provider, the betting site does not see the card numbers behind it. PayPal itself began in December 1998 as Confinity, was bought by eBay in October 2002 and became an independent company again on 18 July 2015.
The rules around funding a betting account have also tightened. In Great Britain a ban on gambling with credit cards took effect on 14 April 2020, covering online and offline gambling products apart from non-remote lotteries. The Gambling Commission said credit card gambling could lead to significant financial harm.
Responsible gambling basics
Every online gambling business licensed in Great Britain must verify a customer’s age and identity before that customer can gamble, and the checks also confirm whether the person has self-excluded. Customers can restrict the time and money spent on gambling, view their playing history and block gambling payments through their bank. GAMSTOP offers free self-exclusion that blocks access to gambling websites and apps.
Questions people ask
How does an e-wallet deposit at a betting site work?
The bettor funds the e-wallet from a bank account or card and then pays the betting site from the e-wallet balance. The payment goes through the e-wallet provider, so the merchant does not see the card numbers behind it.
Can credit cards be used for gambling in Great Britain?
No. A ban on gambling with credit cards took effect on 14 April 2020 and covers online and offline gambling products, apart from non-remote lotteries. The Gambling Commission cited the risk of significant financial harm as the reason.
Do online betting sites check age and identity?
Yes. In Great Britain all online gambling businesses must verify a customer's age and identity before that customer gambles. The checks also confirm whether the person has self-excluded from gambling.
What is GAMSTOP?
GAMSTOP is a free self-exclusion service that blocks a registered person's access to gambling websites and apps. It is run by The National Online Self Exclusion Scheme Limited.