Visit the following pages to read more about each banking option:
- Bitcoin
- Credit Card
- Debit Card
- Click2Pay
- Electronic Check
- Gift Card
- MoneyGram®
- MypaylinQ
- Netspend
- PIC Club
- Rapid Transfer
Why Are There Limited Options?
All the confusion regarding US online poker laws has lead to many payment processors leaving the US market. As a result – as you can see above – we’re left with limited payment methods for US players.
So is processing online poker payments illegal?
The UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) requires financial institutions to block transactions to unlawful gambling sites, however, there are two problems with this:
- Which gambling sites are “unlawful”?
- Are overseas financial institutions subject to US regulations?
The UIGEA never defines what “unlawful” means and there’s no federal definition for the term either. Therefore individual state or tribal laws have to define what “unlawful” means and since all states have their own laws, what might be a legal transaction might be illegal in another.
And how much pull does the US have with overseas financial institutions? Do overseas payment processors have to care about what UIGEA says? I’m not a lawyer and have never had legal education so it’s impossible for me to answer this.
Which US Poker Payments Options to Choose?
All US poker sites accept VISA credit cards (and gift cards), however, when depositing using a credit card, you have to withdraw the money via a check. (Mastercard is accepted at Lock Poker and American Express at both Lock Poker and BetOnline Poker.)
You’ll have no problems withdrawing checks from most US poker sites, however, some of them process check withdrawals slowly and players are forced to wait for months. Therefore I suggest you take a look at US poker check withdrawal times before making a credit card deposit to any of the sites.
Other US online poker payment methods are money transfer services such as Western Union and MoneyGram® (in Bovada’s case, Rapid Transfer). You use them by visiting one of their live locations (not to worry, they’re everywhere) to deposit and withdraw the money.
Money transfer services make depositing money poker sites more of a pain but, on the bright side, allow you do withdraw the money much faster. (Fastest check withdrawals get delivered in about two weeks; for money transfer, it’s a maximum of 48 hours.)