Posted in: Gambling Filed under: Online Gambling. Just do not forget you need to make the perfect option to be certain you get to triumph. Online gambling has been the most popular entertainment medium where most credit cards have ruled out their usage in gambling transactions. New federal regulations take effect Jan. 19, 2009, that require credit card issuers to enforce a bewildering set of federal regulations aimed at stopping online gambling. If your credit card allows you to make gambling transactions, the charge will typically be categorized as a cash advance. This is because gambling charges are considered cash equivalents where you spend money to get another form of money. These transactions attract a cash advance fee between 3% and 5% and a high cash advance APR. Learn about how to conduct gambling online through your personal online casino account.

• Online Gambling Credit Card Issuers
• Online Casino Credit Card Processing

When you need to make a deposit to or a withdrawal from a betting site, a credit card may be one of the options you can select.

When funding an account with a credit card, you should check with the site to determine what cards are accepted. Most of the top betting sites and casino sites will accept payments from Visa and MasterCard.

US players should use caution when doing this because some credit card companies, especially Visa, may not allow the process to occur. This is because of the many regulations that prohibit US players from engaging in online gambling.

Betting sites that accept credit cards:

Using credit cards

With the large number of bookmakers sites available, you should take the time to choose one that is reliable and recognised as being trustworthy. If the site accepts credit cards to fund the account, you can then move forward. Some sites will even offer bonuses for using a specific credit card. For example, Intertops is one of the most popular bookmakers sites and credit cards can be used to fund an account.

Alternative payment methods

If your bank will not approve the transaction to the sportsbook site, you can choose another way to fund the account by using your credit card. By using a payment method like ClickandBuy or eWalletXpress, you can use your card to deposit funds into these accounts. You can then access the accounts and use the available money to place bets at the sportsbook site of your choice.

Can winnings be withdrawn to credit cards?

There are very few sites, if any, that will allow you to withdraw your winnings to a credit card. Instead, you must select one of the other listed forms of payment to make your withdrawal. Even if the site allowed you to use the card to fund the account, you will probably not be able to use the card to receive the winnings from your account. The alternative is to have the withdrawn amount transferred to another payment account, such as Neteller or Maestro. You will then be able to access your account and have the money transferred to your credit card or bank account.

How to use a credit card at sportsbooks

The first thing to do is check to determine which credit cards are accepted at the site. Most sites will accept a few different cards with Visa and MasterCard being the most popular. You can try to use your card to see if the issuing bank will process the request. You will know if this was a success within a few minutes. If the bank denies the transaction, you will have to find another way to fund the account.

The reason many banks are not allowing credit card transactions is because of the current debate over the legality of online gambling, especially for residents from the United States. If you are a US resident and are gambling or making sports bets at a site that allows US players, you may still want to use a different payment method to avoid any problems.

Other online payment methods

Yes, or, more precisely, there are two things.

Most credit card providers now class gambling as a cash advance transaction, the most expensive way to borrow.

In addition, using a credit card to gamble, even if the balance is likely to be paid back in full, means borrowing to gamble.

That's not a great idea.

Let's look a little more closely at these two problems.

Charges for gambling

As we noted above, in the vast majority of cases, the charge for making a gambling transaction with a credit card will be the same as the charge for making a cash withdrawal with that same card at an ATM.

That means the provider will impose a higher rate of interest than for purchases and they may also charge a handling fee - an additional one-off charge which is a percentage of the transaction amount.

In most cases, cash advance transactions don't enjoy the standard interest free period credit card purchases enjoy (see here for more information) and, in every case we've ever heard of, they won't pick up any reward points or cash back.

In other words, from the moment the card is used to fund gambling, interest is being charged at a high rate and it will continue to be charged until the balance is paid off in full.

This is true of:

• American Express
• Bank of Scotland
• Barclaycard
• Halifax
• HSBC
• Lloyds TSB
• MBNA
• Natwest
• Nationwide
• RBS
• Santander

However, some providers do see gambling a little differently from other cash transactions.

When gambling isn't exactly cash

First Direct for example, class gambling as a cash advance transaction for the purposes of charging interest.

However, they do not impose the cash advance fee on gambling transactions.

RBS also slightly modify their terms for gambling: while gambling transactions are subject to the same fees and interest as cash advances, they do not form part of the cash advance limit, when a card has one.

Barclaycard have treated gambling (termed gaming) in exactly the same way as cash from the end of May 2012 but before that gambling transactions were not subject to the transaction fee (the greater of £2.99 or 2% of the transaction) although they were still subject to interest.

Note however, this definition was removed from their summary boxes as of November 2012.

Gambling may also be included in slightly unusual rules about cash withdrawals in general.

For example, if a credit card offers a standard interest free period on cash advances (though this is rare), it could be the case that gambling transactions would be included in the definition of advance and would thus not be subject to interest within the card's standard interest free periods.

More information about cash advances can be found in this guide but proceed with caution: it's not always clear in card terms and conditions whether gambling forms part of the definition of a cash advance transaction.

What counts as gambling?

Credit card providers are strict on the types of purchases they class as gambling transactions. They can include:

• Scratch cards and lottery tickets
• Online poker, bingo or other games of chance online
• Any financial transaction that takes place in a casino, bookies or other gambling establishment. That can even include food and drink bought in a gambling establishment.

In short, there's little leeway and no loopholes.

According to the gambling commission, 73% of people aged over 16 - that's 3.5 million people - took part in some kind of gambling in 2010 and, with the liberalisation of some gaming laws, that number is likely to increase in the near future.

Some of this gambling, like buying a lottery ticket, many people wouldn't even see as 'real' gambling. But the credit card companies charge more for it nonetheless so it's worth looking out for.

Gambling with borrowed money

At the very least, then, using a credit card for gambling adds a significant amount to the bet and eats into any winnings.

Much more importantly than that, though, paying high interest rates on borrowing means seriously risking falling into a debt spiral: borrowing more and being able to pay back less.

For thousands of gamblers every year, borrowing to keep gambling leads to serious, unmanageable debt problems.

As we've said, a lot of Britons gamble in some form and may encounter these rules more or less accidentally. But contemplating borrowing money to use specifically for gambling could be an indication that you have a gambling problem.

Gamcare is the UK's largest specialist help organisation for those with gambling problems. They offer advice to anyone concerned about their own gambling or that of a friend or family member.

NHS Direct also has a Gambling Addiction page with links to other useful advice organisations.

Those facing any level of debt as a result of gambling should seek help from an independent advice agency.

Online Gambling Credit Card Issuers

The Citizen's Advice site can help you find the nearest face to face advice centre and online help is available too.

Online Casino Credit Card Processing

Remember, too, that lenders have a responsibility to protect the most vulnerable borrowers, find out more on this here.