Have you ever had this experience? You find a great looking online casino or sportsbook. You decide you want to get in on the fun and join up. They are offering a signup bonus and great membership perks, so why not? You fill out the Join up form and so far so good; right? Then you move on to deposit money into your account. You fill out the secure form with your credit card information, and your card is rejected. How can this happen? You pay your credit card bills, you have plenty of credit left to spend, why is your credit card being rejected? Well, the reason could well be because the bank who issued you your credit card has deemed online casino credit card charges too high a risk. There are a number of reasons for this seemingly draconian policy. The Internet is responsible for over half of the credit card fraud and chargebacks in the world today. Banks would not/could not halt all credit card spending online as this would cripple the Internet economy, but they are taking steps to try to minimize their risk. The easiest scapegoat is online casinos and sportsbooks. (They also happen to be the online businesses where most chargebacks occur.)
So now what do you do? Luckily there are many alternatives to choose from.
1. You can send a personal check via snail mail.
The advanatges? It is easy to pay from your checking account, your winnings will be sent to you via check so you can easily track your spending through your checking account and there is almost no risk of fraud to you.
The disadvantages? It is a slow process since you have to wait for the check to arrive before you can begin betting. You want to bet on next week's game! There is a possibility that the check could get lost in the mail, and while this will not cost you any money, it will be a long process to sort it out.
2. You can wire money to the casino.
The advantages? It's faster than sending a check, that's for sure! It's very secure, and you won't have to worry about your money getting lost in the mail. If there is a delay with receiving your money on the other end there is a tracking number assigned by the bank so that you can find your money. The disadvantages? It's still not an instant process. You must call your bank or Western Union to arrange the transfer, and it can take up to three days for the money to arrive.
3. My pesonal favorite, because of its ease of use and high security, is a virtual wallet.
What is a virtual wallet? It is a program that works like a wallet or a bank account that you can download on to your computer. You deposit money into your wallet using your credit card or an Internet bank. You can then go shopping online and pay for your purchases using your virtual wallet. Get it? When you get your credit card bill, it will show charges to your wallet in the stores, auction sites, online casinos or online sportsbooks where you ended up spending your money.
The advantages? It is secure. The merchant you are paying never sees your credit card number or expiration date. It gives you more privacy. No one else who sees your credit card bill will know where you spent your money online, and it allows for instant payment. Just like paying with your credit card!
The disadvantages? You are limited to using this method only with online casinos that accept the virtual wallet that you use, so check around to see which virtual wallet system the online casino or sportsbook that you want to sign up with uses. The program that I have seen most online casinos and sportsbooks use is Paypal. You can download Paypal at http://www.paypal.com/.
There are many virtual wallet programs out there. If the casino you use doesn't have one, contact them and let them know that you want to use a virtual wallet as a payment system with them! Getting to know the people behind your favorite online casino or sportsbook is the best way to get the service you deserve! I can't imagine an online casino or sportsbook who wouldn't want to make it easier for their customers to bet with them, can you?
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