Poker Deposits with PayPal
PayPal was originally launched in 1999 and is one of the best known E-wallets because of its association with Ebay. However, between 2003 and 2010, PayPal made the decision not to process gambling transactions and now only supports poker deposits by PayPal when the poker site is fully licensed in a regulated jurisdiction.
In some of these jurisdictions, PayPal also offers a prepaid MasterCard debit card. This means that players can transfer their winnings from their poker account into their PayPal account and have instant access to their funds without having to wait several days for money to be transferred from PayPal to their bank account.
Best PayPal Poker Sites
Whether or not you will be able to make a poker deposit with PayPal will depend more on the country you are living in rather than the poker site itself. As a rule PayPal deposits into poker sites are only allowed in the UK, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Spain and France. All of the poker providers featured on PokerSite.co will accept a deposit by PayPal provided that you are the resident of a country in which online poker is licensed and regulated.
Advantages of Using PayPal to Fund an Online Poker Account
If you live in a country where online poker is regulated and PayPal is accepted as a deposit option, there are many advantages to using PayPal to fund an online poker account.
The first is its simplicity. When you make a deposit into a poker account with PayPal, a link from the poker site´s cashier will take you directly to PayPal. You simply enter the email address attached to your PayPal account and your password, and confirm the amount you want to deposit. Once approved by PayPal (which takes a few seconds), the deposit is credited instantly.
The transaction is 100% secure and, because it is conducted on PayPal´s website, the online poker site does not need to have any personal or financial information about you – a completely different scenario than when you are making a deposit with a credit or debit card and have to send the poker site a copy of your card as part of the verification process.
Finally, in countries in which PayPal is accepted as a deposit option, you will be able to use the E-wallet to swap funds between multiple poker sites quickly and easily. PayPal withdrawals are just as quick to process as PayPal deposits; so, if you see a better offer on a poker site that accepts PayPal, you can transfer your funds over in a matter of minutes.
Disadvantages of Using PayPal to Fund an Online Poker Account
Using PayPal to fund an online poker account also has its disadvantages – particularly when you have a PayPal account in a different currency from your poker account.
The biggest disadvantage of making poker deposits with PayPal is the fees charged by PayPal for funding an E-wallet. Typically you will pay around 2.9% for loading up your PayPal account. Thereafter there are no charges incurred for transferring funds to and from a poker site account, unless you have your poker account in a different currency from your PayPal account.
When multiple currencies are involved in a transaction, PayPal will take 2.5% of the transfer as a fee, and not necessarily apply a favourable exchange rate. In theory, you could transfer $100 from your PayPal account into a sterling-held poker account, transfer the money straight out again, and be left with less than $95. Funding a poker account with PayPal can be very expensive if you don´t think these things through beforehand!
Most poker providers also have lower maximum limits for depositing with PayPal than they do with other poker deposit methods. This should not really affect poker players – as the individual limits for making a PayPal deposit are usually higher than the maximum bonuses available – but there are weekly and monthly limits applied to PayPal deposits, so you may find that issues occur if you want to reload your account (speaking from experience!).
PayPal Deposit Q&A
What are the advantages of PayPal (and other E-wallets) over credit cards?
The most practical advantage of PayPal (and other E-Wallets) over credit cards is that you can keep your poker bankroll in one place separate from your general fund. This way you avoid the risk of spending more money on poker than you can comfortably afford to lose.
Are PayPal transactions secure?
Poker deposits with PayPal are just as secure as deposits made with a credit or debit card. If you would prefer an extra layer of account security, you can apply for a PayPal Security Key, which is free to use and works by sending a secondary code to your mobile each time you log into your PayPal account.
Would you recommend PayPal to a friend?
Provided that the friend was aware of potential Forex charges and lower deposit limits, we would be happy to recommended PayPal as a deposit option for online poker sites.