UK Players can Deposit with PayPal at these Casinos

When it comes to playing real money online casino games, you will find a huge choice of methods available to fund your account. One of the most popular amongst UK players is PayPal. But what you may discover is that not all operators accept this payment method. In this page, I have included really useful info about the payment option, including everything you need to know about depositing and withdrawing. Probably most importantly, I’ll show you which are the best casinos where you can use the e-wallet.

The Best PayPal Casinos in the UK
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The general situation has improved over recent years however, and an increasing number of operators now allow banking transactions with this method. In fact, 9 out of our 10 featured casinos allow deposits and withdrawals with PayPal. Read on to find out all the important details.

Overview of all Paypal Casinos plus Important Transaction Information

If PayPal is your preferred banking option, you should be aware that there is more to consider when selecting an operator other than simply whether they accept the payment method. There are other important factors to think about, like any limits placed on deposits and withdrawals. Also, there’s the processing time to take into account, how quickly will you get your hands on your winnings? Finally, any fees associated with the payment method can also affect your decision.

As you can see from this table, the bulk of operators do not charge any fees for PayPal deposits. Yet there do still exist some casinos where you will incur a fee for using the payment method. Most operators will pay the service charge, rather than passing it on to their customers. Yet others do not take the same approach. Of course, you’d expect the casinos that absorb the charge themselves would impose a higher minimum deposit limit, to ensure they are getting value for money. But there are operators who will allow minimum top ups of just £5, and still do not pass on processing charges to the player.

The other thing that becomes apparent from this table is that whilst deposits are virtually instant, withdrawals take much longer. Depositing is a simple and straightforward process. Once you have requested the transaction, funds are transferred immediately to your player account. Yet when it comes to withdrawals, there are a couple of reasons why it takes longer. For starters, the operator needs to check whether any terms and conditions related to bonuses have been fulfilled. Also, identity checks need to be performed, a measure insisted upon by regulatory bodies to prevent money laundering. Regardless of the fact that cash outs take longer to process than deposits, you will still find that withdrawals with PayPal tend to be credited back to customers faster than withdrawals to a credit or debit card.

Special Bonuses for Depositing with the E-Wallet

If you’ve ever searched for a casino that offers a bonus for using PayPal, no doubt you will have hit a brick wall. These types of bonus are very few and far between. Yet we have one very special offer for new players at 888 Casino.

Use the Code paypal30 to get an Extra First Deposit Bonus at 888 Casino
  • £30 extra bonus
  • for 1st deposit with PayPal
  • Promo code: paypal30
McAfeeTRUSTeGambling Licence:Licence No. 39028

So what does this offer entail? It’s quite simple really. Make the first deposit using PayPal, enter the code paypal30 and get an extra £30 bonus. This offer is in addition to the regular welcome bonus. A minimum deposit of £20 is required to qualify for the extra bonus. As this bonus is only available on the first deposit, it is valid for new players only. You can find further details about the deal in our 888 Casino bonus page.

How Security is Guaranteed with PayPal Payments

PayPal is one of the safest ways to make payments online. It therefore follows that you get an extra layer of security when you use it to make deposits at online casinos. There are various ways this is achieved. For starters, you do not have to disclose your sensitive banking details to make payments. Your credit or debit card is linked to your PayPal account, and the details are securely stored by the company. Therefore, no unnecessary data needs to be transferred online. You merely need to enter your user name and password to make a deposit. This also makes payments quicker and more convenient, as you do not need to enter lengthy credit card numbers each time.

Of course, to ensure the maximum level of protection, it is extremely important that you do not disclose your password to anyone else. What’s more, you should select a password with at least 10 characters, combining upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters. You should create a unique word, which you do not use for any other internet accounts. Finally, do not write down the password, commit it to memory to ensure that it cannot fall into anyone else’s hands.

PayPal Offers Safe and Secure Deposits at Online Casinos

The company uses advanced encryption technology to ensure that your transactions cannot be intercepted or manipulated. When you opt to deposit at an online casino using PayPal, a secure window will open in the browser, connecting you with the company’s official website. It is here that you enter your user name and password to proceed with the transaction. You can verify that the site is official and fully encrypted by looking out for the small green padlock at the start of the address bar. By clicking on the icon, you will see details of the technology used to to protect your transaction, including the SSL certificate. It is also worth noting that the official site’s URL will always begin with “https://”. Again, this is proof that the site is safe and protected.

The company takes a very proactive approach to security and monitors every transaction to identify any potential risks, in order to protect their customers from fraud. Probably one of the most common scams in operation in phishing. This is where spoof emails are sent, which appear to be from the company, but they are actually from fraudsters. They may include links to fake websites, where they attempt to elicit sensitive information from you, like your username and password, which will then be used fraudulently. There is detailed information on the official website advising how to identify potential scams. For example, there is advice on how to recognise phishing emails, and reminders that the company will never ask for any sensitive information from you by email. It’s also worth noting that the company will only ever address you by name, so if you receive an email addressing you with a generic salutation like “Dear User”, it will not be a genuine communication. The company encourage customers to forward any potential scam emails to them for them for further investigation.

A further element of security is provided by the Buyer Protection policy. This ensures that if you purchase a product or service online, and it does not match up to the description, you can request for your money to be returned. Given the company’s close links with eBay, this provides extra reassurance to buyers. There is also a Seller Protection policy, which protects merchants if they are sent an unauthorised payment, or if a buyer claims to have not received their item.

Why do some Casinos not Accept this Payment Method?

As already mentioned, more and more online casinos now accept this banking option. But why are there some that still do not? For starters, the company will only work with safe and reputable operators. In 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) came into affect in the USA. According to the law, it became a criminal act for a payment provider to allow their services to be used by an unlicensed and unregulated online gambling operator. Yet the act did not clearly specify where gambling was legal or illegal. Therefore, the company boycotted online gambling businesses to ensure they were operating within the law, to avoid prosecution and incurring large fines. It was many years later that the company decided to allow their services to be used by online gambling sites, and only then when they were 100% legitimate. Of course, that is not to say that a casino that does not accept PayPal is unsafe and illegal. It works more as a reassurance that any casinos that do accept the payment method are definitely licensed, regulated and operate within the law.

The other reason is linked with the fees. The company charges online casinos for any deposits made using their services. The majority of operators absorb the fees themselves, to avoid deterring customers. But of course, this means they lose a percentage of all money deposited through this method. As we have already seen, a few casinos pass the transaction fees onto their customers. However, the other option taken by some operators is to simply not include PayPal in their banking options, to avoid having to pay any extra fees, or to potentially deter customers owing to the extra charges.

Are there any Reasons to Avoid using PayPal?

We’ve already touched upon the subject of fees, and how many casinos will absorb these charges rather than passing them on to their customers. You will also see that no online casinos charge their customers for making a withdrawal with the e-wallet. However, this is only half of the story. Although the casino will not pass any charges on to you, customers will pay fees directly to PayPal when they make a withdrawal, as this is classed as receiving money, and it is the recipient who pays this charge. As you can see from the table below, these fees are quite high.

Fees for Sending Money Free or 3.4% + 20p when using a credit card 1% up to £10 max free
Fees for Receiving Money 3.4% + 20p free free
Charge your Account via Credit Card 3.4% + 20p 1,90% 1.9% – 4.95%
Charge your Account via Bank Transfer free free free
Charge your Account via Other Methods free 1.9% – 5.5% 0% – 9.9%
Fees for the Debit Card not available £6.96 per year Free, £2 for extra cards
Fees for ATM Withdrawals not available £1.25 £3
Fees for Currency Exchange 3 – 4% 2.99% – 4.99%% 2,95%
Inactivity Fees no fees, account closed after 3 years inactivity €1 (or equivalent) per month after 12 months inactivity Up to $30 per year after 14 months inactivity

You can also see from the table how the various account fees compare with the other popular payment service providers, Skrill and Neteller. By opting to use either of these e-wallets, when you make a withdrawal, you will not incur a charge, as it is free to receive money with both providers. There are also differences in other charges linked with the payment providers. For example, if you prefer to credit your e-wallet using a credit card, this can be cheaper using Skrill or Neteller, than PayPal. You can find a list of reputable casinos that accept these alternative payment methods here.

A google search of the payment company will reveal many threads from dissatisfied customers related to arbitrary account blocking or suspension. These suspensions can happen to personal and business accounts, and can have a severe impact, particularly on small businesses. There are of course processes to dispute a suspension which is believed to be incorrect and unnecessary. The problem here though is that it can take many weeks for the complaint to be investigated, leaving users without access to their funds during this time.

The company holds a Luxembourg banking licence, which allows it to operate across Europe. However, it is not a bank in the true sense of the word, and does not hold a UK banking licence. What’s more, as it is limited to e-money, it is not classed as a deposit or investment service according to the law. As such, users are exempt from the Luxembourg deposit guarantee schemes.

More Information about the Company

Information about PayPal
PayPal's HQ is Located in San Jose California
Company: PayPal Holdings Inc.
Founders: Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, Luke Nosek, Ken Howery, Yu Pan, Elon Musk
Founded in: December 1998
CEO: Dan Schulman
Corperate Headquarters San Jose, California
UK Users: 20 million
Banking Licence: Since 2007
Financial Authority: CSSF Luxemburg

The origins of PayPal date back to 1998, with the launch of Confinity.com. This company originally developed security software for handheld devices. After much development, the company launched their money transfer service. Confinity merged with the online banking company, X.com in March 2000. The company was renamed PayPal in 2001 and developed and expanded very quickly. In 2002 it was launched on the stock market and became a public company.

There have been various milestones in the payment company’s history. For example, in 2005, they acquired the Verisign payment solution, providing more security support. They also started a partnership with MasterCard in 2007 and later launched the PayPal Secure Card service. This enabled users to pay online even where PayPal was not accepted. Also in 2007, PayPal Europe gained a Luxembourg banking licence, and as such became regulated by the Luxembourg banking supervisory authority, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF). Prior to this move, UK operations were regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

The company has always had a close relationship with eBay, being a popular payment method used on the auction site from its start. This relationship was solidified in July 2002, when eBay acquired the company for $1.5 billion. The popularity of the payment method on eBay expanded, with more than 70% of all auctions accepting PayPal as a payment method, and almost 25% of all sales being completed through this method. This led to the subsequent closing of eBay’s payment subsidiary Billpoint. In September 2014, there was a surprise announcement that the company would branch off from eBay the following year and become a separate publicly traded company. This spin off was completed in July 2015, with Dan Schulman assuming the role of CEO.

Nowadays, PayPal is one of the largest internet payment companies in the world. It operates in over 203 markets and with 26 currencies. It currently has over 170 million users. 4 billion payments were processed by the company is 2014, with 1 billion of these made on mobile devices.

Conclusion: A Popular Payment Method Accepted by Many Great Casinos

Players who want to use PayPal to fund their account are certainly not short of choice these days. A huge number of operators accept the popular payment method. But to identify the best options, make sure you check out the minimum deposit amount along with the processing time for withdrawals, as these can vary dramatically from one operator to another. What’s more, check out whether the casino charges any fees for depositing with your your preferred payment method. There are plenty who will not pass the fees imposed by PayPal onto their customers.

As explained previously, bonuses linked with this payment method are very rare. The exception being 888 Casino, who provide an extra £30 bonus to new players when they pay with this e-wallet. This is just one of the reasons why 888 Casino is our top recommendation for the best PayPal casino. There are also others, such as William Hill Casino and 32 Red who provide fast, fee free transactions, who are also well worth a look.