Credit Cards are the deposit choice of many when playing at a US friendly casino, with MasterCard, Visa and American Express the most popular. The vast majority of online casinos will accept at least one of these credit cards, although MasterCard users might find fewer sites available than users of other credit cards.
In the following article I take a look at all aspects of depositing using a MasterCard. I start with some advice to finding the right site for your deposit. Moving on, I look at the deposit process itself and the article ends with a look at some of the problems US users might encounter in the deposit process.
Choosing a Site for Your MasterCard Deposit
Clearly, the first consideration should be to find a site that actually accepts MasterCard. Many casino sites will list the deposit options on their home page so you’ll quickly know if the site is an available one, failing this head to the financial or the cashier page of the site. On occasions you’ll find that MasterCard can be used to deposit even if the site doesn’t list the card. This might be true if you have a good long standing history at the site, so contact the customer service team to see if this applies.
Another main consideration should be whether the site offers the games you want. Some sites will offer numerous varieties of Blackjack, including standard games, progressive games, versions with different amount of decks, live online blackjack and many others. Other sites will have a more basic offering, maybe just the one game. Ensure you’ll be able to play the varieties you’ll want to.
You should also consider the bonuses and promotions at the site. Promotions can be wide and varied at some sites, offering you such extras as free spins at the slots, cashback, competitions and many other prizes. Unfortunately the bonus situation for blackjack players isn’t as good as some other casino varieties, some sites not allowing blackjack stakes to count towards bonus clearance at all, whilst others will clear the bonus at a reduced rate (an example being 10%).
You’ll also want to use a site you can trust, with a good long standing reputation. Check that a site is licensed in a known gambling jurisdiction and has a “fair gaming” certificate on the site. Many of the bigger name sites tick these boxes, however if you have any doubt, you could head to an independent casino review site where you’ll quickly find out if a site is reputable.
MasterCard – The Deposit Process
Making a deposit using MasterCard is one of the quickest and easiest deposit methods. Having registered at a site you’ll head to the cashier and click on the MasterCard logo. You’ll then fill out a form with all of your card details, including the name on the card, the card number, the expiry date and possibly the CVV number (the 3 digit number on the back of the card). Finally you’ll enter the amount you want to deposit. Check you have entered all of the details carefully and hit submit. You’ll find the funds in your account immediately.
Subsequent deposits will not require you to enter all of the information, as the site will store your details.
Some casino sites might require you to verify your credit card by filling out a form and sending a photocopy of both your card and some photo ID.
Problems for US Users
Unfortunately users from the US can run into problems during the deposit process. This is due to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) introduced in 2006, which prohibited payments from financial institutions to gambling sites. In practice this means that even if a site lists MasterCard as a deposit option, the payment can be declined.
If having problems, the first port of call should be the customer services team at the casino, many sites having dedicated staff to help with the deposit process. Firstly they may try the deposit again using a different payment processor – many sites and especially the larger ones will have multiple processors. Failing this, the site will suggest an alternative deposit method, the sites offering numerous alternatives in this post UIGEA era. One of the most popular methods is to use a person to person payment through companies such as Western Union and MoneyGram, where you’ll make the payment directly to the casino. Other options available might include a bank draft or a bank wire.