This is a comprehensive and easy to understand guide to PayPal betting, its ups and downs, fees, and everything else you should know before you place your first bet. PayPal is one of the best ways to place bets and make deposits with online sportsbooks and bookmakers.
Allow me to introduce you to one of the most popular payment methods that you can use to place your bets and wagers, quickly and easily. Whether you’re a complete novice or just new to PayPal and eager to find out more about it and how betting with it works, this guide is for you.
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PayPal is an American company that allows its users to make online payments, deposits, and withdrawals.
The company has been around since December 1998, but it took a turn in 2002 when eBay made a purchase and made PayPal a fully owned branch of the online auction site.
In 2015, PayPal took another turn and was brought back as an independent company. Currently, the worth of PayPal is estimated to be around $40 billion. PayPal functions as an online money wallet that you connect to an online account.
You can use your online wallet to withdraw funds or pay for services and goods at a host of online food delivery companies, ticket sellers, shops, retailers, and pretty much every other service that sells their products and services for money online. Most importantly, you can use your PayPal wallet to place bets with the bookmakers.
PayPal offers you a couple of ways to make payments:
- By connecting your debit or credit card or bank account to your PayPal account
- By using PayPal credit – it’s almost the same as a credit card, only you don’t get to own the plastic physically. A user gets a credit balance, but the downside of this payment method is that not all retailers accept it as a valid payment option.
What matters the most is that PayPal is regulated and fully licensed. It uses the latest encryption technology to ensure maximum safety and security regarding personal information and transactions.
On top of all that, PayPal is one of the fastest ways to make online transactions, allowing for quick and swift withdrawals and deposits, which is essential when it comes to betting.
PayPal History
Considered to be one of the most successful companies in the world, PayPal wasn’t initially established as an online financial service but a software company for mobile devices.
It was the merging with X.com in 2000, an online banking company that transformed PayPal into what it is today. The company’s main focus is on money transfers of all kinds, and this has been the main purpose of PayPal since 2002.
PayPal has more than 200 million active users from all over the world. It has offices in Luxembourg, Singapore, and the USA, catering to 200 markets and tons of users. In 2007, the company got officially licensed in Luxembourg, which only added to its trustworthiness and reliability.
It’s because of this that PayPal was allowed to deal with banking operations in the EU. PayPal is a fully regulated banking service that was certified by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, the banking supervisory of Luxembourg.
How PayPal Works
Bettors can enjoy an easy and efficient method of both requesting and sending funds online via PayPal. This is just so convenient for bettors who use betting sites that accept this banking option.
All that a user needs to receive and send funds is a valid email address. To start receiving or sending money, they just need to complete the registration process and link a bank account or a debit/credit card.
To verify the process of registration, PayPal will deposit small amounts into personal accounts while users will be required to enter their personal information. If you want to place a bet, there are two ways to do it:
- Make a payment to your betting account through PayPal
- Transfer the money from your bank account onto the PaPal account
The reason why so many bettors use PayPal is that it allows them to withdraw and deposit funds quickly and easily, anytime, anywhere.
PayPal in Betting
The number of sportsbooks, bookmakers, and betting sites that accept PayPal as a valid method of payment is constantly increasing. This is mostly due to the increasing number of PayPal users, ease of use, convenience, and efficiency, but also security and safety.
PayPal uses encryption to protect all transactions and personal information, which is essential for both bettors and sportsbooks.
What I really found to be interesting when it comes to PayPal in betting, is that some sportsbooks offer lucrative welcome bonuses to the bettors that use this method of money transfers to make opening deposits.
Additionally, experienced and professional bettors appreciate the fact that they can withdraw their winnings quickly and without any stress. It takes only a couple of minutes to deposit and a couple of hours to withdraw funds.
If you want to know what the top bookmakers that accept PayPal are, I’ve got you covered. First of all, let me just say that the number of operators for PayPal is huge, but what’s really great is that this number also includes the biggest brand names in the world of betting.
That means that you shouldn’t have any trouble finding many bookmakers that allow you to use PayPal for betting. It’s an instant, and well-established payment method and the biggest bookmakers are aware of this fact.
Before I give you the best bookmakers that accept PayPal, I want to mention a few things that I, as a professional gambler myself, think are good to know.
The first thing you need to check when choosing your PayPal bookmaker is the site security as well as reliability. Then, you need to pay attention to the security of your mobile device, desktop, laptop, or tablet.
Since PayPal is an off-site method of payment, you’ll be required to transfer to your PayPal account to make a deposit. That means that you can’t make a payment at the bookmaker’s site directly, but this transfer takes mere seconds to complete, so it’s not a big
deal.
Security is the most important thing in online betting, so make sure that your bookmaker is completely secure before you make your transfer.
The most effective way to check this is by checking the address bar in the browser. If the bookmaker’s address has a closed padlock next to it, the bookmaker is secure.
Now that I have cleared that out for you, let me give you some recommendations on what I think are the best
bookmakers that accept PayPal:
- Betway
- William Hill
- Betfair
- Bet365
- RaceBets
- Ladbrokes
- Coral
- Intertops
PayPal Charges
Another thing that I wanted to mention here is PayPal fees and charges. If you’re making a deposit to your sportsbook via PayPal, you can do that free of charge, but I’d advise you to avoid international betting sites.
The reason for this is simple – international betting sites involve a currency conversion, and you’ll pay a fee for that.
There’s no way around this, as you can’t complete the transaction process without it, but you can avoid it by simply avoiding international betting sites.
If you still want to make a deposit on an international betting site, the fee you pay for the conversion depends on the country where the site is based.
These charges range from 0.5% to 2.0% if you’re using your bank account or PayPal balance to make a deposit. The charges go up if you choose to transfer funds partially by debit/credit card – 3.4% to 7.4% with the addition of a flat fee, which again varies, depending on the country.
To make sure you don’t pay more than you have to, check the conditions, terms, and fees before transferring your funds.
Some bookmakers that charge a fee for using PayPal. While this isn’t common in the UK, it’s a common practice for international sportsbooks, but only because PayPal charges businesses a fee for receiving and sending payments.
Most of the time, this fee is a percentage of your winning. Just make sure you check payment conditions and terms to minimize your expenses.
PayPal fees depend on three factors:
- Money destination
- Currency of choice
- Your location
Any way you look at it, it’s definitely worthwhile using PayPal to transfer your funds to place bets, as the process is quick and easy, but most importantly, safe and secure.
I’ll point out some of the advantages and disadvantages that might potentially help you determine whether PayPal is suitable for your betting needs, as I want you to have a clear understanding of what you’re getting into.
Here are three advantages and disadvantages that should help you make up your mind.
Simplicity
When it comes to simplicity, PayPal is about as simple as it can possibly get. Bettors need to stay focused on their betting tips, predictions, and the game. They can’t win if they have to go through frustrating and long procedures of placing deposits or making withdrawals. That’s why PayPal betting is one of the preferred methods of payment for most bettors.
The moment you’ve set an account, your money wallet is ready for fund transfer. You can make payments in mere seconds. Just choose your bookmaker and select PayPal as your preferred method of payment.
Safety
Whatever you do online, safety should be your number one priority, especially if your actions involve your personal information and finances. Since betting online involves both, you need a banking service that is absolutely safe and secure.
With PayPal, your safety isn’t only paramount; it’s guaranteed. It will keep your data and money safe from the prying eyes. Your PayPal is protected by the latest encryption technology. This makes any attempts at cybercrime more than futile.
Fast Withdrawals
My number three advantage includes fast withdrawals. No one likes to wait to get their money, especially not bettors who’ve invested their nerves, effort, time, and money. PayPal excels in providing your money safely and in a timely manner.
While other services take 3-5 working days to complete withdrawals, PayPal provides your money in less than a day, sometimes even within just a few hours. If you want your money fast, PayPal should be your number one choice.
Now, these are all good upsides, but what about the disadvantages? I’ve got three of those for you.
Extra Fees
People don’t like getting charged extra fees, and unfortunately, PayPal does it. There’s one thing to point out here, though – PayPal charges extra fees for money transfers, but only if you place bets with international betting sites.
This is only because of the currency conversion, which can get a bit pricey, truth be told. Still, it’s possible to cut down on these expenses if you closely pay attention to the terms and conditions of your betting site.
PayPal Isn’t Accepted by All Bookies
This is more of an inconvenience than it is a disadvantage, but I’ve decided to mention it just to make sure that I have everything covered. While plenty of bookies accept PayPal, a lot of them still don’t.
There are many reasons why these sportsbooks don’t want to jump on the PayPal bandwagon, but the current numbers of those that do are just enough for the time being.
Limitations
Many bookmakers that accept PayPal put certain limitations when you want to make a withdrawal. They lower the amount that you can withdraw or the rate when compared to other options.
No one knows why this happens – perhaps they want to remain liquid or something else entirely. Then, there are bookmakers that accept PayPal but don’t allow the bettors to withdraw money using this service.
Making a deposit or a withdrawal using PayPal is simple and easy. Here’s what you need to do to complete both transactions:
- Deposit – to place a bet with your bookmaker, bettors need to access their accounts by logging in and navigating to the
deposit page, where they can choose their preferred payment method. After selecting PayPal, enter the amount of cash you want to deposit. Confirm the transaction, and you’ll be redirected to your PayPal account for verification. - Withdrawal – to make a withdrawal, navigate your betting site to the withdraw options and enter the amount you wish to withdraw. Make PayPal as your preferred selection of payment method and confirm the transaction. Depending on the bookie, withdrawals take from a couple of minutes, up to a few hours to appear in your PayPal account.
Step-by-Step Guide to Opening a PayPal Account
If you want to to open a PayPal account to transfer funds to your betting site, you need to complete a few steps. The process only takes a couple of minutes, and you can do it using your mobile device on the go.
Here are the steps:
- Enter the PayPal website if you’re using a desktop or download the mobile app if you’re using a mobile device.
- Complete the registration process by signing up.
- Create a valid email address and use it to create a password for your PayPal account.
- Enter your name, address, and other required personal information to complete the form.
- Link your PayPal account with a bank account, debit, or credit card.
- Verify your account using your email to complete the process.
PayPal Alternatives
PayPal remains one of the most well-known and established platforms that guarantee its users safety, ease of use, and convenience. However, if it happens that you have to go with any of the alternatives, I have three best alternatives to PayPal already prepared for you.
These e-wallet style accounts are the most preferred methods of payments for most bettors, and are also commonly
accepted by most betting sites:
- Neteller
- Skrill
- PaySafeCard
They also have their own good and bad sides, but it all goes with the territory.
I really do hope that this guide will show you how useful PayPal can be in making your betting more efficient and successful. PayPal is easy to use, most betting sites and sportsbooks accept it, and it’s also safe, secure, and always available.
Most bettors love it because it allows people to make quick deposits and withdraw money absolutely free of any hassle or stress. Anyone can use it if they know all the pros and cons.
Minimise your expenses by going through all the terms and conditions of PayPal and the betting sites you bet on.
What is your opinion on PayPal? Do you see it as a possible payment method for you? What was your experience with PayPal betting like so far, if you have any? Are you an avid gambler, or you’re just getting started?
Leave your answers in the comments – I’d love to hear from you and exchange experiences.
How safe is depositing with PayPal?