UK's Best Gambling Sites

Debit cards often sit right at the top of the cashier pages on online betting sites, and for good reason: they’re familiar, readily accessible, offer secure, instant deposits, and rarely attract fees. Another advantage of debit cards like Visa and Mastercard is that they pretty much always qualify for betting site bonuses like free bets and bonus spins.  Payouts to debit cards are also available, though occasionally not to Mastercard. However, debit cards have some of the longest withdrawal times of all the banking options — sometimes taking up to seven days — so you might wait longer than you’d like to receive your funds. 

You can often use e-wallets like PayPal, Neteller, and Skrill to deposit at betting sites, with newer alternatives like MuchBetter and ecoPayz also becoming increasingly available. Digital wallets offer many perks, but the main one is that you don’t have to share your bank details to make a payment. Many providers also offer additional features such as access to a prepaid card and the option to buy and sell crypto.  Deposits made with an e-wallet are instant, while withdrawals are usually completed within 48 hours. However, while you aren’t likely to be charged for casino withdrawals, there may be fees incurred when withdrawing from the wallet. The other main downside is that e-wallet deposits don’t always qualify for bonuses. 

Prepaid cards like Paysafecard often feature on betting site cashier pages. Paysafecard isn’t actually a card at all, but rather a voucher you can buy from shops like Asda and local grocery stores. Each voucher has a unique code that you can use to make online payments. Deposits are instant, but you’ll need a Paysafecard account to make deposits over £40 and Paysafecard payouts are rarely available, even with an account. AstroPay is a newer service that is a sound alternative — it allows users to create and fund virtual prepaid cards using their AstroPay balance or another payment method. What’s more, it also functions as a digital wallet, so you can use it to withdraw funds. 

While it’s not as readily available as other banking options, some online betting sites accept deposits from Pay by Phone services. These deposits are deducted from your PAYG balance or charged to your next monthly bill. Carrier billing payment services allow you to make instant deposits but are usually limited to £30 a pop, so aren’t best suited to high rollers. There’s no charge for using pay by mobile services like Boku and Payforit, but betting sites may levy their own fee of around 15% of your deposit. Pay by Phone deposits are rarely eligible for promos, nor are withdrawals available using this method.

Despite the boom in interest in crypto, it’s still pretty tough to find sports betting sites that accept cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Casinos with Bitcoin deposits are more readily available, though there aren’t too many just yet that are licensed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). Online betting with crypto offers plenty of advantages for players with a good grasp on how blockchain currencies work, but we recommend you exercise caution with these sites, and we will never review sites which lack a UKGC licence. One way to potentially use crypto at UK sites is to manage your funds with a reputable e-wallet, converting from crypto to GBP before depositing on trusted sites.

Traditional bank transfers can take a few days, so many betting sites offer an instant option via Trustly. You won’t need to part with any financial details when you use Trustly, as you’ll simply log in to your bank using your regular credentials and confirm the instant deposit. It’s that simple. There are no fees to pay with Trustly or accounts to open, plus you’ll qualify for most bonuses and enjoy withdrawals that are completed in under 3 days. Regular bank transfers still have their place, but they’re one of the only methods where deposits aren’t instant, and withdrawals can take up to seven days. Still, some players use them to cash out if they’ve used a deposit method that doesn’t support withdrawals, such as prepaid cards or Pay by Mobile.