PayPal is a popular payment method, but unfortunately it isn’t a widely accepted option for Aussie pokies players. However, there are a number of great alternatives to opt for when making a deposit to play real money pokies. We detail what these options are and which AUD accepting online casinos are the safest to deposit at.
Why is PayPal not available for AUD pokies players?
In short, Australian legislation prevents PayPal from offering their services. This isn’t because it is illegal to gamble online, but because online casinos cannot legally operate within Australian borders. As such, even though Australian bookmakers are supported, international pokies casino sites are not part of the same category.
To be crystal clear on the matter: It is 100% legal to play as an Australian pokies player at offshore Internet casinos who operate and have their servers based overseas.
PayPal established themselves as a financial service in 1998 and just four years later eBay acquired the service (one of the reasons it has become so popular) for $1.5 billion dollars. However, in 2014 it was revealed eBay was to separate PayPal – a move which was completed in mid-2015.
And while PayPal is now accepted in around 203 countries, offering over 26 currencies, it still can’t be used by Aussies at the majority of secure online casinos and this is because the sites offering an array of fair and fun pokies are located offshore.
You can view PayPal’s online gambling policy on their website, where they state gambling activities are subjected to pre-approvals before they can be offered. This is why you may come across their services at an offshore online casino, but remember this doesn’t mean they are secure – always check they are governed by advanced jurisdictions via their logos and do a Google search to confirm they aren’t rogue.
If you’re sticking to the sites we recommended, since we’ve done the research and verified them as safe already, PayPal cannot be used – but there are a number of similar and secure alternatives.
Recommended online casino deposit alternatives to PayPal
For those who enjoy the convenience of having an online account which stores your money and the anonymity created between your personal bank account and where you wish to spend the money, e-Wallets are a great option.
Since PayPal isn’t, Aussie pokies players should opt for one of two secure and widely accepted gambling e-Wallets, Neteller and Skrill. These both offer virtual accounts which can be set up in just minutes and funded by a number of methods to then use at secure online pokies casinos.
Unfortunately, and the reason why PayPal is probably more popular than these two methods, there can be fees involved when funding your account of these e-Wallets.
Neteller funding fees
- Bank transfer: Free
- Visa: 1.9 – 4.95%
- MasterCard: 1.9 – 4.95%
- Skrill: 1.9%
- paysafecard: 7%
- POLi: 1%
- Bitcoin: 5%
Skrill funding fees
- Bank transfer: Free
- Visa Credit: 1.9%
- Visa MasterCard: 1.9%
- Neteller: 1.9%
- POLi: 1%
Avoid these fees by opting for a bank transfer to fund your e-Wallet account: this will take a few days to process. You can also simply opt for Visa or MasterCard credit, debit, or prepaid options where you enter your card details directly to the online casino for both deposits and withdrawals.
Other alternatives include EcoPayz, another e-Wallet (not as commonly accepted as Neteller and Skrill) and POLi, a speedier version of a bank transfer (deposits only).
The sites we play at are encrypted by data technology which keeps hackers away from our details, plus we are guaranteed our money will not be locked or stolen by the operators thanks to their governing regulatory bodies. You can find links to these sites by clicking or tapping to our homepage.
Will PayPal ever be usable for real money pokies gaming?
While PayPal’s worldwide policy remains the site operators and customers must be located in jurisdictions which legally accepts online gambling, there has been some speculation US online gambling websites began to accept PayPal at the end of 2015.
PayPal didn’t announce this move, or release much information, but some news outlets picked up on it. Since the US have even tighter laws when it comes to online gambling than Australia, we took a look at the site said to accept PayPal, which is WSOP.com, and we found they do offer PayPal for deposits and withdrawals.
While this move appears to be great news for Aussie players after PayPal, the US laws are somewhat different in they restrict payment methods from being offered, not online pokies sites or casinos from operating within their borders (their theory is if you can’t deposit you can’t play).
This therefore means we probably won’t see PayPal for Aussie players until Australian legislation changes, but this doesn’t mean we can’t safely deposit and withdraw – opt for the alternatives mentioned above to get playing real money pokies.