Online gambling on the territory of the UK has undergone significant development over the last couple of years. The existing laws were repeatedly amended with the aim of ensuring utmost customer protection and make the online gambling sector a source of a stable revenue.
Before the implementation of the amendments, the main piece of legislation was the National Lottery Act of 1993. However, the regulations included in it were inadequate to the fast development of the online gambling segment. As a result, the Gambling Commission was assigned to look after the gambling activities that take place on the territory of the UK.
Back in 2005, the United Kingdom parliament implemented a Gambling Act intended to protect the younger part of the population from taking part in gambling activities. In addition, the Gambling Act was supposed to ensure the protection of players and software providers. The Act made it obligatory for operators that have remote gambling equipment in the UK to obtain a license issued by the UK Gambling Commission. Before that, offshore operators were neither regulated by the Commission nor supposed to pay taxes.
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At the end of 2014, the aforementioned Gambling Act was further reviewed and more amendments were made. The latest changes that came into force made all offshore operators acquire a license, otherwise they would be prosecuted as illegal. In addition, the Gambling Act of 2014 limited the advertisement of gambling products. Advertising is allowed on grounds that the operator has a license issued by the UKGC.
Another tax that was implemented was the so-called Point of Consumption Tax. Operators are supposed to pay tax equal to 15% of the gross profits they generate. The new tax made some operators exit the UK gambling segment.
The aim of the UK gambling officials was to make the gambling activities more transparent and secure for both players and operators.
The Most Common Payment Methods
UK-based players can choose from a variety of convenient depositing and withdrawal methods including but not limited to Skrill, Credit/ Debit/ prepaid cards, PayPal. The latter has been gaining more and more popularity not only in UK but on a global scale in general.
PayPal is a payment method famous for its transparency, reasonable fees, experienced customer support, security and last but not least, time-saving transactions. Below, you will find detailed information about PayPal as well as the advantages and disadvantages of choosing it as your primary payment option for online purchases and casino deposits.
What is PayPal and how it works
PayPal is an online platform used for sending and receiving payments over the Internet. You can easily make transactions once you create an account, go through the verification process and fund your account. Then, you will be able to process transactions to and from online stores and casinos that accept PayPal as a payment method.
You can keep track of your balance and link new cards to your account. You will be instantly notified when someone sends you funds. You will receive notification for a successful transaction when you send money, too.
In a nutshell, PayPal is an e-wallet that enables its users make various purchases over the Internet, including making casino deposits to a preferred online casino. PayPal is famous for being a secure payment service that never reveals confidential information to third parties.
It is also known as the digital payment that has been operating for almost two decades and during that time, thousands of transactions have been successfully completed. According to the latest statistics, PayPal can take pride in being the largest payment processor on the global market.
One of the reasons why PayPal has gained such a popularity is the flexibility it provides along with the opportunity to keep track of your spendings.
PayPal is widely accepted by UK online casinos due to the security and efficiency it is associated with. It is recommended by leading casino operators as it can be used for both deposit and withdrawal.
Opening an account
In order to create an account, you are not supposed to pay a fee. However, you have to through a verification procedure before you are eligible for making transactions.
You can choose between a personal and business account. Then, you will be prompted to enter basic personal details. You will also need the number of the card you would like to connect to your PayPal account. You can connect a card, that has a VISA, MasterCard, American Express logo on it. Beware that a small amount will be transferred to your Paypal account for verification purposes.
Even if you enter your bank details, you will still not be allowed to use your PayPal, though. The final verification includes entering a special 4-digit code. In order to obtain it, you have to go to the bank that has issued your credit / debit card. If you have online banking, you will be able to see the code displayed within 2-3 business days.
Deposit
As soon as you successfully link your PayPal account to a credit or debit card, you will be able to make purchases and deposits to your preferred online casino.
You can transfer funds from your bank account to your PayPal account by clicking on the Top Up account button. Then, you have to follow the instructions and input the desired amount. You are allowed to open a balance in a number of currencies including GBP, Canadian dollar, Japanese Yen, Mexican Peso, etc.
As far as funding your online casino account is concerned, you have to select PayPal from the list of available depositing options, input the desired amount and confirm the transaction. Don’t forget that the amount of your first deposit matters. The more money you deposit, the more generous your welcome bonus will be. Plus, you will ensure more hours of playing and therefore, your chances of winning will be boosted.
You will have your funds deposited into your casino account in a matter of minutes after confirming the transfer.
Withdrawal
PayPal provides every player with the opportunity to withdraw winnings from an online casino in a secure manner. More and more casinos add PayPal to the list of their available deposit and withdrawal options and currently, they are concentrated on accelerating the withdrawal process.
As mentioned above, deposits are instantly available but it takes a few business days for a withdrawal to be carried out. The reason for the delay is that every transaction should be carefully checked by the PayPal team in order to ensure utmost customer protection.
Advantages of Using PayPal
PayPal is such a widespread form of online payment for a reason. First of all, PayPal is known as one of the safest platforms of this kind. It is considered the leader in processing secure transactions and meeting the needs of every customer.
The payments are anonymous and the information is heavily encrypted. PayPal never shares sensitive bank details with third parties and the best of all is that the payments made through the platform are charge-free. No additional fees are required for sending or receiving money. More information about the fees is available below.
Speaking of the advantages of using PayPal, it would be unacceptable to skip the fact that PayPal saves you time and all your financial details are kept in one place. In addition, you can connect credit/ debit cards in different currencies and use them for different purchases. PayPal saves you the boring waiting in line in the physical branch of your bank as well.
PayPal is famous on a global scale and the number of active accounts is growing on a daily basis.
Disadvantages
When it comes to disadvantages, it is hard to determine the biggest one as PayPal developers are constantly struggling to enhance the products and services, while taking even more serious security measures.
According to customers who have already taken advantages of PayPal services, the main disadvantage of the payment method is that is takes a bit more time for the verification procedure to be completed. The other setback is that some UK casinos do not accept PayPal regardless of the conveniences and security it ensures. The latter limits players’ choice as for where to create an account.
Fees
As mentioned above, PayPal does not charge any fees for sending and receiving money. Yet, there are some specifications you should be aware of before you start using it.
The standard withdrawal processing costs £0.00 to UK players but if you would like to withdraw your funds via wire transfer and you have an account in US dollars or Euro, the transaction is a subject to €5.00 / $8.00 fee regardless of the amount you want to withdraw.
Be careful when you input the details of the receiver as if you make a mistake, the sum will be added to your balance and you will be charged a return fee of £0.50.
Upon creating an account, you have limits for sending and receiving money. You are allowed to send / receive €2,500.00 EUR per year but these limits can be lifted upon completing the required verifications.
Security
PayPal provides the highest level of protection when it comes to ensuring the security of the customers, frauds and identity thefts, considered the main concern of customers who think about using their services.
Your personal and bank information is heavily encrypted and you are the only one who knows the account password. You are also the only one who can see confidential bank information.
Each and every purchase is protected and you can always rely on customer support round the clock.
UK casinos that accept PayPal
EuroGrand Casino
EuroGrand Casino is powered by Playtech and it offers a wide collection of exciting games to choose from. Along with the other convenient deposit and withdrawal options, EuroGrand accepts PayPal for players based in the UK. If you process your first deposit via Paypal, you qualify for an attractive match bonus of 15%. However, the amount of the bonus cannot exceed £1000.
You can use your PayPal account for both deposit and withdrawal. If you opt for the standard withdrawal procedure, you will not pay a fee.
bet365
bet365 is yet another online casino accepting one of the most widespread forms of online payment – namely PayPal. As usual, you will not be supposed to reveal confidential information upon making a deposit or withdrawing your winnings. You can use PayPal for funding your bet365 account if you reside in one of the following countries: the United Kingdom, Finland, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Italy, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Ireland.
You will not be charged for making a deposit and you will be able to start playing a few minutes after the transaction is confirmed. During the transaction, you will be required to input the desired amount and log into your PayPal account. Once a confirmation is received, you can start playing your favourite casino games.
It is important to note that the name you use for logging into your bet365 account must match your PayPal username, otherwise the transaction will not be processed. You can deposit/ withdraw as little as £10 and as much as £5,500 per transaction.
You have to use the same PayPal account for deposit and withdrawal.
888casino
You can easily deposit funds to 888casino via PayPal provided that you live in UK, Finland, Portugal, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Austria or Spain. You will not be charged for deposit or withdrawal and once you successfully complete a transaction, you will be able to take advantage of the Quick Deposit Option. It is a secure, fast and time-saving way for transferring funds.
Once you initiate a transaction, a window with the last payment method you have applied will open and if you want to use it once again, you have to fill in the required details.
You will have your funds instantly deposited into your account. You can also select another payment methods to use through Quick Deposit.
Betway
UK – based players who have accounts with Betway are free to deposit or withdraw funds by using PayPal. As mentioned above, no fees will be deducted from your balance. In order to make a deposit / withdrawal, you are supposed to go to the cashier and select PayPal among the list of options. Each payment is processed through a secure connection. In addition, you will be supposed to enter the email you have registered with instead of your bank details.
It is essential to know that you have to adhere to minimum and maximum deposit requirements. The amount you can send and receive depends on the status of your PayPal account.
Mr Green
Mr Green accepts the most popular payment methods in the UK including but not limited to Skrill, Neteller, Paypal. The latter is among the most commonly used ones as it allows players to deposit and withdraw funds fast and easy.
The minimum deposit you can make via PayPal is £10 and the maximum is £600 per transaction.
If you are a new casino user, you will be asked for further identity verification upon initiating your first withdrawal. All fees, if any, are listed when customers request a withdrawal or make a deposit. For PayPal there are no fees in itself.
Mr Green has significantly improved the withdrawal procedures and now, customers have their winnings transferred within no more than two business days. In addition, cashouts are processed during the weekends as well.
Reversal of withdrawals is not among the available options and you therefore cannot cancel a withdrawal and continue playing with your winnings.
