Types of Cards
Visa: Visa is the biggest and one of the most successful credit card companies in the world so they are a good choice when it comes to choosing a credit card or debit card. Visa is also the most popular choice among online gamblers and almost all online casino sites offer it as a payment method. Making a Visa deposit at a casino site is a very similar process to shopping online. It is important to note that certain online casinos will only accept credit cards and not debit cards.
MasterCard: MasterCard is Visa’s top competitor, with it being the second biggest credit card company worldwide. MasterCard is a safe and trusted brand that many players opt for. Most online casinos accept MasterCard as a payment method.
Diner’s Club: Diner’s Club is an internationally recognized credit card brand, that’s major draw is their perks and benefits for members. Most online casinos accept Diner’s Club cards, with a few casinos even giving special benefits to cardholders.
Prepaid Cards: You can get prepaid debit or credit cards from a variety of credit card providers. They are very similar to usual bank cards except they are loaded with a predetermined amount of money. Most card accepting casinos should accept these prepaid cards too. An advantage to them is that payments can be done more discreetly and they can also be reloaded online.
Vanilla Prepaid Visa or Mastercard
Vanilla prepaid cards are an interesting alternative to the classic credit card but we do not recommend using them. Vanilla is available at 7Eleven stores and Walwarts across Canada as well as other convenience stores, gas stations and grocery stores, totalling 10,000 locations.
To use the card at a Vanilla online casino you simply need to purchase and activate your card then select Visa or Mastercard as a deposit option on the online casino website. Deposits should be instant. Withdrawals are not an option using Vanilla prepaid Visa and Mastercard.
The biggest reason not to use Vanilla prepaid is excessive fees. There are often fees charged by online casinos for using Visa and Mastercard and the activation fees from Vanilla are extremely high unless you choose a high dollar amount card. See the fees for each in the table below and I have included the percentage of the amount you are losing to activation.
| Amount | Fee | Percent |
| $25.00 | $3.95 | 15.8% |
| $35.00 | $4.50 | 12.9% |
| $50.00 | $4.95 | 9.9% |
| $75.00 | $5.50 | 7.3% |
| $100.00 | $5.95 | 6.0% |
| $150.00 | $6.50 | 4.3% |
| $200.00 | $6.95 | 3.5% |
| $250.00 | $7.50 | 3.0% |
| $500.00 | $7.95 | 1.6% |
Advantages
- Nearly all online casinos accept Visa or Mastercard as a deposit option and, since it is a prepaid card, it is not restricted like those offered by financial institutions and banks.
Disadvantages
- You need to wait up to 24 hours for activation
- High activation fees
- No withdrawals
How We Rate Credit Cards
Credit Cards should truly deserve a high rating given they are available to use at every single casino but here at Casino Canuck we frown on using them. The biggest drawback is that you will be paying fees slightly higher than other payment methods. It is also sometimes not possible to use some Canadian credit cards at online casinos. They are one of the first online payment methods to come about and are trusted within the industry. Almost all online casinos accept some form of credit card and they are easily accessible for most players worldwide.
Why use Credit Cards at online casinos?
The biggest reason as to why so many people use credit cards when online gambling is that they can charge funds into their account instead of real money. The fact that you can spend more than you have is a major advantage to serious players. It is also usually a relatively quick and easy process to extend your credit card limit if it looks as if you’re reaching it.
Because credit cards have been around for so long, the online payment has been close to perfected. This means that transaction times are usually quick, depending on what credit card you have, and funds are usually processed faster than in other methods. In some cases, funds can be processed almost instantly.
Making online purchases with a credit card is usually exceptionally safe, especially when using a well known credit card brand from a trusted bank. It is of course, up to the cardholder to make sure that they only play casino games on registered and accredited sites. There are security features in place that protect the cardholder’s financial and personal information that are constantly being improved and updated.
Drawbacks
There are obvious and major advantages to using credit cards online, but there are also some drawbacks. If cardholders aren’t careful they can over spend on their cards and go into credit card debt. If it gets really bad they could even end up blacklisted. It is important to gamble responsibly and adhere to the age old rue of never spending more than you’re prepared to lose.
Bitcoin
One way to get around using credit cards directly at the casino is to purchase bitcoins and then play at our top bitcoin casinos. There are a variety of bitcoin wallets and exchanges that allow credit cards to be used to purchase cryptocurrency such as Coinbase and CEx.io.
Making deposits with credit cards
Depositing money into an online casino account is very straightforward and is a very similar process that you may have experienced while shopping online.
Below is a step by step guide on what you can expect from depositing at casino sites:
- You will most likely need to first create an account with your preferred gambling site. From there you will need to find the ‘Deposit Cash’ button or something similar on the site, press on that and choose credit card as your form of payment.
- Here you will have to enter the amount you wish to deposit as well as personal details, credit card number and CVV code on your credit card
- You may then receive a validation code on your phone or email to use as a confirmation. Once this code is entered your funds should reflect and you can start playing with them!
Withdrawing with credit cards
Each online casino will have slightly different withdrawal processes which may differ even more depending on which bank you’re with. The below process is fairly typical and can be expected when making credit card withdrawals:
- Go onto your account and select ‘Banking’, your funds should be displayed.
- Choose the ‘Withdraw' option and enter the amount you wish to withdrawal (there may be minimum amounts).
- Select ‘Credit Card' as your payment method and click ‘Submit’.
- Your withdrawal should not be much more complicated than the above steps and funds should reflect in between 1 day to 3 days depending.
Where can I get a credit card?
Credit cards are fairly easy to access. If you have a good credit history, your bank should issue you one without any hassles. Debit cards are even easier to obtain and all you need is a small minimum amount in your bank account and to pay a small fee.
Land Based Casino Credit Cards
As we have gone over in our legal page, gambling is fully within the jurisdiction of provincial governments and is thus regulated differently depending in which province the casino is located. However, generally you cannot use a credit card in a casino for gambling related activities which includes buying chips or gaming gift certificates. Ontario was the last province to allow casinos to give credit to players. To see more information on specifics by region you can check out this article.
Bottom Line
Credit cards have a good reputation and are widely used. If you have no other options, like Instadebit or iDebit, we would give them two thumbs up when choosing which payment method to use for online gambling as long as you are OK with the slightly higher fees and you bank doesn't restrict online gaming payments.
More Casino Payment Methods
