The method you use to make both deposits and withdrawals to your online casino account can have a significant bearing on the overall quality of your experience. An inconvenient or cumbersome method for getting hold of your money can take the gloss off a big win and so it’s useful to know which withdrawal methods are available and those that provide the fastest payouts.
In general, most online casinos won’t process withdrawals for between 24 – 48 hours (during which time it is always possible to cancel a withdrawal request), although there are a few that begin the process sooner. After this time, the speed at which you receive your money is very much dependent on the method you use and the processing times of your financial institution. In some cases, the funds are available almost immediately after the casino processes the request, others may take between 3 – 5 working days, while in some cases it can be up to 7 – 14 working days.
It also needs to be remembered that when you make a deposit, this is also automatically the method the casino will use to issue your withdrawals. If your deposit method cannot be used to make withdrawals, then most casinos will either send you a bank cheque or arrange a direct bank transfer, both of which methods can slow the process down considerably.
Overall, we recommend e-wallets as the the most reliable and convenient method to use at online casinos. You can deposit money into your account and then withdraw your winnings quickly using the same system, with e-wallets consistently offering players the fastest cash outs.
E-wallets have become the payment method of choice for increasing numbers of New Zealand players because of the added levels of the security they offer, the fact that some casinos offer bonuses when you deposit using selected e-wallets and, most importantly, because they usually provide the fastest withdrawals.
Neteller and Skrill are the most popular and universally-accepted e-wallets used by online casino players, and are notable for offering the fastest payouts. Setting up an e-wallet account is straightforward and means that you can transfer funds to your online casino account without revealing your bank or credit card details.
Withdrawing funds using an e-wallet is free and fast, and as soon as your online casino has processed your withdrawal request, the funds are usually available in your e-wallet, avoiding the delays associated with banks and other financial institutions. In particular, we recommend Neteller because it consistently provides the fastest withdrawals of all available methods.
After not being associated with online casinos for a few years, PayPal has returned to providing their services to these sites. The leading international electronic money transfer system, PayPal is noted for its high levels of security and ease of use.
PayPal offers one of the fastest cash outs and funds are generally available in your PayPal account as soon as your withdrawal request has been processed by your online casino. However, if you then opt to transfer money from your PayPal account to your bank account, it can take between 3 – 5 working days, depending on your financial institution, before your funds appear.
All of the online casinos that we recommend accept Visa and MasterCard debit and credit cards for deposits, with a tiny minority accepting Diners Club and American Express as well.
Visa credit and debit cards are usually also acceptable for withdrawals although this is not universally the case with MasterCard and so it pays to check. 3 – 5 working days after a withdrawal has been processed is the usual time you can expect to wait until funds reach your card.
It always pays to check with your card issuer as to what their policy is regrading transactions to and from online casinos, as some have been known to refuse to process these. It is also important to ensure that the name on the credit card or debit card that you use is in the same name as your online casino account.
Pre-paid cards and electronic transfer systems are popular with players who don’t have or don’t want to use a conventional credit or debit card, and they are also useful for bankroll management as they only allow you to draw on funds that have already been deposited into the account. Many players also like the additional layer of security they offer, in that your personal financial details are not stored by the casino.
Paysafecard, which is now owned and operated by Skrill and has taken the place of Ukash (which is no longer in operation), is one of the leading pre-paid methods for casino banking. Another especially popular method for New Zealand players is POLi, which requires no registration or credit card and there are no fees. You can also use POLi to make deposits into an e-wallet, such as Neteller or Skrill.
However, the biggest disadvantage of these and other pre-paid methods is that they can’t be used to make withdrawals directly from your casino account. Therefore, we recommend combining the use of Paysafecard or POLi with an e-wallet to avoid having to receive your funds via direct bank transfer or bank cheque.
Most casinos allow you to make deposits into your account, and withdrawals, using a direct bank transfer (also known as a bank wire transfer). However, this can be a very slow method in both directions – it can sometimes take up to 72 hours for deposited funds to reach your casino account, and then up to 5 working days before you receive funds from a withdrawal (after the casino has processed your withdrawal request). Many players also dislike the fact that there is very little privacy associated with this method, although it does mean you can undertake transactions online and/or on the phone 24/7.
Online casinos also enable you to make your withdrawals via bank cheque. These can take anywhere form between 5 – 14 working days to process at many sites, although the average is around 7 days. Once you receive funds via a cheque, this can then be deposited into your bank account as normal. It should be noted, however, that this is generally the slowest method of receiving your funds, with the time it takes to process the cheque then followed by waiting time for the cheque to arrive in the post.
In order to comply with international anti-money laundering laws, and to protect underage players, online casinos will require you to provide several forms of identification before they will process your first withdrawal, and may ask for ID to be provided again with subsequent withdrawal requests (although this will vary from site to site). No withdrawals are processed until an online casino has received satisfactory proof of identity.
Each casino will have its own list of acceptable forms of proof of identity, but generally speaking players should be prepared to provide copies of some or all of the following:
