Playing with your favourite UK online casino is usually a lot of fun, even more so when you see a return and start winning. When you’re new to online gaming, it’s easy to think that you’ll be able to keep every single penny – but that isn’t always the case.
One way that you might see your online casino winnings decrease is through fees that you’ll pay when transferring money online. And while these are sometimes unavoidable, you can save yourself a lot of hassle by at the very least reducing these.
In this article, you’ll discover the most common fees related to transferring money online – along with what you can do to stop them from eating away at your online casino winnings.
What Fees Will I Usually Encounter When Transferring Money Online?
When making online casino payments, you’ll sometimes need to pay a percentage on top of your transaction’s value. Some payment providers introduce this for social responsibility purposes; one example is N26’s 3% fee for gambling-related purchases.
In some cases, you’ll also pay a fee if you transfer your money to a bank or digital wallet different from the one you deposited your online casino winnings into. One example of this is Neteller; you’ll need to pay a fee if you transfer money to your bank account. And If you were to send money to a Skrill account, you’d pay a 3.49% fee.
You might also need to pay maintenance fees for using some payment services. You might either see this in the form of a small monthly fee, or it’s something that could come into play when your account has been inactive for a certain period.
If you’ve used an online casino that doesn’t offer the GBP as your currency, you might need to pay foreign exchange fees. In some cases, the amount you get will also depend on how high or low the rate between the two currencies is at the time of withdrawal.
You should now have a better understanding of the kinds of fees you might need to pay after withdrawing your winnings from a UK online casino. So, how do you limit these as much as possible? The following sections will show you how to.
Use a Casino That Supports Your Currency
One of the easiest ways to reduce the fees you need to pay when transferring casino winnings is to use one that supports your currency. In general, casinos licenced by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) will also offer deposits and withdrawals in GBP – so you shouldn’t have too many issues in this respect.
In addition to making sure that your casino uses the same currency as the country you live in, it’s also wise to use banking services that support the same. Again, almost every major alternative payment method will do this – so you shouldn’t have too many issues. Pick whichever works best for you.
Consider Depositing Into a Mobile-Only Bank
Over the past six years or so, mobile-only banks have exploded onto the financial services scene. They offer several benefits compared to their high street counterparts, especially when it comes to fees.
When you use a mobile-only bank, you’ll avoid a lot of fees. And in many cases, you’ll also get a better exchange rate than would have been the case if you’d made a transfer with your primary bank.
Some of the most popular mobile-only banking solutions in the UK include:
- Monzo;
- Revolut;
- Starling Bank.
Transfer All Your Winnings at Once
Some banking services and alternative payment methods will charge you a percentage of each transaction you make. And if you’re not a casual gamer, these can add up quickly. However, you don’t need to endure this stress if you plan strategically.
Instead of transferring your winnings every time you get lucky at your favourite online casino, consider intervals where you transfer larger chunks. For example, you could wait until the end of each month before moving over all of your money in one go.
When moving more of your money around in one go, you might have to pay a more significant fee on that single transaction than if it was smaller. However, this is still often lower than if you add up all of the previous ones.
Check to Make Sure Your Casino Doesn’t Impose Fees
When looking at reducing the fees you pay for moving money around online, the payment solution is only one part of the jigsaw. You also need to vet every casino you’re thinking about depositing with and check to see if you have to pay anything for depositing or withdrawing money into your account.
In most cases, you won’t need to pay anything from the casino side of things. However, it’s worth double-checking to make 100% sure that this is the case.
Read the Terms and Conditions for Your Payment Provider
When you’re excited to set up and start playing, it’s easy to pick the first payment solution you see and go with that. However, while that could work for some people, you might not be so lucky and could end up needing to pay countless fees you weren’t aware of.
Read the terms and conditions before signing up for any payment service and using it to deposit and withdraw money. It’s also worth checking their website; most payment solutions are transparent about the fees they impose and when you’d need to pay them.
The Best Payment Methods for Reducing Your Fees
Having got this far, you should now have an idea about what to look out for next time you move your online casino winnings around online. So, what are your best options for reducing fees?
Below are three payment methods you should consider using to move your online casino winnings around.
Revolut
Revolut is a mobile banking service headquartered in London. The company was founded in 2015 and has over 1,500 employees.
With Revolut, you can use your account to transfer from your main bank – along with storing your winnings afterwards. Remember, though, that the UKGC’s credit card ban means you can’t use a Revolut credit card for your online casino account.
Monzo
Monzo is pretty similar to Revolut. Another London-headquartered mobile banking service, Monzo allows you to make both domestic and international transfers without incurring huge fees.
With Monzo, you can use your account to both receive winnings and transfer these into your main account. Both of these take little time to complete, meaning you can start enjoying your money almost immediately.
PayPal
One of the original fintech pioneers, PayPal is a digital wallet service that allows you to move money around with minimal friction. You can link this service to your primary bank account, along with paying for items elsewhere.
One thing worth keeping in mind is that you might need to pay fees for foreign transactions. So, it’s even more important to bet with a casino using GBP if you choose this method.
Transferring Your Online Casino Winnings Doesn’t Need to Be Expensive
One of the biggest pitfalls for many new online casino players is knowing how to transfer their online casino winnings without incurring huge fees. But with the number of casinos and payment methods out there today, you must do your research to get the best deal.
Having read this guide, you should now know what to look out for, how to avoid fees as much as possible, and the best payment services for reducing these. All that’s left to do is pick a casino and begin playing!
