Much like most facets of our lives, gambling in the 21st century has largely moved to the cyber realm. Since the 1990s and early 2000s, online gambling has soared in popularity, so much so, that today a huge chunk of players prefers to get their fix online. Of course, land-based casinos still remain popular. However, with the convenience and benefits that online casinos provide, they are only expected to grow in popularity in the coming future.
One of the benefits of playing at online casinos is that players can make deposits using their credit cards. While it is true that certain brick-and-mortar establishments will also accept credit cards, this isn’t the case for all of them. So, in this article, we are going to take a look at the benefits and drawbacks of using credit cards to make deposits when it comes to gambling.
Types of Credit Cards You Can Use
But first, we need to take a look at the different types of credit cards that you can use at the numerous online casinos. If you were to visit any number of gambling websites, you would see that they have a section labeled “deposit” and “withdrawal”. Within these sections, you can find all of the methods for depositing and withdrawing that these websites allow on their websites. It is very rare, that an online casino will not accept credit cards. But just what credit cards are accepted?
Most of the usual suspects are listed at a huge chunk of the casinos online. Among them, the most popular are VISA, MasterCard, and Maestro. Out of the aforementioned, online casinos that accept VISA are the most plentiful. Many online casinos will also often take deposits and pay out withdrawals through debit cards by these same companies.
The reason that credit cards are so prominent as payment methods, is because they are among the most popular payment method in the United States. They are also among the first method of payment that was accepted by online casinos. Ever since the earliest incarnations of the online casino, credit cards have been accepted as a viable deposit and withdrawal method.
But just what are the benefits of using credit cards when gambling? Are there any drawbacks to the process? Let us take a look at the pros and cons of using credit cards to gamble.
Pros of Credit Cards
Let us lead with the good news first. There are quite a few benefits to using credit card-based deposits at casinos. So, just what are these benefits? The following is a list of just a few of the reasons for why credit cards are such a popular form of payment among gamblers.
Limited funds
While at first this might seem like a negative, the fact that the funds on a credit card are limited by the person’s salary is actually quite the benefit. For one, this sort of limitation encourages, and perhaps even forces responsible gambling. People who use credit cards can’t put down a deposit that exceeds the limit of their credit. This limit, naturally, will rise the more money you earn. However, it will never disappear.
Wide Availability
As we said earlier, credit cards are one of the most popular forms of payment in the United States. Not just for casinos, but in general. This means that a credit card is easily acquired and widely available. In fact, most people reading this article, likely already are in possession of a credit card.
Player Safety
Your safety should be your top priority. And when using a credit card, you, as the player, are behind several layers of safety precautions. The first comes from the online casino itself, which will often implement several different protection methods. Then the credit card company, that covers its customers and implements their own safety measures. And lastly, the bank with which you are working will also have several ways to protect your assets. On top of it all, there are quite a few precautions you can take to keep yourself safe when using a credit card. So, in other words, using a credit card for gambling might be one of the safest methods to make deposits.
Widely Accepted
It is almost impossible to find an online casino that will not take credit card-based deposits. In fact, the only ones that may not are the newly popular blockchain-based casinos, that only take cryptocurrency deposits and payout cryptocurrency withdrawals. Other than that, you will be hard pressed to find a casino where your credit card will be rejected.
Cons of Credit Cards
But it isn’t all positives. There are certain drawbacks that comes with credit card gambling. In this section, we are going to take a look at the cons that gamblers who play with credit cards might experience when playing online.
Not Your Own Funds
The funds you deposit when playing with a credit card are not your own. In essence, you are borrowing money from the bank, putting down a deposit, and are then expected to pay back your credit. This means that if you lose this money, you will not just be out of the cash, but you will also owe the bank a payback. On top of that you will also have to pay additional fees, which brings us to our next point…
Extra Fees
The biggest drawback of using credit cards for gambling, is the fact that you will be subject to a plethora of additional fees if you don’t pay the money you’ve deposited back on time. Most gamblers are aware of this fact, and are very careful when it comes to paying the money back.
No Human Interaction
If you are playing at online casinos, this may not bother you anyways. But it is worth noting, that using credit cards to pay results in absolute anonymity. However, this comes with the drawback that you will not have any human interaction. Like we said, if you are playing at online casinos, this may not be a concern.
Conclusion
Online casinos are on the rise, and many new to the phenomenon are wondering what the best methods for depositing and withdrawing with these casinos are. Credit card-based deposits are among the most popular, and they naturally come with a couple of drawbacks, and quite a lot of benefits, including their accessibility and availability.
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