It’s those three annoying words when you try to make a deposit after joining a sportsbook: Credit card declined.
If this has happened to you, you’re not alone. This is a very common problem for Canadians looking to make online sportsbook credit card deposits, even though online sports betting in Canada is legal.
It’s actually not that hard to find top sportsbooks that accept Visa or MasterCard. The bigger issue is that some banks decline your sportsbook credit card deposit attempt, determining that you aren’t allowed to use your own credit card (and your own money) to fund an online gambling site.
It’s so frustrating, since credit cards are the way we’re most accustomed to making payments online. There used to be a phobia about giving out your credit card information on the Internet, but the encryption and other security websites now feature has made that paranoia a thing of the past.
Online sportsbook credit card deposits are also quick and easy. But what happens when you can’t complete them? Do you have to give up the dream of being able to bet one game at a time, getting great odds and doing fun things like halftime betting or in-game wagering, and go back to playing those 3-game parlays with the provincial sports lotteries?
No, you don’t.
Here are six easy alternatives to making online sportsbook credit card deposits, if and when you get that dreaded message at your sportsbook: Credit card declined.
1. Entropay Sportsbook Deposits
Entropay is basically a pre-paid Visa card that you can use to deposit at your sportsbook. Think of them as a middleman, since your bank now can no longer tell what you’re using your credit card for.
You can set up an account within minutes, and easily fund your Entropay account from the comfort of your desk. It’s virtually the same as using your credit card to fund your sportsbook account, just with one extra step.
Check out our Entropay review for more information, including a list of which sportsbooks accept Entropay deposits.
(EcoCard is similar to Entropay, but for MasterCard instead of Visa.)
2. Prepaid Credit Card Sportsbook Deposits
The biggest advantage of a prepaid credit card is that customers can make purchase transactions without incurring any debts and paying huge. pic.twitter.com/WyusTShvSd
— Go-Prepaid.com (@goprepaidcredit) May 31, 2017
Using a prepaid credit card (prepaid VISA, prepaid MasterCard, etc.) is essentially another way to use a credit card to make a sportsbook deposit without having your transaction rejected by the bank. They’re also nice if you want to make the deposit anonymously, and you can get a prepaid credit card even if you don’t actually have a real credit card.
It’s not quite as convenient as using Entropay or EcoCard, since you’ll have to go to a bank in order to purchase your prepaid credit card. But once you’ve got your prepaid credit card, you can use it as you would a normal credit card, and without any restrictions! That includes any sportsbooks that accept credit card deposits.
If you’re going to go the prepaid credit card route, make sure you shop around for the best place to buy them. Banks vary with the fees they charge for prepaid credit cards (for example, Scotiabank charges $10 annually for a reloadable card, while TD charges $2.99 per month for people who have checking accounts with them and $5.99 per month for people who don’t.) And make sure you don’t buy them at Canada Post. The fees on prepaid credit cards there are outrageous.
Here’s a full list of places in Canada where you can buy prepaid credit cards, along with links to their fees.
3. Online Voucher Sportsbook Deposits
SportingBet.com gets around the sportsbook credit card declined issue by offering you the ability to deposit using Online Vouchers instead.
Once you’ve joined SportingBet, try to make a credit card deposit. If your credit card is rejected, you’ll automatically be transferred to an Online Vouchers screen instead. Re-input your CVC code (that 3-digit code at the back of your credit card), accept their terms and conditions, and hit ‘Buy Voucher’. You can then complete your transaction as you would any other credit card purchase, and the transaction will show up on your bank statement as ‘Online Vouchers’. (Your voucher purchase may appear in a different currency, but your account will still be credited in Canadian dollars.)
You’ll pay a small fee (approximately 5% of your deposit) to Online Vouchers, which is an online payment service. However, the signup bonus you receive from SportingBet will more than compensate for the small fee, and you got to enjoy the convenience of using your credit card without having to sign up for anything else.
4. Online Banking Sportsbook Deposits
Several sportsbooks allow you to use Internet banking to make deposits. It’s similar to sending an email transfer, and the $1.58 fee is comparable to what it costs you to email money to friends.
Select ‘Internet Banking’ or ‘Online Banking’ in your sportsbook’s deposit methods (here’s a list of betting sites that accept online banking deposits) and input how much you want to deposit. At this point, you’ll be brought to a third-party screen (shown above) where you sign into your online banking account, just as you would if you were logging into your account at whatever bank you use. Log into your bank account, confirm the transfer and you’re done.
Another way to deposit at a sportsbook using online banking is by using e-Check, a service that is accepted at Sports Interaction. You’ll need to input the same information that appears on a traditional cheque you’d write (your bank account number, 3-digit bank code and 5-digit transit number), similar to if you were setting up a direct deposit or pre-authorized payment. The nice thing about this option is that it’s free.
5. Paysafecard Sportsbook Deposits
Paysafecard (formerly known as Ukash) is a really simple way to deposit money at a sportsbook. It’s especially great if you don’t have a credit card, or if you don’t want anyone else to know about your deposit (it’s completely anonymous).
Paysafecard is similar to a prepaid credit card, except it’s a 16-digit PIN instead of a credit card number. After you purchase your Paysafecard (here’s a list of locations in Canada where you can buy it), go to your sportsbook, select Paysafecard and input the 16-digit PIN. You’ll be credited with your deposit almost instantly.
Here’s some more information about Paysafecard, and which sportsbooks accept it.
6. Instadebit Sportsbook Deposits
InstaDebit allows you to fund your sportsbook account directly from your bank account, similar to the online banking deposit method.
You’ll first need to set up an InstaDebit account, which is quick, easy and free. Go to Instadebit.com, provide basic information such as your name, address and your date of birth, and then provide them your bank account details.
Once you’ve got everything set up and confirmed (it should take less than an hour), you’ll be able to send and receive money directly from your bank account to your sportsbook account.
Using InstaDebit is fast, easy and inexpensive. But the best part is that almost all of the top sportsbooks for Canadians accept InstaDebit deposits.
Bonus Method: Bitcoin Sportsbook Deposits
Of the 7 alternatives to online sportsbook credit card deposits that we’re covering in this article, Bitcoin is the most difficult one to use.
But don’t let that discourage you from learning how to use it. Bitcoin is the least inexpensive way to fund your sportsbook account, is also completely anonymous, and can be easily and quickly done from the comfort of your home once you’ve got everything set up.
Bitcoin, if you don’t know already, is an electronic currency that is not controlled by any bank. Without banks involved, you’re able to avoid currency exchange rates and other high fees, allowing you to send and receive bitcoin for pennies per transaction.
For more information on bitcoin sportsbook deposits, check out our Bitcoin review, which also lists sportsbooks that accept bitcoin deposits. Or if you simply want to learn how to acquire bitcoin and make a bitcoin sportsbook deposit, make sure to watch our YouTube video.
Conclusion
There you have it, six easy alternatives (plus a bit more complicated one in Bitcoin) to funding your online betting account when you get that dreaded messsage fromyour sportsbook: credit card declined.
Entropay, prepaid credit cards and online vouchers allow you to still use your credit card to make a sportsbook deposit. You just need to add one extra step in between to ensure that your bank doesn’t know what you’re using the credit card for.
You can also choose to use your online banking or InstaDebit account instead, or pull out some cash and purchase a Paysafecard code to deposit completely anonymously.
Now that you know how easy it is to fund your sportsbook account even if your sportsbook credit card is declined, it’s time to get into the game! Join one of the best online sportsbooks for Canadians today, select a sportsbook deposit method that works best for you, and start enjoying the ability to bet on one game at a time at better odds than the provincial sports lotteries.