PayPal as a brand is no stranger to the e-commerce sector. This is especially true in the United States where PayPal has grown to become one of the most trusted online payments systems. Probably due to its close ownership relations eBay, PayPal is for many people the default payment method on the large online shopping platform.
However, in addition to facilitating online shopping, PayPal has also penetrated the online gaming market. Even though its presence is not as strong as compared to other e-wallet companies, you will still find quite some PayPal online casinos. This review focuses on the various aspects of using PayPal online casinos.
About PayPal
Founded in 1998, PayPal came in as one of the many Internet startups during the dot-com boom. Unlike many other startups, the company has however thrived amidst turbulent economic times to become one of the biggest brands globally that focus on processing online payments.
PayPal was acquired by eBay a few years after its inception, shortly after it became a publicly traded company. Since then PayPal has grown, and to many online shoppers, they have come to associate PayPal with their online payments.
Since PayPal is based in the United States, its operations are regulation by American laws. However, PayPal’s regional offices in Europe and India have gone ahead and acquired operational licenses under their respective jurisdictions. This means that users in Europe, for instance, fall under their respective E.U financial laws that license the company.
How PayPal works
PayPal functions as an e-wallet. People who are familiar with using other popular e-wallet services will have it easy setting up a PayPal account. All you will need to provide is a funding account, which can also be your normal bank account. Once you have submitted your basic identification information, your account will be verified by the PayPal team then linked directly to your funding account.
The main advantage of using PayPal as compared to other companies is that PayPal transactions usually do not attract any transactional fees. The charges are instead transferred to the merchant, in the case the casino you are gaming in. Also, PayPal has built a reputation for having one of the most secure systems around.
PayPal Casinos
PayPal’s usage has gone beyond online shopping. Currently, you can find numerous PayPal online casinos. The presence, however, is not as massive as it has been with many other electronic wallets. This may be attributable to the fact that PayPal is an American brand and U.S laws are not so fond of online gambling activities. PayPal had also withdrawn from offering online gambling payment services for about seven years between 2003 and 2010. However, once you find a real PayPal online casino, you will enjoy some extra benefits that may not be easily associated with other online payment methods.
To make it easier for you to filter through the numerous PayPal casinos available out there, we have categorized them regarding the casino software providers. Each of these casino software providers has made provisions that allow the online casino operators to integrate the PayPal payment system with their cashier sections. Our list of PayPal casinos includes popular casino brands powered by Microgaming, IGT, RTG and Playtech.
Realtime Gaming Online Casinos
Realtime Gaming is without a doubt a powerhouse in online casino software production. The company has churned out some of the most liked online casino game titles. When it comes to using PayPal for your online casino deposits, however, Realtime Gaming does not have the most impressive numbers. One way to explain this is RTG is still one of the few casino operators that power casinos accepting U.S players. However, people in the U.S are not allowed to use their PayPal account for online gambling activities. Such events could lead to the revocation of your PayPal account. These conditions on U.S player will be explained further in the next section
If you are a die-hard fun of RTG casinos in Europe or other regions outside U.S, you will still find a few dozen online casinos that accept PayPal payments. Alternatively, you can opt to use the myriad other e-wallet services for your online gaming.
Microgaming
Unlike RTG casinos, Microgaming offers a better selection when it comes to PayPal online casinos. With Microgaming, you will have numerous options to choose from which include popular brands such as 32Red, BET365, 888casino,Spin Palace, Roxy Palace and Mummy’s Gold. With most of these PayPal online casinos, you can process withdrawals, in addition to making casino deposits. You will also have access to a selection of bonuses and unparalleled VIP rewards.
IGT
Games powered by IGT/Wagerworks casino software have also come to be quite popular among many gamers. PayPal online casinos powered by this software provider include Sky Vegas and Virgin Casino. From our review, we noticed that some IGT powered online casino will decline PayPal payments. It is, therefore, advisable you first verify with the cashier section of your preferred online casino before you can begin setting up your account.
Playtech
Playtech without a doubt ranks amongst the top casino software provider companies. Playtech has been behind fantastic gaming sites such as William Hill. With most of these Playtech online casinos, you can be able to process payments using your PayPal account. Other popular Playtech online casinos you can check out include Betfair, Eurogrand and 21nova Casino.
Using PayPal in Casinos
As mentioned earlier, PayPal does not encourage the use of their financial services for online gambling activities in the U.S. As early as 2003, PayPal had decided to completely stop processing payments for any online gambling activities. When the company later decided to resume the services in 2010, it did so with some very strict conditions.
While gamers in Europe and the U.K can easily use their PayPal accounts in online casinos, U.S players will have a hard time processing such transactions. In fact, PayPal might even issue your account with a “limited access” status if you are detected to conduct unauthorized online gambling activities.
For this reason, it would be advisable for gamers in the U.S to use alternative payments methods for online gaming to avoid complications which might lead to losing some money.