PayPal

by Mario Alfonsi  |  Published on May 23, 2017  |  Updated on Dec 18, 2018

You probably do not need to have an introduction to the web wallet that is PayPal, for it is one of the most commonly used money transfer services online, and they do of course also have their very own web wallet app too.However, when it comes to using PayPal to fund your poker site account as well as make withdrawals from them too, there are going to be quite a number of things that you will need to be aware of, and those things are going to be discussed and looked into in my following guide.I should however point out that not ever poker site or poker app you will come across are going to allow you to fund and make withdrawals using PayPal, but there are a growing number of them that will, and many of those sites do pay out their winning players at lightning speed when they choose to request a cash out using PayPal.But at the end of the day, and this is very important, it will be the country in which you live in and reside in as to whether PayPal themselves are going to allow you to use their web wallet to fund any type of gambling or poker site account and also get paid out your winnings from such sites too!

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PayPal is an ecommerce company that allows poker players to securely receive, deposit, store and send money over the internet.PayPal is one of the world’s most well-known eWallet’s. The company is comparable to other eWallet type services such as; Click2Pay, NETeller and Skrill.Poker players can use PayPal to deposit money from their bank into their PayPal account and vice-versa, then they can use PayPal to make a deposit into or a withdrawal from their poker account.In addition to paying with PayPal directly, PayPal users can also apply for the PayPal prepaid MasterCard debit and use that to make deposits into their online poker accounts.

Setting up a PayPal Account

To get your PayPal set up for making poker site deposits follow these directions:

  1. Visit www.PayPal.com
  2. Click the Blue sign up button in the upper right hand corner.
  3. Choose “Sign up for a person PayPal account”.
  4. Fill out the form, and follow the on screen directions for setting up a new PayPal account.
  5. Visit poker sites that accept PayPal as a deposit method to play.

Where is PayPal Available

PayPal is available nearly all over the world, with the exception of Syria and a handful of other countries; however, PayPal isn’t a viable gambling deposit option in many parts of the world. For instance, PayPal accounts in the United States cannot be used to make poker site deposits.Until 2003, PayPal customers were actually able to use the service to fund online gambling accounts. I fact the company was the top gambling payment processor in the world. PayPal voluntarily stopped processing deposits to gambling websites and online gamblers. In 2010, PayPal again began processing online poker transactions, however, the company decided to stick to strictly legal approved online gambling locationsPayPal is a viable deposit method at some poker sites that are located and/or licensed in Europe; this is largely because Europe is a very online gambling friendly market. PayPal, being a publically traded and well respected financial institution does not offer the execution in any areas that are affected by laws such as the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) of the United States, or any similar laws.

PayPal accounts are available in all of the following areas:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

PayPal Alternatives

If you’re looking for an acceptable deposit method for use at PokerStars, or Party Poker, or another major poker site that doesn’t accept PayPal, or you’re looking for deposit methods that work at United States poker sites, than you might want to check out our reviews of other payment methods, such as NETeller, MoneyBookers, or for USA residents, prepaid credit cards.

PayPal Safety and Security

As far as online payment processors go, PayPal is definitely one of the most secure options available in the entire world. They’re comparable in safety and security to Skrill and NETeller eWallet’s.The PayPal security system is made up of three layers of security including information encryption, security tokens, and seriously effective fraud protection.

PayPal Licensing and Legalities

PayPal is a legally operating online payment processor in the United States that is regulated by a vast variety of legal entities. In the United States alone PayPal holds 43 state licenses. They actually operate legally in all 50 of the United States, however not all of the States in the US require PayPal to be licensed.PayPal isn’t a bank, though they are an option for storing money online. The company is actually classified as a licensed money transmitter. PayPal does not make loans, and the company doesn’t take incoming deposits, outside of bank transfers, and player to player transfers.PayPal is regulated all of the following laws and regulations in addition to those imposed on the company from all over the world.

  • Bank Secrecy Act
  • The USA Patriot Act’s anti-money laundering requirements
  • Regulation E consumer protections
  • Office of Foreign Asset Control
  • The Fair Credit Reporting Act
  • Gramm-Leach-Biley privacy requirements
  • Credit Card Association Guidelines

In Europe, PayPal is actually considered to be, and treated as a bank. The company is registered as a Luxembourg located bank with PayPal (Europe) Sarl et Cie SCA as its legal name. As a European bank, PayPal is regulated by the authority of the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier.

Signing Up to a PayPal Poker Site

What you need to keep in mind is that PayPal decide whether you are going to be able to fund a poker site account and not the poker site!That is due to PayPal having in place a number of rules regarding who can use their web wallet to fund any type of gambling site accounts and it will always be the country in which you live in that will determine whether you can do or not.However, what you do need to be fully aware of is that not all online poker sites are going to be fully licensed and regulated, and it is vitally important that you only ever sign up to poker sites that do hold a full and valid gambling license, irrespective of whether those poker sites accept PayPal or not.If you sign up to a poker site that doesn’t hold any type of gambling license, that means that your funds held in that  poker sites account will always be at risk and there are never any guarantees that you will be paid out any winnings you achieve!

How to Deposit Using PayPal

The way in which you will be depositing funds into your poker site account using PayPal is very easy but also highly secure too.What you will need to first do is to log into your real money poker site account and the launch the banking interface, once you have done so you then select the PayPal deposit button and select the amount you wish to top up your poker site account with.Once done you click ok and then you will be taken to the PayPal website via the banking interface where you need to enter your password and then approve that payment to the poker site.Once you have verified the payment the funds will instantly be transferred into your poker site account and will be debited from your PayPal account, and that is just how easy it is to deposit with PayPal! Keep in mind that you are also going to have the option of withdrawing funds back to your PayPal account, which can often be done in a matter of seconds at some instant paying online and mobile poker sites!

Claiming PayPal Poker Site Bonuses

There are of course going to be plenty of PayPal related poker bonus on offer to you at most poker sites and with that in mind allow me to give you some ideas of just what types of bonuses you are going to be able to claim.Some poker sites I hasten to add will offer you a bonus simply for depositing using PayPal, that is due to some poker sites having PayPal listed as one of their preferred banking and payment methods, and as such they will often give you s mall 5 to 15 percent deposit match bonuses if you do choose to deposit using your PayPal web wallet.New players at many online and mobile poker sites can also claim a deposit match bonus and some such sites also offer ongoing reload bonus which are basically deposit match bonuses, but always check to see if you will qualify for such bonus when using that web wallet!It should be noted that quite a number of poker sites and poker apps will not award bonus to players who deposit by any web wallet, and as such it is important you check whether you can claim a bonus, as you will be extremely enjoyed if you do deposit by PayPal only to find that is a payment method that does not see you earning any type of bonuses!

PayPal Poker Site Tournaments

You are of course going to be able to pay for your poker tournament entries by finding your poker accounts using PayPal, and boy will you be impressed by the sheer diversity of the poker tournaments that will be on offer to you.Just keep in mind that some poker tournaments are going to be completely free to enter and they are the ones that are known as free roll poker tournaments, and as such you are never going to have to pay anything to enter and take part in them.However, the paid to enter tournaments are the ones that most players do tend to make a beeline to enter, for by doing so they often have the chance of winning some much higher valued cash prizes if they are lucky enough to finish high up the poker tournament leader board.But the onus is always going to be on you to thoroughly check through just what poker tournaments are going to be on offer to you at any PayPal accepting poker sites, so I would urge you to check and then double check long before you do ever sign up to such a poker site, to avoid potential disappointment!

Types of PayPal Poker Site Games

If you are wondering if PayPal accepting poker sites are going to be offering you a huge variety of different game variants, then once again it is always going to be down to just which ones you do make the concerted effort to sign up to as to just what games will be on offer to you.If it is the games of Texas Hold’em Poker you fancy playing or 5 and 7 Card Stud or even Omaha and Omaha Hi Low Poker, then you are always going to find plenty of poker sites offering those types of variants.However, I have started to see over the last few years some PayPal accepting poker sites now offering some much more exotic poker game variants, and it could be worth you checking out just how those poker games play and pay and have been designed too.But t is fair and very true to say that no matter which poker game you do fancy playing, you are going to have to fully master playing them long before you play them online for real money, so make sure that is something you spend as much time as you require doing!

Benefits of Playing at a PayPal Poker Site

The main benefit of playing at some poker sites that accept PayPal is that they can often pay you out your winnings instantly back to your PayPal web wallet, and as such you are never going to have to worry about making a withdrawal as the ones you make will be processed in real time before your very eyes.There is of course plenty of other web wallets that you could choose to use instead of PayPal, but just keep in mind you are always going to want to use the most cost effective web wallet, and that is something that PayPal is best known for being.You can of course also use your PayPal account to buy virtually anything online and can also use it to send money to friends or family members, and as such your web wallet can be used for many other reasons other than simply paying for your poker site deposits and as a way for you to get paid out your winnings from poker sites too!

Additional PayPal Fees and Charges

Just be aware that there are going to be some fees and charges you are going to have to pay when using PayPal, but those fees and charges are always very clearly indicted on their website.However, when you do choose to send money to any online poker site or a mobile poker site using your PayPal web wallet you should never be charged any fees and if you do the poker site will often return those fees to you, but do make sure you check before sending funds to any poker site.You should always make a point of finding out whether you are going to have to pick up any fees associated with a poker site sending your out your winnings, as it is usually the case that you will receive the entire value of your withdrawal from your poker site into your PayPal web wallet as the poker sites often pick up and associated money transfer fees.There are other alternatives you can use instead of PayPal, but it is certainly one of the most trusted web wallets out there with millions of users who use their services every single day of the week for all manner of different purposes other than just poker site deposits and withdrawals!

Frequently Asked Questions

It will take your around a minute or so to sign up to use the PayPal web wallet service, and once you have funded that account you are free to make deposits into any poker sites that you fancy playing at. Here are a few of the most frequently asked questions about PayPal and Poker sites and the answers to each of those questions of course.

Is PayPal the most used web wallet?

There is no other web wallet out there that is as popular or as widely used as PayPal, and as such if you are looking to use a PayPal for poker site payment activities then you will be using one that is trusted by many millions of people the world over if you choose to use PayPal.

Will my money be safe in PayPal?

Your money is as safe as can be expected in a PayPal web wallet, but much like any other web wallet you should ensure that you keep your username and password secret and safe at all times, so make sure that is something you do!

Can I deposit in different currencies using PayPal?

You will be pleased to learn that you are going to be able to use your PayPal wallet to send money and make poker site deposits in all manner of different currencies if you so desire, and you can always do so instantly and in real time too.

Can all PayPal users’ deposits into poker sites?

Only PayPal users that are in certain countries of the world for example the UK are able to use their PayPal accounts to deposit funds into and get paid out their winnings from any poker sites, the full list of countries that can use PayPal that way will be found on the PayPal website of course and in their terms and conditions.

Which poker sites pay-out instantly to PayPal?

Some poker sites have the capabilities and systems in place that allows them to pay out winning players instantly back to their PayPal web wallets when any cash out request has been made, but you will need to do your own research or find out which poker sites they are.