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VISA Debit in UK Casinos
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It is known all across the world that the United Kingdom is a perfectly legit and popular online gambling market, with proper regulations in place and one of the strictest and most well-respected watchdogs in the world, the UKGC. Now, it is also known that the UKGC put a ban on gambling with credit cards across UK casinos, which left players used to using a card across online casinos with debit cards, among the most popularly used being VISA Debit. This is a debit card powered by VISA, one of the world's most well-known card companies, with unrivaled availability and a massive user base. It is an excellent payment solution to use by UK players, as it allows for effortless and safe deposits and withdrawals in their native currency. So, if you’re a UK player wishing to know more about why and how to use this card across UK casinos, stay with us. What is VISA Debit and why choose it as your payment method at a UK casino?
Online Gambling Regulation in the United Kingdom
Land-based gambling in the United Kingdom has been legal since 1928, while the kingdom was under King George V's reign. The country has been incredibly acceptive of the activity, and even kings and later on the Queen enjoyed placing bets, especially on horse racing. For years now, the UK has been a well-known gambling hub, with proper regulations in place and with players’ safety as a primary concern.
In 2005, a few years after online gambling officially emerged, meaning when gambling went online, the UK legalized it. Under the Gambling Act 2005, online gambling was legalized and the UK Gambling Commission was established, which took over the responsibility from the Gaming Board for Great Britain in regulating casinos, bingo, betting, arcades, slot machines and lotteries. The UKGC, thanks to its excellent services, became known as one of the toughest, strictest, and most well-respected regulators in the industry as a whole.
While the UK was still a member of the EU, gambling companies and players were asked to follow the EU gambling laws in addition to the rules introduced by the UKGC, but when Brexit happened, the UKGC took control. That didn't mean that rules were loosened, but the contrary, as the regulator ensured players were protected at all costs from gambling harm and treated with respect, and actually further tightened up the rules for operators. On that note, the regulator keeps on monitoring all licensed operators’ activities, and even at the first suspicion of irregularities, it conducts extensive searches to make sure all is in order.
With consumer protection at its focus, the UK Gambling Commission continues introducing new rules for operators and players to adhere to, in efforts to offer the safest gambling environment to UK citizens. Now, as part of the initiative, after conducting long research on the matter, the regulator introduced a ban in 2019, which was put in effect in 2020, April, forbidding UK players to use credit cards for gambling purposes. The research showed that online players were excessively using credit cards for their deposits and withdrawals across UK casinos, and in efforts to make online gambling safer for everyone, the ban was imminent.
This ban meant that not only credit cards individually but all alternative payment methods that depended on credit cards to function were also forbidden. This included eWallets, which were the most affected if that turned out to be true. Later, the UKGC elaborated on the ban, explaining that as long as they removed credit cards as an option to fund and cash out money from the eWallet accounts, they could continue offering their services to UK players. PayPal was among the first eWallets that made that possible, in line with the ban, and started allowing users to use other methods for topping up and withdrawing funds from their eWallet accounts, such as debit cards, debit cards like VISA Debit.
In fact, VISA Debit stole the spotlight the minute the UGKC introduced the ban. Debit cards became an instant hit, the evident alternative to credit cards, and VISA being one of the most popular card companies was the natural choice for millions of UK players. As such, this debit card is also one of the most widely used across UK online casinos, offered across basically every single UK casino. It allows UK players to make both deposits and withdrawals across the hundreds of sites licensed to operate in the UK, in their native currency, the UK pound. It is perfectly safe and well-reputed, therefore, if you wish to give it a go yourself, continue reading to discover more about it.
Using VISA Debit Across UK Online Casinos
VISA needs no introduction, considering every single human being on Earth knows about it. This is one of the most powerful card companies, which has existed for years and has established an unrivaled reputation all across the world. Not to mention, it has managed to spread its reach to every single country, city, town, being accepted all over for all kinds of payments and purchases. Most, if not all banks in the world are authorized to issue VISA cards, and with that, its accessibility is truly unparalleled.
Even though it started out as a credit card program in the US in 1958, today, VISA is a card brand offered globally, behind all kinds of prepaid, gift, and of course, debit cards. The VISA Debit card was launched in 1975, when the company went international, allowing users to get more than what the credit cards were already offering. Credit and debit cards, as you know, are linked to your bank account, and while debit cards don’t, credit cards allow you to spend more than you have on your bank account, in an overdraft agreement you sign with the bank. This is why debit cards were deemed safer to use by online casino players and why the UKGC banned credit cards for gambling transactions.
So, it goes without saying that debit cards are much easier to get started with, as your credit history won’t be looked at. As long as you have a bank account, you can just apply for a debit card by providing basic personal details, and that would be it. Most UK banks are licensed by VISA to issue VISA Debit cards on its behalf, so wherever you see the “Verified by VISA” sign, you can rest assured that that bank will be authorized to issue your card. Your bank probably is, so all you have to do is visit the bank physically or even check its official website, to see whether you can apply for a card online, as some UK banks allow you to even apply for a card online.
On that note, to apply for a card, you need to fill out a form, specifying that you are applying for a VISA Debit card. After you provide the needed details and documents, the bank will go over your request and approve or deny your card. Assuming it approves it, the card will be there for you to pick it up at the bank or you can alternatively have the bank send it to you at your home address. Regardless, it will arrive in an envelope, and as the "Verified by VISA" protocol requires, along with the verification codes you'll be using whenever you're using the card.
Speaking of codes and verification, you can rest assured that your card will be incredibly safe to use, as you will go through a 3-D Secure authentication procedure every time you make a transaction with it. You will always have to authenticate any transaction you make before it gets processed, as an added layer of security. Now, knowing all of these pieces of information, you are probably convinced that this is a card to try out across the hundreds of UK casinos that offer it. So, let’s see next how effortless the card is to use for deposits and withdrawals at any UK casino you’re eyeing.
Visa Debit is popular in these countries
Casinos for Players from United Kingdom that Offer Visa Debit
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Depositing and Withdrawing with VISA Debit
LeoVegas, Play Frank and Hello Casino are just some of the most amazing sites you will find here at WoO, reviewed for your convenience, which not accept UK players but also offer VISA Debit card. You will find over 100 such sites, so your choices are basically limitless. So, the first step you need to make to start using the solution for your deposits and withdrawals is, of course, to find the most perfect site to join.
Once you do, you’d need to register with it and create your player profile. And once you do that, you are ready to make your VISA Debit deposit, by following these steps:
- Locate the Cashier page on your player profile and go to the Deposit section.
- Find VISA Debit on the list of accepted methods and select it.
- In the pop-up, set the amount you want to deposit and enter the needed card details (card number, your name, and the expiry date).
- Confirm the transfer and the funds will immediately reach your balance.
Even though VISA Debit works both ways, we should inform you that not all casinos accept it for withdrawals. That’s why before you decide on the site to join as explained previously, you better check whether the one you’re eyeing offers the card for cashouts.
If yes, then you will see that the withdrawing procedure is pretty much identical to the depositing one. You'd again need to locate the Cashier page, but this time select VISA Debit on the list of accepted Withdrawal methods. In the pop-up, you'll again need to enter the card's details, but this time set out the amount you wish to cash out. Once the operator goes over your request and eventually approves it, the funds will be sent to your card directly.
Conclusion
VISA Debit is the natural choice for many UK players, especially after the UKGC banned credit cards for gambling transactions. As a UK player, you will benefit from the fact that it allows you to make both deposits and withdrawals, quick ones, in your native currency. You’ll also love its availability across the online gambling industry, with over 100 sites that accept it, giving you so many choices to consider before joining a casino. Therefore, make sure you give it a thought and eventually choose it as your casino payment method, as you won’t regret it.