Gambling games developed for online use gave us a welcome opportunity to wager and play anytime we want or feel particularly lucky. While its many advantages make it a preferred choice for busy punters, not everything about internet gambling is quite as convenient as it might seem at first glance. Our biggest concern (after finding a reputable site), is to make sure we can deposit and withdraw money as quickly and with as little trouble as possible. Unlike land casinos, where transactions are done in person, electronic payments involve certain risks and delays, which we want to avoid whenever we can.

Pending Forever

Safe, secure and simple banking methods are important criteria when choosing a gaming site. Not every transaction option will suit every gambler, but researching their pros and cons beforehand should give us enough insight to make the best decision. Online casinos usually reveal the expected withdrawal processing time for each payment option they have on offer, however, bear in mind that once this period expires, it doesn’t necessarily mean your funds will become available immediately. This specific time-frame is often referred to as ‘reversed withdrawal,' during which your cash-out request is pending and can be canceled, in case you change your mind and want to continue playing with the funds.

While pending withdrawals make sense in the larger scheme of things, no one enjoys prolonged waiting periods, during which anxiety builds up until we start to question the integrity of a casino. Because of the nature of online wagering, operators want to make sure you are who you say you are and use pending times to verify the identity of their customers. This is to ensure you are not underage or using someone else’s bank account without permission. Once completed, a successful verification should mean we are in the clear; however, there is still waiting to be endured depending on the banking option chosen to transfer money. This added period depends on the payment service provider and is not up to gaming sites to decide. Taken together, they can amount to more than ten days before we can finally get our hands on winnings.

Since reverse withdrawal is a standard practice adopted by a vast majority of online operators, there is not much we can do to cut back on pending times. The best remedy, however, is to pick a suitable banking option with instant, or near instant processing – anything under five days is promising, but if you’re forced to go with bank transfers or checks, prepare to have your patience tested.

E-Wallets to the Rescue

When using any of the popular e-wallet providers, funds usually go through on the same day. Avoiding financial institutions altogether and not having to provide bank account details to casinos, are significant advantages of Skrill, Neteller, PayPal or EcoPayz. If you are really lucky, some sites won’t even ask for verification documents, although this is rare. Anyone can open an e-wallet, and they can further be used to make online purchases or payments not related to gambling.

Credit Cards – Good, but not Ideal

While most frequently used and straightforward enough, credit card withdrawals may take anywhere from three to five working days. It is an acceptable inconvenience, however, if casino pending times takes near that much or longer, you might want to consider other options. Another disadvantage of this method is the inability to stay anonymous – you can’t hide the purpose of your transactions, and if you are in a country where gambling is illegal or unregulated, this might present a problem.

Try PrePaid Cards Instead

It is a great alternative if, for whatever reason, you can’t use any of the above. PrePaid cards can be purchased anywhere, even gas stations, and using them is quite simple. Like e-wallets, they are not linked to your bank account, which means you can gamble incognito. Processing times are usually reasonable – up to three days on average. While the funds you can store on these cards are limited, they are quickly reloaded. A minor disadvantage is that they have to be verified for international purchases.

Bitcoin

A cryptocurrency increasingly popular among gamblers, Bitcoin is, for now, the only method where funds are available within minutes. Since it is independent of any government, financial institution or administration, everyone can use it freely. Due to this, more and more casinos are embracing this method. Until recently, most operators never thought it necessary to confirm the identity of customers using the virtual currency, but this is starting to change. Without verification procedures and pending withdrawals, we did have the pleasure of instant payouts. Fortunately, there are still sites that won’t ask for documents from Bitcoin players. On the downside, this option requires quite a bit of researching and getting used to, before we can use it with confidence.