Written By Ciaran McEneaney |
Updated on 20 December, 2024
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We could be wrong, but we think that Apple Pay betting sites in the UK are what iPhones and iPads were made for. But which UK betting sites accept Apple Pay as a payment method, and how does it work? We’ll answer both of those questions right here, and we’ll even throw in some tips on using Apple Pay effectively, just for good measure.
So, what are the advantages, if any, of depositing with Apple Pay at online betting sites? Well, we can certainly think of a few, and we’ve listed the main ones below.
Apple Pay is mainly geared towards phone use, so if you use online sportsbooks with Apple Pay options on your iOS-powered phone or tablet, then Apple Pay is ideal for you. You can quickly and easily make deposits with a few stabs of a finger.
One of the best features of Apple Pay is that once you have set it up on your device, only you can use it. Of course, you need to set up your phone to only open with face recognition or a passcode. That way, if your phone is lost or stolen, only you can open it, and if someone else tries to open it, you should receive a notification on any other Apple device you own, meaning you can then block your phone or even erase all content.
If you fund your sports betting with Apple Pay, you can rest assured that your payments are secure.
Apple Pay allows you to connect a debit card to your phone and use it to make real-world purchases. All you need to do is place your phone near the contactless reader and double-click the side button. The payment is taken from the bank account the card is attached to, but the retailer doesn’t see your card details.
Deposits at any Apple Pay sports bets site work in the same way. The transaction is processed by Apple using your card, and the betting site never gets to see your card details. This adds an extra layer of privacy to your payments.
You should not be limited when it comes to making payments to qualify for bonuses at sportsbooks with Apple Pay. Because your Apple Pay account is tied to your debit card, and most sites have no issue with debit card deposits qualifying for bonuses, then you shouldn’t have a problem using Apple Pay either.
You won’t have to wait for your money to be processed at betting sites with Apple Pay. As soon as you okay the payment, the money should be taken from the bank account your debit card is attached to and be available immediately for you to place bets. Other payment methods may not be as speedy.
Attribute | Apple Pay | Debit Cards | eWallets | Crypto |
Acceptance | Medium | Universal | High | Non-UKGC only |
Convenience | Exceptional | Exceptional | High | High |
Security | Exceptional | Very High | High | Exceptional |
Privacy | Very High | High | High | Very High |
Bonus Qualification | Exceptional | Universal | Extremely Low | Non-UKGC only |
Processing Speed | Instant | Instant | High | Instant |
Withdrawals | None | Universal | High | Non-UKGC only |
Even at betting sites that accept Apple Pay, there are some drawbacks to using it, but they are not insurmountable. Below we take a quick look at a few of the issues that you might face.
To use Apple Pay, you need an Apple device. You can use Apple Pay on iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, iMacs and Vision Pros. If your mobile devices are Android-powered, then you won’t be able to use Apple Pay.
While it is possible to make payments via Apple Pay via non-Apple devices, you will always need at least one Apple device to set it up.
Apple Pay is not as universal a deposit method in terms of availability as, say, debit cards and eWallets, so if the betting site you want to play at does not accept Apple Pay, then you won’t be able to make Apple Pay payments there. The good news is that more and more betting sites are starting to accept Apple Pay and that the number of sites that accept Apple Pay far exceeds the number that accept Google Pay!
Apple Pay is set up as a customer-to-merchant payment system. Its main purpose is to enable you to use it to make payments in the real world. It is not designed as a merchant-to-customer payment system, so you can’t make payments to a debit card via Apple Pay. This means you can’t withdraw money via this method, even if they are Apple Pay bookmakers.
The solution to this issue is to use an alternative payment system for withdrawing money at the betting site. You will, however, need to make at least one deposit from the payment method you choose before you can withdraw money from it.
Apple Pay was first released in 2014, designed for iOS 8.1. The idea of ApplePay was to allow iPhone users to make contactless payments using their phones. All they needed to do was connect a debit or credit card to the Apple Pay app. Apple Pay could – and still can – also hold store cards and travel cards.
Setting up Apple Pay on your iPhone is super easy, and if you have an iPhone, the chances are you’ve set it up already. All iPhones come with the Apple Pay app pre-installed.
To add any card to Apple Pay open up the ‘Wallet’ app and touch the ‘+’ button on the top right hand of your screen. You will then have the option to add a debit card, credit card or travel card. Select the option you want, then ‘Continue’. You only have to hold the card near your phone to add it. You can also scan the card with your phone’s camera or enter the details manually.
Once set up, you will be able to use Apple Pay for online betting with Apple Pay sites.
Just because you’ve uncovered an Apple Pay sports betting site, that doesn’t mean you should immediately sign up and start placing your bets! You need to assess the site first to judge if it’s what you are looking for. Here are a few things we look out for when assessing any betting site, whether it’s an Apple Pay sportsbook or not.
It’s important that you only ever use sports books that have licensing from a recognised gambling licensing authority. In the UK, this is primarily the United Kingdom Gambling Association or the UKGC for short. You may also choose a sports betting site that’s regulated by authorities in Malta, Gibraltar, Alderney or Curaçao. The important thing is that the site has a licence that you can verify.
Check out user reviews of the site if you can. Ignore 1-star and 5-star reviews, as they can usually not be trusted. Read 2, 3, and 4-star reviews to get a better impression of what site users feel about the site. Check also to see if the sports betting site has had any problems with regulatory bodies.
Suppose your main betting interests at Apple Pay online betting sites are football, horse racing, tennis and/or golf. In that case, you’ve probably nothing to worry about as all these sports are usually covered well at all online bookies. If your betting interests are a little more exotic, then check to see if the site you are evaluating has all the markets you’ll be using.
A lot of bettors just bet on a ‘back the winner’ basis, and if you’re among that demographic, then you should be fine using any Apple Pay sports betting site. If you like to bet on markets such as BTTS in football, each-way betting on greyhounds or horse racing, or betting on the spread in American sports, then check your market options at the sites you are looking at.
It’s fairly easy to check how competitive the odds are at Apple Pay betting sites. Just pick out a few top events and compare the odds the site gives to the odds given by leading high-street bookies. Remember, the better the odds, the higher the returns for your winning bets will be.
You should be able to play around with any Apple Pay bets site before you register there. It’s important you get a good look and feel of the site before you sign up. Are the menus easy to use? Can you find the sports and markets you want to bet on? Are the FAQs helpful? Does the site ever hang or even crash? Are there betting apps available, and if so, do they work well? It’s important to get a good feel of a site before registering with it.
While sports betting is the bread and butter of any Apple Pay bookmakers, tools and features are the filling in the sandwich! If you like using bet builders, then any site you consider must have one. If you’re an acca fan, then does it have acca insurance or boosted winnings? Can you save your favourite markets or events, and if you are betting via an app, can you get notifications of when your bet has settled or cashback offers if your bet’s not going quite how you expected it to?
Support at Apple Pay betting sites is another thing you should ‘try before you buy’. The majority of sports betting sites will allow you to use support, such as live chat, before you become a member. Use support to see if you are satisfied with the responses you receive.
This can be a difficult one to ascertain. Check to see if the site has a privacy policy or if it explains what it does to protect your data. Also, check to see if it is a member of any independent bodies, such as the Independent Betting Adjudication Services (IBAS) or the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA). If it is, then you can be safe in the knowledge that you’re thinking of signing up for a secure site.
If you are to join the throng of sports bettors abandoning desktop and laptop sites for their phones, then you are going to want to make sure that the site yu are considering works perfectly for you on your mobile device. You ought to be able to download any apps and try them out before signing up. If the Apple Pay betting site doesn’t provide an app, then you can check out how the site performs in your preferred mobile browser.
To make a deposit at Apple Pay bookmakers, you need an iPhone, iPad, or any device that has Apple Pay enabled.
Visit the site on your mobile device and head to the cashier section. Choose your deposit amount then select Apple Pay as your payment method. Once you’ve clicked ‘OK’ (or the equivalent), the Apple Wallet app will open on your device, and you’ll need to confirm your ID with Face ID or a passcode, whichever you’ve set up. Confirm your deposit by double-clicking the side button on your device.
That’s all you need to do; your money should now be in your account, ready for betting.
You cannot make withdrawals using Apple Pay, as we have previously explained. Apple Pay is a payment service, not a ‘receive funds’ service.
If you want to make a withdrawal at a site that allows online betting with Apple Pay deposits then you will have to register an alternative, such as the debit card that’s attached to your Apple Wallet app. Unfortunately, you will need to make a deposit first from the payment method (to prove the payment method is yours) before you can make a withdrawal.
The vast majority of UK betting sites offer bonuses and promotions, especially bonuses and promotions for new customers. You may be wondering if you can claim a welcome bonus or, indeed, any promotion with Apple Pay at betting sites. Usually, there is no problem in claiming bonuses and promotions if you use Apple Pay to make any necessary qualifying deposits.
The only restriction you may find is at UKGC-licensed sites if you only have a credit card attached to your Apple Pay account. This, though, can easily be rectified if you add a debit card to the Apple Wallet app on your iOS-powered device. Or, failing that, consider using credit card betting sites.
So what if you don’t have an iPhone? Can you make deposits at Apple Pay bookmakers? The easy answer to this question is ‘of course you can’, and we list all the most popular alternatives below:
Nearly all betting sites with Apple Pay (and without Apple Pay) accept debit cards. Debit cards in the UK are issued by Visa and MasterCard.
If you have an Android-based device, you have your own alternative to Apple Pay, and that’s Google Pay. Just add a debit card to the Google Wallet app on your device and use it to make deposits. However, Google Pay is much less common at betting sites than Apple Pay.
PayPal is the world’s leading eWallet, and it’s likely that you already have a PayPal account. Many sites are happy to process PayPal deposits and withdrawals.
Ewallets such as Skrill, Neteller, MuchBetter, and Payz work like PayPal. You can maintain eWallet balances online and make/receive payments.
For complete payment anonymity, you can use a popular cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, Tether or Ethereum at crypto betting sites. You can attach your crypto wallet to the site’s wallet and transfer money on a peer-to-peer basis.
Sites with UKGC betting licences don’t accept credit cards, but non UK betting sites with alternative licences may do. We do, however, strongly advise against loading your card with money that you cannot afford to pay back.
Here’s how the various payment methods mentioned above compare in terms of their average withdrawal times:
Payment Method | Examples | Timeframes |
Debit/Credit Card | Visa, MasterCard | Instant to 3 days |
eWallets | PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, MuchBetter, AstroPay, Payz | Instant to 3 days |
Cryptocurrencies | Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, BitcoinCash, Litecoin, Dogecoin | Instant |
Maintaining your safety online is essential. That’s why you should never play at a betting site that doesn’t have a verifiable licence from a recognised licensing body. If you do, then you only have yourself to blame should something go wrong, and it will be hard for you to get help to put matters right.
Betting sites that accept Apple Pay are always encouraging when it comes to secure payments. That’s because Apple Pay payments are usually made via an iPhone, and you should have set up Face ID or a passcode on your device so no one else can access it. You can also set up Face ID to log on to your Apple Pay betting sites account, meaning that only you can access it.
If you want to bet online and you have an iPhone or iPad, betting with Apple Pay makes perfect sense, even when you register an alternative payment method to receive withdrawals.
You should now know all that you need to know when using betting sites that accept Apple Pay. We explained the steps you need to take to keep yourself safe when betting online, what you need to do to withdraw funds from Apple Pay betting sites, and what you need to do when evaluating new betting sites that you are thinking of signing up for. We wish you all the best when betting with Apple Pay deposits at betting sites.
Yes, there are a decent number of sports betting sites available to users in the UK that accept deposits via Apple Pay. You must have an Apple device, though, in order to use Apple Pay.
You can bet with Apple Pay at any sports betting site that accepts UK customers and has Apple Pay as a deposit option.
If you mean in preference to non-Apple Pay sites, then there are several reasons. Firstly, Apple Pay acts as a kind of ‘buffer’ between the site and your debit card, meaning you don’t have to let the betting site see your card details. Another reason is that if you place bets using your iPhone, Apple Pay is simply the most convenient way to make deposits.
That depends on which payment method you are using, as you can’t use Apple Pay for withdrawals at any betting site. You will need to register and use an alternative payment method for withdrawing money, such as a debit card, eWallet or cryptocurrency.
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