Credit Card Betting Sites in the UK – Updated for January 2025

Written By Ciaran McEneaney |

Updated on 20 December, 2024

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Credit card betting sites are pretty much extinct as far as the UK Gambling Commission is concerned. But it’s perfectly acceptable for sports betting fans in the UK to sign up with non-UKGC sites that still accept this popular payment method. The big question is how to stay safe while doing that, and this article provides the answer.

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Use of Credit Cards at Betting Sites in the UK

Credit cards used to be the preferred payment method for Brits wanting to make deposits into their betting site accounts. Telephone bookies had been accepting them for decades, and it was natural that they continued to do so when they started operating online.

The problem, as far as the UKGC was concerned, was that credit cards made it too easy for people to gamble more than they could honestly afford. For that reason, in April 2020, the UKGC announced a ban on gambling operators being able to accept credit card payments.

That ban means that sites licensed by the UKGC aren’t legally allowed to accept credit card deposits from anyone. But there are plenty of non UK betting sites that operate under licenses issued by other respected regulators which don’t impose that particular rule. Even better, there’s no law preventing you from signing up with such credit card betting sites. That means you can still make Mastercard sports betting deposits as you could in the UK until a few years ago.

Credit Card Betting Sites

Benefits of Credit Card Betting Sites

Many bettors now use debit cards as an alternative to credit card betting in the UK. But a substantial number have opted to sign up with overseas sites that continue to accept the likes of Visa and Mastercard. The fact is that there are several advantages to credit card betting sites that are hard to ignore. Here are some of the main ones.

Commonly Available

UK credit card betting sites might have gone the way of the dodo, but they are still very common in most other countries that love betting. We won’t speculate too much about why that is, but one reason could be that other nations treat bettors like adults and trust that they’ll gamble responsibly more often than not.

Swift and Simple

Another benefit of using credit cards is that making deposits with them is both swift and simple. All you have to do is provide your card details and say how much you want to deposit. The card issuer will then approve the transaction (unless they have a very good reason not to), and the requested funds will land in your betting account within seconds.

Compatible with Bonuses

Most betting sites offer their customers a range of bonuses that can be unlocked by making deposits. Some deposit methods have to be excluded from such offers so that the betting site doesn’t expose itself to potential “bonus abuse”. Fortunately, credit cards are compatible with the vast majority of bonus offers, so you won’t have to miss out.

Safe and Reliable

The final big advantage of credit card betting is that it’s safe and reliable. Credit card companies have spent decades making online transactions as secure as possible. We all take this for granted when we make purchases from online stores such as Amazon, and the best credit card betting sites (which we’ll help you to identify shortly) are just as secure.

Potential Downsides of Credit Cards

While there are plenty of advantages to credit card gambling, it has to be said that there are also a few potential disadvantages. They aren’t deal-breakers by any means, but they are still worth mentioning.

Can’t Be Used for Withdrawals

The main disadvantage is that you can’t make credit card sports betting withdrawals, only deposits. That means you’ll have to withdraw your winnings using a different method. The good news is that this isn’t difficult, and we’ll explain how to do it a little later in this article.

Card Companies May Charge Fees

A credit card deposit is essentially a transfer of cash rather than a purchase of products or services. For that reason, some card issuers might treat it as a cash advance and charge you a fee for making the transaction. Check the terms and conditions provided by your card company to see if this is the case and to find out what kind of fees might be incurred.

Unavailable at UKGC Sites

The third disadvantage of credit cards is that, as we’ve already said, they can’t be used at betting sites licensed by the UKGC. This is the least important drawback because credit cards are accepted by plenty of other reputable betting sites, but it bears repeating here.

Credit Card Betting Sites

Hallmarks of the Best Credit Card Betting Sites

Because it’s only non UK betting sites that accept credit cards, you will need to be selective about the ones you choose to trust. Fortunately, the best and most reliable credit card betting sites are quite easy to recognise. Here are the hallmarks you should be looking for:

Recognised Gambling Licence

While you won’t find a credit card betting site with a licence issued by the UKGC, the best sites will still be licenced by a respected regulator. There are quite a few around, with the Malta Gaming Authority, the Curaçao Gaming Control Board and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission being three of the most common. If a site has a recognised gambling licence, you can be confident that it takes its responsibilities as a betting site seriously and that it will be fair and honest in its dealings with you.

Strong Security Measures

The best credit card gambling sites will have the strongest security measures in place to keep your card details and personal information away from prying eyes. Financial transactions will be encrypted, often using the same SSL encryption technology used at online banking sites. Additionally, a firewall will protect any data that needs to be stored for future reference. Look at the privacy policy of any site you consider using to make sure that this is the case.

Encourages Responsible Gambling

As we said earlier, credit card sports betting sites expect their customers to take full adult responsibility for their own decisions and actions. However, the best ones don’t just stop there. Instead, they actively encourage their customers to practice responsible gambling. Many do that by providing useful articles on matters like budgeting and having a sensible strategy. Others go even further and provide handy limit tools that you can use to keep your betting under control.

Comprehensive Sports Coverage

The best sites will have comprehensive coverage of all the world’s most popular sports at the international level and might also have deeper coverage at a more local level. For example, European betting sites might have particularly good coverage of European football leagues and our own English football leagues, while American sites might offer deeper coverage of sports like basketball and baseball. When assessing betting sites that accept credit cards, make sure they cover all the sports you are most interested in.

Varied Betting Markets

You’ll find the full range of betting markets available at the most popular sites. Those will include all of the ones you’re used to finding at the best UK betting sites, such as competition winner, match winner, correct score, double result and more. However, because credit card sites are based overseas, you’re also likely to find additional markets that you might not see so often here, such as a wider range of handicap and totals markets.

Competitive Betting Odds

Bookmakers in other countries don’t always pay as much tax to their governments as UK bookies, so many of them can often afford to be a tad more generous with their odds. That means the best credit card betting sites will offer very competitive odds, and while no single site will always give you the best deal, you can expect them to be consistently fair to customers.

Useful Promotions

Betting outside the UK is as fiercely competitive as it is here, and new betting sites are being launched every month. For that reason, the bonuses and promotions that credit card bookies offer to attract and retain new customers are every bit as generous, and often more so. The best sites will give you a welcome bonus for getting involved, enhanced odds for special events, a percentage of cashback on losses, and more.

Intuitive Platform

The best betting sites that accept credit cards make sure that they are easy to navigate and use. Their sports and markets will be logically organised so that you can get straight to the event you want to bet on. Betting itself will be a simple matter of tapping your required outcome, entering the amount of money that you want to bet and then submitting the wager. The more user-friendly a site is, the more you’ll enjoy using it.

Reliable Customer Support

Running into problems or difficulties now and again is a fact of life, and that’s why the best credit card betting sites make sure there’s always someone available to provide help if you need it. Expect customer support to be available via Live Chat and possibly email, too. Ideally, a site will have support available 24 hours a day. If that isn’t the case, just check that it will be available during the hours you would normally expect to be betting.

Suitable Payment Methods

Even the most enthusiastic Mastercard betting sites will give you several other payment options to choose from. You’ll need to use a different method than credit cards to make withdrawals, so think of one or two that you might want to use and make sure that your chosen site will allow it. The best sites will accept debit cards and eWallets, and there’s a growing number of crypto betting sites catering for fans of Bitcoin, Ethereum and similar cryptocurrencies.

Works on Mobile

We love being able to make bets easily when we’re out and about, so we’re happy to say that mobile compatibility is another hallmark of the best credit card betting sites. Every sportsbook worth its salt will ensure that it looks good and performs well in all areas when you’re using a mobile browser on your smartphone or tablet. A few go even further by creating their own dedicated betting apps that you can download and launch at the touch of a fingertip.

Betting Bonuses and Credit Cards

Certain wagering terms are always attached to the bonuses and promotions you can get when you bet with credit card bookies. As we said earlier, some deposit methods won’t qualify for bonuses, but credit card deposits are usually fine. However, you will still need to observe other conditions that need to be met for a bonus to be claimed. Let’s run through a few of the main bonus types and explain what you need to be aware of.

Welcome Bonuses

Here you will usually need to make a minimum deposit and place a qualifying bet with certain minimum odds to get your bonus. For example, you might have to deposit and bet a minimum of £10 on a selection at odds of 2.0 (1/1) or greater to get a package of free bets. If you bet too little, or you bet on a selection at lower odds than stated, you won’t qualify for the bonus.

Free Bets

When you get free bets, either as part of a welcome bonus or as a reward for being an existing customer, it will need to be used on a selection at certain minimum odds, such as 1.50 (1/2). Also note that if the bet wins, you’ll only get the profit it generates. The free bet stake didn’t come out of your account, so it won’t be returned to you.

Cashback Deals

Many sites will give regular customers a percentage of their stake money back if they suffer losses over a stated period. For example, you might be offered 10% back on net losses suffered over a calendar month. You should note that there is usually a certain level of betting activity needed to qualify for these deals. In addition, the “cashback” will often have a maximum value and be awarded as free bets rather than actual cash.

Because terms and conditions can and do vary between gambling sites that accept credit cards, UK bettors should always read through them before making any wagers. It’s better to know the score in advance so that you can tweak your betting to suit rather than regret not doing so later.

Making Deposits at Credit Card Betting Sites

The whole point of using betting sites that accept Mastercard and other credit cards is that they make it easy to deposit funds. So easy, in fact, that we can summarise signing up for a new account and making a first deposit in a few simple steps:

  1. Visit your chosen betting site that accepts new customers from the UK and click the JOIN or SIGN UP button. This button is often displayed at the top of the home page.
  2. Complete the registration form that pops up. This will ask for some basic details that the site needs to operate an account on your behalf, such as your name, email address and date of birth. You’ll also need to choose a password for the new account, so choose a good one.
  3. Submit the completed form. The site will then set up an account for you, but it may also send you an email with an activation link. If so, check your email and click the link to verify that you’ve received it.
  4. Navigate to your account’s banking area and select credit card as your preferred deposit method. Enter your card details and the amount you want to deposit, then submit.
  5. In some cases, your card issuer may ask you to approve the transaction, just as you might when shopping online. If that happens, use your credit card app or the usual method to give your approval.

And that’s all there is to it. Your deposit will land in your new betting account within seconds of the transaction being approved, so you can now take a look at the markets and start thinking about placing your first bet.

Withdrawal Options at Credit Card Betting Sites

Credit cards are great for making deposits at international betting sites, but they aren’t designed to receive money back to them. For that reason, you can’t make withdrawals to credit cards. Instead, you’ll need to choose another method of payment to use for withdrawals. Some of the options you’ll often be able to choose from include debit cards, eWallets and bank transfers.

You should note that many betting sites will ask you to make a deposit with your chosen payment method before you can use it to make withdrawals. This is a common security measure and is designed to ensure that the withdrawal option selected really is yours.

Other Payment Methods at Credit Card Betting Sites

Should you ever want to make a deposit with something other than a credit card (for example, to make a later withdrawal, as mentioned in the previous section), you’ll have several equally good options to consider. Here are some of the most popular ones:

Debit Cards

When the UKGC banned credit card gambling in the UK, debit cards became the most obvious alternative. Because these take funds directly from your bank account when you make a deposit, you can only bet with money you actually have access to. They also have the advantage that they can be used to make withdrawals.

Apple Pay / Google Pay

These mobile payment solutions act as middlemen between your cash and the bookie. A credit or debit card normally funds them (it can’t be a credit card in the UK), so the big difference is that you won’t need to send your card details to the betting site itself. It should be noted, however, that you can’t make withdrawals directly to Apple Pay or Google Pay, even at Apple Pay betting sites.

PayPal

This is an eWallet linked to a separate payment method. It can be used for deposits and withdrawals, and you can fund it in a variety of ways, often by card or even by direct association with your bank account. As an eWallet, PayPal is useful because you can let money sit in it. This is very handy when you want to withdraw cash from one betting site and put some or all of it into an account at a different betting site.

Other eWallets

Depending on the betting site, other eWallets might also be accepted. Two of the most commonly used eWallets for betting purposes are Skrill and Neteller. Both are safe and secure, but neither one is usually compatible with bonus and promotional offers. You might, therefore, want to use an alternative deposit method if you’re looking to take advantage of those.

Cryptocurrencies

The latest generation of credit card betting sites will also accept a variety of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin are among the cryptos most commonly accepted, but there are sites out there that will let you deposit with lesser-known ones. Just be aware that betting with crypto isn’t something that anyone should rush into. See our page on crypto betting sites for information on how to find a reliable site that specialises in this type of thing.

How Safe Are Credit Card Betting Site Transactions?

Credit card betting site transactions are, generally speaking, every bit as safe as similar transactions at online shopping sites. Your card details will be encrypted during transmission, so they won’t be understood even if some particularly clever hacker manages to intercept them en route.

In most cases, while your card number might be retained on file (in a protected state, obviously), your security code won’t. That means that you’ll need to provide the code every time you make a fresh deposit, but things are much safer that way. Of course, you’ll also need to play your part in staying safe by ensuring that you never share that code, or your betting site password, with anyone else.

Final Words on Credit Card Betting Sites

When asked, “Can you gamble with a credit card?” UK betting sites are legally obliged to say no. But explore betting sites outside the UK, and you’ll find plenty of them that are happy to accept Mastercard and other credit card deposits. Restrict yourself to using those that bear the hallmarks of quality, as explained in the article above, and you’ll be able to bet with confidence. Just remember to always gamble responsibly and never with money that you can’t afford to lose.

FAQs

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