The Best PayPal Betting Sites

Thankfully, it seems that by 2016 almost all online sports-books have woken up and smelt the coffee when it comes to PayPal. PayPal betting sites are now extremely common, as both bookies and punters have come to realise this deposit method is perhaps the quickest and safest around. The number of betting sites that accept PayPal has rapidly grown, but that doesn’t mean they are all necessarily equal. Some might charge to use the service, some may not allow PayPal deposits to be eligible for bonuses and others may have inconvenient minimum and maximum payment criteria.

With this in mind, we’ve dived head-first into a rigorous examination of betting sites that accept PayPal, with the aim of finding the best sports-books out there that are PayPal friendly. Along with how compatible the bookie is with this payment method, we’ve also taken into account the betting site’s online platform, the markets and bet types available, along with the bonuses and promotions available. If it’s important to a punter, we’ve considered it!

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Our Top Three Betting Sites that Accept PayPal

Since all the bookies we’ve reviewed here are betting sites that accept PayPal, we’ve handily picked out the top three that are especially compatible with this payment method, so you can dive straight into their bonus offerings. So, without further delay, check out the table below and follow the links to claim your bonus!

Overview of Recommended Bookies

888Sport tops our ranking, due to its generous welcome bonus that is PayPal friendly, its excellent odds and low deposit thresholds, which make it extremely accessible. Next up is William Hill – this bookie’s welcome bonus is the largest on the market, it supports super fast deposits and withdrawals with PayPal and has endless betting options for playing through your bonus. Rounding off our list is BetVictor. The British bookie has the best odds guaranteed for football and is a strong all-round online platform, with great payment terms for PayPal.

How to Deposit

Betting with PayPal couldn’t be easier. If you don’t already have an account, head to the PayPal homepage and get yourself set up. What makes betting with PayPal really great is that you have the option to either credit your account with funds from your bank or directly link the two together. The first option means that you would manually credit your account before each deposit with an online sports-book. But with the second, you don’t need to do this, since the two accounts are linked and PayPal can take the money from your bank account automatically. I would really recommend the latter method, especially since sometimes there can be small fees for transfering funds from your bank account, when the two are not linked together.

How to deposit with paypal

So, your PayPal account is linked to your card or you have funds already in there, but how to deposit into your favourite bookie? Simply hit the deposit button and select PayPal from the list of payment methods. Enter in the relevant information and you’ll be taken to the PayPal website, where you’ll have to enter your log in details to confirm the transaction. Once this is done, the funds will appear instantly with most leading online bookmakers. Withdrawals are also as quick and easy as depositing. In fact, with our recommended operators, PayPal is among the fastest withdrawal method available. Though it’s important to be aware that funds received into your PayPal account are subject to fees ranging from 1.9% + 20p to 3.4% + 20p.

The Pros and Cons

Like all things in life, PayPal betting has its advantages and disadvantages. That said, it’s pretty obvious that the good far outweighs the bad. As we learned above, PayPal is one of the quickest and easiest ways to send and receive your money from online sports-books, with many withdrawals completed within one day. Rather than filling in card details each time you deposit or withdraw, all you have to do is enter your PayPal details, check that the deposit details are correct, and hit confirm

One huge advantage of depositing this way is it allows you to keep your bank details completely private from the online bookmaker. This gives an extra sense of security, as many punters don’t like sharing their bank details. But using PayPal itself actually adds another layer of security. Not only is PayPal a fully secure and safe method, but the company offers security services to assist if there are any issues with payments and can even assist with reclaiming lost funds. See the PayPal safety and security help page to learn more.

Although PayPal seems to now be almost universally accepted, not all online bookies accept it as a deposit method. However, PayPal is highly regarded as a secure and well regulated service and it’s actually a sign that a bookmaker operates at the same level, if they are PayPal friendly. So, our advice is to look out for bookies that accept this service, as it’s an extra sign of reassurance for the safety of your private details. There are a couple of downsides however. Firstly, there are fees involved in withdrawing funds – 3.4% + 20p to 1.9% + 20p – depending on the amount withdrawn. So, although you’ll get your money quickly, there is a small fee to be paid when withdrawing winnings.

Why don’t all Betting Sites Accept PayPal?

Paypal logo

As a secure and legitimate operator itself, it stands to reason that PayPal will only work with betting sites that are reputable, legal and fully licensed. So, if a betting site accepts PayPal as a payment method, you can be reassured that they are a fully licensed and legal operator. That doesn’t mean that all sports-books not supporting it as a payment method are necessarily bad, but that it’s a sign of reassurance that you can trust those that do.

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The e-wallet is regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, the banking supervisory authority in Luxembourg, where the company’s banking license is held. However since it is an international business serving customers all over the world, PayPal is regulated by different organisations in different sectors.

Another reason is that PayPal charges fees for its services. Many reputable betting sites realise these fees are a great deal for the excellent service that this e-wallet provides to punters and absorb the fees themselves. However, some operators may not be so keen to pay fees for a payment method and opt to either pass the fees onto the customer (which risks deterring punters), or not offer PayPal as a banking option altogether. This explains why some smaller operates may not support PayPal as a payment method.

Phishing Scams and How to Avoid them

Unfortunately, there are a few scams out there that will attempt to gain access to your account or details, with phishing being the most common. These attempts are usually made by fake emails attempting to extract your PayPal or financial details. Luckily there are a number of measures you can put in place to ensure safety against these types of attacks.

Make sure to only use the contact information listed on the official PayPal web-page and not from any suspicious emails, to ensure you’re chatting to an official representative. Official emails will always address you by name and never ask for your password or other information, so any emails with generic headings or asking for personal details, will probably be fake. To be safe, be sure not to divulge your information through any links on these emails.

A common current phishing attempt is a spoof email that informs users that their PayPal account has been limited and requires details to be entered to unlock the account. The email asks readers to follow a link and to enter their PayPal details in order to unlock their PayPal account. These emails are of course not genuine and are instead an attempt to lure people to a false domain, where any details that would be entered would instead fall into the hands of those making the phishing attempt.

PayPal actively work to prevent these scams occurring and you can read more about phishing attempts and what to look out for on their help page. The page also contains an email to forward any emails you suspect are spoof or phishing attempts.

Similar Alternative Payment Methods

Skrill is a Popular Alternative e-Wallet

PayPal is without doubt the best known e-wallet, but there are other similar payment methods available to fund your account at your favourite bookie, some of which have lower fees for sending and withdrawing money. Skrill and Neteller are the two most well-known alternatives. The two e-wallets have recently merged, which has made transferring money between the two even easier and the fees for sending and receiving money can be a lower than with PayPal.

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One disadvantage is that although these businesses operate using the same e-wallet model, many online sports-books exclude them from sign-up bonuses. For example, deposits made via Neteller and Skrill at BetVictor are not valid with its welcome bonus. So, ultimately, PayPal comes out on top for all your e-wallet needs.