Deposit Methods - Phone Cards

[gPowell]

Remember back when PayPal pulled out of the online gambling market? Well I can remember a few people claiming the sky was falling. Then after UIGEA plenty of people hit the panic button when Neteller/Firepay exited as well. Everyone breathe...exhale and lets discuss a new evolution in deposit methods. Pre-Paid Phone Cards.

My experience so far has been good. We are using a company called Make-a-Deposit and I like the ease with which our players have been able to fund their accounts. The drawback of course is that you can not withdraw onto a card. From a buying standpoint it is relatively easy although I can not see the longevity of the source staying strong. Time will tell us more.

This goes along well with the pre-paid ATM service being used as well.

"The PrePaidATM Card is the only Card that can be used on the Internet for purchasing goods and services where the website does not know your card number. The only information a website receives is your account code. No names, personal information or the number of your Card is ever given. This is privacy" - LowLimitHoldem.com

Also another service I am very impressed with is Ecocard. From what I have seen this is growing in popularity and an excellent method for US and Canadian players.

Please discuss as this is beneficial to us all!

[Jeremy]

I think the deposit methods just need to be simple and easy with no middle man. All rooms should do like Bodog or even Fulltilt now days and get a decent payment processor that can allow most credit and debit cards. I know it is difficult as an operator, but it IS possible.

The most important statement in this post - - - - Big players will not "jump through hoops" to deposit at a new or small room, nor will they play when it takes 3 weeks for a withdrawal.

However, most will agree that a large % of online poker players depositing the minimums at a new site will never withdrawal. So the withdrawal method is not as important initially.

So for your more serious player that does withdrawal on a regular basis, and subsequently rakes a large amount, I think rooms have to have a very easy and hassle free option (both deposit and withdrawal). The players (pro's) that will rake the most amount of money are more concerned with their withdrawals than the deposits. So here is where the importance of the withdrawal method comes in.

The easiest methods in my opinion are either bank wire or check.....and (cheque's) for our UK friends

If I were the average player I would think the easiest way to do it would be to deposit with my debit or credit card and cash out via check or bank wire, with no third parties involved.

My thought is that in the state of the market right now, most players deposit methods are very different than their withdrawal methods........ this is the major problem that most room are not seeing. Think about it, if I deposit $500 on my CC and cash out $3k, do I really want that going back to my CC.....no.


Also great idea for a post Greg. Good discussion topic.

[bg]

EcoCard works but it is not the solution. It is a place you end up using once and then you continue looking for other options. I have no idea how they are doing it now, but as of a few months ago the fees were a joke. They are just too high. Maybe that is changing now that they are getting business. It does work, yes. Many of the large Casino Affiliate companies have used it.

BG

[the27offsuit.com]

Phone cards would be great if there was a universal one that worked at all casino and poker rooms . Not that i have to have 20 different accounts , one for every room ,for buying phone cards .