Wire Transfer Online Casinos

A wire transfer is a banking method that moves money from a person or bank to another person or bank. They’re more of an old school method of banking online, however, they’ve stuck around and are used regularly by all kinds of operations for good reason. They’re secure, relatively quick and allow you to move large sums of money back and forth. How much? Some casinos allow you to move as much as $30,000 or more.

Types of Transfers

There are different types of electronic transfers. They have different names, but basically do the same thing.

One is called an Electronic Funds Transfer system, or EFT. An EFT is different from a wire transfer in that it’s more like an e-check than a cashier’s check, which is a good way to look at bank wires.

In the US an EFT is often referred to as ACH transfers because it has to go through the Automated Clearing House, an electronic network that processes large volumes of credit/debit transactions. What makes an ACH different is that the recipient can initiate it. A good example of this in action is setting up an automatic bill payment, where a bill, such as your car payment, is automatically withdrawn each month. Your permission is given, of course.

Casinos, Software Providers and Jurisdictions That Accept Wire Transfers

Most casinos, software providers and jurisdictions are going to offer wire transfers. At the very least they’ll provide the option as a way to cash out your winnings. However, select casinos like Bet365, 888 Casino will let players make a deposit via wire transfer, too. It’ll depend on the casino.

A wire transfer takes a little more effort to get going because you need to collect some details first. Here are the details you need:

• Your bank account number.
• The bank account holder name.
• The address registered to the bank account.
• Your phone number.
• An IBAN number. A set of alphanumeric characters that identify a customer’s account held at a bank anywhere in the world.
• The Swift code. This code identifies banks, and is required for international transfers.
• Bank institution ID.
• Bank transit.
• The bank’s full name.
• The bank’s address.

These details are specific to Canadian blackjack players. However, most of the details will remain the same regardless of the country you live in. The only difference I’ve been able to find is the types of codes (and their names) for the banks in particular countries. But nothing major, though. You’ll want to check with your casino to see what exactly they need to accept/transfer payments for you.

Once you have this information you can then make a deposit or withdrawal. You can do this online, at least at most casinos. However, you can also go in to your bank to make the deposit. You’ll enter in the details above, how much you want to deposit or withdrawal and then hit submit.

The length of time for your wire to hit your player or bank account will vary. For deposits the delay will be about 2-3 days, although those quotes are (usually) inflated. You’ll (usually) see them between 1-2 days.

For withdrawals the delay can take from 2-10 days. The security team at the casino, as well as your bank, take the time to make sure they know where the money is coming from (or going to) and ensuring that it’s going to the right person. So that’s why it takes longer. However, the few wire transfers that I’ve personally requested cleared much, much faster. One time I requested a wire transfer for a withdrawal late one evening, around 8pm, and it was in my bank account by the time I woke up the next morning. So time frames will definitely vary.

Wire Transfer Fees

There are fees for wire transfers. It will be hit or miss as to whether or not the casino will charge you for them. Most will not charge you for making a deposit. In fact, casinos are pretty good about eating fees or not caring about them when you put money into their casino. However, when it comes to withdrawing your money, they might be free, there might be a fee, or you might be able to avoid the fees if you request a wire transfer only every so often, like once per month.

Your bank, on the other hand, will more than likely charge you a fee for incoming wires. From my experience they’re as high as $35, although this will vary from bank to bank and possibly on the amount you’re transferring. If you’re spending a lot of money at the casino you might ask if they’d be willing to help out with the fees.

Of course, if the fees are too much for you, and they might be if you’re withdrawing smaller sums like $500, then you might try a different method for withdrawals. E-wallets are always good for international players. Americans might want to go the paper check route. However, considering that paper checks can take 1-8 weeks to make it to your mailbox, coughing up $35 to get your money in about a week probably doesn’t seem like that big a deal.

There are a number of advantages and disadvantages to using a wire transfer. Lets look at both of them now.

Advantages

• Available for both deposits and withdrawals. Very few banking methods for Americans can be used for both deposits and withdrawals. It’s convenient.
• You can deposit/withdrawal higher limits. I’ve seen deposit limits as high as $30,000 for deposits and withdrawals. I’ve haven’t seen every casino, either, so I’m sure that’s not the highest.
• It’s fee free on the casino’s end (usually).
• Bank wire withdrawals are relatively fast. When you compare them to paper checks, e-checks, fast bank transfers, 1-3 days for a deposit or 2-5 days on average for a withdrawal isn’t bad.

Disadvantages

• There’s no hiding who you are. Your bank will know that you’re transferring funds back and forth, as well as anyone else that has access to your bank account. Depending on the name and details, your bank may not know 100% that it’s a gambling site. But they still might ask questions based on the location, name on the account and amount.
• Bank fees. $35 per withdrawal is expensive.
• Bank wires are relatively slow. They’re not like credit, debit or prepaid card options that make it into your player account instantly, nor are they like e-wallets where you can make a withdrawal and have your money instantly.