Pay by Mobile Casinos

Pay-by-Mobile Options

In ‘September, making casino deposits with your mobile phone number is becoming increasingly popular. Punters enjoy the simplicity, safety and convenience of the pay-by-mobile option, and it’s a trend that’s accelerated since the UKGC ruled that credit card payments are no longer permitted at online casinos. To satisfy growing demand, there’s now a range of providers offering pay-by-mobile services at many casino sites, and we’ve outlined some of the best below.

Boku

Founded in 2009, Boku is the most established pay-by-mobile service and is now accepted at many online casinos. Boku users make deposits with their mobile number, without the need for any bank account or debit card details. Boku acts as an intermediary between your mobile network provider and casino sites, with transactions charged to your network bill and paid weekly or monthly, according to the terms of your mobile contract. To place a bet for the first time, simply enter your phone number at the checkout, and type in the verification code sent via SMS to confirm. 

Players are drawn to the ease of use of Boku, which allows users to top up funds instantaneously. This can be particularly important when time is of the essence, but there are a couple of things to consider before using Boku. First, not all online casinos accept Boku, or any pay-by-phone service, so be sure you’re at a site that does if you want to use this option. 

Second, although Boku don’t charge any fees for casino deposits, you’re only allowed to deposit up to £30 per day. There are also no opportunities to withdraw funds with this method, so you’ll need to be set up with another banking option before you can take money out of your casino account. As such, Boku should be seen as a quick and easy facilitator of small wagers, and it isn’t suited to high rollers.

Siru

Finnish company Siru was founded in 2011 and offers another rapid mobile payment service for online casino players. There’s no need for any bank or card details, with payments made via your mobile number and all transactions charged to your mobile phone bill. You won’t even need to register an account with Siru – just verify your phone number with an SMS code the first time you checkout. 

There are tight limits on how much you can deposit daily, and there are also transaction fees to consider. As with Boku, the fact it works through your phone bill means you won’t be able to withdraw any funds.

Zimpler

Zimpler is another pay-by-mobile option that works slightly differently to Boku and Siru. Instead of paying for transactions via your mobile network bill, Zimpler requires users to link a bank account to a mobile phone number when they first set up a Zimpler account. From then on, all transactions will be payable via the linked mobile number, making it equally as quick and straightforward as other pay-by-phone options.

Connecting Zimpler to a bank account makes it possible to deposit and withdraw significant funds, and this is a huge attraction for users. You can typically deposit and withdraw anything between £10 to £4,500, allowing for plenty of betting options. Any withdrawals should appear in your bank account within 15 minutes, though this can sometimes take up to 24 hours to process.

Payforit

A final mobile payment option at casino sites is Payforit. Like Boku and Siru, there’s no need to create an account, with verification of your first payment made through a one-time SMS code. But similarly, restrictions on deposits and withdrawals are tight – there is no option to withdraw funds with Payforit, and deposits are set at £30. Although this figure may be too small for some, deposits are transferred instantly and there are no fees attached.  

Pay-by-Mobile Casino Bonuses

The best pay-by-mobile casinos will offer their customers a range of different bonus offers, as well as a generous welcome bonus package when a new customer first signs up. However, punters should be aware that depositing using a pay-by-mobile service might make you ineligible for bonuses at certain casinos. Always be sure to read the terms and conditions attached to each of these bonus types to avoid any unexpected surprises.

Matched Deposits

Matched deposit bonuses mean that players will receive a boost of bonus funds when they deposit into their online casino account. The bonus will be set as a percentage of the customer’s deposit, up to a specified amount. For example, a matched deposit of 50% up to £50 would see customers receive £75 when they deposit £50 into their account.

Free Bets

You’ll see free bets on offer at many online casinos, and they’re usually unlocked by a minimum casino deposit. For example, you might receive £20 in free bets when you deposit £5 into your account.

Low Wagering

Wagering here refers to wagering requirements – the number of times you must bet your bonus credits before you’re able to reap the rewards of any winnings. Typically, wagering requirements are set somewhere between 25-35x the value of your bet, but a low wagering bonus will see that number drop to anywhere between 1-25x. The lower the figure, the more player-friendly the bonus.

Pay-by-Mobile Terms and Conditions

All online casino bonuses come with extensive terms and conditions, and pay-by-mobile bonuses are no different. Along with ensuring you hit the minimum deposit to be eligible to claim your welcome bonus, there are a few restrictions you’ll need to consider. Let’s take a look at some of these below.

Payment Restrictions

Online casinos sometimes restrict welcome bonuses to certain deposit methods, and paying through pay-by-phone options, or e-wallets like Skrill or Neteller, may sometimes disqualify you. As a general rule, you’ll usually be safe when using a debit card, but always check the terms and conditions for payment restrictions before making a casino deposit.

Wagering Requirements

We’ve already seen that wagering requirements are usually set between 25x-35x your stake, but let’s break this down a bit further. Say you placed a £10 bet with funds from a matched deposit bonus that had a wagering requirement of 25x. This would mean you’d need to bet £250 (25 x 10) before you could take home any winnings connected to the bonus. If your initial deposit is included in the calculation (25 x 20, in this instance), you would need to wager £500 before unlocking withdrawals. Details of this will be clearly included in the casino’s T&Cs.

Time Limits

Wagering requirements sometimes have time limits attached to them. Fortunately, there’s usually plenty of time to beat the clock, which is adjusted to suit the wagering requirement figure. Just keep in mind that the bonus will become void if you don’t meet the deadline.

Deposit Limits

Pay by phone usually comes with pretty tight deposit limits – most providers restrict players to £30 per day. There may also be limits on the amount you can deposit per transaction, as low as £10 with some providers. While this isn’t ideal for high rollers, for a lot of people this is a big advantage, as it is a very easy way of managing your spending and making sure you don’t go overboard. Paying by phone can also allow players to deposit smaller amounts than other payment methods, starting at just £3 at some casinos.

If you’re looking to make larger deposits, your provider may allow you to increase the limits if you get in contact with them. However, note that this may not always be possible.

Security

Pay by phone bill is one of the safest and most secure deposit methods out there, mainly because it doesn’t require you to enter any personal or financial details and isn’t linked to your bank account. The fact that you’re using only your phone number to make payments essentially eliminates any possibility of internet hacking or fraud. Phone networks also have strict security and data privacy measures, which gives you extra protection. The fact that you’ll also need to verify payments makes the process even more secure.

The only likely security risk is if your phone is lost or stolen. If this does happen, it is important to contact your network carrier as soon as possible so that you can get the phone blocked and cancel the sim card. It’s also probably a good idea to inform your pay by mobile casino as well, just to be safe.

Drawbacks

No Withdrawals

The one major disadvantage to using pay by phone is that you won’t be able to make withdrawals using this method. This is easy to understand, seeing as your phone bill is a payment system and not a financial account, but it’s important to take into consideration. So you’ll need to set up an alternative banking option to make withdrawals, such as via your bank account or an e-wallet like PayPal or Neteller.

Limited Choice of Casinos

While it is an increasingly popular payment method, depositing by phone bill leaves you with a more limited choice of casinos. Luckily, you can check out our list of the UK’s top pay by phone casinos to make finding one quick and easy. Because they’re keen to differentiate themselves in a competitive market, new online casinos are also worth a look if you’re hunting down a new pay by phone casino.

Our Verdict

The deposit limits in place mean that phone bill casino payments aren’t ideal for high rollers. However, it’s still a great payment method for players looking to make fast deposits without signing up to an additional account or disclosing sensitive information, such as bank details. Want to pay by phone at your favourite casino? Check out our list, compare and pick out your favourite. Then sign up and verify your account to claim your exclusive welcome bonus today!