Are EntroPay Poker Payments Legal?
This virtual Visa and MasterCard payment option is not available in the US. There are plenty of alternative options (including prepaid Visa) that are available covered at the end of this page.
Outside of North America EntroPay works in many major jurisdictions including the UK. Other than the separate account and virtual instead of physical cards, using this system is the equivalent of using any debit card to make a purchase – and so is fully legal.
What Are the Benefits of Using EntroPay?
The key benefit of this system is security. This benefit is shared with a lot of online financial services, though EntroPay covers this differently to most brands. Instead of a 3rd party wallet where you pay by logging in and approving a transaction initiated by the poker sites (as with Neteller or Skrill), you are spending via a debit card. The big advantage is that you are not giving away your own credit or debit card information online. Instead you upload money from your bank (or another credit card) into your EntroPay account, and then create a virtual card to spend with.
By using this intermediary, you’ll ensure that no gambling site transactions appear on your bank account statement too.
As well as security, this process gives you an element of control. You can only deposit what is in your EntroPay account.
What Are the Drawbacks of Using EntroPay?
Like all 3rd party services, they need to make a profit! This comes in the form of a transaction fee when you upload money from your credit card. This is 4.95% of the total uploaded. Note that you can opt to wire money from your bank instead – which avoids this fee. The drawback of that is that you will have to wait up to 3 days for the money to be online.
One small thing to note in addition is that you’ll need to set up your EntroPay account separately, and verify your identity. This protects you from fraud, and the service against use by money launderers.
Finally, you can’t withdraw from poker sites onto virtual credit cards. There are plenty of alternatives, including a local bank transfer, eWallets or even a check.
How to Use EntroPay to Deposit at Poker Sites?
Any poker site which welcomes Visa or MasterCard can accept a deposit via this system. As long as you are outside of North America, this gives you a wide choice of places to play. If you have not already chosen a room based on their bonus offer, mobile compatibility or easy poker games – then head over to our Poker Sites page for lots of guides to finding the perfect legal poker site.
The rest of the payment process follows the system for credit and debit card deposits. You’ll have the opportunity to create Visa or MasterCard virtual cards – both will work in the same way.
Head to the cashier at your poker site, and click on the card brand you are using. You’ll go to a form asking for the long number, expiry date, name on the card and the security number from the ‘back’. You will also enter the amount to deposit (you need to have this covered in your EntroPay account via a completed upload) and any poker bonus code that you have been given.
When you click submit, the payment will be very fast – as long as the money is on hand to use.
EntroPay does not work for withdrawals, so when the time comes to get some of your profits off of the poker site, you’ll need to find an alternative method.
Alternatives to EntroPay for US Based Players
This service is not available in the US, though getting money to the legal offshore poker sites is much easier than most players realize. The main categories of payment options are credit cards, money transfer services and cryptocurrencies.
Visa, MasterCard, Amex and sometimes Diners Club are all welcomed by the offshore sites – as long as your card is capable of making international payments. While virtual cards like EntroPay are not used in the US, prepaid Visa cards (the type you get from gas stations) are a good alternative. Money transfer services like Western Union can be used by sending money to an individual who collects this on behalf of the poker site. Bitcoin (and Litecoin) are used by all of the main offshore sites these days, and have become a very reliable payment method. Cryptocurrencies now work for withdrawals as well as deposits.
Global Alternatives to EntroPay Poker Payments
Around the world you have a lot of choices for poker site payments. If you are looking for methods which do not involve handing your credit or debit card details to the poker sites, then the category of payment options called ‘eWallets’ is worth a look. Skrill, PayPal and Neteller are the best-known examples of these. They work by taking money from your bank account and holding it in a virtual online wallet. You then log in to your account and approve the poker site payment.
