Although the legal status of online sportsbooks in the United States is not entirely clear, the citizens of most American states have the opportunity to log in to online sportsboooks' websites and bet on various sports games. It has been reported that people from Maryland, Washington and in some cases New York might have certain problems, but even they are allowed at some online sportsbooks. Players from the UK and Canada usually have no problems with the laws and regulations concerning sportsbooks.
One thing that's very important for players when choosing a sportsbook, besides the odds, the sports that they offer and the types of wagers, is the payment method. In general, it can be said that people care for safety and the amount of time needed to process the deposit. These two are the main reasons why a vast majority of players choose credit cards as their deposit method. Credit cards are safe and the money can be instantly used after the deposit. And more importantly, almost everyone has a credit/debit card. ? research made by the US Census Bureau shows that more than one quarter, or exactly 27% of all the credit/debit cards issued in the USA are MasterCard. Most reliable sportsbooks accept MasterCards as a payment option. And of course, there are various benefits of using your MasterCard for deposits. There are minor drawbacks too.
Advantages of MasterCard
As it was mentioned, there are three main advantages of MasterCard deposits that need to be taken into consideration before choosing a deposit method for online sportsbooks. Firstly, MasterCard deposits are as safe as they come. Another thing is that you can make deposits without any additional fees and the waiting time is reasonable short. In addition, if you use MasterCard for making deposits at sportsbooks you have the opportunity to earn some quite lucrative bonuses. Bearing in mind the simplicity of the whole deposit process and the availability and widespread use of MasterCard throughout the USA and the rest of the world, we would suggest it as one of the most convenient sportsbook deposit options.
Disadvantages of MasterCard
A disadvantage of using MasterCard is the fact that, a MasterCard might, as any other card, get rejected by the sportsbook resulting with you not being able to make the deposit. In those particular circumstances, you can call the customer support, and then try to make a deposit with their help.
Safety of MasterCard deposits
In order to make a MasterCard deposit, you need to have a registered account with the sportsbook of your liking. Then you need to choose MasterCard as a deposit option and set the amount you want to deposit. The waiting time from the moment of providing the necessary information for a deposit to the moment when one can actually start betting is relatively short, and it can take up to 2 hours at most, but usually it takes half an hour or even less.
Withdrawals
One thing that each potential bettor should know when it comes to using MasterCard on sportsbook websites is that sportsbooks don't include MasterCard among the withdraw options. Even though you can deposit with your MasterCard, you won't be able to get the money you eventually earn on that same MasterCard. Instead, you would have to choose one of the other withdrawal options, such as checks or wire transfers.
Safety of MasterCard deposits
When it comes to online betting, or any online activity that involves transactions, safety is the first and foremost important thing for everyone. Most reliable sportsbooks use SSL encryption technology which is used by online banks and other institutions that conduct online payments, thus guaranteeing that the sensitive information, such as your credit card number, will not, under any means be given to third parties.
Fees
Most sportsbooks don't charge any fees for MasterCard deposits, or if they do the fee is always smaller than 5% and that's another plus. In other words, if you deposit $100, you get to place bets worth $100, plus the eventual bonuses.
Minimum and maximum deposit
Different online sportsbooks have different minimum and deposit limits for MasterCard deposits. Generally speaking, the minimum deposit is usually $50 and the maximum per transaction is usually $1000. There are certain exceptions. For example, at GTBets, the minimum MasterCard deposit is $35.
MasterCard gift cards
It also has to be noted that if a sportsbook accepts MasterCards, they will accept any type of a MasterCard- debit, credit, prepaid and gift cards. Of course, if the minimum deposit is $50 and you have a MasterCard gift card worth $25, you won't be able to deposit with that gift card.
Bonuses
On top of all that, many sportsbooks, particularly the most popular, reliable ones offer various lucrative bonuses for credit/debit card deposits and that, of course, includes MasterCard users as well. BetOnline offers a 25% welcome bonus, which can go up to $1000. 5Dimes have both Free-Play and Cash-Back bonuses for players who use MasterCard to make deposits. And for non-US players � Bet365 and William Hill are among the most popular sportsbooks which accept MasterCard deposits and also offer various bonuses on such deposits.