Skrill is a globally used e-wallet platform, which serves as an online alternative of traditional payment methods, such as checks, money orders or bank wire transfers. It is also an alternative for people who don't want to make payments using their credit/debit cards for various reasons. This platform was formerly known as Moneybookers. The company was founded in 2001 and its headquarters is in London, England. Skrill is available for customers throughout the world and at the moment it supports payments in 41 currencies. There are more than 25 million Skrill accounts, most of which are personal accounts, and about 120,000 merchant accounts. Skrill offers 24/7 customer support in 12 different languages.
In the past years we have witnessed the rapid shift from traditional payment methods towards the revolutionary and new online payment methods. In addition, we've witnessed the popularization of online sportsbooks which are now, for many people, the first choice, rather than an alternative for brick-and-mortar sportsbooks. These are two aspects of the global shift from traditional towards online activates. Furthermore, these two growing trends can be combined. As a result we have many fans of online betting who deposit and withdraw money to and from their favorite sportsbook via e-wallets. And Skrill is one of the most widely used e-wallets, especially for online gaming and betting purposes.
Advantages of Skrill
Using Skrill for making deposits at various sportsbooks has a few significant advantages. Opening a Skrill account is quite easy and would take you only up to 5 minutes. Using Skrill you can make practically instant deposits and withdrawals. The charges for deposits and withdrawals are minimal and particularly don't affect you when you deposit and withdraw larger sums. Most online sportsbooks offer Skrill as a valid deposit and withdraw method. In addition, people who deposit using Skrill are eligible for certain bonuses. And if you live in one of the members of the European Union, you have the opportunity to order a Skrill Prepaid MasterCard you can use to instantly access the money on your Skrill account. If you use Skrill a lot and transfer a lot of money, (€5000 in 30 days) you can become a VIP member and have multiple benefits.
Disadvantages of Skrill
A minor disadvantage of using Skrill is the fact that once you open your account the limit of how many funds you can deposit and withdraw from your Skrill account will be quite low. However, by various methods of verification this limit can be raised up to a point where it will no longer be a problem for you. Also, it should be noted that US players aren't eligible for a Skrill account.
Opening a Skrill Account and Making Deposits
In order to be able to deposit money to a sportsbook you need to have a Skrill account. Of course it is necessary that the sportsbook that you chose does support Skrill payments. Opening an account with Skrill is simple. First you need to go to their website and fill in some personal details. Then, within two days you would receive an email from Skrill, which will contain a verification code. You'll need to type in the activation code. From that moment on you can use your account. Still, you will need to verify your account in order to make payments and increase the deposit and withdraw limit. You can do this by verifying your credit/debit card, your bank account number or by scanning and uploading a bill which has your name and address on it. If you chose to verify your credit card, Skrill will deduct a random amount and you'll need to check your bank statement and type in the withdrawn amount. As soon as you do this your account will be verified and the limit will be increased. After you have deposited funds to your Skrill account, you just need to go to your sportsbook account, select Skrill as a deposit option and select the amount you want to deposit.
Safety
Using Skrill is completely safe. By using Skrill you won't have to provide your credit card or bank account number to the sportsbook or any other party and Skrill will never disclose them to anyone else. In addition, their website has a 128-bit encryption technology, used by all leading online payment providers. Skrill's operations are regulated by the FSA, which is the UK body responsible for controlling financial services.
Fees
Sportsbooks won't charge you any additional fees for deposits via Skrill. And the fees set up by Skrill are more than reasonable. For example, depositing money to your Skrill account from your bank account is free of charge, and credit card deposits have a 1.9% fee. Sending money from your Skrill account to someone else will cost you only 1% of the whole sum.
Maximum and Minimum Deposits
Sportsbooks that accept Skrill payments usually have high deposit limits. For example, the maximum deposit limit at BetOnline is $50,000 and the minimum is only $10. At 5Dimes, the minimum deposit is $50 and the maximum $5,000.
Withdrawals
When it comes to withdrawals, most sportsbooks usually charge a flat fee which isn't very high. At BetOnline this fee is only $20. In addition, withdrawing money from your Skrill account to your bank account will cost only about $2 and check withdrawals cost $4. If you live in the EU, you can get a Skrill Prepaid Card which will allow you to withdraw cash from ATMs.
Bonuses
Bettors who deposit money via Skrill are eligible for certain bonuses offered by the sportsbook. At BetOnline you can get a 25% welcome match up bonus and at 5Dimes the bonus is 50% and you can earn up to $520. For non-US players, William Hill offer a 100% welcome match up bonus, and Bet365 offer a welcome bonus of up to $200.