Want to pay for your online poker deposit via your phone bill? It seems almost too good to be true but Boku poker deposits are in fact a real thing. And they are (relatively) spectacular. If you can get worked up about that kind of thing.
How does Boku even work? Pretty simply, actually.
You pick Boku as your online poker deposit method via the poker site cashier, select the amount you want to deposit and click send. Rather than enter your credit card or your bank details, the amount of your deposit is just added to your next mobile phone bill.
You still have to pay it, obviously. But if there's an easier way to make a deposit to your online poker account, we've yet to see it.
What is Boku?
Founded in the UK (originally called Vidicom Ltd) but now headquartered in San Francisco, Boku is a mobile payment platform that enables users to pay for purchases (or poker deposits, as the case may be) with just their mobile phone number.
Also known as "carrier billing," there are no bank accounts or credit cards involved, which allows people who only have a mobile phone the ability to pay for small purchases or services online with just their phone.
It's overwhelmingly used to purchase digital or virtual goods online like video games or in-game purchases, digital music or video streaming services, digital subscriptions and, yes, online poker.
Boku is the largest independent carrier billing company in the world. Its partners include Apple, Google Play, Sony, Windows, Facebook and Spotify plus major organizations in the video game industry including Electronic Arts, Riot Game and Tencent.
Boku is a service provided by over 250 mobile phone carriers and operates in 60+ countries and markets.
Why Use Boku for Poker Deposits?
The advantages of using Boku for your online poker deposits are many. Chief among them:
- Literally nothing required for your deposit than your mobile phone number
- No credit card or bank account ever required
- No wait times for deposits to arrive
- No fees from the poker site and just small fee added to phone bill
- No third-party processor or eWallet account required
- Completely anonymous except for your phone #
- Access your deposit immediately, pay for it with your monthly phone bill
How Do I Make a Boku Poker Deposit?
Boku falls under the big bucket of "pay by mobile" options you can find in an online poker cashier so as long as your phone carrier is one of the providers and the poker site accepts payments by mobile, you're good to go.
If you navigate to the poker site cashier page (just follow any "make a deposit" link or find it in the lobby, you can check to see if Boku is an option just by opening up the drop-down menu and looking for it.
If you don't have an account at the poker site you want to play at yet, head over to our Best Online Poker Sites page to find one or just click right through to one of your reviews on this page and get started.
Once you have a poker account and you see the site accepts Boku deposits you then:
- Click through to the cashier
- Select "Pay by Mobile" or Boku (if listed)
- Enter your mobile number and hit save
- Check your phone for a text with a secret PIN code
- Enter the PIN code at the poker site to authenticate the mobile phone and account is yours
- Enter the amount you plan to deposit
- Click enter
- Wait for a text to verify your deposit amount
- Respond "yes" to the text to confirm the amount
Once you've confirmed the deposit and the amount via text your deposit will be processed. As the transaction then occurs between the mobile carrie and the poker site, your part is done. Now you just need to wait for the money to arrive in your poker account, which should happen quickly.
The amount of your deposit will then appear on your phone bill (plus any extra fees). You're now obligated to pay your mobile carrier the amount of your deposit.
How Do I Get a Boku Account?
That's one of the best things about using Boku to make your poker deposits. You literally don't need any extra accounts, passwords, services or third parties. If you have a mobile phone, and your mobile carrier is set up to use Boku for small deposits, you're good to go.
Virgin, vodafone, T-Mobile, Verizon, US Cellular, Talk Talk ... all of these major carriers allow for Boku deposits so chances are very good you have a phone that supports it as well.
You don't have to enter a credit card number, buy a pre-paid card, go in to your bank account or handle any cash at all. All you need is your mobile phone number and the ability to respond from that phone to a couple of texts. This will verify the phone is yours.
The actual financial transaction occurs between the mobile carrier and the poker site so you don't need to worry about security or follow up. Your only responsibility is to pay your phone bill every month. You do that anyway, right?
Does Boku Have a Deposit Limit?
As Boku is essentially fronting you the money to play poker, it's only reasonable they have a fairly small limit as to how much you can deposit using Boku. In the UK, for example, the maximum amount you can deposit via Boku is £30 per day. This is obviously a good thing, for a few reasons.
One, it limits the exposure of both you and the mobile carrier from excessive debt. Even at £30 you could rack up almost £1,000 in deposits in just a month so it's good to keep your cap on poker losses down.
If you're a true high roller obviously Boku isn't the deposit method for you but if you're just a casual player who likes to punt away at a few small stakes SnGs and the odd MTT on the weekend, we can't see the deposit cap being an obstacle.
How Long Do Boku Poker Site Deposits Take?
Once you've authenticated your mobile phone number and confirmed your deposit amount, your Boku poker deposit should show up in your online poker account immediately.
Even though still have until your monthly phone bill arrives to pay for it, the money will be available for play right away. Restrictions on how fast you can withdraw any of that money you've deposited will also apply.
Can I Make Boku Poker Withdrawals?
Nope, Boku is just a one-way deposit method when it comes to online poker sites. A credit can not be applied to your phone bill in lieu of a withdrawal. If you'd like to make a withdrawal you'll find a variety of other options available to you depending on each individual poker site. Among the most common poker withdrawal methods are Visa, Mastercard, eWallets like Skrill and Neteller, bank transfers and checks.
Check our Complete Guide to Online Poker Deposit Options for more information:
Can I Make Boku Mobile Deposits on PokerStars?
In most places PokerStars operates (eg. PokerStars.com, PokerStars.eu), Boku is an accepted deposit method. Once you've logged in to your PokerStars account you will find Boku or "Pay by Mobile" in your cashier's deposit options menu.
To make a Boku deposit just find the "Real Money" tab in the lobby and click the ‘Deposit’ button. Select 'Pay by Mobile' and follow the on-screen prompts to verify your mobile number and confirm your deposit via SMS.
As mentioned most mobile carries across the UK and Europe are verified for Boku transactions.
Can I Use Boku Poker Payments in the USA?
While Boku is a service offered in the US by mobile carrier providers (T-Mobile, Verizon, etc) it is not currently accepted by any US poker sites operating in a licensed state. Those 4 states are New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware and Pennsylvania.
There are some unlicensed poker sites that do offer poker games to US players in other sites but we don't recommend them. For a more complete rundown of your option for online poker in the USA, including your full range of deposit & withdrawals options, head to our page here:
Can I Pay By Boku with My Home Phone?
No. To pay by Boku you need to respond and confirm via text message so you'll need a phone capable of doing that. A standard home phone will not work.
Can I Pay By Boku with a Pay-As-You-Go Phone?
Yes! As long as you have enough credit on your phone to cover your deposit you can use as pay-as-you-go phone to make a poker deposit via Boku.
Are Boku Poker Deposits Safe?
Boku poker deposits are very secure. As you should be the only one in charge of your mobile phone, only you can send and confirm the texts to make your deposit. As you provide no information to the online poker site beside your mobile phone number, your bank account or credit card details are never at risk.
Will I Get a Boku Poker Bonus?
You likely won't get a bonus specifically because you used Boku but you will of course be eligible for all bonuses for new players, reload bonuses offered by the poker site, etc. Poker sites do sometimes offer specific bonuses for using certain deposit methods so check with the individual poker site to see what their current promotions are. Further reading:
More on Poker Deposits:
- Complete Guide to Online Poker Deposit Options
- Visa Poker Sites
- eCheck Poker Sites
- ecoPayz Poker Sites
- entropay Poker Sites
- Maestro Poker Sites
- paysafecard Poker Sites
- iDEAL Poker Sites
- Discover Poker Sites
- POLI Poker Sites
- Western Union Poker Sites
- Skrill Poker Sites
- Neteller Poker Sites
- PayPal Poker Sites
- American Express Poker Sites
- WebMoney Poker Sites
