While PayPal has been used for everything from buying Beanie Babies on eBay to donating to your favorite charity it wasn't always accepted in more "fringe" type industries like online poker of online gambling.
With the licensing and regulation of online gaming, though, in the US and across Europe, PayPal has opened up as a payment methods for several online poker sites including PokerStars, 888poker and more.
Now accepted in over 200 countries and transacting in 25 currencies, PayPal is now a ubiquitous global payment transfer method for all kinds of poker players.
PayPal is a versatile online payments and financial services that was founded back in 1988 in the USA (originally as Confinity, with one of its founders being Peter Thiel). It merged with X.com, the online banking company founded by Elon Musk, in 2000 and became a subsidiary of eBay in 2002 before being spun off into its own company in 2015.
PayPal now operates in 202 markets and has 244 million active registered accounts. It has corporate headquarters in San Jose and Omaha, Nebraska. PayPal is now a full service financial payments company that allows users and businesses to send money, receive money, make purchases online, send gifts to friends, make poker deposits & withdrawals and donate money.
Users don't even have to have a PayPal account to use its services. PayPal is now a leading deposit and withdrawal option for PokerStars, 888poker and more.
Registering for a PayPal account is very fast and very easy. If you're already logged into your poker client you can go into the cashier and click on the "make a deposit" link from there to access the PayPal signup forms. You can also open a new account on PayPal.com.
To begin registering your PayPal account you simply need to enter your email address and set a password for your account. You'll then need to confirm your account with a few more personal details and connect a bank account or credit/debit card to fund your account.
To connect a credit or debit card, click "Wallet" at the top of the page (On mobile click Menu first then "Wallet." Then click "Link a debit or credit card." Add your info and click "Link" to connect to your PayPal account to your card.
To connect a bank account choose "Link a bank account" instead. Enter your bank routing and account numbers (see the bottom of a personal check) and click "Agree and Link." Verify your numbers and click "Continue."
If you don't want to connect your bank account you can simply add a credit card number for now. If you'd like to withdraw from your PayPal account you'll need to add a bank account later.
You'll then receive an email asking you to activate your account. Once you've clicked the link in the email to activate your account, your new PayPal account is live and ready to go!
More than you might think! When PayPal was just a subsidiary of eBay poker players weren't likely to find PayPal as a deposit option at most poker sites but that's changed substantially over the past few years.
As online poker has now been licensed and regulated in 4 states (New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Delaware) that's directly opened to door for more mainstream payment options to be included in your menu.
As all US poker sites are tied to a major land-based casino and regulated by government oversight, payment methods like Visa, Mastercard and PayPal are now accepted at most Us-facing online poker sites.
That includes PokerStars NJ and 888poker NJ (WSOP.com) to name just two. PayPal is also a deposit & withdrawal option at the international PokerStars.com domain and many local domains including PokerStars.eu, PokerStars.fr and more.
Generally speaking, more and more poker sites are adding PayPal as a payment transfer method all the time.
Once you've added funds to your PayPal account, making a PayPal poker deposit is incredibly quick. Once you've logged into your online poker account simply:
Your PayPal poker deposit should arrive in your poker account within a few minutes. if it doesn't, check with your poker site's customer support right away. Among the reasons your PayPal deposit may have been declined include:
Yes you can! On PokerStars, for example, you can withdraw funds to your PayPal account as long as you've made at least one deposit with PayPal in the last 12 months. Most poker sites that offer PayPal are similar.
Making a PayPal poker withdrawal is quite efficient. Once your requested withdrawal has been reviewed and approved by the poker site (which usually takes a few business days) the money will be transferred to your PayPal account instantly.
You can then choose to withdraw those funds from your PayPal account to your bank account (for a fee) or use your PayPal funds to make other purchases or transfers online for free.
To actually make your withdrawal, click through to the cashier and click 'Request Withdrawal." Fill in the required details and select PayPal as your option. Remember, as mentioned, you'll likely need to have made a deposit via PayPal in the recent past for it to be an eligible withdrawal method.
None! Using PayPal for online transactions is always free. Funding your PayPal account or withdrawing money bank to your bank account will have a small fee. If you require a currency conversion you will also pay a small fee.
PayPal is a real pioneer when it comes to the online payments space and has been in business for a very long time. Among its founders are favorite Silicon Valley figures such as Peter Thiel and Elon Musk so you can bank on it as one of the most established and trusted brands in the world.
PayPal is a very safe means of poker deposits and withdrawals on a couple of levels. First, because your bank info or credit card numbers are never involved in a PayPal purchase (or in a poker player's case deposit or withdrawal with a poker site), you're never at risk of those being exposed by something like a poker site security breach.
As for PayPal itself, its encryption and fraud protection services are world-class, of course, and even with only needing an email and password to send money transactions as secure as you can find with 24/7 monitoring. Any unauthorized transactions can be reported to PayPal support and will be resolved right away. PayPal even offers things like free return shipping and Purchase Protection to ensure you get what you pay for.
Probably not. Poker sites will offer exclusive bonuses for using certain payment methods but we've never seen one for PayPal. It's such a global behemoth it's not likely to happen in the future, either, but you never know. Always keep an eye on the promotions tab at your favorite poker site for its various bonus and rewards offers.
Your online poker welcome bonus is also not tied to your deposit method so you can redeem its full value no matter what. Check for our world-best poker bonuses on our bonus page here:
See our full list of Online Poker Site reviews here:
Yes! As mentioned above since regulation and licensing has come to certain US states, many of the mainstream methods for online transactions have been integrated into the poker site client.
For US players in New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware and Pennsylvania, that means PayPal is now a payment transfer method at most major poker sites incluidng PokerStars, 888poker, WSOP.com, partypoker and more.
Check our US Online Poker page here for more detail:
Yes, you can! For both deposits and withdrawals!
Yes, you can! For both deposits and withdrawals!
