Online Casino Fees to Know About Before You Gamble Online
Online casinos generate income from the bets you place on games. They also make money by imposing hidden fees that you might not know about until you’re charged. This blog post reveals what secret fees casino sites can have in place.
Online casino hidden fees explained. © JESHOOTS-com Pixabay
Online Casino Fees
Are you thinking of gambling online for real money? If you are, you might think that the only money you have to spend is whatever you spend on bets. It’s perfectly reasonable to assume this is the case.
However, there are some fees that a casino site may charge. These are often referred to as hidden casino fees because they’re not explicitly advertised by the site. Some players don’t know about fees until they’re charged.
This blog post lets you know about the hidden fees that some online casinos have in place. Once you’re aware of them, you can avoid sites with hidden fees and focus on casinos that don’t have them.
<h2>Deposit Fees
At most online casinos, you can make deposits without facing any extra charges. If you top up your account with £10, for example, the full amount of the deposit will be added to your balance.
However, a small number of casino sites have a fee in place for when you make a deposit. This can be for all payment methods that the site accepts or certain ones only.
Deposit fees aren’t that common, so there’s a good chance you won’t come across them. Online casinos actively encourage people who haven’t signed up yet to create an account and make a deposit.
If there’s a fee in place for deposits, this could discourage someone from joining a casino. When someone’s trying an online casino for the first time, they might feel ripped off if they’re charged for depositing.
The way a deposit fee works is straightforward. It’s simply deducted from the amount of money you add to your online casino account. If the fee is £1 and you deposit £10, exactly £9 will reach your balance.
<h2>Withdrawal Fees
Then there are withdrawal fees. These are more common than extra charges for deposits. This is because by the time you encounter them, you’ve already spent some time and money at the casino experiencing what it has to offer.
You’ve probably already made up your mind about whether you’ll stay at the casino or not. Withdrawal fees are therefore less likely to put new players off than deposit fees are.
Withdrawal fees work in the same way as deposit fees. The amount you’re charged is deducted from the money you want to cash out. If a casino has withdrawal charges, they’re usually for all accepted payment methods.
Because the fee is taken off your withdrawal, the time you have to wait for the casino to process your withdrawal request isn’t affected. For the quickest wait times, join one of the UK’s fast withdrawal casinos.
<h2>How Much Are Deposit and Withdrawal Fees?
Deposit and withdrawal fees work in one of two ways. They’re either a fixed amount (e.g. £1) or they’re a percentage of your deposit/withdrawal, up to a maximum amount of money (e.g. 1% up to £3).
If you’re at an online casino with fees in place, it’s a good idea to work out how they will affect your transactions. Do a quick calculation to see how much money will be taken off your deposits and/or withdrawals.
It’s also worth pointing out that some casinos only charge fees if your deposit or withdrawal is below or above a certain amount of money. This may also vary depending on what payment method you’re using.
Again, you should know what fees (if any) there are and how they will affect you if you join a casino site. The amount of money you lose to fees can be minimal, but you should still know what’s going on.
<h2>Dormant Account Fees
Another type of hidden fee worth mentioning is the dormant account fee. This is where you don’t log in to your account for a certain amount of time, and the casino starts charging you.
A dormant account fee usually kicks in if you haven’t logged in to your account for six or twelve consecutive months. The fee is a monthly charge that’s either a fixed sum or a percentage of your remaining balance.
Most online casino sites have a dormant account fee in place. The aim of it is to encourage people who have stopped playing to log back in, make a deposit and start playing casino games again.
<h2>How to Find Out About Fees
Before joining an online casino, you should know enough about it to decide whether it’s worthwhile or not. Do some research and, importantly, find out if there are any fees in place.
The main ones you should consider are deposit and withdrawal fees, because these are more likely to affect you than dormant account fees. You can find out about these in the payment section.
In the payment section, you should see a list of all deposit and withdrawal options. There should also be information such as minimum/maximum transaction amounts and, if there are fees, how much they are and how they work.
Sometimes a payment section might not provide all the relevant details about a casino’s accepted payment methods. If this is the case, check the terms and conditions instead. The details you need should be there.
If this doesn’t work, your best bet is to contact the casino’s customer support team. Ask someone directly if there are any fees and you should get a prompt answer. Live chat is the most convenient contact method to use.
<h2>How to Avoid Fees
Avoiding fees is easy to do. Before joining a casino, check out its payment section and see if there are fees in place. If you don’t want to pay fees, simply find another casino to become a member of instead.
There are many great online casinos that don’t charge you for making deposits or withdrawals of any size with any payment method. Just be aware that dormant account fees are charged by the majority of sites.
A dormant account fee is easy to avoid, thankfully. If you’re going to play at a casino regularly over a long period of time, you shouldn’t have to worry about this fee.
If you’re thinking of taking a break from online gambling, make sure you know how long you have before the fee kicks in. Either log back in to avoid the charge or consider closing your account altogether.
Online casino fees can be frustrating, especially when you face a charge you didn’t know about. Do some research so you know what sites have charges, and avoid them if you don’t want fees.
