Online Gambling Deposits And Payouts

Crypto is the fastest online gambling banking option at every legal gambling site recommended here.

While not every site has the exact same crypto menu, they all take Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash as a matter of course. Most sites also take Ethereum, and each operator hosts a few other altcoins in its banking suite.

However, while crypto is the fastest online banking method for real-money Internet gambling, not all crypto transactions process in the same amount of time.

Generally, the fastest payout gambling crypto coins are third-gen PoS coins such as Cardano ADA, Solana SOL, and Avalanche AVAX (though Ripple XRP and Stellar XLM are also pretty darn fast).

Bitcoin is actually one of the slower cryptos, and Ethereum – along with Ethereum-based ERC-20 tokens (i.e. Tether, USDT, etc.) – are the slowest by far.

Cryptocurrency

Crypto gambling isn’t only the fastest way to bet online legally, it’s also the least expensive way to do so.

Unlike credit cards, cashier’s checks, courier checks, money orders, bank wires, and so on, crypto betting transfers come with no added fees.

That said, crypto fees do exist as part of every crypto transaction, and these are built into each blockchain platform natively.

The cheapest cryptos to use for online gambling are options like Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Stellar (XLM), and similar coins. Meanwhile, Bitcoin transactions are fairly expensive, while Ethereum-based transactions (ETH, USDT, USDC, APE, etc.) are the most expensive.

Note: By 2023, high Ethereum gas fees should be a thing of the past, as the Ethereum 2.0 network will mark ETH’s transition from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

Cryptocurrency

But just barely.

Crypto is quantum hacking resistant, which means that proper blockchains have no known vulnerabilities to hacking.

This, of course, doesn’t mean that crypto platforms are immune to all forms of attacks and manipulations – it’s just that these sorts of things happen on an individual level (i.e. phishing, wallet database hacks, stolen passwords, and so on).

In reality, though, while crypto is more secure, it’s not so much more secure that it makes it unsafe or unsound to use credit, debit, bank wires, or any other accepted bet funding method or legal online gambling payout method that your site supports.

Honestly, you can feel secure using any available financial option at your disposal.

Whichever method you’re most comfortable with

Yes, crypto is a superior online casino funding method across the board, with very few comparative downsides when considered against more traditional banking methods.

However, crypto casino gambling isn’t for everyone, and it never will be.

As such, the best banking method to use for funding your legal online gambling account is simply whatever supported option you already actively use.

That might be credit or debit for one player, cashier’s checks for another, bank wires for someone else, crypto for yet other players, and even gambling vouchers and MatchPay transfers using P2P apps like PayPal, Venmo, and so on.

If you have access to crypto, choose crypto for its higher transfer success rates and increased bonus potential. Otherwise, any method is as good as any other.

Credit/debit/gift cards

While we prefer using crypto to top off our gambling accounts, if we’re in a real hurry to move more money into our online sportsbook – because the game we want to bet on is starting in just a few minutes (or, in the case of live sports betting options, has already started) – we actually like card-based deposit options best.

That’s because standard Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover gambling transactions process instantly.

Even the fastest crypto deposits take 5X-10X longer to transact, and with sports gambling, every second counts.

Yes, if your online betting credit/debit deposit is declined due to the UIGEA law (which will happen about one time in 20), card-based deposits can actually be slower. But when time is of the essence, cards are still at the top of our deck.

With online poker bankroll management, it really depends.

On the one (poker) hand, if you really need to top off you account in a hurry to join a Sit-N-Go that starts in 20 minutes or to make sure you can buy your seat in tonight’s major online poker tournament, credit/debit and gift card options are fastest (unless, of course, they’re derailed by the UIGEA, which does happen every so often).

On the other (poker) hand, if you can afford to wait an hour or two – or if the online poker event you’re funding begins at the end of the week – crypto is the better option because it’s the cheaper option.

Note: Unlike crypto casino bonuses and crypto sports betting bonuses, crypto poker bonuses are the same as standard poker bonuses and don’t give you any extra free cash on top of what you’d normally get with a non-crypto online poker promo.

Almost always

Crypto is almost always going to be the best choice for legal online gambling banking, as there are simply so many more perks to using crypto coins compared to using traditional betting options.

That said, crypto isn’t for everyone, and it definitely won’t be the best choice for every kind of player.

We do encourage crypto deposits over credit deposits, debit deposits, and other more familiar financial transfer options at the best legal online gambling sites, but you’ll get good bonuses – and plenty of bang for your buck – regardless of which method you choose.

The only time credit/debit cards are clearly better than crypto when it comes to online betting is when betting closes in five or 10 minutes and you need to get your account funded ASAP.

Again, barring UIGEA interference, credit/debit is always going to be faster than crypto (as of 2022).

Cardano, Solana, Avalanche, Litecoin, etc.

The best online gambling crypto coin depends on the site at which you’re actively playing. Remember, each site supports a different menu of cryptocurrency gambling options.

For the best crypto that all sites support, we generally recommend Litecoin over Bitcoin, as LTC has much lower transfer fees (so you can put that much more of your money toward betting rather than paying for transfers).

However, if the site you choose supports third-generation PoS cryptos such as Cardano, Solana, Avalanche, etc., we recommend using these.

These kinds of cryptos are faster, cheaper, and allow for staking, so you can earn rewards on top of your crypto winnings – long after you pull those winnings out of your betting site account!

To encourage you to bet with crypto

Crypto transactions are cheaper for your betting site to process than credit/debit transactions or other traditional payment transactions.

As such, the best sites want to incentivize as many players as possible to use crypto coins, as these don’t require any middlemen – and thus require no added fees for either the player or the betting site.

No

While legal crypto gambling deposits are more anonymous than regular banking methods (credit/debit, bank wire, check, money order, etc.), they aren’t fully anonymous.

All crypto trades can be traced if necessary – especially if you buy in at a regulated exchange, which the vast majority of users do.

Now, there isn’t likely any reason that authorities would want to trace your crypto expenditures if you’re just using your crypto for lawful purposes like gambling with the betting sites we recommend, but it’s important to understand that – despite what you hear in the media – crypto is not anonymous.  

No

As with crypto deposits, crypto payouts are not anonymous.

When it comes to online gambling withdrawals in particular, one reason crypto isn’t fully anonymous is that all the best legal gambling sites online use KYC – or Know Your Customer – protocols to ensure that you are who you say you are.

If using crypto to bet online, when it’s time to collect your winnings, you’ll have to prove your identity at all reputable sites.

This is why it’s important to use only your real, verifiable data (name, mailing address, etc.) when signing up at any legit online casino, legit online sportsbook, or legit online poker room.

Yes

Unfortunately, you do have to report all your online casino, sports betting, and poker winnings to the IRS whenever you file your annual income taxes.

If your state of residence has a state income tax, you’ll also need to account for your legal online gambling winnings there. You do not have to report where you won your winnings (even though these sites are all fully legal to use).

Nevertheless, you should keep records of all withdrawal amounts and withdrawal dates in case you’re asked to provide further information to the tax collector.

As a friendly reminder: Offshore online gambling is not a tax shelter or tax dodge, and neither is cryptocurrency betting. As long as Uncle Sam gets his cut, you’ll get to keep (most) of yours!