One of the biggest challenges facing 18 and up casino and sports betting enthusiasts looking to play at legal international betting sites has always been getting actual money into their accounts.
While the best online casinos, poker rooms, and sportsbooks have long been in the vanguard when it comes to introducing new funding methods (they were the first large online businesses to promote and accept Bitcoin deposits, for example), not every method works for every player.
It’s a fact that cryptocurrency deposits are the best ways to fund your account, but there’s usually a learning curve for first-timers, and not all players are comfortable with the alternative currency concept.
For them, credit and debit deposits remain the standard, though these can occasionally be declined due to things like the UIGEA gambling law.
Sure, you won’t get in trouble if the UIGEA stops such a banking transaction, but the inconvenient delay could cause you to miss out on that mega-money slots tournament, online blackjack event, $100,000 poker tourney, or the big game of the week.
However, some all-in-one casino/poker/sportsbook sites are now accepting MatchPay betting transfers.
Bovada MatchPay – New Online Gambling Deposit Method
As usual, Bovada – America’s favorite betting site – is the first major operator to launch MatchPay support.
And though only Bovada supports MatchPay at the moment, it’s only a matter of time before the site’s popular 18 and up casino sister sites – Slots LV, Café Casino, and Ignition Casino – get with the program, as well.
Additionally, though many of the best online casinos and betting sites do not have MatchPay banking options as yet, if Bovada’s system works as well as expected, you can expect the vast majority of operators to employ it in the coming weeks and months.
Thus, in the near future, MatchPay person-to-person money transfers could become something of a standard at nearly all the top online casinos, 18+ poker rooms, and sportsbooks we recommend.
This kind of thing might seem like small potatoes, but it’s actually a very big deal.
Easier deposits mean more players, and more players mean bigger jackpots, better tournaments, and even more favorable betting odds. For individual players, a new deposit option can be the difference between cashing out and missing out.
Every time a legitimate 18 and up online casino accepts a new funding method, its customer base increases, and its members have another avenue by which to top off their accounts.
But MatchPay isn’t just one new deposit option. It’s actually four new deposit options.
Why?
Because MatchPay allows 18 and over gamblers to deposit with PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, and Zelle!
For US-based online gambling enthusiasts, this is a true revolution.
Offshore betting sites do not accept PayPal, Venmo, or Cash App at all, as there are restrictions preventing these services from being used by Americans to fund their overseas casino, sportsbook, and poker room accounts.
And though sites like Bovada, Café Casino, Ignition, and Slots LV all have Zelle-to-Bitcoin instructions allowing gamblers to quickly acquire Bitcoin, MatchPay’s Zelle implementation works differently and is arguably even better and faster.
What Is MatchPay?
MatchPay is a person-to-person (or P2P) financial transfer method that allows merchant account holders to sell parts of their balances to other members at those same merchants.
In the context of 18+ online betting operators, this means that any member of the gambling site can choose to sell his or her balance (or a portion thereof) to any other member.
Payment can be made in four ways:
- PayPal betting deposits
- Venmo betting deposits
- Cash App betting deposits
- Zelle betting deposits
Bovada is the first out of the gate supporting MatchPay, and our MatchPay deposits page (linked above) explains in detail how the process works. But in short, the platform functions as described below.
How Does MatchPay Work To Fund Online 18+ Gambling?
At Bovada (or any future site that supports MatchPay), simply select the MatchPay banking option on the site’s Cashier page or during your initial signup.
This will open another window, taking you to the MatchPay portal, where you will need to register for free to become a MatchPay Trader.
The process takes only a few minutes, and once you’re a member, you’ll be able to sell and buy Bovada account balances to and from fellow gamblers using the most popular peer-to-peer instant-pay systems on earth: PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, and Zelle.
While the Zelle-BTC method is supported universally, online gambling sites have been looking for ways to accept PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App for ages, as these platforms are used by tens of millions of people in the US alone.
With MatchPay, this is now possible, though in a slightly roundabout way, as you must go through a third-party service and purchase account balances from fellow betting enthusiasts.
However, given the international laws governing the P2P services MatchPay supports, international betting sites for 18-plus players are unlikely to ever be able to accept PayPal gambling deposits, Venmo gambling deposits, or Cash App gambling deposits directly.
In other words, Bovada MatchPay is as close as these brands will probably ever get to supporting these massively popular services.
As icing on the cake, when you use MatchPay at Bovada, you can also employ the banking system to get same-day payouts.
Until now, same-day withdrawals have only been possible using crypto deposits, and this is just another reason why MatchPay is a true gamechanger at all 18+ betting sites.
Game, set, and MatchPay!