Skrill Poker Sites
Skrill has been in the online gaming processing business since 2001. Its original name was Moneybookers. Many old school players still refer to it by its old name. Moneybookers rebranded as Skrill to expand its payment processing business beyond gaming transactions. Skrill may now be used as an ewallet for a wide variety of services and products that go beyond online poker and casino sites.
Skrill is available as a deposit option for online poker sites in most European countries. It does not process gambling transactions for Americans or Canadians. Residents of these countries may use Skrill for non-gaming related payments.
SPS Approved Safest Online Poker Sites
How to Fund a Skrill Account
Skrill may be funded through a variety of payment options. These depend on the country. Players in most countries may deposit by bank transfer, Visa, and Mastercard. Some countries have local debit cards, PaySafeCard, American Express and Diner’s Club available as deposit options, among other methods. Skrill will identify your country and show the available methods based on geolocation when you are logged into their site.
Credit cards have a 1.9% fee. PaySafeCard has a fee of about 5%, based on the country where the transaction takes place. Electronic checks do not carry any fee. Poker sites do not charge to receive a Skrill deposit. There is a 1% fee to send a Skrill payment to an individual. It is free to receive a person-to-person transfer.
How to Withdraw from Skrill
Skrill is one of the most affordable options for poker withdrawals. Bank transfers have a fee of just $4 or $5, depending on the country. Skrill will also cut a check or send the money back to a credit card. The fees for most withdrawals are $5 or less.
Skrill VIP Rewards
Skrill offers a VIP program. Loyal customers will receive several perks including reduced or free loading of a Skrill account, dedicated VIP support, reward points to spend in the Skrill VIP store, and lower currency exchange fees.
Skrill and U.S. Regulated Poker States
Skrill currently processes deposits and withdrawals for some regulated New Jersey poker sites. It intends to enter Nevada in the near future. It has an entire U.S. division of its company in preparation of regulated U.S. online poker.
Alternatives for Skrill for U.S. Players
Americans cannot use Skrill for online poker deposits or withdrawals. In fact, there are no legitimate ewallets available for online poker transactions. Players will have to find an alternative. Visa, Mastercard, Western Union and Moneygram are the most widely available methods. Many banks block credit and debit cards. Some sites have a solution for this with their internal processing.
Players that cannot get credit or debit cards to work may buy a prepaid debit card. It is important that you choose an international debit card. These will be labeled as such. Buying a standard prepaid debit card will likely result in a decline if your personal one was already rejected at your poker site of choice.
Another alternative for credit cards is to use it to fund a Western Union or Moneygram deposit. The drawback of this is that a credit card transaction using these services will post as a cash advance so there will be some fees and interest involved. There is also a fee to use the service.
Western Union and Moneygram may also be funded in cash at an agent location. Poker sites will likely cover the fees on a deposit of $300 or more. Each poker room has its own policy so make sure to check with them when you are getting the receiver information needed for these transfers.
Withdrawals are usually quite easy. Most sites will pay by check once per month for free. Western Union and Moneygram is another standard option for U.S. online poker, though these come with fees as high as 20 percent of the total withdrawal.