You’ve finally picked a sweepstakes casino and are primed for some slots action, but your Visa or Mastercard is immediately declined when you attempt to buy coins. What gives?
Credit cards are by far the most popular way to pay for things online but they’ve always been a challenge for online gaming.
Let’s examine why credit or debit cards are declined at social casinos and ways to get around payment issues as quickly as possible.
Why Do Banks Transactions Fail on Sites Like Chumba and Fortune Coins?
These days it’s actually relatively rare when a credit card gets declined on sweeps casino but it was much more common in the early days of online gambling.
Most of the time it’s just a matter of using a different card.
Generally banks didn’t want to be associated with online gaming. There are a number of reasons banks have taken this approach in the past. One key issue is that gamblers would charge their cards, lose all their money, and then complain to the bank. In addition many online casinos are based offshore which makes it difficult for financial institutions to verify the transaction.
What To Do If a Credit Card Gets Declined
Fortunately it’s not a big deal if a bank declines a credit card transaction on a sweeps casino. I’ve had plenty of experience sorting out credit card issues on sweepstakes casinos (unfortunately!).
First off, you should make sure there are no technical problems. Sometimes clearing your browser cache can clear up credit card woes. It can also be worth trying another browser.
Another consideration is whether sweeps casinos are available in your region (Idaho, Washington, Michigan are no-goes for sweeps).
Finally you have to consider any limits from the casino side. Many sweepstakes casinos have maximum deposit limits and you may have reached yours.
Once you’ve eliminated technical problems here are some solutions I’ve used to get around declined credit card payments on sweeps casinos:
1. Use a different credit card
Most of the time it’s just a matter of using a different card.
In my experience the easiest fix is just trying a different credit card. This works 99% of the time. Some of the bigger banks tend to decline anything related to gambling so it can be useful to try a card from a smaller bank. There’s really no rhyme or reason, however, and it’s a good idea to rotate through a few different cards before trying any other method.
There will also be some cases where you will have to authorize the transaction for your credit card with your bank. This isn’t especially difficult but can occasionally take some time.
Is Visa or Mastercard better for sweeps casinos?
Credit cards are the most widely used form of payment so there shouldn’t be a difference between Visa or Mastercard when it comes to sweepstakes casinos.
We’ve had success with Visa cards on certain sites and Mastercard on other sites. It’s more important which bank issued the card.
On the other hand we have had some issues with American Express and Discover cards when buying coins so it’s better to go with Visa or Mastercard in that case.
Note: Chumba offers users→ Purchase via Chumba Prepaid MasterCard
2. Try a debit card
If none of your credit cards will work, you can always try a debit card. Generally debit cards have a major higher acceptance rates than credit cards and present far fewer issues to banks since the money is already in your account.
Of course debit cards can also be declined on certain occasions, in that case you’ll need to get a little more creative.
Debit cards actually have a much higher success rate the credit cards. It’s easier for banks to approve debit cards because the money is already in the account and it’s not debt.
It’s definitely worth giving a debit card a shot if you are having trouble using your credit card. Of course you won’t get points or cashback if you use a debit card but it can be useful if none of your credit cards are working.
3. Authorize your credit card by email or SMS
Sometimes credit card issuers will have built-in authorization programs that are built in to avoid certain transactions like gambling. Verified by Visa is one of the most famous examples. It’s basically an extra step to reduce fraud.
In these situations you’ll likely get a pop up that will request confirmation of the transaction by email or SMS. You should be able to enter the information, confirm the transaction, and purchase coins immediately.
Unfortunately I’ve run into some technical issues with these services where the pop-up gets blocked or re-sized to a window where it’s impossible to enter the information. You might want to try another browser if you run into those particular errors.
4. Use a different method like Paysafe or Skrill
If you simply can’t get your credit card to work, that doesn’t mean you’re completely out of luck when it comes to sweeps casinos.
There are a number of different alternative payment methods including things like Paysafe and Skrill and Trustly. They all work in slightly different ways but they effectively act as third-parties between your bank and the entity you’re paying.
These are more common in Europe but they are becoming more common in Canada and the USA and they can be a very effective way to buy coins on social casinos. They do require a bit of setup, however.
5. Use a bank wire or direct bank transfer
If all other methods fail, you could always use a bank wire or direct bank transfer.
First off, the negative. Bank wires usually require going to your bank in person. They also tend to charge a hefty fee and take a few days to process. Those are some of the main reasons I don’t recommend them first.
On the positive side bank wires are basically bullet proof and you know they won’t get declined once they are on their way.
Meanwhile some sweepstake casinos support direct bank transfer (which usually works through ACH in the USA or Interac in Canada), which is far easier, faster and cheaper but you will have to enter some bank information. This is a solid method of payment on sweeps casinos, but I wish it was supported by more social casinos.
When all else fails, try a different site
Try another sweepstakes casino if you’ve exhausted all possibilities in terms of credit cards and other banking options and still can’t get a payment to go through.
It’s not the end of the world because there are plenty of high-quality sweepstakes casinos. Most of the time you’ll find that your credit card works on the first try so it’s not worth spending days or even weeks trying to get one site to work when you could be playing on another site.
For whatever reason we’ve found that certain sites just seem to reject every form of payment that a person uses.
Do Banks Reject Sweeps Casinos Because of Fraud?
It’s important to note that it’s not an indictment of a sweeps casino when a bank declines a credit card transaction. It doesn’t mean the casino is fraudulent or otherwise sketchy.
Instead it’s just that the bank has registered the transaction as being related to online gambling and they don’t allow those types of transactions in certain states.
In other words your credit card might get declined at the biggest, most secure online casino while it works fine at a lesser-known site. It’s random.
Other considerations if changing deposit methods
There’s one other major consideration if you are trying different payment methods: redemptions.
If you’re fortunate enough to hit a big jackpot and want to redeem for cash prizes you’ll have to consider how you will be paid.
If possible, sweeps casinos will send cash prizes using the payment method you used to purchase coins in the first place:
The big exception, however, is credit cards. Most of the time sweeps casinos will not be able to provide redemptions to credit cards. You’ll need a bank account or alternative payment method.
In fact, no matter what payment method you use for redemptions, you’ll likely have to verify your identity with a bank account before the redemption will process.
It usually takes somewhere from 3-5 days for redemption to a bank account to process. It can take up to 10 days in certain circumstances.
A much faster option for redemptions is purchasing gift cards. Most sweeps casinos offer gift cards for a variety of online retailers (such as Nike, Adidas, Lowes). Gift cards generally process in less than 24 hours.
Never Risk More Than You Can Afford to Lose
Finally, we just wanted to mention that using credit cards for sweepstakes casinos is a convenient payment method but that should never keep you from gambling responsibly.
Sweepstakes casinos offer far better odds than real-world casinos but you are still putting your money at risk.
You should never risk more than you are willing to lose – no matter your payment method.
Sweeps casinos – like all casinos – are a form of entertainment and you shouldn’t expect to win money.
Call 1-800-GAMBLER if you have a gambling problem.
