The following online betting sites all offer Skrill as a payment method for customers from the UK (NB: Moneybookers have recently rebranded themselves as ‘Skrill’). Moneybookers/Skrill is an eWallet payment system that shares many traits with PayPal.
To use Moneybookers to deposit at a betting site you must first register with the wallet and load funds from your bank account. Once this transaction has been completed the balance of the wallet is available for immediate transfer to a Moneybookers Merchant (including the betting sites listed in the table below).
Like most eWallets, depositing to a betting site with Skrill is free thanks to the bookie absorbing the costs. Withdrawing from the bookmaker to your Skrill account is also free. Withdrawing from your Skrill account back to your bank account comes with a nominal fee of around £1.50.
Skrill’s popularity with both merchants (the bookmaker) and users has increased significantly in recent years and it has become a serious contender to Neteller. Although don’t ask why they changed their name from Moneybookers – we have no idea. Skrill users can also transfer money between accounts (so there’s no excuse for not paying Bob back for the curry last week!).
One thing to be aware of is that because of the heavy use of Moneybookers accounts by matched betting punters, some betting sites will restrict introductory bonuses to customers who make their first deposit by Moneybookers. This practice is relatively infrequent, but something you should bear in mind.
What is Skrill?
Skrill is one of a number of electronic payment processing companies that allow people to fund betting accounts online. In fact, such is the diversity of the company, you can also use Skrill for e-commerce, direct debits and point of sale transactions.
The company has been in operation since 2001 and is widely regarded as one of the best in the business. The process is pretty simple, all you need to do is log into your Skrill account via the bookmaker and then transfer the funds that you want to wager with.
It can work in a number of ways, but the most common is to load up your Skrill account from your bank and then distribute the funds to where you want them to go. Alternatively, you can leave your bank account or debit card on file, and any transactions that need to be processed via Skrill will first take the money from your bank, add it to your Skrill account and then send it your chosen merchant. This process takes literally seconds to complete.
Why use Skrill?
Speed is one of the main reasons to use a company like Skrill. You’re not only able to get your money into your betting account quickly and securely, but you’re also able to get your money from your betting account back to your Skrill account within a matter of minutes.
The reason for this is that Skrill don’t have a huge screening process in order to accept funds into your account like your bank would. This is often why these payments can take up to a week to hit your account using traditional methods, whereas with a company like Skrill you get them almost instantly.
Another factor is that Skrill offer complete anonymity when banking. You don’t store any details on the betting site itself so if your account was hacked, they wouldn’t be able to get any of your banking details. Each time you want to process a payment you need to log in with your username and password.
Is Skrill Secure?
Skrill have spent millions of dollars developing technologies to make sure that every transaction is secure. In fact, the reason why a lot of people use Skrill is the strength of their security, as there are never any traces of account details left with anyone that doesn’t need to have them.
There will always be risks though, as there are with all forms of online banking. A process that Skrill recommend is to change your password every 30 days, as this is one of the only ways that you can access your account; so if you keep it fresh there is less chance of it getting into the wrong hands.
Any Cool Features?
One of the features that we really like is the fact that Skrill offer some very low fees for the use of their service. They can be as low as 1% for some transactions, and some even max out at 50p.
For frequent users, you need to be looking at their VIP scheme. The site offers a great package for people shifting large or regular sums of money each month, which includes reduced fees and also prizes. Plus, with VIP you get their 100% money back guarantee, which means that should something go wrong with your account and you end up with missing money they will fully reimburse you, which is another added layer of security.
Finally, the prepaid MasterCard is another great addition to the package. It allows you to spend your Skrill money instantly anywhere that offers MasterCard as a payment method. You are also able to withdraw via an ATM if you wish, which means that theoretically you could have your winnings in your hand within the hour.
History of Skrill
- Formerly set up as Moneybookers, the company were opened in the UK in 2001
- By 2007 the company was bought out by Investcorp for a fee reported to be worth £105million
- 2009 saw the company put up for sale again, this time for more than 3x the original buying price at £365million
- Based on their incomings, in 2010 Moneybookers were ranked as the fastest growing private equity company in the UK by the Sunday Times
- By 2011 they boasted 25 million customers and 120,000 merchant accounts. Deals with the likes of Facebook, Skype and eBay were all secured
- Moneybookers name was dropped in 2011 in favour of Skrill, the rebrand took 2 years to rollout with completion in 2013
- CVC Capital Partners bought the company for £600million in 2013
- In 2015 a second buyout took place when Optimal Partner’s, owners of rivals Neteller, acquired the Skrill Group for £1.1billion
- Also in 2015, Skrill announced that the acquisition of UKash, a direct competitor in the UK, had been completed