Credit cards make it possible for British sports gamblers to bet in real time and pay later. And there's no shortage of UK betting sites accepting them for real money deposits in 2024. Not only does online betting this way give you access to the top online bookies in the UK, and beyond, it's also a secure, instant and widely accepted way to gamble.
T&Cs Apply
New UK & Ireland customers only. £10. First deposit matched up to £30. 1x wagering at odds of 1.75 to unlock Free Bet. Credit Card, Debit Card & PayPal deposits only. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New customers only – Minimum deposit of £10 using deposit code 30F - A qualifying bet is a ‘real money’ stake of at least £10 placed on any sports market - Minimum odds of 1/2 (1.5) - Free bets credited upon qualifying bet settlement and expire after 7 days - Free bet stakes not included in returns - Deposit balance is available for withdrawal at any time. General deposit method & withdrawal restrictions apply & Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
18+ only, new customers only, gamble responsibly. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New online customers only, min £10 stake, win only, min odds 1/2, free bets paid as 3x £10, 30 day expiry, free bet/payment method/player/country restrictions apply. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New customer offer. Place 5 x £10 or more bets to receive £20 in free bets. Repeat up to 5 times to receive maximum £100 bonus. Min odds 1/2 (1.5). Exchange bets excluded. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply to All Bonuses. 18+ only. Gamble Responsibly.
Who to avoid on the web
The majority of online betting sites and bookies in Britain are reliable and licensed. Funds are segregated, payouts are fast, and personal details are protected. But some online sports betting websites should be avoided like the plague: they aren't properly regulated and players' information is susceptible to hackers. Here are three scam sites to steer clear of in 2024:
BetOnline
Aimed at US players who can't bet legally at home, BetOnline relies on an insecure licence from Central America and should be avoided.
Betrally
Although it's one of Asia's biggest online football betting rooms, Betrally has a poor history of honouring real money bonuses. It does, however, have a UK Gambling Commission licence.
CarbonGaming
Carbon Sports is another US-facing betting room that takes bets from American gamblers. With an Antigua extension, it should be approached with caution.
Credit card online betting in 2024 means your deposits hit your gambling account instantly. So, there's no waiting around when it comes to getting in on the action. Neither do you have to have money in your bank account to take part either. Because the deposits you make will be paid off later, using credit means you can place real money bets at an online bookies, without having to cough up anything upfront.
Here's some other perks you might not know about online betting with plastic:
There's more than one way to run an online betting exchange or bookmaker, but we're only interested in the ones that play by the rules and offer British bettors a top experience in online sports betting.
Here's what our team look for when they're rating an online bookies that accepts betting by £ sterling:
While it is possible to also use your credit card to withdraw money at UK betting sites, it's not as straightforward as depositing. For starters the time frame for receiving your money back isn't instant. No matter which provider your card is issued by you'll be waiting 2-5 days for your winnings to transfer back.
The other notable thing about using this withdrawal method at online bookies is that you'll generally only be allowed to withdraw the same amount you deposited. So if you stuck £20 in to your betting account and then had a huge windfall on the ponies, you'll have to use a different withdrawal method to take out your winnings, beyond your £20 investment.
Whether you’re a MasterCard, Visa or other credit card user, the fact is today's providers make it easy for their account holders to make mobile payments online using smartphone and tablet.
This is great news for those UK bettors who prefer to manage their online betting activity through a personal device, rather than a household shared PC or Mac computer. It also means that at no time can your sportsbook betting be disrupted. If you run out of money to bet with, and you're out and about in Britain, you can quickly top-up in seconds using your mobile device.
We've mentioned welcome bonuses once or twice on this page already. If you're not familiar with the term, a welcome bonus is an incentive offer made by an online bookmaker to new depositing players. It's essentially a way of encouraging fresh blood to the site. A "you scratch our back, we'll scratch yours" kind of arrangement. They activate when you upload cash with which to bet for the first time. And they're more often than not governed by a few T&Cs.
So two things that are important to consider when you're weighing up a bonus are:
If you don't meet the terms of the bonus you could miss out on free money. So always take a second to read through the terms before depositing to your betting account for the first time.
When we rate the best online betting sites that accept credit card in the United Kingdom, we're not only scrutinising the bookmakers themselves. We're also taking into account which sites offers UK bettors the best online and mobile gambling experience.
We do this by playing at each one ourselves. So we can see first hand, from a player perspective, what the overall experience offers. And we do this not only with one banking type, we test out the compatibility of all of today's most widely used UK cards. From Visa and MasterCard through to AMEX. So for a recommendation of a sports betting site that accepts card payments, just take a look at our top list right now.
There are a few potential fees that British online bettors might encounter when using a credit card to gamble online. The first is what's known as a cash fee. This comes into effect when the betting site you're using treats card payments as cash. These kinds of transactions will incur additional fees from your lender, so make sure to see if this applies before making a deposit. The other charge you might encounter is an interest fee. This is applied to late payments, and on the amount of cash you borrow. It's important to make sure you keep up to date repaying your bill otherwise the fees can quickly build up. And in the most extreme cases you could potentially end up paying back more than you borrowed in the first place.
One lets you borrow cash on credit; the other requires you to have it in your bank account to spend it. But are these two plastic payment types really that different? We compare each method against a checklist of criteria to find out.
Credit Card
Debit Card
Definitely. It's one of the safest methods around. Not only does it use the most sophisticated SSLs to protect you online. In the event that anyone does get hold of your details, it's the card issuer, not you, who will be liable.
It's usually £5 or £10 but every betting site has its own deposit and withdrawal limits.
Those that accept deposits by credit card will also allow withdrawals too, but you'll only be allowed to withdraw the same amount you deposited to your credit card. Anything above this and you'll have to use a different banking method.
Absolutely! It's just like using a debit card or any other payment provider to make deposits online. It's secure, quick and easy.
They are indeed. Next to debit cards, credit cards are the most popular form of deposit method online in Britain. So you'll find this option at all top UK bookmakers.