The once humble telephone has come a long way in recent years. There are now few aspects of our lives in which we don’t use our mobiles, whether taking pictures, listening to music, organising our social calendar or even making phone calls.
It seems almost inevitable that online gambling would become the next great frontier for mobile technology, with many casinos offering a mobile service and others specialising in the field.
Paying by phone is perhaps the simplest way of gambling with your phone, allowing roulette players to play with, and pay with, their mobile phone. It really doesn’t get much easier than that. What’s more, there are added benefits in privacy and security that paying by phone can offer.
The system works whether you have a contract or a pay as you go phone and can even be configured to work with a BT landline too. Since everyone who is gambling with their phone must own a phone, the ubiquitous nature of this payment method means it is available to absolutely everybody. You play on your phone, you pay with your phone, and no one is left behind.
PayForit and Boku
In the UK the main provider of paying by phone services is PayForIt who use the billing engine Boku. PayForIt support all UK mobile telephone providers so absolutely every single person with a UK phone number can potentially pay to play roulette at online casinos by phone, providing they have phone credit or a phone contract with a monthly phone bill.
PayForIt is a product of the British company TxtNation which was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Plymouth. This relatively small company of fewer than 100 staff was one of Europe’s fastest 500 growing companies in 2015 and now has offices in Ireland, Scandinavia, Phoenix and New York.
Headquartered in San Francisco, Boku is a world leader in direct carrier billing and has offices in Munich, Mumbai, Beijing, Milan, Paris, Riga, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Taipei, and Tokyo. Its European headquarters are in London. As well as online casinos, Boku is the preferred payment engine for trusted multinational companies such as Sony, Microsoft and Spotify.
How Pay by Phone Services Work
Paying by phone is a completely secure process that uses the phone owner’s phone credit or phone bill to secure a payment to the casino.
The speed and simplicity of the system means that if a roulette player wishes to play at any point in the day there is no need to first sign up to a third party payment site or to rummage around for a Visa or Mastercard.
For instance, if a player fancied a game of roulette in the evening, all they would need to do is to select the pay by mobile option, enter their full personal mobile number and wait momentarily for an SMS. Replying ‘yes’ to the SMS from the online casino confirms the correct mobile number has been entered and allows the same user to make future payments in the same way.
It can help to think of the mobile phone as a de facto credit card when used in this manner. All players need to do is monitor their own payments and clear the bill at the end of each month – exactly as they would if paying by Visa or Mastercard, but with added security and without all of the hassle of trying to remember where they’ve put their credit card.
As you would expect, the whole process abides by strict guidelines and a code of practice. In the UK this system is observed by PayForit through the billing engine Boku. These trusted, multi-national companies ensure the process is as safe and secure as possible and adhere to the guidelines set out for them.
The Benefits of Paying by Phone
Paying by phone offers the simplest, quickest and easiest way to credit your casino account with stake money and to start playing roulette and other casino games almost instantaneously. If a user can remember and provide their own mobile number and then respond ‘yes’ upon receipt of an SMS, then they should definitely consider this as a payment option.
This payment method also offers great protection against fraud and the possibility of your credit card details ever being stolen. If you love taking a gamble on the roulette wheel but not so much with your personal details then paying by phone is ideal solution. Since the player need not send the same level of personal details there’s no risk of their personal information being intercepted by unauthorised parties.
Paying by phone allows quick and easy money transfers even for busy people on the move and is incredibly private and secure as you need provide only the minimum of personal information.
What Are the Cons of Paying by Phone?
While paying by phone is incredibly easy, swift and secure, there are things you may wish to consider a little more when you use your phone to further sustain your enjoyment of online casinos.
It is important for high rollers and gamblers who enjoy staking larger sums of money to note that paying by phone will most likely be too restrictive as it only supports a maximum deposit of £30 a day. Conversely, for those who wish to restrict their deposit budget to exactly £30 a day, the system is absolutely ideal.
It is also worth considering that if your phone is stolen it might be possible to access your online playing account. Although this particular issue is not wholly unique to paying by phone customers, it is advisable to delete any SMS messages sent to the casino. As always, a phone call to your phone provider will prevent any thief from adding charges or calls to your bill.
And that, as far as cons go is really about it. For players who wish to keep themselves punting to a maximum daily budget of £30 a day, paying by phone really is a great, fast and simple option, especially for casual roulette players, and is one that is sure to continue to grow in popularity.
Pay By Phone Summed Up
A good many online casinos offer pay by phone as an option. This usually involves credit or debit card, with the operator taking down the customer’s details and entering them manually. There are also some casinos which may offer automated pay by phone services. Although it’s easy enough to pay by credit card online, some customers prefer to speak to an operator rather than risk entering their details into a web page. If pay by phone is your preferred option, choose a casino that offers telephone support and which lists pay by phone as an option for both deposits and withdrawals.
FAQ
What is Pay By Phone?
Pay By Phone is a simple, easy to use payment method that doesn’t use credit or debit cards or require you to sign up to any third party software. Your playing balance is simply subtracted from your pay-as-you go credit or monthly phone bill.
Which phone carriers support paying by phone?
All UK major phone carriers including EE, O2, Orange, 3, Vodafone and T-Mobile support paying by phone. Some other carriers including Virgin and Lebara are also supported by paying by phone.
How much can I deposit?
The maximum you may deposit at any one time is £10. The maximum daily limit for paying by phone is £30.
Which casinos support paying by phone?
Many casinos, including a good number of British online casinos, roulette and bingo sites, offer Pay By Phone as an option.
Is it safe to use?
Very. The payment comes directly from your phone credit or is added to your monthly phone bill so you never need to provide further payment details over the internet.
What if I lose my phone?
Inform your mobile phone provider that you have lost your phone in the normal manner. This will prevent further deposits being made to your playing account.