Ukash Casinos

The online casino industry now offers a variety of supported payment methods. While the likes of debit/credit cards and e-wallets such as PayPal and Skrill still dominating proceedings, a number of other, less conventional methods are available.

With that being said, we at BestRatedSlotSites.co.uk often receive emails regarding Ukash casinos. If you’re keen to find out what a Ukash casino actually is, be sure to read our comprehensive explainer.

Before we get started, it is important to note that Ukash is now owned solely by Paysafecard. Well’ discuss this in more detail further down.

Launched way back in 2005, Ukash was an early adopter of the electronic money movement. Based in the UK, the payment system was targeted primarily at those that did not want to expose their financial details online, or to those that simply did not have access to traditional banking methods.

The process was very straightforward. You would need to visit a partnered Ukash vendor, which typically included petrol stations, convenience stores, and supermarkets. You would then need to tell the cashier how much you wanted to buy, hand over the money, and then you would be given a voucher. The voucher in question would then allow you to purchase goods and services online, at Ukash supported websites.

In 2014, the company was purchased by fellow electronic money counterpart the Skrill Group. In doing so, Ukash subsequently became Paysafecard. As a result, Ukash as a payment method no longer exists.

Nevertheless, Paysafecard follows the exact same principle as Ukash, meaning that you can still deposit funds at online casino platforms without needing to use your debit or credit card.

So now that we’ve covered the history of Ukash, in the next section we are going to find out how it actually works.

As we noted in the above section, Ukash has seen been taken over, and thus, it is no longer available. Instead, you will need to use Paysafecard. The takeover is actually good news for you as the player, as Paysafecard is considerably larger than Ukash ever was, as it now boasts over 650,000 sales outlets worldwide.

In 2018 alone, the platform processed close to 130 million transactions across 27 different currencies, further highlighting the size of the e-money provider.

In order to use Paysafecard, you will first need to find your nearest sales outlet. Much like in the case of Ukash, Paysafecard is supported by most petrol stations, supermarkets, and convenience stores. If you are unsure where your nearest outlet is, you can head over to the Paysafecard website and select the store locator button.

Once you find your nearest store, you then need to choose your preferred voucher value. Unfortunately, Paysafecard does not allow you to specify a value outside of the fixed-dominations it offers. Typically, this comes in denominations of £5, £10, £20, and £50. If you do need more, you can simply combine multiple vouchers together.

As soon as you hand over the required amount to the cashier, you will then be given a printed voucher. The voucher will contain a 16 digit pin number that is unique to your purchase.

Finally, you can then use the voucher to pay for things online. As long as the platform supports Paysafecard vouchers, you simply need to enter your 16 digit number to confirm the transaction.

As we at BestRatedSlotSites.co.uk mentioned in the previous section, Ukash are no more, as the payment provider has since been taken over by Paysafecard. Nevertheless, depositing with Paysafecard is just as easy.

First and foremost, and as you normally would with any other payment method, you will initially need to open an account with your chosen casino. This will require you to enter some personal information, such as your full name, address, date of birth, and phone number. Once you’ve completed the 2 minute account opening process, you then need to head over to the deposit page.

You will then see a long list of supported payment methods. As Ukash is no longer in existence, you will need to choose Paysafecard. Next, you will then need to enter the amount that you want to deposit. Simply enter the amount that you purchased from the sales outlet.

Finally, enter the 16 digit unique pin number printed on the voucher. If everything was done correctly, your casino account will be credited instantly.

On the one hand, depositing funds with Ukash, or Paysafecard as it is now known, is super convenient and secure. However, it is important that you are made aware of the fact that the payment method does facilitate withdrawals.

This has got nothing to do with the casinos themselves. On the contrary, it is merely that there are no mechanisms in place for merchants to send money back to a voucher. In other words, Paysafecard vouchers can only be used to purchase things online.

Nevertheless, this shouldn’t prevent you from using Paysafecard as a means to fund your casino account, as you do have a couple of withdrawal options to choose from.

In our opinion, the best option for you is to cash out your winnings via a bank transfer. If you are lucky, the casino in question will be set-up with the UK’s Faster Online Payments Network. If they are, you shouldn’t have to wait too long to get your money out.

However, if you are using Paysafecard because you don’t have access to a bank account, then you only have one option - a good old fashioned cheque. Although cheques usually need to be cashed out at a bank, there are a number of third parties that will exchange it for cash, albeit, at a fee.

The online gambling arena - especially that of the UK, is now heavily regulated. This means that the days of depositing and withdrawing funds anonymously are long gone. We find that there is often a misconception about this when using alternative payment methods such as Ukash/Paysafecard. Irrespective of the payment method you use, you will need to identity yourself.

Nevertheless, when you actually go through the process of buying a Paysafecard voucher, there will be no need to provide any identification. You can simply walk up to the sales outlet, hand over the cash, and you'll be given your voucher. If you were to use that voucher at a non-gambling website, then you could do so in a 100% anonymous manner. However, this won’t be the case when using a UK casino.

As all UK casinos must be licensed by the Gambling Commission, they must implement a range of anti-money laundering checks to ensure that casino players are not using the platform to facilitate crime. The key defence in this request is the KYC process.

So, when you first open an account with casinos accepting Paysafecard, it is imperative that the personal information that you enter is correct. The reason for this is that you will need to validate it at a later stage. Ordinarily, you will be asked to do this when you first make a withdrawal, or within 72 hours of opening the account - whichever comes first.

If you’ve ever used an online casino before, then you should know the drill. The KYC process will require you to upload a clear copy of your government issued ID, which in the UK, needs to be either a passport or driver’s license. It is also likely that the casino will ask you to verify your home address. To do this, you will need to upload a copy of a recent bank statement, utility bill, or tax statement.

As you are using a Paysafecard voucher to deposit, you won’t be required to upload a copy of your funding source.

As annoying as the KYC process is, the good news is that as soon as you have had your casino account verified, you won’t need to do it again.

When it comes to claiming bonuses, whether or not you are eligible will vary depending on the platform. Supported Ukash casino sites will always be keen to get new players on-board, which is why they offer bonuses in the first place.

However, it is important that you spend some time reading the terms and conditions of the offer. In some cases, Ukash online casinos will stipulate that certain payment methods are not permitted for online bonuses. One of the key reasons for this is to prevent bonus abuse.

In other words, as there is no limit to the amount of vouchers you can buy, it makes it difficult for the casino to determine whether or not you have previously claimed a bonus.

However, we at BestRatedSlotSites.co.uk would argue that as long as you are identified before you make a withdrawal - which you need to be anyway when using a UK casino, then the threats of bonus abuse are effectively removed.

Sure, you could in theory open multiple accounts with the view of claiming multiple bonuses, but what would be the point in this if you were unable to withdraw the money out?

With that being said, if you are able to claim a welcome bonus with your Ukash/Paysafecard voucher, then this is usually offered in the form of a matched bonus. For example, if the casino offers a 100% matched bonus, and you deposit £100 with your voucher, then your starting balance would be £200. This allows you to test out the full range of casino games that the platform hosts.

Some casinos will also give you number of free bonus spins when you first open an account. This will either be a stand-alone bonus that simply offers free spins when you open an account, or a dual-bonus that gives you both a matched deposit and a number of free spins.