PayPal operates globally in over 200 locations and has a stern reputation for being trustworthy, following financial regulations to the letter of the law, partnering only with casinos operating in regulated iGaming markets, and for offering a consumer-focused high-tech app and/or web-based payment solution.
Its privacy and security tech matches any online casino and, importantly, for the purpose of the topic of this article, it processes payments in US Dollars. These are just a few of many key reasons as to why online casinos in the US have integrated the eWallet into their casino platforms.
It is clear from this US PayPal online casino guide presented here that the eWallet is popular with many of the most reputable iGaming brands in the country, including land-based casino brands with online verticals such as Borgata, Harrahs, Caesars, and more.
PayPal’s Reemergence into the US iGaming Scene
PayPal readaptation to the US iGaming market is perhaps one of the most significant developments in US gambling since New Jersey announced online casinos would launch back in November 2013 post Black Friday, which saw the entire US online gambling come to a halt.
After Black Friday in 2011, PayPal pulled out of several unregulated iGaming markets globally citing them as too risky to operate in. Its new policy was to reemerge only when the market became regulated. For example, you will find PayPal at UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) regulated online casinos as well as in Germany and Switzerland where domestic regulatory frameworks are in place.
When New Jersey announced in 2013 that under new state laws online casinos would be reinstated for state residents, PayPal was already operating in Nevada, where online poker was made legal in February the same year. It wasn’t long before the company made the journey East to into the New Jersey iGaming market, and since then into newly opened iGaming markets such as Michigan.
An Ideal Tech Partner for Payment Solutions
Just as partnerships with software providers to provide casino members with video slots and table games are vital for online casinos, PayPal is also another asset as a tech partner. Players need funds to play and what better payment solution than one that boasts over 302 million active users, and for good reason. PayPal has so many customers simply because it offers unmatched tech and a consumer-focused platform.
Here are just some of the benefits PayPal has to offer online casinos and their clientele:
- Deposits credit the casino account instantly
- Withdrawals credited to PayPal on the same day
- Advanced encrypted payment portal/gateway
- Mobile app that works in sync with casino apps
- No bank or card details required by the casino
- Make payments via your email address
- No charge when making deposits to online casinos
- High maximum deposits & withdrawals (up to $10,000)
- Regulated across multiple jurisdictions
PayPal Attracted Online Casino Due to its Financial Regulatory Pull
PayPal was already operating in the US when New Jersey’s iGaming market came back online. In fact, at the time, the revolutionary PayPal Fintech app was one of the few operating under licensing issued by multiple US states’ financial regulatory boards. In particular, financial authorities in the 6 states in which online casinos are now legal, as well as Nevada, where online poker is also regulated, PayPal had already gained approval to operate as a Fintech organization.
- New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance
- Pennsylvania Department of Banking
- Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation
- West Virginia State Tax Department, Revenue Division
- Delaware Office of the State Bank Commissioner
- Connecticut Department of Banking
- Nevada Department of Business and Industry
The Role of Black Friday in the disappearance of PayPal from US iGaming
For those of you unfamiliar with the term ‘Black Friday’ in the world of gambling, it refers to April 15, 2011, when the US Federal government moved swiftly to shut down online gambling in the USA. At the time, there were no legal frameworks in place to prevent US citizens from playing at online casinos operated by overseas entities. Fearful of the millions of US Dollars in tax revenue leaking out of the US via virtual borders, the government had no control over the overseas companies and as such agreed to shut the illicit trade down.
Consequently, a new legislation in Congress was passed, but not to make online gambling in the US illegal, because it already was. The new law banned financial institutions operating in the US to approve online casino transactions under the guise that players at these casinos had no consumer rights to fall back on. Point and case, players could easily be scammed, and the US wanted to protect its citizens—admittedly the government had a good point, but ultimately a ban would also give time to devise new ways to regulate and ‘tax’ online gambling while hitting hard at the root of the problem, the banks, eWallets and other payment methods allowing the transaction to occur in first place.
PayPal’s Reemergence Now Makes Perfect Sense
When iGaming returned to some US states, PayPal was a financial institution operating in the US under multiple state financial regulatory frameworks. With such a large user base, and still very active in commercial markets, it made perfect sense for online casinos to partner with the eWallet brand, thus providing easy payment access to gamble online. Add PayPal’s solid reputation for security, its platform’s technical prowess and easy integration, its flexible mobile payment platform, trustworthiness, customer support, and reliability and you have the key components that make this eWallet the perfect online casino payment solution.
