Skrill Review

Skrill/Moneybookers Casino Deposit Method Review

Along with Neteller, Skrill/Moneybookers is one of the two big-name Electronic Wallet (or e-Wallet) companies - the definition of e-Wallet can also include PayPal. Like Neteller, Skrill allows you to deposit money into your e-Wallet account (often using a credit/debit card or bank transfer), and then using the money from this account to fund transactions over the web. Like Neteller, Skrill is happily accepted by most UK gaming sites, so you shouldn't experience any problems with rejected transactions.

Cash deposits from your Skrill account should be available instantly, although it'll generally take a few hours for withdrawals to appear back in your e-Wallet. This is vastly superior to a credit card, where you're looking at 3-5 days for withdrawals.  Costs are minimal, and it should be free to deposit to or withdraw money from gambling sites. Even international transfers often cost less than a couple of Euros, making Skrill a stunningly economical method of transferring money abroad.

E-Wallets are generally famed for their ease of use, but Skrill is the simplest of the lot. All you need is the email address of your account and your password, making it even faster and more convenient than its hot rival, Neteller. Top encryption, though, keeps your details safe. When you first join up, you will often need to go through a lengthy verification process in order to get access to the very highest rates.

The company started as Moneybookers in 2002, and quickly established a firm foothold in the burgeoning electronic payments market. So much so, in fact, that the company was snapped up by Investcorp in 2007. As a result, the name of the company was changed to Skrill in 2010. Many merchants use both names, and some only refer to Moneybookers. Strictly speaking, though, only the 'Skrill' name is correct.

The business now has over 15 million customers worldwide, making it a major player. It's also regulated by the FSA, so customers' money will be protected by UK law in the event of disaster. A string of awards in recent years is testament to the quality of the service and the strength of its security.

Note that free offers are often not extended to users paying with e-Wallet accounts. Casinos are generally less rigorous about this than betting sites, since casino bonuses are much harder (if not impossible) to abuse. However, if you're looking to take advantage of a welcome bonus, make sure you won't be excluded for using an e-Wallet.

Although e-Wallets are becoming commonplace, you will still find the odd casino that refuses to accept payment from them. By and large, though, availability is fairly good, transactions are fast and smooth, and costs are tiny. Skrill seems to have slightly better fees when it comes to moving money between bank accounts, making it perhaps the best even of the e-Wallets. For all of these reasons, Skrill is an excellent choice.