BetOnline and Bovada Now Charging Deposit Fees!

Sports Betting Sites caught wind on forums yesterday that BetOnline.com (.ag) is now charging their clients a 6% fee for credit card deposits. We inquired with live chat and were told this is clearly stated in their rules. Searching the rules published on their website we discovered under Cashier Rules > Deposit Rules a rule #5 has been added which reads:

5. When depositing using credit card a 6% processing fee will be applied to your deposit. For example, when depositing $100 you will be charged a fee of $6 and will receive $94 in your account for betting. You will be able to calculate your fees in the cashier prior to confirming your deposit.

Upon further look it does appear silly anyone would pay 6% fee when there are free deposit methods available.

Free BetOnline Deposit Methods

Two US friendly deposit methods BetOnline covers the fees for are listed below.

1. Money Order – the BetOnline website now states they’ll accept Money Orders purchased at places such as Wal-Mart, Check Cashing Stores, Convenience Stores, Western Union, Money Gram and Post Offices. You can then express ship the Money Order via FedEx, UPS or DHL and when it arrives they’ll credit your account with the money order amount and the express shipping fee.
2. Person to Person (P2P) – When depositing to BetOnline using person to person money transfer service (for example Western Union or MoneyGram) BetOnline will add the amount of cash sent plus (so long as the deposit is for $300 or greater) they’ll add the fee amount as well.

Clients outside the United States can deposit free of charge using Neteller or MoneyBookers.

Bovada.lv Also Charging Deposit Fees

Back on December 14, 2011 Bodog left the US market moving all their American clients to the URL www.bovada.lv. Just prior to this their company instituted a 4.9% fee on all deposits made via credit card which is now in place here. Although 1.1% less than the new BetOnline fees, the most concerning thing here is credit card has long been Bodog’s (now Bovada’s) primary deposit method. Upon reviewing their website it does appear Western Union deposits can be made for amounts ranging from $300 to $5,000 and Moneygram for amounts ranging from $300 to $900 with Bovada picking up the fees. No other free deposit methods are available.

Free Credit Card Deposits

Currently, www.justbet.cx and www.bookmaker.eu still offer credit card deposits without any fees charged or deducted. Perhaps this won’t last forever as the latest trends industry wide are less than player friendly. These two US betting sites are both highly reputable and are better alternatives when depositing with credit card.