Apple Pay Gambling
With the new BitPay app, users can now use Apple Pay to make payments in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. BitPay is planning to include support for Google Pay and Samsung Pay in the near future. 5.3 Gaming, Gambling, and Lotteries. Gambling, gaming, and lotteries can be tricky to manage and tend to be one of the most regulated offerings on the App Store. Only include this functionality if you’ve fully vetted your legal obligations everywhere you make your app available and are prepared for extra time during the review process.
As the world of online betting and gambling expands, so does the range of different deposit methods available to punters. One of the newest methods to be made available is that of using Apple Pay via an iOS controlled mobile device.
Providing outstanding security and instant payment, Apple Pay looks certain to quickly become one of the more popular deposit options around. Below is a list of betting sites which accept Apply Pay currently:
Best Apple Pay Betting Sites: Top 6
The following is a list of the best sites for betting with Apple Pay:
How To Play With Apple Pay
*Info accurate as of 03-03-2021 for the UK market.
Deposits & Withdrawals
| Bookmaker | Min | Deposit | Withdraw | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 888Sport | £10 | Instant | Card/Bank | 0% |
| Paddy Power | £5 | Instant | Card/Bank | 0% |
| Ladbrokes | £5 | Instant | Card/Bank | 0% |
| Betfair | £5 | Instant | Card/Bank | 0% |
| Boylesports | £5 | Instant | Card/Bank | 0% |
What is Apple Pay and How Does It Work?
Apple Pay is a digital wallet which allows iOS controlled mobile device users to make payments through their compatible device.
The service was first rolled out in 2014 and devices which are compatible include iPhones from version six onwards, the Apple Watch, iPad Air, iPad Pro, iPad Mini and Mac.
Users of such devices can download Apple Pay from the app store and then need simply provision their chosen bank card to their Apple Pay wallet.
Once Apple Pay is set up on a device, it allows its user to make a payment (or deposit) by utilising a device specific number and a unique transaction code. That means that the user’s card details are not saved on their device and are certainly never shared with any merchant or third party. Instead, they are only ever saved on Apple’s secure servers which are protected by industry leading cyber-security measures.
Another interesting aspect of Apple Pay is that it does not retain transaction information that can be traced back to its user. Only the most recent purchases or payments made are kept in the Apple Pay wallet for convenience, and no other information is stored.
Fortunately, too, Apple Pay is not something that just anyone picking up someone else’s phone or mobile device can use. That’s the case, as the payment method also utilises Apple’s Touch ID technology for an added layer of security – making it one of the safest betting deposit options around.
Touch ID: How Does It Work?
iPhones and other Apple devices have, since around 2014, come complete with Touch ID pads which Apple themselves have described as comprising:
…some of the most advanced hardware and software we’ve put in any device.
The pad itself is made from transparent sapphire crystal, which is then surrounded by a steel ring. That steel ring detects the user’s finger when it is placed on the Touch ID pad and tells the associated software to begin attempting to read the fingerprint.
The built-in sensor, in concert with that software, then uses advanced capacitive touch to take high-resolution images from small sections of the fingerprint. That allows for intelligent analysis of the fingerprint with a degree of precision that is truly breath taking. What’s more, as technology develops, the Touch ID software will and does adapt to become even more fool proof.
Touch ID can read multiple fingerprints if instructed to do so and can also read fingerprints in 360 degrees of orientation to ensure that it can quickly and easily be used – but only by individuals authorised to do so. It is this impressive fingerprint based technology, therefore, which adds an extra layer of security when you use Apple Pay at betting sites.
How to Use Apple Pay for Gambling
The main two Apple Pay accepting online bookmakers right now are Bet365 and 888Sport. Here’s a guide on how to use Apply Pay to deposit on 888Sport (but it’s more or less an identical process at Bet365):
Apple Pay Gambling
- Head to the deposit section of your 888Sport account.
- Select Apple Pay as their chosen deposit method from the featured drop down menu.
- Set the amount they wish to deposit and press the Apple Pay button.
- Authenticate the transfer of funds by using their device’s Touch ID pad, which will only recognise their – or another authorised individual’s – fingerprint.
- Notification of a successful payment to the chosen betting client will be sent to their phone or chosen mobile device.
- An email invoice will also be sent from Apple.
A note on withdrawing with Apple Pay:
That really is all there is to it, when it comes to depositing to a betting site using Apple Pay. It should be noted, however, that as things stand it is not possible to withdraw funds from any site to an Apple Pay wallet. As such, anyone who deposits using Apple Pay, currently has to set up a different withdrawal method in order to take any funds back from their online betting account.
Fees Associated with Apple Pay
As things stand, there are no fees applied to deposits made via Apple Pay to any online betting site which accepts the digital wallet as a deposit method.
Apple Pay is not available as a withdrawal option which means depending upon which method is chosen for this, there may be fees attached to each withdrawal.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Apple Pay
In conclusion, then, the main pros and cons of online bookmakers with Apple Pay can be summarised as follows:
Advantages
- Deposits can be made instantly and with very little fuss.
- A combination of Apple’s Touch ID technology and the fact that Apple Pay never stores or shares financial details makes deposit very secure.
- Apple Pay stores only details of a user’s most recent transactions and no long term transaction information that can be traced back to them.
Disadvantages
- Currently Apple Pay is only supported by a small number of online betting sites (but it’s growing).
- Apple Pay cannot be used to withdraw funds, so a separate withdrawal method must be set up and used when required.
- There are a range of iOS controlled devices with which Apple is not compatible.
History of Apple Pay
The digital wallet service known as Apple Pay was first rolled out by Apple for users of iOS controlled devices back in 2014. Combined with the Touch ID pad, the service offered a new method of instant payments which initially was able to be used by customers with US issued payment cards.
By summer of 2015, the range of payment cards that could be linked to Apple Pay wallets had expanded and the service also became available in the UK. Through the rest of 2015 and into 2016, Apple Pay spread elsewhere around the world and began to offer more diverse payment options.
Apple Pay Gambling Advice
Those options began to include use within different mobile apps and over the internet via Apple’s Safari web browser. It was in late 2016, too, that the beta test of Apple Pay as an online betting deposit method with BskyB’s gambling clients began.
Do Casinos Take Apple Pay
Since then many bookmakers have added Apple Pay as a payment option and it continues to be popular with punters who use it to deposit and then withdraw via their debit card or bank transfer.