Launched in 1966, Mastercard processes payments between banks and merchants, including online casinos. It does this through its credit, debit, and prepaid cards which millions of customers use around the world. They’re also accepted by shops, restaurants, airlines, and virtually any other physical or online businesses.

The popularity and widespread acceptance of Mastercard at online casinos makes it one of the most commonly used deposit options. And even though credit cards are banned for online gambling in the UK, you’ll be able to use other types of Mastercard at the best UK online casinos. Customers link the card to a bank account and can transfer funds from their bank to a merchant, via the details on their Mastercard. Users can also have funds returned to the same card.

Here are some of the main reasons why so many gamblers turn to Mastercard:

• It’s widely available and many people will already have a MasterCard linked to their bank account whether it’s to play real money slots or other games.

• MasterCard payments are processed almost instantly, so you won’t have to wait around for the transfer to clear before playing at the best MasterCard casinos online.

• Funds can be returned to the same card used to deposit with, meaning that players won’t have to set up another payment option to collect their winnings.

• Using MasterCard at online casinos is safe and secure, with state-of-the-art systems in place to ensure money only goes to where it’s supposed to go.

• MasterCard is fully compatible with mobiles, so anyone playing real money mobile slots or through a gambling app can use their card just as easily as they can at a desktop site.

As MasterCard is linked to a bank account, any applicable fees depend on the bank issuing your card. Generally, MasterCard casino sites don’t charge fees for depositing funds, however a small (usually around 2%-3%) fee may apply to withdrawals. This is the only fee that you are likely to encounter when you deposit and withdraw at MasterCard online casinos.

Mastercard casinos are everywhere. Any UK site that accepts debit cards will have Mastercard as a payment option. Some sites only accept cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, but apart from these, we would be cautious about any site that didn’t accept Mastercard payments.