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Paypal is one of the most popular online payment options around the world and is one of the most popular payment options at poker sites catering to European players. However, Paypal is not available for poker site deposits or withdrawals to players living in the United States. Founded in 2000 through a X.com and Confinity merger, Paypal is now entirely owned by eBay.com. This purchase was made in 2002 for $1.5 billion. On poker sites that accept Paypal, this online electronic wallet is one of the easiest to use and fastest payment methods for online poker rooms with no fees for payments or withdrawals to your bank account. The best Paypal poker sites accept Paypal for both deposits and withdrawals.

Paypal Poker Site - Party Poker

Party Poker allows Paypal deposits from European players using their Euro or British Pound. The minimum Paypal deposit at Party Poker is £10.00 while the maximum allowable Paypal deposit at Party Poker is £800.00. All new players at Party Poker using Paypal to make their first deposit can qualify for the welcome bonus of 100% up to a maximum of £100.00.

What is PayPal?

Paypal is an electronic wallet that allows online real money poker players to deposit money into their account using their bank account or by receiving money from another Paypal user - both instant transactions. When you receive money from another Paypal account holder, however, you are charged a 3% fee for receiving the money. Some poker sites will also charge an additional fee for processing a withdrawal to a Paypal account. In order to make a deposit at one of the best Paypal poker sites online, you must simply provide your email address - the same email address that you use as your account name for the Paypal account.

One of the features that sets Paypal apart from other electronic wallets is their support of a Mastercard brand debit card that allows you to make purchases and withdraw money from an ATM directly from your Paypal account. If you choose to withdraw money from an ATM, Paypal charges a flat $1.00 fee for the service in addition to any fee that is charged by the bank that operates the ATM. For professional online poker players, this allows them to use their Paypal account much like they would a normal bank account and make fast transactions as soon as their withdrawal clears. Normal withdrawals form your Paypal account to a checking account are not charged a fee but take 3-5 business days to arrive at the bank.

Even if you choose to utilize the Paypal debit card, it is important to tie your account to your primary checking account so that you can still make instant purchases online - even if your Paypal account balance is zero. When you first associate a bank account with Paypal, you will be required to go through a verification process where Paypal will deposit a negligible amount of money in your provided bank account and ask you to provide that information. If you plan on making a real money deposit at one of the best Paypal poker sites, it is best to perform this verification as soon as you sign up for an account to avoid delays when you are ready to begin playing real money online poker.

Using Paypal at the Best Paypal Poker Sites

In order to make a Paypal deposit at one of the best Paypal poker sites, you can access the cashier section on either your account page or the main lobby. Find Paypal in the deposit listings and click on the button. You will be asked to enter your Paypal account name and the amount that you would like to deposit at the poker site. This will take you to an invoice page where you can verify the amount that you would like to deposit, enter your Paypal password and verify your postal address. As soon as you have entered this information, click on Pay to complete the transaction. This will instantly withdraw the funds from your Paypal account and send them to the poker room. Your transaction will be processed in less than 15 seconds if it is approved, normally instantly.

Advantages and Disadvantages of using Paypal at Poker Sites

There are a great deal of advantages to using your Paypal account to make real money deposits online. Paypal allows instant and free deposits to approved online poker rooms at any time of the day. The Paypal debit card is a marked advantage that draws most of the European Paypal poker site traffic as this drives them ahead of competitors such as Moneybookers and Neteller. Paypal also keeps your poker site deposits and withdrawals safe by providing state of the art encryption and security that matches that of major online banking institutions around the world. Paypal customer service is available through a variety of contact options 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Of course, one of the biggest disadvantages of using Paypal to fund online poker sites is the lack of availability. Very few poker sites accept Paypal and no North American poker players can use Paypal to deposit money at poker sites online. There are some poker sites that allow Paypal deposits and some North American players have had some success making deposits using Paypal. However, if such a transaction is detected by Paypal, your funds can be seized and you can be investigated for fraudulent online payment activity. In short, only a few online poker sites accepting European players also accept Paypal deposits from those players.