Credit Card Pokies

Australian punters can use most major credit cards to fund their online pokies hobby.  Everyone might assume they’ll be able to use a Visa or MasterCard. Your credit options go beyond those two titans of online consumer credit, though. Below are the credit cards which are acceptable at most Australian online pokies sites.

1,362 Australian gambling websites allow Visa credit card transactions.  1,475 gaming sites which accept New Zealanders allow Visa deposits and withdrawals. This makes the Visa payment method a one-card option for many gamblers. As you might expect, Visa is among the most widespread of payment options, rivalled only by MasterCard, Neteller, and Skrill. Most of the licensed, legitimate online casinos which offers online pokies use Visa credit card payments. Those who prefer debit or prepaid deposits can use the Visa Debit Card, Visa Electron, Solo, or Visa gift cards.

Visa Paywave, Visa Platinum, Visa Classic, Visa Gold, Visa Signature, and Visa Infinite are the six major cards offered to Australians. Variations on these cards exist, according to your credit rating and the rewards you want. The rewards programs involve several categories, so tailor the cards to your needs. Common reward options include travel, shopping, entertainment, health & spa, car rentals, dining, and golfing.

MasterCard

MasterCard is supported by 1,305 Australian Internet gambling websites. In New Zealand, 1,422 sites which accept MasterCard payments. More often than Visa, MasterCard Australia is vailable as a deposit option only. That won’t be the case 100% of the time. While some Europeans have the option to use MasterCard’s Eurocard, the only other MasterCard product useful to most Australians and New Zealanders is the Maestro debit card.

Australians have multiple options when applying for a MasterCard. 28 Degrees MasterCard cards have no annual fee and no international transaction fee. 28 Degrees MasterCard is a smart choice for online and overseas payments, so it is a top option for pokies players.

The Commonwealth Bank Platinum Awards MasterCard offers rewards involving electronics, holiday trips, and cash back. Coles MasterCard offers $10 off Coles Supermarkets payments when redeeming Flybuys points. Bank SA Vertigo MasterCard is a low rate shopping card. GE Money Low Rate Card offers the best savings. MasterCard touts that the GE Money card can “save you money on everything”. Others of note include the St. George Vertigo MasterCard, Commonwealth Bank Student MasterCard, and NAB Quantas Rewards Card.

American Express

American Express is not nearly as widespread in the online gaming industry as Visa and MasterCard. Despite that fact, you’ll find 193 Australian websites which accept real money players. 192 sites which accept New Zealand gamblers. The sites which allow Amex tend to be some of the most reputable, connected online casinos, card rooms, and bookmakers. For that reason, Kiwi and Aussie American Express cardholders have plenty of gambling options. Amex is only for payments, though–no withdrawals are accepted.

Australian-issued Amex cards include the Qantas Express Card and the David Jones Express Platinum Card. More general credit cards include the Platinum Edge, the Frequent Flyer, and the Small Business Card. The Velocity Gold, Velocity Platinum, and Velocity Escape cards are specific to Australia, too. These cards offer 3 times the standard rewards rate when dining out and 2 times the rate on airline tickets, cruise ship fare, and foreign currency exchanges.

Diners Club International

Diners Club International is a credit card association based out of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. Cardholders can choose from 5 different card types, depending on their needs and credit usage. The five types of Diners Club International credit cards offered are shown below.

• Personal
• Frequent Flyer
• Small Business
• Corporate
• Merchant Cards

Diners Club Rewards is a leading premium benefits programs. This card has no limit on the points acquired, and no expiry date. The program features over 400 separate rewards. Their card are accepted worldwide at over 15 million locations, along with several hundred online pokies casinos.

Diners Club International is a favourite with travellers. It offers complimentary travel insurance for lost keys and luggage, in one of four different types: personal, frequent flyer, small business, and corporate travel insurance.

World MasterCard – Diners Club Charge Card

The World MasterCard is a charge card offered by Diners Club which has no interest as long as you pay the full balance each month. If you pay charges within 14 days of your statement, you pay no default fees. Up to one other additional cardholder can receive a World MasterCard Card. This card offers a “comfort zone” rewards program when travelling, which provides you with luxuries at airports in the Diners Club Member Lounges. Diners Club says it partnered with MasterCard on this charge card in order to provide more ways to trigger rewards and benefits.

It should be noted the World MasterCard Card is concurrent with your Diners Club International card. If you have an account with Diners Club, you can ask for this additional card. Both cards will come on the same statement, though they will be itemized so you know the separate balance on each card. It is one account, though.

Diners Club – The Original Credit Card

For those who’ve never heard of Diners Club International, I wanted to point out this is a legitimate, old, and trusted credit card. In fact, you don’t get any more traditional than Diners Club International. Diners Club was the first modern credit card. It began as a charge card in 1950, eight years before Visa and sixteen years before MasterCard.

The idea was conceived at Major’s Cabin Grill restaurant in New York City. Frank McNamara, one of the card’s cofounders, left his wallet in another suit. While his wife was paying the tab, he was talking to the owner of the restaurant and brainstormed a multipurpose charge card to avoid such embarrassments in the future. The next day, McNamara founded the Diners Club card alongside his lawyer, Ralph Schneider. Alfred Bloomingdale, a family friend and heir to the Bloomingdale’s Department Store fortune, was instrumental in its early creation (and sometimes gets credit).

Many variations on the founding story exist, but historians agree that the Diners Club charge card was the birth of the modern credit card phenomenon. Diners Club was only for restaurants, though. 8 years later, Visa became the first general purpose card. In short order, Visa and MasterCard surpassed Diners Club in the mass consumer market. Still, Diners Club International is accepted in 59 countries worldwide.

284 different Australian online gambling websites accept Diners Club payments. 303 New Zealand online casinos, bookmakers, and poker rooms accept Diners Club International payments.

JCB Co., Ltd.

JCB is a Japan-based credit card company. Its initials stand for “Japanese Credit Bureau”, and it is the dominant Japanese credit card issuer. The company was founded in 1961. Today, the card is accepted at most merchants in Japan, at Union Pay Merchants in China, and at Discover Network merchants in the United States.

JCB has issued cards to 59 million people worldwide. JCB’s headquarters is in Tokyo and has close ties to over 3,000 financial institutions worldwide. JCB credit cards are a payment method at 110 different online gambling sites which accept play from New Zealand, along with 109 sites which accept Australians. The card is accepted in 190 countries worldwide and 12 million associated merchants. The company has offices in Australia, England, the US, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Germany. An AEON JCB Card also exists, which helps Australians travelling in Japan who do not want to use the yen.

JCB cards issued from the Tokyo home office offer a variety of benefits. Cards you might consider are The Class, The Gold, Gold Premier, Gold Extage, Standard, Corporate Card, JALCard, Delta Skymiles, Honda C-card, Cedyna OMC (“Orange Members” card), Synergy, APLUS Gold, TS Cubic, and Seven Card. JCB does not have any cards specific to Australians–which is unfortunate. The company has been expanding its business overseas for 30 years, so it is not out of the realm of possibility that an Australian consumer card would appear in the next few years. JCB operates a series of membership lounges in North America, Europe, and Asia. These membership lounges cater to East Asian travellers.

Marukai and Mitsuwa – US Friendly Cards

Australian gamblers who travel in American might be interested in JCB’s US-friendly cards: the Marukai Premium JCB Card and the Mitsuwa JCB Card. The Marukai card is a general card which offers 3% cashback anytime you use the card, along with an additional $50 bonus cashback offer. Cardholders receive two memberships with each card. In some places, no annual fee is charged. “Marukai” is the Japanese word for “America”, which should tell you all you need to know about its target customers.

The Mitsuwa JCB Card is a particularly targeted card. Once again, it is mainly for Americans and those who spend a lot of time in the USA. Cardholders of a particularly mindful bent can get special discounts at the Mitsuwa Marketplace, if they use the card during peak times. Anytime you use the Mitsuwa JCB Card on weekdays in the months of February, May, August, or November, you receive a special 10% discount. This card might not be preferable to online gamblers, though, because it only offers a 1% cashback rewards program. For Aussies living in the United States, the Mitsuwa Marketplace is a Japanese grocery store chain found in select U.S. states.

JCB is the only major credit card which is not run by a US company. If for some reason you don’t want to send payments to an American credit card company, then you can send your information to this Japanese company. I’m not suggesting this out of any anti-American fervour. The Eric Snowden scandal proved the US government’s NSA collects most electronic traffic flowing through the United States, so that is one legit reason to avoid the USA’s business sector. JCB is associated with Discover Card (a US company), so it will be accepted at most merchants which accept Discover Card. JCB uses “3-D Secure” technology for its security and privacy protocols. The card has a high purchasing power, so those with a lot of turnover on their credit every month might consider this deposit method.

JCB is one of five credit cards accepted for payments by the Australian government. The same five credit card companies which are accepted by Australian online casinos are accepted by the Australian government, which should tell you how trusted the JCB card is. Japanese Credit Bureau is an old-fashioned company, though. Online accounts are not as cutting edge, so sometimes you’ll need to call the customer service and provide your number (or mail a check).

Australian Gambling Laws for Pokies Players

While most of what I’ll be discussing is aimed at Australian gamblers, I’ve included information to help players from New Zealand make decisions, as well. Before I discuss the brands offered, I’ll give the briefest of an overview of the type of gambling sites where you are likely to find online poker machines.

Land-Based Credit Card Pokies

A decision made by the Australian parliament in December 2013 affects how Aussie punters can play in land-based gambling halls. The Julia Gillard administration passed gaming reforms in 2012 which set $200 limits on the use of ATM machines in or near clubs, pubs, and casinos. In 2013, a further round of reforms swept the nation at the state and federal level, due to fallout from the Tom Waterhouse NRL scandal.

When Tony Abbott became prime minister in September 2013 and Coalition became the majority party in Australian politics, Abbott and his allies vowed to do away with many of the Gillard reforms. The federal limitations on ATM transactions for pokies gambling were abolished. What that means is a gambler can go to an automated teller machine and withdraw as much as their bank or credit card issuer allows.

Coalition did not abolish state and territorial gaming laws, so those limitations still apply. Many banks now issues debit cards which support ATM transactions, while credit cards companies allow ATM withdrawals. You’ll be able to walk into many clubs and pubs throughout Australian and play the pokies with your credit card.

Online Pokies

Tony Abbott might one day try to outlaw online gaming. Keep in mind that land-based gaming companies are Australian businesses, while online pokies sites are owned by foreigners. While Abbott and the Coalition are pro-business, they have no use for international game operators who they might see as preying on the Australian population.

Online poker machines are playable at Internet casinos. Most of the time, these websites offer pokies, video poker, keno, and table games. Table games include all the favourites like blackjack, baccarat, roulette, and craps. Some websites focus solely on the pokies, but these “online pokie casinos” are going to be found on any list which includes other online casinos.

Mobile Pokies

In legal terms, mobile pokies websites are viewed the same as online casinos. Both are located on the Internet, and both are regulated by the IGA law of 2001.

If you want to gamble on pokies with a mobile device, you’ll need to go to a mobile casino. Once there, you’ll download an app for whichever operating system your mobile device uses: Android OS, iOS, Blackberry OS, or Windows Phone OS. In the Australia and New Zealand pokies markets, gamblers at mobile casinos or online casinos are going to have up to 5 credit card options.