What is Boku?
Boku is an online payment method which links your mobile bill provider to the online betting site and enables you to make easy payments. It’s one of the top betting payment methods. Boku mobile is so popular amongst online bettors that you aren’t required to enter your personal banking information, and instead, you need your mobile number. This will then cause a deposit fee, an amount of your choosing, to be added to your phone bill for that month if you’re on a monthly phone contract.
The money will be debited directly from your balance if you are on a “Pay as you Go” arrangement. Because Boku is classed as a turnkey payment, you’ll be able to see which betting sites accept Boku to claim your free bets for the UK under their list of accepted banking options. All the sites we’ve listed above accept Boku, as well as a variety of other payment methods.
It’s worth mentioning that Boku only works as a deposit method. Therefore, you won’t be able to withdraw winnings. Players who need to deposit to withdraw winnings will need to choose an alternative payment method.
A Guide to Making Deposits via Boku
Choosing Boku as one of your new deposit methods at a new bookmaker or your current bookie might be the best decision you’ve ever made. Although using older methods like credit cards and debit cards are still incredibly popular for multiple reasons, Boku is now becoming a more recognised deposit method at online bookies.
The main reason for this is how convenient it is! Your anonymity is protected; the only details you must share with the bookie when using Boku is your phone number. Paying by mobile is a speedy and efficient way of doing things. It first came onto the scene when Google Play, Facebook and even Spotify were accepting Boku as a banking option.
How to Use Boku at Online Bookmakers
Boku has been designed to be as efficient as possible. This means that you won’t have to spend a lot of time waiting for the payment to be processed and spend more time betting on your favourite markets. Below is a step by step guide on to use Boku at betting sites.
- Choose your Boku bookmakers and once you’ve signed up, go to the deposit section.
- Look for the option which says, “Pay by Mobile” or Pay by Phone”.
- A window will then appear, asking you to put the deposit amount you’d like to make. This can be up to a maximum of £30.
- Boku will then send a text message to the number which you’ve added for verification. To accept the charges and add them to your mobile bill, reply with “Y”. If you’ve changed your mind or think the message has been sent by mistake, reply with “N”.
- You’re now ready to bet! You don’t need to hang around because Boku processes payments immediately, so you can head straight over to the betting section.
Using Boku Checkout
Not every betting site will use this feature, but there are a few out there. Boku Checkout is similar to how Visa Checkout and PayPal Checkout works. Instead of re-entering your details after every deposit, the site will remember your details to save you even more time. We recommend only using this at your favourite sites, but it’s a welcome addition for betting sites.
What if My Favourite Betting Site Doesn’t Accept Boku?
So, you’ve picked the betting site you wish to play at, signed up, gone over to the deposit methods and found out they don’t accept Boku mobile. What can you do now? Fortunately, there is a cunning way around this, and you don’t have to search for another site just yet.
If you’ve got your heart set on using Boku but don’t mind using an e-wallet, this is a great way around playing at a sportsbook that doesn’t accept Boku or Pay by Mobile. Players can choose an e-wallet that does accept Boku, for example, Skrill sites or Neteller and then make the deposit into that. Once the funds show up as being available, you can add them to the betting site and select the e-wallet you deposited into, and you’re ready to roll. Although this isn’t as quick or convenient as depositing directly via Boku, you can also make withdrawals into your e-wallet.
Are There Transaction Fees Using Boku?
The simple answer to this is no. You won’t experience any transaction fees because the casino generously covers them! This means that if you deposit £10 into your Boku sports betting site of choice account, you’ll still have £10 to play with.
Many betting sites don’t accept e-wallet or pay by mobile deposits as acceptable deposit methods for claiming the welcome bonus, match bonus and other promotions. If claiming the sign-up bonus is something you feel particularly keen on doing, you’re better making your first deposit through credit card, debit card or bank transfer before making your qualifying bet.
Are Boku Pay by Phone Deposits Safe?
Depositing via Boku is one of the safest ways of depositing into your betting account. Every transaction is traceable, so you can be assured that you’re safe when choosing from the best Boku bookmakers.
Because of the nature of the payment method, sports and casino deposits through Boku have two security layers, which are great news for the player. The first is with Boku, as they have their own tracking and security processes in place, so if there were any issues, you could check with Boku first. Since the online Boku betting site also has its own security measures in place, this means that you can also contact the betting site directly if the wrong amount was deposited or for any other reason.
Boku Betting Benefits
When deciding what deposit method to use, you will want to weigh each payment option’s pros and cons. Well, like any other deposit method, Boku comes with its very own benefits and downsides. Here is where we take a look at the benefits of using Boku.
Cost
One of the biggest benefits of using Boku as your preferred payment method is that it is completely free. Unlike many other mobile payment services, which are attached to various fees that customers have to pay when making deposits and/or withdrawals. Boku will not charge a single penny for moving funds around.
Quick Registration
Boku offers one of the simplest registration methods out of any payment service method we have come across. You will find that many alternative payment methods have unnecessarily long sign-up forms that require various personal details to be entered. At the same time, Boku requires just a simple mobile number.
Security
Whenever you are using Boku, you will not need to worry about your personal details, as Boku does not share them with any third parties. All payments are properly authenticated via text message to ensure complete safety and security.
Boku Betting Downsides
Even the most popular payment methods come with their very own downsides, so it is only right that Boku has a few of its own too. Below we have highlighted the various downsides to using Boku as a mobile payment platform.
Deposit Limits
One of the most common problems customers come across when using Boku is the deposit limits. When depositing by phone with Boku, you are limited to a daily deposit limit set at £30. These daily deposit limits can be a big problem for high-rollers.
Withdrawals
Not only will you find problems when using Boku as a deposit option, but there are problems with withdrawals too. In fact, Boku is not a withdrawal option at all, as it does not allow withdrawals.
Alternatives To Boku
Although Boku shapes up to be a payment service that we recommend you try, there are plenty of other payment options and services that offer respectable payment methods. Below we have highlighted some of the alternative payment options to Boku:
Debit Cards
We start with probably the most common and longest-standing payment options accepted in pretty much any betting site and/or casino, and that is debit cards. Betting sites usually accept a wide range of debit cards, including Visa and Mastercard. One of the main reasons why debit cards are so widely used is due to the convenience they offer. Pretty much everyone owns a debit card making it readily available when registering at betting sites.
Although debit cards may offer convenience, they tend to offer some of the slowest withdrawal processing times, with customers typically waiting for between 2 to 5 business days.
E-Wallets
E-wallets are a payment option always gaining attention from online bettors. This modern way of paying usually offers quick transactions and high-security levels but comes at a price. More often than not, e-wallets will have transactions fees in place for when users make deposits and/or withdrawals.
Some examples of e-wallets include; Neteller, Skrill, PayPal and Trustly.
Google Pay & Apple Pay
Google Pay and Apple Pay are two payment options that have arrived thanks to the advancements of technology. These two payment options are mobile services that make depositing and withdrawing money via mobile incredibly easy. To use either of these contactless payment methods, customers will need to have a Google account or an Apple account that depends on the payment method they wish to use.
Our Summary Of Boku
Amongst a sea of valid payment methods, Boku is yet another one that should be and will be used by many gamers and bettors alike. With no transaction fees attached, it trumps many competitors like Neteller and Skrill, then the bonus of the security and simpleness of Boku means it is a five-star payment method for sure.
One of our favourite parts of the Boku service is the sign-up process. Unlike many other services, Boku offers a simple and quick registration process that requires nothing more than a mobile number.