For a long time, PayPal was an intermediary between players and their gambling websites, but due to the hazy legality of online poker and gambling websites they ceased doing so in 2003. They did this completely voluntarily to avoid the potential of any litigation. However, in 2010 they resumed their role in online poker and gambling with one caveat: they would only do it in countries where online gambling is legal and only for properly licensed poker sites in that area. Because of this the websites that currently offer PayPal as a method of deposit are somewhat limited.
The good news is that any PayPal poker site that is accepted is of the highest quality and reputability. If a poker website has the PayPal logo listed amongst its poker deposit options, that logo might as well be a sign that says “it is completely safe to bet at this website.”
To fund your PayPal poker site all you need is a PayPal account which the odds are that you already have as PayPal has millions of customers worldwide. However, if you are one of the very few without a PayPal account, the process of creating a new account is very easy. Simply go to their website and click the sign up button on their home page. From there you will be asked to fill out some basic personal information and then enter some banking information. You will want to link your account to a bank account for easy deposits and withdrawals. This process may take a couple of days as PayPal will need to verify your bank account, but after it is done you will not need to worry about it ever again.
Once your account is open there are a variety of other ways you may fund your account. PayPal allows you to add funds from a bank account, through MoneyPak or via a backup credit card that you enter into their system. Many poker sites allow you to deposit directly from their site, allowing you to play with funds that would normally take a couple of days to clear your account.
PayPal was founded way back in 1998 as an online payment processor. By 2002 they had become the top payment processor in the world and the number one method in which users paid for their eBay purchases. eBay reacted to this by purchasing the company for $1.5 billion.
PayPal is the most trusted payment service in the world and for good reason. They’ve been around seemingly forever and have a reputation for quality, secure service. PayPal is a world leader in e-commerce and last year had revenues of $4.4 billion dollars. If there is one name that can be trusted in online payment processing, it is PayPal. When online poker websites, an industry that has had its fair share of controversy, starts accepting PayPal as a payment we tend to take notice. PayPal poker sites can do more to legitimize online poker than anything ever has before.