What is Boku?
Boku is a global finance company that specializes exclusively in mobile phone payments. The third-party processor allows you to easily buy things online with your phone. For example, let’s say that you are out of the house and you want to purchase a new album on iTunes.
If you forgot your debit/credit card, you could instead pay for the purchase with your phone credit. This covers both PayAsYouGo and monthly subscriptions. Once the purchase has been made, your phone credit will be debited, and the merchant will authorize the payment.
What are Boku Betting Sites?
Boku betting sites are simply online gambling platforms that accept Boku as a payment method. Everything else remains the same. For example, you will still be required to open an account with the bookmaker, verify your identity, and then deposit funds. You will also be presented with dozens of sports betting UK events, across thousands of individual markets.
How do Boku Betting Site Deposits Work?
Once you go through the process of opening an account with your chosen operator, Boku betting sites allow you deposit funds instantly. You will need to head over to the online bookmaker’s banking page, and then scroll down through the many payment methods until you find Boku.
Once you do, a pop-up box will appear giving you instructions on how to deposit funds with Boku. You will need to enter your mobile phone number, as well as the amount you wish to deposit.
Betting sites using Boku will then send you an SMS which contains the following information:
- Deposit Details: The SMS will notify you of the amount being deposited, and the name of the Boku betting site. For example, £50 deposit at Betfair Boku.
- Verification Code: The SMS will also contain a verification code. This is to ensure that it was you that made the deposit request at the respective Boku betting site.
If everything in the SMS looks good, head back to the pop-up box at your chosen Boku betting site and enter the verification code. Once you do, this verifies that you want to deposit to be debited from your phone.
PayAsYouGo
If your mobile phone is on a PayAsYouGo plan, the deposit will be taken from your available credit balance. For example, if you have £20 in credit and you deposit £15 at the Boku betting site, you’ll be left with £5 credit.
Any deposits that you make at Boku betting sites on a PayAsYouGo phone must have a sufficient balance. For example, trying to deposit £35 when you only have £30 in credit will result in the deposit being rejected.
Monthly Contract
If you are currently on a monthly contract plan, the deposit process is largely the same. However, the main difference is in the way you are charged. While PayAsYouGo customers will have the funds debited from their available balance instantly, contract plans will not be billed until the end of the month.
For example, let’s say that you deposit £20 and £40 at a Boku betting site. In doing so, the deposit will be billed at the end of the month, and then you will need to settle the £60 invoice as you normally would (usually Direct Debit).
You will be able to keep making deposits until you reach your agreed credit limit. The size of your credit limit will vary from provider-to-provider, albeit, you should be able to find out what this is by looking at your phone bill.
Instant Deposits at Betting Sites That Accept Boku
Regardless of whether you’re on a PayAsYouGo or monthly plan, betting sites Boku process deposits instantly. This means that as soon as you confirm the transaction, you should see the funds available in your betting balance.
It is also worth noting that bookmakers that accept Boku rarely charge any deposit fees. The payment processor instead makes its money by charging the merchant directly – much in the same way that the likes of Visa, MasterCard and PayPal do!
How do Boku Betting Site Withdrawals Work?
One of main drawbacks of using Boku bookmakers is the withdrawal process. While you are able to deposit funds with ease, it is not possible to withdraw your winnings back to your mobile phone.
This is because the underlying technology supporting Boku only has the capacity to debit payments from phones – and not credit them. As a result, you will need to consider an alternative payment method when it comes to making a cashout from your chosen Boku betting site.
In most cases, this will either need to be in the form of a bank transfer or cheque – which are both super-slow. If you want to withdraw funds via a debit/credit card or e-wallet, you will first need to make a deposit into your account – as per anti-money laundering laws.
How do I Find the Best Boku Betting Sites?
If you like the sound of depositing funds with your mobile phone, you now need to start thinking about finding the best Boku betting sites. Unlike more popular payment methods like debit/credit cards and e-wallets, the number of betting sites that use Boku in operation is still somewhat limited.
Nevertheless, no-two Boku sports betting sites are the same, so below we have listed the main metrics that you need to look out for when choosing a platform.
- Regulated: Make sure that the Boku betting site is regulated. If you’re based in the UK, the platform needs to hold a gaming license with the Gambling Commission.
- Betting Markets: You need to explore the extensiveness of the site’s betting arena. We at WinnerSports.co.uk expect Boku betting sites to list thousands of betting markets across dozens of major and minor sports.
- Odds: Check to see how competitive the Boku betting site is in the odds department. It’s always notable if the site offers Best Odds Guaranteed on British and Irish horse racing, and enhanced odds on major football events.
- Payment Methods: Although you will be depositing funds with Boku, you won’t be able to make a cash out back to your phone. As such, explore what deposit methods you can use to make a withdrawal.
- Withdrawal Times: When it comes to cashing out your profits, you’ll want to stick with Boku betting sites that offer super-fast withdrawal times. We prefer sites that process payments on a same-day basis.
- Bonuses: Look to see what bonuses and free bets the Boku betting site offers, and whether or not you will be eligible by depositing with Boku.
If you don’t have the required time to find a Boku betting site yourself, why not explore some of the platforms that we at WinnerSports.co.uk have recommended?
All of our recommendations and based on in-depth reviews that our team have compiled. As such, you can be 100% sure that each recommendation is based on accurate and up-to-date information.
How To Add Boku To Neteller Account (Neteller Boku)
Although you can’t withdraw funds directly to your phone via Boku, there is a slight workaround to this. In a nutshell, you can connect your Boku account to Neteller, and then withdraw the funds from Neteller to your bank account
For example, let’s say that:
- You do a £100 Paddy Power deposit By Phone Bill with Boku.
- You turn your £100 deposit into £400 via blackjack.
- You connect your Boku to Neteller
- You then withdraw £400 from the Boku betting site to Neteller
- You link your bank account to Neteller
- You then withdraw the £400 from Neteller to your bank account – less fees.
However, it is important to stress that the above withdrawal process can be extremely expensive. Crucially, Neteller charges a range of deposit and withdrawal fees – which you will effectively need to pay twice as you’ll be funding your account with Boku, and then making a withdrawal into your bank account!