Why are pay by phone slots becoming popular with players?
In partnership with Steven Wraith.
Pictures: Unsplash
Online casinos are taking the gambling world by storm. This growth has been even faster over the last few years, particularly during lockdowns that kept us all indoors and unable to visit our favourite locations.
Playing online casino games on a desktop or laptop computer is still popular, and there are even some online casinos that cater to this platform. Using a phone to play casino games is even more popular, thanks to the rise of mobile games and the massive audiences that they have.
One of the ways that many online casinos try to differentiate themselves from their competition is by trying to offer the widest variety of payment options, accepting an ever-increasing number of digital wallets and cryptocurrencies, and becoming more convenient acts as an effective selling point.
In a young industry, pay by phone slots are one of the newest trends in online gambling. It’s a payment method that emphasises the convenience factor. This article will look at the future for pay by phone slots for 2022 and some of the benefits for gamblers.
Just what are they?
For those of us who have the PayPal app on our phones or use a digital wallet, pay by phone doesn’t sound all that exciting. Aren’t all digital purchases made on a smartphone pay by phone? What makes this method special?
Pay by phone is different because it’s really only using the phone to pay, not using the phone to pay with something else. The payments that users make at an online casino are simply added on to their monthly mobile phone bill. Most major mobile phone networks participate in the system.
If you have a contract, the amount is added to your monthly bill. If you are using pay-as-you-go, the amount is deducted from your remaining balance. One thing to keep in mind is that pay by phone is for making deposits only, it is not possible to make a withdrawal using this method.
Payment services like Boku, Zimpler, and PayForIt connect players, providers, and slot sites to facilitate the payment process. Even though there is an intermediary, there are no extra fees when you use pay by phone to make a deposit.
Why they’re popular
Paying for things with digital wallets or services like PayPal has been marketed as the simplest payment method. Pay by phone goes a step further towards streamlining the process, though thankfully not as far as Amazon’s creepy and invasive ‘pay with your palm’ scanners.
Convenience is the main selling point for pay by phone slots. It doesn’t matter if you’re sitting at home or on holiday in a shepherd’s hut deep in the Kent countryside, as long as you have internet access and know your own phone number, you can make payments and keep playing.
Security is also a major factor. Pay by phone casinos have to have a contract with the major mobile phone networks in order to work. This means they have to be reputable enough to be successfully vetted by these companies.
Also, this is a great method if you don’t feel comfortable trusting an online casino with your bank details. Even if you only play at online casinos that are reputable and legitimate, they are attractive targets for scammers and hackers because of the amount of financial data they store.
All you need to set up a payment with this method is your phone number. Your mobile phone service provider will handle the actual transaction details. This limits the number of companies that have access to your private data and helps to keep you and your money safe.
Top pay by phone slots
Pay by phone slots are becoming more popular but since they are still fairly new and require the online casino to work with mobile phone providers, not every casino is able to process this type of payment. Below is a list of some of the top UK casinos that allow users to pay by phone:
Mr.Play has one of the more distinctive logos in the business — a giant moustache. Most of their library is made up of slot machine games. The user interface is attractive without being too busy, offering a simple and intuitive design. Mr.Play’s digital wallet uses Zimpler for pay by phone transactions.
Karamba is memorable for its distinctive bright blue parrot mascot. This online casino offers a bit of everything, including slots, live dealer games, and a sportsbook. Karamba also uses Zimpler for pay by phone transactions.
Peela – Peela is a medieval-themed online casino that has over 1,300 games. Instead of just having one type of progressive jackpot, Peela has two: regular and must fall. It has a good VIP program with rewards for loyal players. Peela uses Boku for pay by phone transactions.
So, what does the future hold for pay by phone slots? It might be a bit of a niche payment method at the moment, but 2022 is set to be the year that it really takes off and becomes one of the major payment methods.
Since it is so convenient and secure, it will be interesting to see what other businesses and services follow in the footsteps of the online casino industry and implement their own version of pay by phone. Maybe by the end of 2022 we’ll see it in use elsewhere.