Boku logoDid you ever wish that the depositing process at your favourite casino would be easier, faster and more straight-forward? Although depositing via bank cards, e-wallets and prepaid vouchers is all well and good, using phone billing for your deposits outdoes all of the other methods in terms of simplicity and speed. Namely, Boku is all the rage when it comes to depositing at mobile casinos, so we take a look at this payment system and review its merits.

What is Boku?

Phone Billing Pound SymbolWe talk about mobile payments a lot here at Mobile Slots 4U, simply because they are such a great way to deposit. Yet, we never really looked into Boku in detail, which is one of the main systems of mobile phone deposits.

Carrier billing, phone depositing, mobile invoicing – whatever you want to call it, Boku has made a splash in the mobile gaming industry. Established in 2009, in the innovative city of San Francisco, Boku is a mobile payment platform that enables anyone with a smartphone to make purchases online. Sounds simple enough, but how exactly does it work?

The Technology Behind It

Phone Billing Deposits Service Providers LogosBoku is quite ingenuous as it doesn’t require any bank details, e-wallet accounts or actually visiting a physical shop to obtain a prepaid voucher such as Ukash. So you don’t need to leave the comfort of your own home or remember tonnes and tonnes of numbers; with just the number of your mobile, you are able to instantaneously deposit money at a casino of your choice. How brilliant is that? Certainly amazes us!

Of course, there are a few minor catches. Both the casino and your mobile connection provider should be part of the Boku payments system. You’ll be happy to know that the absolute majority of mobile operators in the United Kingdom, and even some landline based ones, make Boku payments possible (all of the ones in the image on the left). Plus you can pay via any other device that’s connected to the internet, including tablets, computers, TVs and game consoles.

However, the casino roster is considerably smaller. For some reason, not all casinos find it necessary to offer mobile billing. And it is their loss, as we know for a fact that they are missing out on those customers who wish to use payment methods such as Boku, i.e. us.

How to use it

Deposit Using Boku mFortune CasinoWell, this is certainly going to be one of the shortest review sections in history, because using Boku is so easy and quick. In fact, from start to finish, it takes no more than ten seconds, depending on the speed of your broadband of course.

There are three quick steps to deposit via Boku:

  1. Go to the cashier of the casino and select to pay through Boku
  2. Check the amount and confirm your mobile number
  3. Authenticate your payment by replying via text

Your funds should reach the mobile casino account instantly, and most often, it doesn’t cost you anything to use the Boku service.

The Pros

Thumbs Up SymbolThe pros are numerous and should be quite obvious even to those who have never used Boku before. First, you don’t need to register for an account and remember this extraneous information when you want to deposit. Anyone and everyone can use Boku instantaneously with just their mobile phone number. Effortless and super quick!

Second, it’s super secure, as you authenticate the payment yourself via your personal mobile phone device. What’s more, you don’t have to input highly personal credit card information or your e-wallet account information online. Even though online casinos claim to be totally safe and secure at processing card payments, you can never be completely sure that that information won’t get into malicious hands.

Third and most important, it’s absolutely optimised for mobile usage. Obviously, it’s a mobile phone billing method used to deposit money into your mobile casino account, so it must work seamlessly on any device. It definitely delivers on that, as we’ve tested it on all the mobile devices we’ve had and never encountered a single problem.

The Cons

As with every method of depositing on mobile casinos, there are some cons to Boku as well. Namely, there are deposit sum limitations, withdrawals via Boku are impossible and not all casinos accept Boku payments.

thumbs-down-symbolFirst, the biggest con of them all is the maximum depositing amount. Normally, you can only deposit up to £30 per day via Boku, which may seem as very little, but it does add up to around £900 a month! We certainly hope that you don’t gamble away that much if you can’t afford it, but if you can afford to spend much more, the £30 daily limit may seem quite annoying indeed. On the other hand, the sums being quite small does mean that in case you lose your phone or it gets stolen, not much can be charged onto your mobile bill before you get to block your account with your mobile operator.

Second, there is this: you aren’t allowed to withdraw any funds back via Boku, i.e. your mobile phone bill can’t go into credit and you most likely will have to receive a wire transfer or a cheque. Sometimes you must even pay for those withdrawal methods, which is a royal pain, so we hope that as time passes, casinos figure out a more attractive way for you to receive withdrawals when you deposit via Boku.

Lastly, whilst an absolute majority of casinos will accept debit and credit cards and e-wallets such as Skrill and Neteller, Boku is accepted as select casinos only. The reason as to why is totally beyond our comprehension, because implementing Boku’s software on a site is really easy. So, you can’t pay with Boku on just any old casino; a mobile site has to have Boku integrated and offer it as a deposit method. While this is a major nuisance, as it limits your choices of casinos if you wish to use Boku, the mobile casinos that do offer it are an extremely diverse bunch with something for everyone.

Verdict

Approved StampIn our eyes, Boku is a brilliantly innovative solution when it comes to making mobile depositing at remote casinos quickly and easily. The technology behind is simple – you tell the mobile casino to put the amount you wish to deposit for gaming on your mobile bill. Most UK operators facilitate Boku payments and increasingly many online casinos do too.

There is certainly no other depositing method that would be faster and simpler in getting cash to your mobile casino account fast. Certainly give Boku a try and we are sure that it will become your favourite way to deposit at mobile casinos. Five stars from us!

Oh, and keep your eyes peeled for an article on the top casinos that let you to deposit via Boku to choose your favourite.