Boku Betting Sites

What Is Boku?

Boku is a mobile payments business that allows consumers to pay for goods and services using their mobile phone number.

Although Boku is significantly smaller than rivals such as PayPal, it’s still a significant player in the market. Founded in 2009, Boku handles over $90 billion in payments every year, and Boku payments are accepted in 70 countries worldwide.

The Boku website notes that the company has headquarters in San Francisco and London and employs over 200 people.

In short, Boku is no plucky upstart – but an established payment method provider.

How does Boku work as a betting payment method?

Carrier Billing

Boku uses a “carrier billing” feature to enable users to make deposits.

If the betting site or online casino accepts Boku payments, it will appear at the checkout stage alongside traditional payment methods such as credit/debit cards.

Users must select Boku and enter their mobile phone number to make the payment.

The user will then receive an automated SMS asking them to reply to authorise the payment. The allowed amount is then added to their phone bill.

Mobile Payment Wallets

In 2021, Boku integrated mobile payment wallets into their payment scheme. Mobile payment wallets are also linked to an individual’s mobile telephone number.

Users can top-up their mobile wallet using traditional methods such as bank cards – and then enjoy the ease of purchasing goods by simply entering their mobile number at the checkout.

Using Boku With Your Betting Account

Using Boku as a deposit method for your online betting account is easy.

On your preferred Boku betting site, simply click ‘deposit’ on the main menu, or head to the deposit page (just as you would when making a deposit using traditional deposit methods).

Select ‘Boku’ or ‘Mobile’ from the available deposit methods on the deposit page. You will be asked to enter the amount you wish to deposit alongside your mobile number.

You will then receive an SMS message with instructions on how to authorise the payment. Once approved, the funds will be deposited into your betting account, and the amount will be added to your mobile phone bill.

Using Boku With Neteller

Betting Punter Tip: Currently, few sports betting sites accept Boku directly. However, many gambling sites accept Boku via Neteller.

Neteller is a popular digital e-wallet service which many punters use to deposit funds into their online betting accounts.

After creating a Neteller account, users can add funds to Neteller using various payment methods.

One of the available payment methods is Boku. Boku makes it quick and convenient to add funds to your Neteller account using your mobile number.

To make Boku deposits via Neteller, you will need to:

1. Add funds to your Neteller account using Boku
2. Select Neteller as the deposit method when adding funds to your betting account

Pros & Cons Of Betting Sites With Boku

Boku betting is undoubtedly an innovative alternative to traditional payment methods. Let’s take a closer look at the advantages of using Boku for online betting:

Pros

Speed & Convenience
One of the biggest advantages of Boku betting is that it’s an incredibly quick deposit method. Enter your mobile phone number, reply to an SMS… deposit made!

What’s more, you don’t even need to create a Boku account to use it for payments.

Access
Nearly anyone can use Boku. You don’t need a bank account, debit or credit card, or mobile phone contract to use it.

All you need is a mobile number, and Boku is available on over 150 mobile networks worldwide. If you are on a leading network, you can probably use Boku.

You can even use Boku betting with a pay-as-you-go SIM if you don’t receive a monthly phone bill.

Security
You only need to provide your mobile number to use Boku for online betting sites. This means you don’t have to send personal information (including your email address, home address and bank details) over the internet.

Services like PayPal and Neteller are regarded as very secure. However, they still require that you enter your password – a password that could be stolen, granting others access to your corresponding account.

No Fees
Unlike some other deposit methods, you won’t pay any fees when using Boku.

Simple Bank Statements
If you make multiple betting deposits monthly, you’ll add multiple lines to your monthly bank statement. In contrast, when you bet using Boku, all your deposits will be totalled and added to your mobile phone bill.

This means that your entire monthly betting spend will be neatly summarised on a single line of your statement.

Cons

There are also some notable drawbacks to consider. Here are the key disadvantages of using Boku for online betting:

No Withdrawals
It’s impossible to make withdrawals from your betting account using Boku – only deposits. So while Boku deposits are quick and convenient, having to use a separate service to make withdrawals is distinctly inconvenient

Budget Carefully
When using Boku to make deposits, you will not see how much you’ve spent each month until you receive your mobile phone bill.

Make sure you budget carefully to keep track of your spending and that you can pay the phone bill when it’s due.

If you miss a mobile phone bill payment and your provider reports it as a default, it can appear on your credit report for up to six years. However, it should be noted that providers are unlikely to do this for one late payment.

Low Maximum Deposit Limit
Boku has a low maximum deposit limit – just £30 per day.

This means that Boku betting is not recommended for high rollers, who may want to make much larger deposits regularly.

Boku has a minimum deposit of £5.

Free Bet & Casino Bonus
How does betting with Boku affect your eligibility for bonuses such as a free bet, casino bonus or welcome bonus? It’s something of a mixed picture.

When you use Boku to make a deposit directly, Boku betting sites will likely consider you eligible for free bets and other promotions.

However, when you use Boku to deposit via Neteller, a betting site will view Neteller as the primary deposit method. Deposits made using digital wallets such as Neteller are rarely eligible for free bets or promotions.

Those familiar with online gambling will know that a free bet offer will likely come with a “Full T&Cs apply” message. Check the terms carefully to see what payment method exclusions apply. This might change from betting site to betting site and promotion to promotion.

Few Online Sports Betting Sites Currently Accept Boku
There’s no denying that Boku is lagging behind providers such as PayPal and Neteller when it comes to availability on leading sports betting sites.

The list of betting sites that accept Boku increases if you consider sites that allow Boku betting via Neteller.

However, we noted above that speed and convenience are two key advantages of Boku betting. Both of these attributes get eroded if users have to sign-up for a third-party payment method to use Boku.

Boku Betting Comparisons

Boku vs Bank Cards

​Advantages of Bank Cards vs Boku

All online sports betting sites accept bank card payments.

Moreover, deposits made by bank card are rarely included in the payment method restrictions that a betting site might place on offers such as free bets, a welcome bonus, or bet credits. If you’ve deposited funds via bank card, you can be confident that your qualifying stake will “qualify”.

In comparison, only a small number of betting sites accept Boku. Deposits from Boku are also much less likely to qualify for offers and bonuses.

Disadvantages of Bank Cards vs Boku

A reputable betting site will have a secure payment gateway to enable secure bank card payments. However, this does not entirely eliminate the risks.

Allowing a betting site to store your card details runs the risk of those details being stolen in a cyber attack. The alternative, entering your card details each time you make a deposit, is time-consuming and carries security risks if you use a public WiFi network.

In comparison, a Boku payment is always secure because the only personal information you are required to enter is your mobile number. You don’t even need to create a Boku account.

Boku vs PayPal

It’s likely that you are already familiar with PayPal. PayPal is one of the most popular payment gateways, both in the world of online betting and beyond. So how does it compare to Boku?

Advantages of PayPal vs Boku
Like Boku, PayPal offers a secure way to make deposits without the requirement to enter your bank details or personal details.

Even in the unlikely event that your PayPal password is stolen, it would only give somebody access to the funds in your PayPal account – not your personal bank account!

Many online sports betting sites accept PayPal thanks to its formidable clout as one of the world’s leading payment services. Similarly, many (but not all) bookmakers allow PayPal deposits to qualify for bonuses and offers. In this regard, PayPal is well ahead of Boku.

Finally, you can both deposit funds and make withdrawals using PayPal. This allows punters to control incoming winnings and outgoing deposits on one platform. In comparison, you cannot make withdrawals using Boku.

Disadvantages of PayPal vs Boku
It could be said that Boku has the edge over PayPal when it comes to speed and security.

When making a deposit using Boku, entering your mobile number is incredibly quick and easy. In comparison, a secure password that keeps your PayPal account safe is likely to be significantly more complicated and harder to remember.

If somebody stole your PayPal login details, they might be able to access the funds in your PayPal account. For some people, this could be a significant sum of money.

In comparison, your phone number is the only information somebody could steal from you when making a Boku payment. While this is not ideal, your money would remain secure.

Read more about betting sites accepting PayPal here.

Boku Contacts

Website: https://www.boku.com

Telephone: Awaiting Boku Phone Number

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/boku-inc/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/BokuPayByMobile

Boku Betting FAQs

Our Verdict On Using Boku Betting Sites

You have to commend Boku for taking a different approach – as carrier billing as a payment method has much to recommend.

The Good
The ability to make fast, secure payments using only a mobile number is impressive. It’s also refreshing not to have to sign-up for another online service to make payments – especially when you have already signed up for the online betting account in the first place.

The So-So
Depending on how you like to manage your money, having your betting deposits added to your phone bill may or may not be an attractive proposition.

On the one hand, you will have a much simpler monthly bank statement. On the other hand, the inability to see what you have spent until your phone bill arrives could lead to overspending.

Potential gripes may also include Boku’s comparatively low daily deposit limit. Or for those who like to take advantage of offers such as a welcome bonus, casino bonus or collect free bets – Boku is also somewhat limiting.

The Bad
It is a shame that you cannot make withdrawals using Boku. However, the most significant barrier that Boku must overcome is its lack of integration with leading betting sites.

Boku sports betting sites are a rare find! Especially a Boku betting site that offers Boku as a direct payment method.

Yes, using Boku is an attractive feature of a betting site. But fans of online sports betting have an enormous choice when choosing a bookmaker.

For punters, will the availability of Boku as a payment method trump the availability of a player’s favourite betting markets or offers such as free bet stakes, £20 in free bets credited or a free first bet?

It doesn’t seem likely.

The Final Verdict

As a fast and secure payment method, Boku is brilliant.

However, relatively few betting sites accept Boku, so we hope our list of the best Boku betting sites continues to grow.