The Maestro card as an online casino deposit option

From time to time we raise the question of what is the best way to fund playing casino games at an online casino. Our views on the use of a credit card for this purpose are well documented, but it would appear that there are also problems associated with some debit cards and the Maestro card in particular. The Maestro card is an Irish debit card operated by Mastercard and issued by the Irish banks, and although most online casinos claim to be Maestro casinos and accept the Maestro card as a casino deposit option we are often told that using this debit card in Ireland can result in the same sort of surcharges we normally associate with the use of a credit card for gambling. This is because Maestro card transactions are usually processed through the Laser system in Ireland which is of course the credit card system used by the Irish banks. We also understand that attempts to use a Maestro card outside of Ireland can fail because the chip cannot be read. Despite the fact that using a debit card to fund an online casino account should be an acceptable way to avoid the additional charges associated with credit cards, it would appear that the Maestro card sometimes fails to achieve this objective. Nevertheless there is a simple solution for those wanting to use a Maestro card to fund their online casino games, and that is to open an e-wallet account from which to make casino deposits and fund the e-wallet using the Maestro card. Whether you choose this option or accept the additional charges which can result from using the Maestro card as an online casino deposit option, don’t be tempted to use your credit card unless it is absolutely necessary.