Best UK Casinos for American Express Debit Card in 2023

Overview

American Express Debit Card another form of card payment accepted at larger UK online casino sites, coming in after VISA Debit and MasterCard Debit. While there is a fair number of operators accepting this method, AMEX is generally not as popular among players in the UK or Europe in general.

Although American Express is one of the largest financial institutions in the world, it seems as if relatively few people use it to fund online casino accounts. That’s especially true with UK casino players, who are more likely to use Visa, MasterCard, e-wallets or prepaid vouchers, but there’s actually plenty of sites that offer American Express Debit as a payment option.

About American Express

Widely known as AMEX, the biggest part of American Express is now its debit card that users link to their bank accounts. The company also offers travellers cheques and a credit card, which can no longer be used at UK casinos.

Founded in 1950, it’s based in New York City, and has around 112 million cards in circulation. Around 55,000 employees, a turnover of some $33 billion in 2017 and a brand with an estimated worth of $24 billion have made it one of the biggest operators in the business.

Using AMEX Debit Card

Customers obtain an AMEX card from their bank and pay for goods or services wherever it’s accepted. This can be at a physical shop, restaurant, travel company, etc., or it could be online. Major online retailers accept AMEX, along with a number of online casino sites.

Players simply choose AMEX Debit Card as their payment solution from the banking section of their chosen casino. The card number, expiry date and security code will need to be entered and then they choose how much to deposit.

Assuming the payment is cleared, players will have the funds available almost immediately and thanks to state-of-the-art security systems operated by AMEX, the transaction will be processed safely.

A mobile app allows customers to access American Express from their phone or tablet computer. It’s completely safe to use, with thumbprint or facial recognition unlock options available, as well as personal PIN numbers.

Accepted Worldwide, But Not at All Casinos

If it’s so quick, secure and reliable, why isn’t AMEX more widely used at casino sites? It’s largely down to American Express themselves. While competitors such as Visa and MasterCard allow banks to issue cards in their own names and for users to pay for just about anything, AMEX works a little differently.

The cards remain branded as American Express cards and to protect their image, users are somewhat limited on where they can spend their own money. In the USA, gambling online is often frowned upon, so AMEX don’t allow customers to deposit and withdraw funds via their cards.

In the UK, players can only use the AMEX Debit Card option. Latest UK gambling laws do not allow any credit card payments towards online gambling sites, which severely reduces the availability of this option. Although AMEX Debit Card exists, it's not nearly as popular as debit options from the other two large companies (Visa and MasterCard).

AMEX Fees

Generally, there are no fees when paying for anything with an AMEX card. Merchants are charged a fee however, and these can be higher than those levied by Visa or MasterCard. It’s one of the reasons why American Express isn’t quite as widely accepted as some of the competitor cards.