Most online casinos operate in more than one country and that means they must support multiple currencies. It wouldn’t make any sense to spend all that money recruiting players from the UK if the casino couldn’t handle deposits in British pounds or Euros.
But, it’s important you know what it means when a casino says it “supports” a currency. There are a few different ways casinos go about supporting multiple currencies.
1. Currency exchange at deposit and withdrawal
This is the easiest method from the casino’s point of view. All that happens here is that when you deposit, your currency is automatically exchanged to whatever currency the casino uses. In most cases, this is the US dollar. Your account balance is held in that currency and all bets are made in that currency.
When you make a withdrawal, the casino automatically exchanges back to your original currency. The downside here is that there’s always a chance that exchange rates fluctuate and you lose money on the exchange. Another downside is that you have to gamble in a foreign currency the whole time, which can be a little annoying.
2. Currency exchange at the table
This is the second-easiest method from the casino’s point of view. If you deposit at a casino that uses this method, your account balance is held in your currency. So if you deposit with Indian rupees, your account balance is held in Indian rupees.
All currency exchanges happen when you join a table game or “sit” at a slot machine. The money you bring to the game is exchanged at current rates to the casino’s main currency. Then when you exit the game, the funds are exchanged back and returned to your account balance.
This is a little better for the player because you’re not subject to fluctuating exchange rates for an extended period of time. The only time you use a different currency is when you’re actually seated at the table.
3. The casino truly supports your currency
And last, we have casinos that really, truly support your currency in all aspects. This is the most complicated method from the casino’s point of view, but the best for the customer. When you play at a casino that uses this method, you never deal with exchanges. The casino has designed its software to hold your account balance and to offer all games in your currency.
The advantage here is that you never deal with exchange rates or any of that. The problem is that it is a costly and time-consuming process for gambling sites to make software that supports multiple currencies. Usually only the world’s largest currencies get this treatment.