Open banking lets you share limited access to your bank account with a regulated third party, or tell your bank to send a payment on your behalf. For casinos, the result is often called pay by bank. You pick the method at the cashier, choose your bank, log in with your usual banking app credentials and approve a single payment. The money moves from your account to the operator, with no card number involved.
How a pay by bank deposit works
The cashier hands the request to a payment initiation service, a regulated firm authorised to start a payment when you consent. Trustly is an example of this type of service, and others work in similar ways. You are redirected to your bank, or to its app, where you confirm the amount and the recipient. Once the bank approves the instruction, the casino is told the payment is on its way and credits your balance.
Because the confirmation happens in your own banking app, you see the amount clearly before approving. Many players find that more deliberate than tapping a stored card. The transaction appears on your statement as a bank transfer, so your bank's gambling block, which often works on card merchant codes, may not catch it. If you use a block as a safeguard, find out whether it covers transfers to gambling firms, and ask your bank.
The regulatory frame
The payment side is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, which lists authorised payment firms on its register at fca.org.uk. Before you consent to a payment or data share, check that the firm appears there. The gambling side is regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, whose licence conditions and codes of practice include a section on customer identity verification and another on anti-money laundering. They are published on the Gambling Commission's website.
Pay by bank is not a way around any of these checks. Because the money leaves a named bank account, the casino can often match the account holder name to your verified identity at once. That helps with identity checks, though the operator can still ask for evidence of income or the source of funds. See our affordability checks page for when that happens.
What the Commission has said about open banking
The Commission has published a piece of research titled Illegal gambling: findings from an open banking data analysis. The title tells you that open banking data is being used to study the scale and nature of play at unlicensed sites. For a player the practical point is that bank-linked payments leave a clear trail, and that trail can be useful to you when you want to see your own spending in one place. Your banking app's history can show gambling payments by date, which is a straightforward way to review a month.
Limits, speed and fees
Limits are set by your bank, by the payment service and by the casino. Deposit limits set in your casino account apply in the same way as for other methods, and a licensed operator has to provide them. Stake caps for online slots, £5 a spin for players aged 25 and over and £2 for ages 18 to 24, apply whatever funds the play. Our stake limits page has the detail.
Speed is usually close to instant for a deposit when both banks support faster payments. Fees are normally charged by neither bank for the transfer, but check the cashier page for any charge. Do not assume a payment has failed because the page is slow to update. Check your bank app before sending the payment again.
Withdrawals to a bank account
Where an operator supports it, winnings can be sent as a bank transfer to the account you used. The operator checks the account is in your name, approves the withdrawal and sends the funds. The time to reach your account depends on the operator's approval time first and the banks second. In a settlement dated 21 October 2026, the Commission set out failures by a licensee that included unnecessarily delaying consumer withdrawals, and the licence holder's entry appears on our page for L & L Europe Limited. If your withdrawal is held, ask in writing and keep the replies.
Safety habits
- Read the consent screen fully, and approve a single payment rather than ongoing access.
- Check that the app or website is your bank's own before logging in. Banks do not ask for your full password by phone.
- Review your gambling payments in your banking app each month.
- Use a separate account for gambling spend if that helps you see the total.
- Keep reference numbers for each payment until it appears in your casino balance.
Licensed and offshore sites
A UKGC licensee is part of GAMSTOP and subject to the Commission's rules. A site without a UK licence is not covered by GAMSTOP, the Commission complaint route or the approved dispute services. Playing at an unlicensed site is not an offence for the player, but the offence under section 33 of the Gambling Act 2005 is the operator's, and a UK player loses protections including affordability checks and stake rules. A bank transfer to such a site still leaves your account, and recovering it is difficult. Use our licensed casinos list, read on 9 November 2026, to see current licence holders, and the payments overview for other methods.
Gambling help
Gambling is for adults aged 18 and over. Free support is available from the GamCare National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, 24 hours a day, and through GamCare. Players can exclude themselves from licensed sites with GAMSTOP, and BeGambleAware has guidance on staying in control.