Boku Casino Canada and the Ease of Mobile Phone Billing

Boku Mobile Casinos Canada – Mobile Phone Billing for Fast, Secure PaymentsIf you haven’t heard of Boku, you just might have spent some time residing under a rock. Or, maybe you’re just not a big mobile shopper. Either way, it’s time you get to know this fast, convenient payment option, especially now that it’s become a hot method for depositing among Canada’s online casino goers.

Boku is a mobile payment intermediary based out of San Francisco, California. The platform was introduced over ten years ago to give mobile internet shoppers a wholly secure way to pay for goods and services, using nothing more than their phone. Instead of supplying all of your personal and financial information, all you need is your mobile phone number. The cost of your purchase is then tacked right on to your monthly phone bill. Due to the way this payment system works, there are some limitations and restrictions, which talk more about later in our review of…

Boku Mobile Phone Billing Service

The developers of Boku based their entire concept on the exponentially growing popularity of mobile smartphones and tablets. As they smartly anticipated, we use mobile devices today more than ever before – especially for eCommerce purposes – and it’s a trend that’s surely going to continue over the coming years.

With this in mind, a group of IT professionals in California got together somewhere around 2003. The team’s collective experience came from backgrounds with financial institutions, telephone operators, and technology firms, including companies like American Express, Bank of America, Visa, Amazon, AT&T, Inuit and more. Their collaborative efforts resulted in the 2009 founding of Boku’s innovative mobile payment system.

Boku’s foundation was built by taking a mobile phone’s basic SIM card, and turning it into an individual ID mechanism, capable of identifying individual phone users. Under this protocol, Boku began as a pay-by-phone billing system. Over time, however, they were able to expand the service to conduct secure transactions over any mobile smartphone or tablet, as well as desktop devices.

What Makes Boku So Secure?

Today’s online payment processing platforms are all very secure in their own right, but Boku isn’t like the others. Boku works in tandem with mobile phone operators, and is thereby able to deliver an extremely secure payment processing environment. Not only are the usual high-tech SLL encryption technologies employed, there’s no need to share any banking information with Boku, the online casino, or any other online merchants you may need to send payments to.

Boku works by using the payer’s phone number as their ID. All payments are charged to the phone number, and will appear on the user’s monthly mobile phone bill. All of these features combine to give users one of the most fail-safe payment methods the iGaming industry has ever known.

Depositing with Boku Mobile Casinos Canada

Boku’s payment processing platform actually comes in two versions – Boku Direct and Boku Checkout. Boku Direct is a payment option that is accessible online (web-based), or as a mobile application. Users can sign up for and log into a Boku Direct account using their mobile phone number. Boku Checkout is a 100% web-based platform that facilitates transactions solely through mobile phone billing.

To begin making Boku casino payments, you’ll first need to register an account with Boku. Go to the website and choose to register an account. You will have to enter a bit of information, but you won’t be asked to verify your identity, since your mobile phone number is verification of your ID.

During registration, you’ll of course need to provide your phone number and email address. Boku will send you an authorization SMS (text message), which you’ll need to respond affirmatively to in order to complete registration. Once this is done, you can start making deposits at Boku casinos in Canada.

To do so, visit the casino you wish to deposit with. Create an account first, if you haven’t already done so. Then log in and navigate your way to the banking page. From the list of available deposit methods, choose to pay with Boku. If you don’t see the Boku logo, look for the “Pay by Phone” option. Next, you’ll be asked to choose your mobile phone service operator. You’ll be redirected to a Boku login page to verify the purchase. Finally, a confirmation message arrives, and your account is credited.

Note: If you do not see your mobile carrier on the list, or if your payment is rejected, you may not be eligible to deposit with Boku. According to the website, you will only be able to use the service if you have an “active mobile phone with Premium and Carrier Billing services enabled”.

Can I Make a Casino Withdrawal with Boku?

Unfortunately, no. being a mobile phone billing service, Boku is a one-way payment option. You can tack the purchase price onto your phone bill, but you can’t credit winnings back to it. This would require linking your account to a debit card or bank account, which kind of defeats the purpose.

If you’re using Boku for deposits, there are some other methods of cashing out that may interest you. A web wallet, or eWallet service, such as PayPal or Skrill, most closely resembles the superior security of mobile phone billing. Cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, also offer user anonymity with strict security.

Any Other Disadvantages of Boku Billing?

Availability: Boku is not an easy payment method to find at Canada online casinos. It exists, but in very limited quantities. The problem is that online gambling sites that employ the strictest regulations – including Canada’s provincially regulated online casinos – require highly detailed identity verification. That means operators aren’t able to cater to ID-masking payment services like Boku.

Pay-As-You-Go Plans: If you have a mobile phone with a pay-as-you-go plan (as opposed to a regular monthly bill), you may not be able to use Boku. Most mobile carriers require a minimum balance in the account, and/or an account with monthly auto-pay. Auto-pay accounts are linked to a credit card, debit card, or bank account, to ensure the bill will get paid.

Small Deposit Restrictions: Because the price tag is being attached to your phone bill, mobile carriers aren’t too keen on permitting large transactions. Your deposits will be limited to smaller amounts, not just per transaction, but per month. If you’re an avid iGamer with a big bankroll, Boku isn’t going to provide you with much flexibility in deposit sizing. If you prefer to make lofty payments while maintaining anonymity, you’d be better harnessing Bitcoin or one the many other digital currency options.

From our research, major Canadian carriers susceptible to being compatible with Boku Casinos include:

  • Rogers Communications - Major national Canadian wireless services and cable provider
  • Telus - Large national mobile and internet provider in Canada
  • Bell - Another huge Canadian mobile network operator and telecom company
  • Freedom Mobile - Canadian wireless provider and subsidiary of Shaw Communications, focused mainly in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia

We believe that Telus and Rogers have the highest likelihood of supporting Boku out of the major Canadian network providers. Several customers of these carriers reported issues with unexpected Boku charges, so caution dealing with these types of carriers is warranted.

The maximum deposit amount per day with Boku is typically £30/€30 or equivalent in CAD, although limits can vary slightly by country and mobile carrier. The minimum deposit is usually around £10/€10. You can make multiple deposits per day up to the daily limit. This is certainly not high and caters more to a niche demographic of players who want convenience above all else.

In the UK: MrQ, BoyleSports Casino, NetBet Casino, All British Casino, Lottoland Casino, Mr Vegas.

In Canada: Captain Spins Casino, CasiGo, PlayGrand Casino, 22Bet, Playzee and Vegas Lounge Casino are some of the top Canadian online casinos that specifically mention accepting Boku payments.

Additional Canada-friendly sites like JackpotCity, Spin Casino, Ruby Fortune, and Royal Vegas may support Boku though not directly confirmed.

It is worth nothing that Boku availability seems more limited compared to other deposit methods at Canadian casinos. This is likely due to Boku's smaller user base in Canada and daily deposit caps.

Boku is designed only for depositing funds, as it charges payments directly to your mobile carrier bill. There is no associated e-wallet or bank account to withdraw funds to. You'll need to use an alternative method like a bank transfer, e-wallet, or debit card for withdrawals.

Boku itself does not charge any fees, however some casinos apply small processing fees ranging from 0-15% on Boku deposits. In Canada however, we haven't found a casino that charges fees. Be sure to check the casino's banking T&Cs. Your mobile carrier may also charge premium SMS fees.

Yes, Boku deposits qualify for welcome bonuses and other casino promotions in most cases (Ontario excluded). Just be mindful of wagering requirements, restricted games for bonus funds, and other applicable terms when playing with bonuses.

Payforit stands out as one of the preferred mobile payment choices within the UK gambling landscape. Here are some key differences with Boku:

  1. Availability -  Payforit is focused mainly on the UK market, while Boku is available in 60+ countries globally, including Canada.
  2. Direct carrier billing - Boku integrates directly with mobile carriers for billing while Payforit relies more on premium SMS billing.
  3. Deposit limits -  Payforit may allow for higher deposits, while Boku strictly caps at £30 per day.
  4. Withdrawals - Neither Boku nor Payforit support withdrawals. Players need an alternative payout method.
  5. Security - Both utilize SMS text messaging verification codes for secure transactions. But Boku has a more seamless process while Payforit requires manually entering the code.

Author

  • Donna Dorsa

    Donna Dorsa is a veteran practitioner of the linguistic arts. As an independent writing and editing professional, she's spent more than 15 years researching and playing an active role in the world's ever-evolving iGaming industry. The daughter of a novelist and electrical engineer, her passions include creative literature, mathematics, game theory, and sitting around the table with her family for a good old-fashioned card or board game. In her spare time she runs a 3D printer business from home. Here is her Patreon. You can read her bio on Muckrack and find her socials on our meet the team page.

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