This can be one of the most confusing things to the new sports bettor. It is actually easier than you would think. In everywhere except the U.S. you can usually deposit using your credit card. Due to several well publicized lawsuits where gamblers lost, and then disputed the the charges to avoid paying for their losses, it is not possible to use VISA or Mastercard for those of us in the U.S.

The most commonly used method is a service called Neteller . Neteller sets up an "online bank account" for you that you can fund directly from your checking/savings account. It usually takes a day or 2 to set up this account, and a day or 2 to transfer funds to or from your checking account to your Neteller account. Once your funds are in the Neteller account, you can transfer them instantly to whichever sportsbook you wish to play at that day. It makes it really convenient if a certain sportsbook is having a good line on a certain event. Simply withdraw your funds from Sportsbook A into your Neteller account, and deposit them into Sportsbook B. There is no charge to you for depositing or withdrawing from your checking account. There are fees charged to the sportsbook for accepting Neteller, but those are covered by the sportsbook everywhere so you never see them. Note that there is also an immediate funding option from your checking account called "instacash". Neteller does charge a fee for this service, which some sportsbooks reimburse you for. Check to make sure before depositing to make sure you don't end up paying the fees.

There are several other major services that are similar in concept to Neteller, such as Moneybookers, and Firepay.

Most of the major books also offer some sort of EFT option where the money can come directly out of your bank account via an electronic check. Some also can EFT the funds back into your bank account on withdrawl once you win.

There are also the tried and true methods of mailing in a check or money order, or wiring funds into your account, but in todays information age, the electronic solutions usually have better results. If you are a high roller, wiring may be your best option since many of the electronic solutions have a maximum of $5,000 a week or so.

We recommend you use Neteller if it is available. It is completely free to the consumer unless you use instacash, and all of your transactions are recorded for your later review.