POLi is an online payment method that up until 2016 allowed Australian and NZ real money online card players to make safe and encrypted bank transfers to fund their online casino accounts. POLi no longer allows payments to be made to online gambling sites and Australians can no longer gamble online after September 2017 due to legislative changes, so the information provided below is only relevant to POLi pre-gambling restrictions.
POLi casino deposits for real money card gaming
POLi was a deposit only casino method that was exclusive to Aussie and NZ players. It didn’t require players to open an account account (e-Wallets) in order to make the deposit, and all you had to do was have a bank supported by POLi, and access to your bank’s Internet banking interface, and everything is basically done for you.
Participating Australian and New Zealand banks included:
- ANZ
- ASB
- BankDirect
- Bank of Melbourne
- Bank of New Zealand
- BOQ
- BankSA
- Bankwest
- Bendigo Bank
- Citibank
- Commonwealth Bank
- IMB Building Society
- ING Direct
- Kiwibank
- ME Bank
- NAB
- Newcastle Permanent
- People’s Choice Credit Union
- St. George Bank
- Suncorp
- TSB Bank
- Westpac
If your bank isn’t on the list, you unfortunately weren’t be able to use this method – but if you just don’t have Internet banking, you could simply head into your local branch and opt in.
Was POLi as safe as a bank transfer?
Many opt for bank transfers due to the high levels of security employed, but have to then endure the long processing times. POLi sped up the entire process by giving the online casino a receipt of the transaction so the funds were immediately be credited to the casino account, with the amount then deducted from the personal bank account once processed.
However, this transaction was conducted over the POLi servers and since it involved entering Internet banking details, it did need to be safe. Fortunately, the service is encrypted by the latest data encryption technology which protects this sensitive information.
How to deposit and withdraw with POLi
Depositing was incredibly simple with POLi. All you had to do is head to one of the participating encrypted Internet casinos, log in, click on the banking page, and then on the POLi deposit option, indicating how much you wished to deposit.
From here, you were required to select your bank out of the list and were transferred to your Internet banking window via the POLi servers – which are encrypted as we detailed above, indicated by the padlock in your browser’s (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or other) URL toolbar. Once logged in, all the account details of the online casino were filled out for you, so you only had to press confirm. Your funds appeared immediately in your account so you could play real money card games.
Withdrawing on the other hand was not as simple as it was not actually available. You would have to either opt for a manual bank transfer and endure the processing times – which are a few days anyway regardless of the method – or another method.
Top-rated card-game casino sites with POLi
POLi is no longer available to Aussies at online casinos, but there are plenty of other safe payment methods available to choose from. Our top-rated card game sites accepting deposits via credit card, debit card, web wallets, pre-paid cards and bank transfers include:
Royal Vegas: Royal Vegas has been operating since 2000 under the regulation of Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and eCOGRA. The casino offers a downloadable and instant play (in browser) version of their Microgaming-only catalogue. Royal Vegas offers over 500 titles including classic table games and pokies, as well as unique variants and some of the best progressives available. You can sign up now and opt in for the $1200 bonus too.
Casino-Mate: Casino-Mate is also solely powered by Microgaming and governed by both the MGA and eCOGRA, but offers a larger welcome bonus at $1400. There are over 650 titles available including 3D slots, roulette, blackjack, and more table games, as well as an array of casual games.
All Slots: All Slots may sound like it has a pokies-only catalogue but the Microgaming powered site also offers table titles, casual games, video poker and more. It also offers the largest welcome bonus out of all the online casinos listed here with $1600 in matched deposits and is regulated by MGA and eCOGRA.
G’day Casino: This Aussie themed casino is governed by the UK Gambling Commission and features over 250 titles from a multitude of popular software developers, including Ezugi Gaming, Evolution Gaming, BetSoft and more. Sign up now and your first deposit is matched by 100% up to an unlimited amount, with 50 free spins to use on the pokies.