Which sites take the Play+ card and what it costs

Play+ is the payment method most people meet by accident. You go to deposit, your bank blocks the card, and the casino offers you something called Play+ instead. It works, the money moves, and most players never look at it again.

It is worth looking at, because the fees are not what you think, and they are not the same at every casino. I went through the cardholder agreements for the individual programs rather than the marketing pages, and the differences are large enough to matter.

Which casinos take Play+

Below are the operators I could confirm run a Play+ program, and what each publishes about how it works. Where a casino does not publish a figure, I have said so rather than filling the gap with a number from somewhere else.

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

Not confirmed means exactly that. The program exists but the operator does not publish a readable page saying so, and I am not going to fill the gap with a number from somewhere else. Check the cashier before you deposit.

betPARX

• Deposits and withdrawals: both, confirmed on betPARX’s own help pages.
• Speed: the money is on your Play+ card immediately once the withdrawal is approved. The approval itself can take up to 36 hours.
• Inactivity: starts after 6 months.
• Worth knowing: this is the clearest published explanation of Play+ withdrawals of any operator I looked at.

Borgata

• Deposits and withdrawals: both.
• Minimum withdrawal: $10.
• Speed: Borgata publishes 15 minutes after the withdrawal is approved, with no fee. That is the fastest published figure of any casino here.
• Inactivity: starts after 6 months.
• Worth knowing: affiliate sites quote Borgata Play+ payouts at 24 hours. Borgata’s own page says 15 minutes.

DraftKings

• Deposits and withdrawals: both, and the cardholder agreement prices both at zero.
• Loads: free from every funding source.
• Inactivity: starts after 12 months, one of the most forgiving.
• Limits: not published at operator level.
• Read the full DraftKings casino app review for the rest of the banking picture.

BetMGM

• Deposits and withdrawals: both. You load the card with a bank card or eCheck, then move it into the casino.
• Transfer limit: state specific. In Nevada BetMGM publishes a limit of $10,000 per transfer to the wagering account. In New Jersey it is your account balance.
• Loads: free. Inactivity: after 12 months.
• Worth knowing: BetMGM’s own casino payment methods guide does not list Play+ at all, while its help centre documents it in detail. Do not take the absence from one page as an answer.
• More in my BetMGM casino app review.

Caesars Palace

• Deposits and withdrawals: both. Deposits are described as an instant transfer to your account.
• Loads: the cardholder agreement publishes 2.95% on bank card, online banking and PayPal loads. The support page says loading is free. Check the screen.
• Inactivity: after 6 months. Withdrawal speed: not published.
• See my Caesars Palace casino app review for the wider banking setup.

PlayStar

• Deposits and withdrawals: both, and PlayStar is unusually clear about it on its own payment methods guide.
• Minimum deposit: $10. Speed: credited almost immediately in both directions.
• Where: New Jersey only.

Hard Rock Bet

• Withdrawals: supported.
• Inactivity: after 4 months, the shortest window of any Play+ program I found.
• Loads: free.
• Worth knowing: Hard Rock’s own help pages could not be read, so the deposit side is unconfirmed. The four month inactivity trigger is from the cardholder agreement and is solid.

FanDuel, BetRivers and Golden Nugget

• All three run Play+ programs and are listed as such by the card issuer.
• FanDuel: the current cardholder agreement is not published at the usual address, and FanDuel’s own support portal cannot be read from outside. The only first-party fee document I could find dates from 2019.
• BetRivers: its help articles are behind a system that does not render, so nothing about limits or timing could be confirmed. See my BetRivers casino app review for what is published elsewhere.
• Golden Nugget: a help article titled Depositing with Play+ Prepaid Card exists, but the article body redirects into a portal that does not load. Deposits yes, withdrawals unconfirmed.
• My FanDuel casino app review covers the rest of that operation.

Stardust, Party Casino and Mohegan Sun

• All three appear on the issuer’s program list, so a Play+ card exists for each.
• No operator page could be verified for any of them, so limits, timing and fees are unknown. Stardust sits under Boyd, and the Boyd program is one of the two that charges 2.95% to load, but I could not confirm Stardust shares that schedule.
• Mohegan Sun’s Play+ runs through the same portal as Resorts, which is why you may see the two names together on the card site.

Two casinos that definitely do not take Play+

Both of these publish complete lists of their payment methods with limits attached, and Play+ is on neither. Both are also absent from the card issuer’s own list of programs, which is about as close to a confirmed no as this subject gets.

• bet365. Its deposit and withdrawal method pages enumerate everything it accepts. Play+ is not there.
• Hollywood Casino. Thirteen deposit methods and ten withdrawal methods published. Play+ is not among them.

Also not found: Bally Casino and Fanatics have no program on the issuer’s list. Their own help pages could not be read to double check, so treat those two as no program found rather than a flat no.

The fees are not the same at every casino

This is the finding that surprised me. Every page I have read treats Play+ as one product with one price list. It is not. The fee schedules are set per program, and two of them charge you to put money in while the rest do not.

Caesars and Boyd charge 2.95% to load the card from a bank card, online banking or PayPal. DraftKings, BetMGM, Borgata, Hard Rock and the standard Sutton Bank programs charge nothing at all for the same thing. On a $500 load that is a difference of $14.75 for an identical transaction.

There is a wrinkle worth naming. Caesars’ own support page states there are no fees for loading, while the Caesars Play+ cardholder agreement publishes the 2.95%. There are two Caesars programs on the issuer’s list, which may explain it, but I cannot reconcile the two documents and I am not going to pretend otherwise. If you are loading a Caesars Play+ card, check the fee on the confirmation screen before you approve it.

The other variable is the inactivity fee. It is $2.95 a month everywhere, but the point at which it starts differs by more than double:

• Hard Rock Bet: after 4 months of inactivity, the shortest of any program.
• Caesars, Borgata, Parx and Resorts: after 6 months.
• DraftKings, BetMGM and Boyd: after 12 months.

If you open a Play+ account for a welcome offer, take your winnings and leave a few dollars behind, that residue starts being eaten four months later at Hard Rock and a year later at DraftKings. Empty the card rather than leaving loose change on it.

What every Play+ program charges

These are the fees published in the cardholder agreements for the standard programs, meaning DraftKings, BetMGM, Borgata, Hard Rock and the Sutton Bank baseline. Caesars and Boyd match this apart from the load fee above.

Scroll the table sideways for the rest of the columns.

The two dollars is the one to plan around. Getting money off the card costs two dollars whether you use an ATM or a bank transfer, every single time. Take it out in one go rather than in pieces.

What Play+ actually is

Play+ is a prepaid card and digital wallet built for US gambling, run by Sightline Payments. The card itself is issued by either Sutton Bank or GBank, depending on which casino’s program you sign up to, and it runs on the Discover network with ATM access through PULSE, NYCE and MoneyPass.

You load money onto it from a debit card, a credit card, online banking, PayPal or cash at a casino cage. You then move it into the casino. When you win, the money comes back to the card, and from there you can spend it anywhere Discover is accepted, pull it out at an ATM, or send it to your bank account.

The reason it exists is card declines. US banks routinely block gambling transactions even in states where the gambling is legal, and Play+ sits in between so the casino sees a payment from a licensed gaming wallet rather than a card transaction it has to argue about.

The thing nobody tells you: it is a separate account per casino

Your Play+ card is not one card you use everywhere. There are 57 separate Play+ programs live right now, one per operator, each with its own application, its own account, its own card and its own cardholder agreement.

A BetMGM Play+ balance is not available at DraftKings. If you play at three casinos you need three Play+ accounts and you will hold three cards. Every one of them is subject to its own inactivity fee, which is where this gets expensive if you sign up and drift away.

You get a virtual account immediately once you fund it, and a physical card arrives in ten to fourteen days. It goes to a residential address only, no PO boxes, and the billing address on your funding card has to match.

How much you can hold and move

Play+ runs three account tiers and the limits are consistent across every program I checked. Most players sit on Standard and never see the ceiling.

Drag the table across to see every column.

The ATM ceiling is the one that catches people. Five hundred dollars per transaction regardless of tier, and five hundred a day on a Standard account. Win four thousand and you are not walking to a cash machine for it, you are sending it to your bank or spending the card.

Getting your money off the card

This is where Play+ is better than most people realise, because the balance is real money you can spend, not casino credit.

• Back into the casino. Free and instant, which is the point of the thing.
• Spend it anywhere Discover is accepted. In shops, online, on a card machine. Free. This is the option most people forget they have. At the pump is the exception, gas stations work in person only.
• ATM cash. $2.00 on PULSE, NYCE or MoneyPass, capped at $500 a transaction.
• Bank transfer. $2.00. Your bank account has to be verified with micro deposits first, and after that the transfer takes up to seven business days.

That last one is worth planning around. The first bank transfer is slow because of the verification step, so set it up when you open the account rather than the day you want your winnings out.

Is your money safe on it

Balances carry FDIC pass through insurance up to $250,000 per ownership category once the account is registered, through whichever of Sutton Bank or GBank issued your card. There is no credit check to open one and no overdraft facility, so the card cannot put you in debt. You need to be a US citizen or legal permanent resident with a Social Security number.

The cardholder agreements do not name any state restrictions. They say only that some funding sources may not be available depending on where you are.

Who Play+ suits

It earns its place if:

• Your bank keeps declining gambling deposits. This is the problem Play+ exists to solve and it solves it.
• You want your winnings back quickly. Money returns to the card fast, and at Borgata that is a published 15 minutes.
• You want gambling money kept separate. A ring fenced balance you top up deliberately is a better budgeting tool than a debit card linked to your salary.
• You play mostly at one casino. One program, one card, no duplication.

Look elsewhere if:

• You spread your play across several casinos. Separate accounts and separate cards at each, each with its own dormancy clock.
• You want the money in your bank the same day. The first transfer out needs verification and then up to seven business days.
• You dip in and out with long gaps. The inactivity fee will find you, and at four months on Hard Rock it does not take long.
• Your casino already gives you something faster. Several operators pay to a debit card or an e-wallet quickly enough that a second account is a step you do not need. My guide to Apple Pay casino sites covers the operators that pay out that way.

Opening one, and the order to do it in

The sign up happens at the casino, not at a separate website, and it is short. What trips people up is doing the steps in the wrong order.

• Start inside the casino cashier. Choose Play+ as a deposit method and it hands you the application. Going to the card site first leaves you picking a program from a list of 57.
• Use your legal name and a residential address. It is a bank account underneath, so the identity checks are the same ones the casino already ran on you. A PO box will fail.
• Fund it before you expect a card. The physical card is only mailed once the account has money on it, then it takes ten to fourteen days. The virtual account works straight away, so you can play the same evening.
• Set up the bank link on day one. Verifying your bank account needs micro deposits, which take a couple of days to land. Doing it now means your first withdrawal is not held up later.
• Match the addresses. The billing address on the card or bank account you load from has to match the address on the Play+ account, or the load fails.

Which funding source to load from

You have five ways to put money on the card and they are not equal.

• Online banking or eCheck. The one I would use. Free on the standard programs, comes straight from your account, and there is no card issuer sitting in the middle deciding whether it likes gambling.
• Debit card. Fast and usually free, but it is still a card transaction, so a bank that blocks gambling can block this too. If your card is why you are here in the first place, this defeats the point.
• Credit card. Accepted on the card, but your card issuer may treat loading a prepaid gambling wallet as a cash advance, which carries its own fee and interest from day one. That charge comes from your bank, not from Play+, and it will not appear in any fee table on this page.
• PayPal. Works, but it must draw from a linked bank account rather than a PayPal balance or a card behind it.
• Cash at the casino cage. If you are physically at a partner property you can load chips, tickets or cash onto the card. Rare, but useful, and it is the only route that involves no bank at all.

On Caesars and Boyd programs, remember the 2.95%. Loading $1,000 from online banking is free at DraftKings and costs $29.50 on those two.

Play+ against the other ways to pay

Play+ is the best option for one specific problem. Set against what else is in a US casino cashier:

• Against a debit card. A debit card is simpler and needs no extra account. It is also the thing most likely to be declined, and refunds to a debit card are slower than a return to a Play+ balance. Play+ wins when the card keeps failing, and only then.
• Against online banking direct to the casino. Cheaper and one step shorter, since the money never sits anywhere in between. But payouts come back over days rather than minutes. Play+ wins on the way out, direct banking wins on the way in.
• Against PayPal. Similar speed, more widely accepted outside gambling, and no card to manage. PayPal is not supported by every casino though, and where it is you often must have deposited with it before you can withdraw to it.
• Against cash at the cage. Nothing beats it for speed if you happen to be standing in the casino. Most people are not.
• Against Apple Pay. Apple Pay is faster to set up and needs no application, but far fewer operators let you take money out through it. Play+ pays out almost everywhere it is offered.

The honest summary is that Play+ is a workaround that became a product. If your bank has never blocked a deposit and your casino pays you out promptly, you do not need it.

Why Play+ payments fail

• The load is declined. Almost always an address mismatch between the funding source and the Play+ account, or a bank blocking the transaction. Fix the address first, it is the more common of the two.
• The card arrives and does not work. Physical cards need activating through the cardholder portal for your program. The virtual account working is not the same as the plastic being live.
• The bank transfer has not arrived. The first one needs micro deposit verification before it will move at all, and after that it is quoted at up to seven business days. It is slow by design rather than stuck.
• A fee appeared from nowhere. Check the date of your last transaction. The $2.95 is the inactivity charge, and on a Hard Rock card it starts after only four months.
• The ATM would not give you the full amount. $500 is the ceiling per transaction on every tier, and $500 a day on a Standard account.
• The casino shows a different balance to the card. They are two accounts. Money on the Play+ card is not in the casino until you transfer it across, and vice versa.

Frequently asked questions

The questions that come up most about Play+ at US casinos.

Is Play+ a casino?

No. It is a prepaid card and wallet run by Sightline Payments, used by casinos and sportsbooks as a payment method. The casino brand on the card is the operator whose program you joined, not the company running it.

Can I use one Play+ card at every casino?

No. Each operator runs its own Play+ program with its own account, card and terms. There are 57 of them. If you play at three casinos you will hold three cards.

Does Play+ cost anything to use?

Opening it, loading it, moving money to and from the casino and spending the card are all free on most programs. Getting cash out costs $2.00 at an ATM and $2.00 by bank transfer. Caesars and Boyd programs publish a 2.95% charge on loads, which the others do not.

How long does a Play+ withdrawal take?

Once the casino approves it, the money reaches the card quickly. Borgata publishes 15 minutes and betPARX says immediately on approval, though betPARX notes approval itself can take up to 36 hours. Most operators do not publish a figure at all.

Can I spend the balance outside gambling?

Yes. It is a Discover network card and works anywhere Discover is accepted, in person and online, at no charge.

What happens if I stop using it?

A $2.95 monthly inactivity fee starts, and the trigger depends on the program. Four months on Hard Rock Bet, six on Caesars and Borgata, twelve on DraftKings and BetMGM. Empty the card if you are done with it.

Do I need a credit check?

No. There is no credit check and no overdraft. You need a US address, a Social Security number, and to be a citizen or legal permanent resident.

Which casinos do not take Play+?

bet365 and Hollywood Casino both publish full payment method lists and Play+ is on neither, and neither has a program with the card issuer. No program was found for Bally Casino or Fanatics either.

What I would do

If your deposits are being declined, open the Play+ program at the casino you actually play at and leave the others alone. Load it from online banking rather than a credit card, take your winnings off in one movement rather than several to avoid paying the two dollars twice, and close it out to zero if you stop playing there.

Check the load fee on the confirmation screen the first time. On most programs it is zero and on two of them it is not, and that is not something the marketing pages will tell you.

For the wider picture on paying and getting paid at US casinos, start with real money casino apps, or see which states casino apps are legal in if you are not sure whether you can play at all.

21+. Gambling should be entertainment, never a way to make money. If it stops being fun, free confidential help is available on 1-800-GAMBLER.