Compare our list of UK betting sites that accept Boku, and read our complete Boku betting guide below.
Betting sites in the UK nowadays allow their customers to use a wide array of banking and payment methods to make both deposits into an account and withdrawals out of them.
Boku is among the more recent additions at a lot of UK betting sites and online casinos, enabling those who use this option of a mobile payments platform to manage their accounts with ease.
But Boku - which has been around for just over a decade - does not have a big public profile in the UK when compared to other popular payment methods such as PayPal, Neteller and Skrill.
Our complete guide to Boku betting sites in the UK will tell you everything that you need to know about using the payment platform, so read on for all the details about this excellent option.
At the moment, there are only two betting sites in the UK that accept Boku payments directly. While it is more than likely that extra sites are added to this list in the future, they are as follows:
However, this does not mean it is impossible to use Boku to make a deposit into other UK betting sites. This is due to the fact many sites accept Boku deposits via Neteller, for example.
There is one issue that may arise when using UK betting sites that accept Boku deposits via Neteller, though, and that is that fees could be charged on transactions.
Those who are sure they want to use Boku as a payment method at betting sites in the UK may therefore be better off sticking with using it directly at BoyleSports and NetBet, at least for now.
Nevertheless, here are some UK betting sites that allow Boku deposits to be made via Neteller:
Now we have detailed where Boku can be used, let's go into more detail about how it works.
Boku was set up in 2009 by a group of founders: Mark Britto, Ron Hirson, Erich Ringewald and Javier Martell. But the history of the company can actually be traced back a few years earlier.
Originally conceived in the UK as a company named Vidicom Ltd by founders that included Glyn Smith, it took around six years for the business to change its name to Boku after it secured funding from Khosla Ventures in the US and Index Ventures in Britain.
From here, Boku launched in the US and the business duly snapped up other companies in the industry such as Mobilcash and Paymo as part of its expansion plans in the early days.
Boku was valued at £125 million when the company went public at the London Stock exchange in November 2017, with the platform now available in over 50 countries around the world.
With nearly 50 million paying users having signed up to Boku over the course of the past 12 months, it is clear that this is becoming a much more popular online payment method now.
The benefits of using Boku to make a deposit into a betting site in the UK include the fact that there are no charges or fees, which is not always the case with all alternative online payment options. However, the downsides of using Boku include that it cannot be used for withdrawals while it may be unsuitable for high rollers due to the relatively low maximum payment levels that are in place.
Boku says that it has 24 million users who are active on the platform each month, while its annual payment volume - including deposits made into UK betting sites - is estimated to stand at over $6 billion. Nearly a billion customers have verified their mobile number on the platform.
There are more than 200 global merchant partners signed up to use Boku, but which betting sites in the UK currently allow this payment platform to be used by their customers?
Boku describes itself as a mobile payment processing company. Signing up for an account with Boku means that its users are able to pay for goods and services via their normal phone bill.
The benefit of this is that they do not need to have a bank account, debit card or credit card to shop online, with countless merchants have signed up to allow the use of Boku.
Even those who have a prepaid or pay-as-you-go phone rather than being tied to a contract are able to use Boku to shop online. The cost of the goods or services purchased using Boku would simply be deducted from their available balance, rather than added to their monthly phone bill.
All users need to pay by Boku is a mobile phone number. There is no need to share any other personal or financial information with merchants, which is a big tick in the box for a lot of people. Add in the fact that Boku payments are processed almost instantly and this is a handy option.
Many people in the UK will not yet be signed up to Boku, though, so the next part of this article will be a thorough step by step guide to using Boku for the first time.
Unlike other online payment accounts, there is actually no need to sign up with Boku in order to start using it at betting sites in the UK.
Boku can be used at various merchants and online operators across the planet, which will all display the company's logo if they have added it to their list of approved payment options.
When people want to use Boku to make a deposit at their preferred betting site in the UK, they should start by heading to the cashier section within their account as usual.
As long as Boku is available, it will be listed here with the typical alternatives, which usually include the likes of debit cards and e-wallets like Skrill, Neteller, PayPal and so on.
Select Boku and this will prompt the user to enter the amount of money they wish to deposit into their account. This part of the process is exactly the same as using other payment options.
Keep in mind that deposit limits with Boku are low compared to a lot of the other payment methods - capped at £30 - which means this option may not be suitable for everyone to use.
The next step of the process is to type in the mobile phone number that customers want to charge the deposit to. After this, the user will be taken to the Boku payment platform. Here, they will be asked to enter a verification code that is sent to the mobile number they entered earlier. This ensures that people cannot make charges to another person's mobile phone bill.
As soon as the payment has been authorised, it will be automatically added to the betting site account. This should happen almost instantly, just as with the other popular payment options.
It really is that simple, which is why using Boku to make a deposit into UK betting site accounts is likely to become a lot more popular among sports fans in the coming months and years.
With so few UK betting sites currently allowing the use of Boku direct deposits, using money from the platform via Neteller is a good alternative way to add funds into an account.
To do this, users need to have a Neteller account, which they can add funds to by using Boku mobile payments. The process of depositing into Neteller by using the Boku payment platform is then exactly the same, with the verification process quick and easy to go through for all.
However, remember that using Boku deposits via Neteller to fund UK betting site accounts may result in some transaction fees and charges being applied, which most people will want to avoid.
So what are the main pros and cons of using Boku at betting sites in the UK? Let's have a look.
As with all payment options at betting sites in the UK, there are a number of important pros and cons to consider when using Boku. Here are some of the main pros of this platform:
Downsides to mull over for those thinking about using Boku at betting sites include the following:
Safety and security is an important department to think about when mulling over all payment options that are available at betting sites in the UK, with Boku no different in this regard.
Especially with Boku not being as well-known as alternatives like Skrill, PayPal, Paysafecard and Neteller, it is natural for people considering using this platform to have questions about security and safety.
Among the main benefits of using Boku to add funds into online gambling sites in the UK is the fact it means users can avoid having to share their financial information with those operators.
With betting sites and online casinos often being targeted by internet hackers who are trying to access such sensitive data, using Boku might be a great way to avoid becoming a victim.
As Boku payments are verified through text messages, this adds an extra layer of safety and security that protects those who opt to use this particular online payment method even more.
Those who use Boku to make payments to UK betting sites should always make sure they check through their phone bill at the end of the month.
This ensures that all of the transactions they were expecting to have gone through using the platform have been processed properly while identifying any potential anomalies.
With the number of UK betting sites that allow Boku to be used being very small now, it is worth going through some of the other top options for making deposits and withdrawals.
Steven is an experienced iGaming content writer who has been working in the industry since 2018. He is passionate about sports betting and enjoys writing about all aspects of the industry, including bookmaker reviews, betting tips and strategies, and news and analysis. If you have any questions about online gambling in the UK, please don't hesitate to contact him.