Afterpay Casinos

While Afterpay is a popular Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service in Australia, it cannot be used for online casino deposits. In this guide, you can learn why and explores alternatives for gaming payments.

Afterpay Casinos
Charles Morey
Written by Charles Morey
8 Min Read
Updated on May 01, 2025

Overview of Afterpay

Afterpay is an Australian payment system that allows customers to split payments into multiple payments. The company's services are interest-free in the case of on-time payments and compliance with the Terms & Conditions. You may be curious now, thinking, "How does the company make money if they don't charge any fees?". Well, it's easy: Afterpay charges a fee to merchants for each transaction, plus the company offers a subscription called Afterpay Plus.

Afterpay's spending limits start at $600 and are increased when the user has proven their trustworthiness by making on-time payments on previous purchases.

The popularity of Afterpay's service in Australia is proven by the Roy Morgan Digital Payments Report, which mentions that 3.4 million Aussies (which constitutes 15.2% of the country's population) are active users of Afterpay. Such numbers can be explained by the overall use of BNPL services, as over 21.6% of Aussies used such kinds of payments in 2023.

Also, I'd like to draw your attention to the fact that regulations of BNPL lenders are not as strict as banks. According to the National Debt Helpline, they are not covered by the National Consumer Credit Code. Therefore, BNPL lenders do not have the same obligations as banks, such as checking that you can afford the repayments, offering financial hardship assistance when things go wrong, and being a member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), which is a free and independent dispute resolution scheme. This leads us to the conclusion that BNPL providers might not be as reliable as bank lenders.

Why Afterpay Is Not Available in Online Casinos?

Afterpay is a service that allows its users to pay 25% at the time of purchase and the rest 75% during the next three fortnights. This is the main feature of the payment method that makes it so special and popular, but it is also a reason why it is forbidden for gambling activity. In the same way, credit cards are banned for online casinos in Australia (on our Gambling Laws page, you can read why), "Buy Now Pay Later" services can't be used there, either.

The BNPL payments bring a risk of letting customers lose control of their spending. When at the moment of depositing, they do not get charged on the amount they top up their casino account; players might not notice how much they actually spend and lose. Therefore, it is a dangerous payment method for gambling, which can easily lead players to big debts and other financial problems.

How Does Afterpay Work?

Let’s now look at how Afterpay functions. It is a platform that enables you to pay for items in four equal instalments interest-free. When you complete the transaction, 25% of the money will be paid upfront, while the remaining 75% will be automatically debited from your debit or credit card in three equal fortnightly instalments. There are no charges if you make all your agreed payments on time, but failure to do so attracts a late fee amounting to 25% of the order price. However, Afterpay notes that the late fee amount will never exceed $68.

It is worth noting that Afterpay does not share payment details with credit bureaus, and therefore, your credit history or score will not be affected by Afterpay. Although the company may check your credit as part of your application process for the service, it is a soft pull, which does not appear on your credit report in any way.

Afterpay can be used physically through its app while at stores or through websites listed in the company's catalogue. And guess what? Their catalogue doesn't even have a category for casinos!

Afterpay Plus

Afterpay Plus is an upgraded version of Afterpay. The subscription gives you an opportunity to pay in many more places than with the classic Afterpay card and allows you to pay in 4 fee-free payments. The Afterpay Plus virtual card is linked to Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay, depending on your choice. Therefore, you can pay via Afterpay almost anywhere where these three are accepted.

To get a subscription, you must be a user of Afterpay for some time (Afterpay doesn't clarify the exact amount of time, so, as a payment method expert, I can make a guess that it may also depend on your spending and payment history. P.S. I can't claim that it is actually like this). Then, you receive a personal invitation to subscribe to Afterpay Plus for a monthly payment of $9.99. After subscribing to the upgraded version of Afterpay, you will receive a digital card that will replace the previous one. Afterpay Plus is way more widely accepted, and many users on Reddit still highly recommend it, saying that they use it daily!

Despite the fact that Afterpay Plus offers instant loans and the convenience of using, it is important to note that seamless access to credit money leads to financial hardship. Afterpay works on a "Buy Now, Play Later" basis, not a "Buy Now, Pay Never," and by the moment you pay with your actual money, you really have to have the money. If your payment is delayed, be ready to pay additional fees and get your spending limit reduced to a minimum. If you want to know the real experience of a person who didn't act responsibly when using Afterpay, read a Quora post where a user shared their story.

Problems with Afterpay

Even though Afterpay has high ratings on the App Store and Trustpilot and is often recommended by Reddit users, you must pay attention to some cons.

  • Let's start with the fact that Afterpay is not available in any existing casino! You cannot use the service for gambling anywhere.
  • While checking Internet reviews on Afterpay, the BetPokies team found some negative comments about their customer support system. People notice that the replies they get from managers are automatic.
  • One more upsetting thing is lowering the spending limit. Customers claim that Afterpay reduces their limits and that they have been building up for months or even years just because of a one-day delay.

Pros & Cons

Pros
  • High rating from customers
  • Splitting the amount of your purchases
  • Fast replies on the Trustpilot website
  • Afterpay Plus virtual card
  • Afterpay can be instantly approved
Cons
  • Afterpay is not available in a single casino
  • The spending limit can go significantly down
  • Customer service may offer automatic replies

Afterpay Alternatives

Although you cannot use Afterpay at online casinos, there are several legal alternatives. We have prepared the best recommendations for you:

If you read about Klarna's "Play Now, Pay Later" feature above and thought, "Oh, I'll just go there and play on credit," hold on!

While some casinos do accept Klarna, the delayed payment feature doesn't work there. And that makes sense because playing on debt is a cardinal sin, and no one wants to take on that sin! Once again, BNPL services cannot be accepted in online casinos, and it is very reasonable.

Cryptos like USDT (TRX20) are good options for an online casino. They provide decent privacy levels as well as faster deposits and withdrawals compared to other means of depositing money into your account, which are available today. If you know how the Afterpay app works, then you will easily navigate on any crypto wallet.

If you want to control your spending, consider voucher-based payment systems. They can help you not to spend more than you plan to. No more "just one more spin" temptations!

And last but not least, of course, debit cards. While they are accepted in Australia’s online casinos, you must be careful while using them. To avoid mixing or wasting money, consider using another card that is meant only for this.