Why bookmakers exclude Skrill and NETELLER from welcome bonuses

You deposit £50 by Skrill, the balance shows £50, and the free bets never arrive. The terms said “Skrill and NETELLER deposits excluded”, in the part nobody reads. This page explains why the exclusion exists, who applies it, and how to avoid losing the offer without giving up the wallet.

Checked on 30 September 2026.

The reason, in one paragraph

A welcome offer is a customer-acquisition cost. Bookmakers pay it to get a bettor who stays. An e-wallet lets money move between bookmakers in minutes with no bank in the way, which is exactly what a bonus hunter needs: open an account, take the offer, move the money to the next book, repeat. Excluding wallet deposits from the offer is the cheapest way to make that loop unprofitable. It has nothing to do with Skrill or NETELLER being untrusted; the same bookmakers accept both for every deposit after the first.

Who does it

• bet365: Skrill and NETELLER deposits excluded from the sports welcome offer (offer terms). Detail.
• Unibet: only debit card and instant bank transfer deposits qualify; Skrill, NETELLER, PayPal, Apple Pay and Paysafecard excluded (offer terms). Detail.

That covers the two we have verified in full. Industry guides such as Gamesville’s Unibet review note that e-wallet exclusion is close to universal for welcome offers across regulated European bookmakers. Assume it applies unless the terms say otherwise, and read the terms.

What is not excluded

Everything after the first deposit. Reload offers, price boosts, acca insurance and loyalty schemes almost never carry the same restriction. The exclusion is about the acquisition offer specifically.

The order that gets you both

1. Open and verify the wallet first, in the right currency (Skrill or NETELLER).
2. Register at the bookmaker. Make the first deposit by debit card, at or above the offer’s minimum.
3. Complete the qualifying bet and use the free bets.
4. From then on, deposit and withdraw by wallet.

Doing it the other way round, wallet first, forfeits the offer permanently at most bookmakers. There is no fix after the fact.

A note on “Skrill welcome bonuses”

You will see pages promising a Skrill-specific casino or betting bonus. Some exist, mostly on the casino side and mostly small. For sports betting at the major regulated books, the reliable path is the one above. Any page telling you to deposit by Skrill first to claim a sportsbook welcome offer is either out of date or selling something.

Back to the Skrill betting sites guide.

Oddspaper earns a commission if you open a Skrill or NETELLER account through our links. It costs you nothing extra and does not change what we write.