All four UK mobile networks, EE, O2, Vodafone, and Three, support pay-by-phone casino deposits at UKGC-licensed sites through Boku or Fonix. The MVNOs are where it gets interesting. The ones that ride on O2, like Tesco Mobile and Sky Mobile, clear casino deposits cleanly, while Giffgaff and Lebara block them in their terms, and Asda Mobile sits somewhere in between.
This page pairs those nine carriers against the four UKGC-licensed operators that still take a pay-by-phone deposit in 2026: Casushi on Boku, MrQ and Hot Streak Casino on Fonix, and Mr Vegas on Siru Mobile. It's the deposit side only, because pay-by-phone is deposit-only by design, and we cover the withdrawal asymmetry separately in our how pay-by-phone casino deposits work guide. Every operator row is checked against the operator's payment-methods listing and the carrier's billing policy, and the matrix carries a last-verified date right at the top. The operator pool has thinned in 2026, because Sky Vegas, Virgin Games, and Foxy Bingo all dropped Boku, partly under the cost pressure of the April 2026 Remote Gaming Duty rise, so what you're looking at is a map of where each surviving carrier-billing rail actually reaches, not which operators are still standing. This page sits inside our pay-by-mobile casino comparison (head pillar) and feeds the carrier-coverage call for the operators we cover.
The mechanism underneath all of it is direct carrier billing, where the charge lands on your mobile account instead of a card. Boku, Inc. and Fonix Mobile plc are the two main providers behind it in the UK, with Siru Mobile as a niche third, and every casino that uses them holds a remote licence from the UK Gambling Commission.
UK mobile carrier compatibility table
This is the page. Everything below the matrix is here to explain it.
The grid sets the four confirmed UKGC operators against the four UK MNOs and the five major MVNOs. Each cell answers a single question: does this operator's payment provider clear a deposit on this carrier? A tick means it's supported. A cross means the carrier blocks gambling carrier-billing. And a warning marker means support is conditional, so confirm it at the cashier before you rely on it.
| Casino | EE | O2 | Vodafone | Three | Giffgaff | Tesco Mobile | Sky Mobile | Lebara | Asda Mobile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casushi (Boku) | |||||||||
| MrQ (Fonix) | |||||||||
| Hot Streak Casino (Fonix) | |||||||||
| Mr Vegas (Siru Mobile) |
- Supported
- Verification pending
- Not supported
- fn1: Giffgaff blocks gambling carrier-billing across its O2-based service, so it's a cross for every operator no matter which provider sits behind them (giffgaff community).
- fn2: Sky Mobile runs its carrier-billing on O2 rails, and the status is confirmed current at May 2026, so the Boku and Fonix flows over Sky Mobile work exactly as they did (Sky help forum). Sky Mobile, the carrier, is not Sky Vegas, the dropped casino, which is a separate brand and isn't in the rows at all.
- fn3: The Vodafone-Three merger is moving Three onto Vodafone network rails, but charge-to-mobile didn't change for the customer, so the deposit clears the same way.
- fn4: Lebara rides on Vodafone rails, yet its terms exclude gambling carrier-billing, so it's a cross whatever the operator or provider. Asda Mobile, also on Vodafone rails, has billing switched on but operators list it inconsistently, so it carries a warning (Asda Mobile help).
- fn5: Mr Vegas runs on Siru Mobile, whose published UK carrier footprint is narrower and far less documented than Boku's or Fonix's, so every Mr Vegas cell gets a warning pending a live cashier check rather than a confident tick (Siru Mobile, OLBG pay-by-phone casinos).
Boku carriers
Boku is the primary pay-by-phone provider at UK casinos, and its FCA-authorised arm, Boku Account Services UK Limited (FRN 900030), is the Electronic Money Institution that actually clears the deposits. Boku reaches all four UK MNOs plus the major MVNOs running on O2, like Sky Mobile and Tesco Mobile, and Vodafone, like Lebara and Asda Mobile (Boku network page). The cap is the same across every carrier: an £8 first-deposit ceiling, then £30 a day and £240 a month (Casushi banking page). There's a related group entity, Boku Network Services UK Limited (Companies House 05044979), that handles trading and integration, but it isn't the FCA-authorised arm, so any regulatory claim points to Account Services instead. Casushi is the only confirmed Boku-integrated UKGC operator in our 2026 pool. For the full picture, see our Boku-supported UK casino list.
Fonix carriers
Fonix Mobile plc supports a carrier footprint close to Boku's: the four MNOs plus selected MVNOs on the same host rails (Fonix carrier billing). MrQ and Hot Streak Casino are the two confirmed Fonix-integrated UKGC operators in 2026 (OLBG pay-by-phone casinos). The Fonix and Siru carrier-billing ceiling is £40 a day and £240 a month under Phone-paid Services Authority rules, which is higher than Boku's £30 daily cap, so don't run the two figures together. For the provider in depth, see our Fonix Mobile carrier support page.
Three UK and the post-merger rails
Three UK is moving onto Vodafone network rails under the conditional Vodafone-Three merger, and that's the one change Three customers depositing through Boku or Fonix in 2026 need to register. Charge-to-mobile is unchanged at the customer-facing layer. So what does that mean for you at deposit time? Nothing. The flow at the cashier looks and behaves exactly as it did before the migration, and Three stays a fully supported carrier across all four operator rows whose provider reaches it.
Which carriers support pay-by-phone casino deposits in the UK?
All four UK mobile networks, EE, O2, Vodafone, and Three, support pay-by-phone casino deposits at UKGC-licensed sites through Boku or Fonix (Boku network page). MVNO support varies by host network and by each MVNO's own gambling policy.
EE supports both Boku and Fonix carrier-billing, and that covers BT Mobile and Plusnet Mobile, which both run on EE rails. EE's own community forum confirms members can charge a gambling-merchant deposit to mobile, as long as the operator accepts the method.
O2, run by Telefónica UK, supports it through its Charge to Mobile service, which both Boku and Fonix integrate with. The deposit settles straight against your O2 contract or pay-as-you-go credit.
Vodafone supports Boku and Fonix carrier-billing too, and charge-to-mobile is switched on by default on pay-monthly accounts, so most Vodafone customers can deposit without touching a setting.
Three supports pay-by-phone deposits, and the customer experience is unchanged in 2026 despite the network-rails move to EE under the Vodafone-Three merger. Three is the carrier most comparison pages forget. And leaving it out is a tell that a page hasn't been checked in a while.
For the providers sitting behind these carriers, see our Boku-supported UK casino list and Fonix Mobile carrier support page.
Sky Mobile pay-by-phone casino status
Sky Mobile still supports pay-by-phone casino deposits as of 29 May 2026. The 2025 Sky Community forum thread about charge-to-mobile changes did not end gambling-merchant carrier-billing, whatever you've read elsewhere.
Sky Mobile runs on O2 network rails, so its carrier-billing inherits O2's policy at the network layer, with Sky's own overlays on top. The early-2025 thread players keep pointing to covered a change to non-Sky-merchant charge-to-mobile caps, not a withdrawal of gambling-merchant support. At our May 2026 re-check, pay-by-phone casino deposits through Boku and Fonix still clear on Sky Mobile, so the Sky Mobile cell is a tick across every operator row whose provider supports O2.
Keep one distinction crisp. Sky Mobile, the carrier in this column, is not Sky Vegas, the casino operator that dropped Boku in 2026 and sits outside the matrix rows. The shared name is a trap a lot of readers fall into, and it's worth saying once and plainly: Sky Mobile is a supported carrier, Sky Vegas is not a pay-by-phone casino.
The takeaway for you is simple. If an operator's provider supports O2 and the cashier lists Sky Mobile among its carriers, the deposit will clear. And if the payment-methods page doesn't name Sky Mobile by name, the deposit may still go through, because Sky Mobile traffic usually reads as O2 at the provider layer. For the full thread analysis, see our Sky Mobile pay-by-phone casino status page.
What is an MVNO and which MVNOs work for pay-by-phone casino deposits?
A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) is a phone provider that resells capacity on one of the four UK MNOs' physical networks instead of owning its own radio infrastructure. For pay-by-phone casinos, the host MNO's carrier-billing policy applies, unless the MVNO has explicitly opted out.
Tesco Mobile runs on O2 rails and supports pay-by-phone casino deposits, inheriting O2's Charge to Mobile policy. Sky Mobile, also on O2, supports the method too, with the full detail in the section above. Both clear a Boku or Fonix deposit at the operators that take them.
Giffgaff runs on O2 rails as well, but it blocks gambling carrier-billing across its service, so the cell is a cross at every operator. Lebara runs on Vodafone rails, and its terms exclude gambling carrier-billing, so it's a cross as well.
Asda Mobile, on Vodafone rails, is the conditional one. Carrier-billing is enabled, but operators list Asda Mobile inconsistently, so it gets a warning marker in the matrix rather than a tick. VOXI, a Vodafone sub-brand, doesn't have charge-to-mobile enabled at the MVNO layer, so it won't clear a pay-by-phone deposit. And BT Mobile and Plusnet Mobile inherit EE's policy, so they're supported.
For the grid view, jump back to the carrier compatibility table for UK pay-by-phone casinos above.
Why some MVNOs block gambling carrier-billing
MVNOs block pay-by-phone casino deposits for one of three reasons: a published anti-gambling carrier policy, a pay-as-you-go customer base that fails the carrier-billing creditworthiness check, or a network-rails opt-out at the host MNO's integration layer.
Giffgaff is the clearest case. Its pay-as-you-go customer base combines with a published stance against gambling carrier-billing to block most gambling-merchant deposits, and its own community threads confirm it again and again. Lebara takes the policy route head-on: its terms exclude gambling carrier-billing on Vodafone rails, so the block is contractual rather than technical.
The prepay angle matters here too. Boku's £8 first-deposit rule is calibrated for the prepay risk profile, and some MVNOs would rather switch carrier-billing off entirely for prepay customers than manage that risk. We cover that interaction one layer up, in our why some carriers reject pay-by-phone deposits guide. But the short version is this: a block is usually a business decision by the carrier, not a fault at the casino.
How to test your carrier before depositing
Before you commit to a pay-by-phone deposit, test the carrier, provider, and operator combination in three steps.
- Check the operator's payment-methods page. If it lists your carrier by name, you're clear to go. And if the page only names Boku or Fonix without listing carriers, your support comes down to the provider's coverage, so check the Boku and Fonix sections above.
- Try a £5 or £10 test deposit. The SMS confirmation comes back with one of three signals: a confirmation code, which means carrier-billing is accepted and you can finish the deposit; a carrier-billing not available error, which means your carrier or operator doesn't support the combination; or a silent failure, which usually points to a provider integration issue.
- Confirm the clear time. Carrier-billed deposits usually land in under 30 seconds at UKGC operators. So if your balance hasn't updated within five minutes, contact live chat, and don't retry the deposit, because a second attempt risks a double charge.
For the full step-by-step deposit flow, see our how pay by phone deposits work guide.
FAQ: pay-by-phone casino carrier compatibility
- Does EE support pay-by-phone casino deposits?
- Yes. EE supports Boku and Fonix carrier-billing at UKGC-licensed casinos, and that covers BT Mobile and Plusnet Mobile on the same rails. EE's own community forum confirms members can charge a gambling-merchant deposit to their mobile, as long as the operator accepts the method.
- Does O2 support pay-by-phone casino deposits?
- Yes. O2's Charge to Mobile service integrates with both Boku and Fonix, so a deposit settles against your O2 contract or pay-as-you-go credit. The MVNOs on O2 rails, including Tesco Mobile and Sky Mobile, inherit that support, while Giffgaff opts out.
- Can I deposit at a casino with Giffgaff?
- No. Giffgaff blocks gambling carrier-billing across its service, even though it runs on the same O2 rails that otherwise support the method. So if you're a Giffgaff customer, you'll need a debit card or another deposit method at a UKGC casino.
- What is the £30 daily limit?
- The £30 daily limit is Boku-specific, and it applies across every Boku-billed gambling merchant you use, not per casino, so a second account won't unlock a second allowance. Fonix and Siru operators sit under a £40 a day and £240 a month ceiling instead, set under Phone-paid Services Authority rules.
- Can I deposit if my carrier isn't in the table?
- Possibly. If your carrier runs on EE, O2, Vodafone, or Three rails and isn't flagged as blocked, your operator's provider may still process the deposit. Use the test-deposit method on this page to confirm it before you rely on it.
- Does the matrix update?
- Yes. The matrix is verified at each last-verified date and re-checked quarterly under our freshness policy. Any operator flagged for a licence change or a provider migration gets re-verified out of cycle, so a row never sits stale through a shift we already know about.