Youve been playing online and youve generated a nice win for yourself. Your online account is beefed up to the point that youd like to spend some of your winnings. Now, the question is, how do you get paid?

You get paid in largely the same way that you paid in. When you started your online gaming experience, you loaded your account using a number of different methods. One of the quickest and easiest is to link your online gaming account directly to your checking account. If you do this, when you are ready to cash out, simply go to the cashier menu of your gaming site and click on cash out. You will then be given a menu of choices for how you wish to receive your money. If you are linked to a checking account, just input the amount to cash out and click the button. The amount should appear in your checking account within three to seven business days. You will usually receive a transaction ID to record in case there is any problem with the transfer.

If a direct link to your checking account is not your thing, you may have used an intermediary site, such as NetTeller or FirePay. These sites essentially hold your money for you until you are ready to use it. Most gaming sites support one or more of these intermediary sites. These intermediary sites offer the option of added security and protection. However you will have to first wait for the money to be transferred to your intermediary account, and then wait again for it to be transferred from your intermediary account to your checking account.

You can also choose to have a check delivered to you, although this obviously takes a bit longer than other methods, since you have to allow for delivery time and then deposit the check yourself.

You may have received bonuses for playing on a particular site. Most of these bonuses are restricted, which means you have to play a certain amount of hands before the money is released into your account. If this is the case, you will not be able to cash out that money until you have met the requirements. Once you have, you need to determine whether or not the bonus is sticky. A sticky bonus can only be used for the purposes of wagering, so it can never be withdrawn, although you can win real money by betting with the sticky bonus money. Any money you win can of course be withdrawn at any time (sites usually require you wait a prescribed amount of time, like eight hours, after a deposit before making a withdrawal).

Most reputable sites want to make it easy for you to get your money. They make plenty of money from their House edges and it is bad business for them to withhold money from you. If you feel like your winnings are being delayed or withheld, it may be time to consider taking your business to another site.