The online gambling market reached $93.2 billion in 2024, with a growth rate of 10.44% by 2029 it will be valued at $153.2 billion. North America is considered the fastest-growing area, with Europe remaining the largest market. According to the European Gambling and Betting Association (EGBA), in 2022, the top popular entertainment in Europe was online casinos, which brought € 14.9 billion in gross gaming revenue, in second place – sports games with € 13.6 billion. Such rapid growth was greatly influenced by the mass distribution of smartphones, and tablets, and the emergence of online applications for various gambling, lotteries, casinos, and sports betting (prevalent during championships, Olympics, and other global sporting events). Today, entertainment is available to anyone who wants to try their luck.
In this whole process, the choice of gambling payment gateway is critical for users. Transaction processing, and money transfer, it is better to entrust to a reliable service provider, which in addition to the system’s convenience will provide a secure environment without the risk of losing money.
What can be called a payment gateway?
A payment gateway serves to connect the player’s chosen payment system and the online casino merchant account (website, platform). Payment gateways for online casinos as good software that should provide simultaneous passage of a large volume of transactions, withdrawals/deposits, with a variety of types of currencies.
Reliable gambling payment providers provide players with a variety of payment options, both with traditional bank cards, payment transfers, and using crypto wallets. At the same time, providers must guarantee the security of financial transactions and the transfer of funds from one party to another.
How can an online casino payment gateway be used?
The user does not see the payment gateway, but when withdrawing/refilling an account, it is the gateway that is launched, which transmits encrypted information about the transaction to payment processors, and then the data gets into the banking system. In the case of confirming the amount, and passing identity verification, there is a transfer of funds to the destination and the result is displayed on the website of the gaming platform.
In order not to lose their customers, online casinos choose providers that provide a high-quality experience for their users as well as a continuous flow of financial transactions without delay.
A powerful online gambling payment gateway should provide:
- Funds transfer. This is one of the main functions of the gateway when the required/right amount is transferred from one user to another.
- Data security. When a transaction takes place, personal data is also transferred, so really good providers adhere to global technical standards.
- Ease of use. Users can be offered additional services such as online wallets. Funds stored in an online wallet can be used at any time without using bank cards. In addition, there are several deposit options and ways to withdraw funds.
- Currency Exchange. The online casino operates worldwide, so it is convenient for players to use the conversion function to convert the local currency into the necessary one for participation in the game.
- AML/KYC fulfillment. When processing payments, AML/KYC verification takes place, which is related to the fulfillment of international gambling laws, and fraud detection. In the EU, payment gateways must comply with the Anti-Money Laundering Directives (AMLD). In the US, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Screening Guidelines are in place for operators of such services.
What influences the choice of casino payment gateway?
The choice of casino payment gateway among many competitors is influenced by the ease of operation, convenience for users, service fees, speed of payments, and additional features.
When searching for the best payment gateway for online gambling it is worth studying such indicators as:
- Local availability in the users’ region. It is better to check whether a certain service provider works in a particular country, state, or province where the online casino operates. Online casino is not considered a legal activity in more than 10 countries like Japan, Singapore, UAE, Poland, Cyprus, etc.
- Choice of currencies. For the client, there should be a choice from a range of currencies or the possibility of conversion at a favorable rate.
- The amount of commission fees and deposit limits. In most cases, service providers do not take a commission from players, but it all depends on the type of currency and payment method. For some players, the deposit limit is especially critical, which somewhat complicates the process of playing and receiving winnings
- Reliable reputation. Financial transactions involve the transfer of personal information and banking data, and the payment gateway serves as protection for payments, so it is important to prevent the use of compromised cards and comply with PCI-DSS certification, and CVV Checker.
- Simplicity and speed. The client first of all needs the result of the operation to be quickly reflected on his wallet, as well as return to the platform to continue playing. It is worth paying attention to whether this gateway will work with different browsers and mobile devices. Multilingual support is an additional plus because online casinos work globally.
- New payment methods. Additional may be a built-in function of working with cryptocurrencies without the need to interact with crypto exchanges.
Also when choosing a service provider pay attention to customer support, refund procedure, terms of cooperation, and certification.
Why are Online Gambling Merchant Accounts Needed?
Trading accounts are a special type of bank account used in high-risk industries (gambling, casino, dealing, forex, astrology), they allow you to accept payments using payment cards, and pay out winnings.
Trading accounts are used to:
- Conduct high-risk payments in large volumes.
- Guarantee the security and counteract fraud.
- Fast online gambling payment processing with international reach in multiple currencies.
- Integrate quickly with various platforms.
- Increase customer confidence by ensuring secure transactions.
Gambling platforms are not allowed to operate without opening a trading account. It is not easy to open this type of account, banks require compliance with all legal regulations, gambling licenses, permits, SSL-certificate, working website with full information about services/products, contact details, and refund terms. It is important to realize that this is a full-fledged bank account (transit account) where funds are accumulated and then redirected to the company’s main account, not a payment gateway, which works as an intermediary between the web platform and the payment system.
Well-known Gambling Payment Gateway Platforms
Popular gambling payment platforms operate using SSL encryption protocols, are optimized for use with mobile devices, and have built-in multi-currency support and a simple interface as they are designed to reach a worldwide audience of millions.
Providers offer a variety of payment methods among which are:
- Credit/Debit cards. The most popular payment method where payment is instantaneous with minimal fees and sufficient limit.
- Bank Transfer. Less common in online games, with quite high fees and time costs when conducting.
- Online wallet. Payment service providers often offer online wallet integration with the gaming platform so that users can quickly pay for services without having to make additional bank payments.
- Cryptocurrencies. Advantages include speed of transaction (no restrictions or delays), and security (decentralized nature), but they are volatile, so players do not tend to use them as payment for services/goods.
Testing an offer from a service provider will help to identify drawbacks and problems that a future user may encounter.
Visa
Visa is the first company to work with online casinos and make payments. According to Statista, more than 2.9 billion cards have already been issued. Visa offers settlement and reconciliation services, risk monitoring, and fraud detection services.
MasterCard
One of the most trusted companies in the financial sector: about 10% of the world’s population owns a MasterCard card. According to Statista, Mastercard credit cards were used in 18 billion transactions in the second quarter of 2023. Enterprise Apps Today indicated that MasterCard processed $2.054 trillion in payments in 2021. For the gaming industry, MasterCard offers fast payment processing and winnings, game account protection, digital identification, customizable elements, and EMV 3DS technology for consumer authentication.
Skrill
Popular payment gateways include Skrill, which is available in 200 countries. Skrill is often used because of its low fees, high limits, and fast transaction processing: 1.45% for receiving money and $0.50 for sending, but there are set fees for currency conversion. Also, points are awarded for each transaction and a VIP program with reduced commissions has been developed. Since 2001 Skrill has allowed you to accept payments via cards, wallets, and bank transfers. There are 35 currencies to choose from.
NETELLER
Neteller has been operating since 1999, giving a wide choice of payment cards, money transfers, cryptocurrencies, and 40 payment methods, for regular customers bonus points are taken into account, marketing tools are developed for business, and there is a support service. The disadvantages include – high commissions and lengthy checks of players. It has built-in FX, payments can be made in different currencies, and there is also an e-wallet. Neteller makes payments in 200+ countries, from Andorra to Zambia, and has support for 15 languages. Does not work with international blacklisted and sanctioned countries.
PayPal
PayPal – one of the most famous global service providers (429 million accounts) including e-wallets, works with a wide range of countries – more than 202 and with 26 types of currencies. Commission $0.10 per transaction. Built-in own credit card, allowing you to buy goods on credit. Account management is done through PayPal Manager. But, with an integrated checkout page, from the online casino, the user is redirected to the PayPal site and then back, which can be quite inconvenient.
Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies are chosen by those who value security and low fees. When making payments in digital currencies, no personal information is transmitted, and transactions take place in fractions of seconds. Globally, 420 million people have cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency gateways have been developed that allow users to immediately receive fiat currencies in exchange for cryptocurrency. The payment gateway allows the client to select the preferred digital currency, and exchange rate and specify the address of the wallet where to send the payment. Well-known cryptocurrency payment gateways include BitPay, BTC Pay, BVNK, Coinbase, Coingate, CryptoPay, and NOW Payments. The average fee for cryptocurrency payments is around 1% (0.5% to 3%), and there may be an exchange surcharge.
Google Pay
Google Pay is massively distributed all over the world, users can link a debit or credit card. Commissions are 2%. Customer data is encrypted end-to-end. Google Play allows customers to use any credit or debit card.
Apple Pay
Apple Pay is the main competitor of Google Pay. Its advantages include the right to choose from several payment cards, lower fees, and higher limits. Apple Pay provides security through end-to-end encryption and authentication of Touch ID or Face ID, payment card data is not stored on Apple servers. On the downside, it is available only on Apple devices.
Summary
It is difficult to choose among payment gateway providers as each of them has its advantages. The optimal solution is to integrate several popular options to help customers choose the one that is more suitable for their transactions. Some players don’t want to use their cards to pay for online games so that these kinds of transactions won’t show up on their balance, while others don’t want to use cryptocurrencies as they find paying with digital currencies impractical. Multivariability in making payments, security, and optimal costs ensure a good process for players to interact with the online platform.