What Payment Lessons Should Companies Take from the iGaming Industry?
- 07 Nov 2024
- Articles
The multi-billion-dollar global iGaming industry, which encompasses real money gambling sites, such as online casinos (my personal favourite), sportsbooks, bingo & lottery sites, and dedicated poker sites, continues to show impressive year-on-year revenue growth figures.
One of the main reasons for this continued upward trend is the operators’ willingness to cater to a broader customer base by accepting a wide range of online payment methods. I’ve noticed how many of today’s most successful operators typically accept more payment processing gateways than their rivals.
With that said, here are some key payment lessons companies can take from today’s most successful iGaming operators.
Which key payment lessons can companies take from this burgeoning industry?
Whenever I am looking for a new website to join so I can play some of the world’s most popular online fruit machines and cutting-edge live dealer games from various award-winning software providers, the first thing I will consider before signing up anywhere is whether that site accepts my preferred payment method.
I think I’m not alone when I say that if the website doesn’t accept my preferred payment methods, then I simply won’t bother signing up. Instead, I will look for somewhere else that does accept my preferred deposit and withdrawal methods.
Today’s most successful companies operating in this industry are aware of this and understand the importance of accepting as many payment methods as possible to avoid losing out on acquiring new members.
Here are four payment lessons that other companies can learn from this industry:
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Investing in the right kind of payment processing gateways is vital, and offering multiple deposit and withdrawal options at the checkout rather than just a few can help businesses be more successful. Doing so also brings with it many other benefits
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Accepting a broad range of trusted and secure online payment gateways, such as credit & debit cards, prepaid gift/voucher cards, direct/instant bank transfers, digital wallets (aka web wallets, eWallets or electronic wallets), and mobile wallets, can foster a sense of trust in a company’s brand and boost customer loyalty
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Processing near-instant deposits and being known for processing withdrawals quicker than the competitors can also help boost revenue
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It’s important that companies stay innovative and be willing to try new online payment methods or the latest emerging payment processing technologies
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Companies can partner with specific payment gateways and boost their profits by running exclusive promotional offers and bonuses for people like me who use those payment methods at the checkout
I also believe that it helps foster a sense of trust in companies and helps enhance their business when they are transparent in their pricing and don’t add any hidden fees to their transactions.
I have found that when a charge is applied to my deposit, it’s very rare that the website operator applies that charge. It’s usually the payment provider that adds a fee, which is why I am super careful when deciding which online payment methods to use when topping up my account or cashing out my winnings.
What other lessons can companies learn from online casino and sports betting website operators?
Companies must understand their target audience, which means getting to know their customers/registered members and their online payment method preferences.
For example, I have signed up to all of the highest-rated websites that are currently featured on the official JohnSlots UK website, and I have noticed how each of those sites now accepts a broad range of perfectly secure online payment methods that are popular with UK residents like me.
The deposit and withdrawal methods accepted in the banking/cashier sections on these sites are all specifically targeted for the UK market. I prefer using either my Visa debit card, PayPal or Apple Pay eWallet/mobile wallet at the checkout, and I’ve found that most sites accept at least one of these methods.
If I was considering joining somewhere and they didn’t accept any of my favourite online payment methods, then I wouldn’t join that site.
Therefore, to be a successful business owner, they must consider global accessibility, especially if they want to operate in several of the world’s biggest markets. In other words, they must do their research and cater to people like me in many different countries by accepting payment methods that are more commonly used in those markets.
I also feel that it’s important for companies to be quick at processing transactions. They must also frequently test the user experience, make improvements where necessary, and remain compliant with local and international laws and regulations.
Final thoughts
Whenever I sign up to a new site to play my favourite titles, I always check the expert reviews first. The reviews often give me a much better insight into whether that site is worth joining or not, and they always contain a frequently updated section listing all of the payment methods currently accepted on that site.
Reading the reviews saves me from visiting the site and asking the customer support agents if they accept my favourite payment method. I can also find out from the reviews if I will qualify for a new player welcome bonus when using my favourite payment method.
The other thing that I think helps foster a sense of trust in this industry is how today’s most trusted operators also typically provide a range of safer gambling tools that help me and countless other players remain within our budgets.
They usually provide tools such as spending caps, session time reminders, win/loss limits, and deposit limits, which I think is fantastic because it stops me from ever overspending.