Payments are an often overlooked part of gambling. Most consumers do not actively think about how they are going to deposit or withdraw their money from a casino – whether this is an online website or a land-based venue. It’s all a given.
Yet shifting preferences and increased awareness of payment options have made consumers a rather more demanding lot, with most niggling about having fast cashouts or more than just an on-site ATM to deposit at a land-based casino.
The scope of this change varies depending on the medium you choose. Land-based casinos have long been somewhat resistant to introducing changes to their payment arrangements. After all, nothing beats hard currency, and the associated risks and technology with new payment methods have often been a rather unpalatable idea. After all, if it works – why break it?
Until now. Consumer demand has reached a deafening crescendo that has forced casinos to sit up and listen. It’s not that consumers demand specific properties to feature payment options such as cashless, but they are selective about the venues they visit as well, and although patrons won’t tell a casino to feature certain payment methods specifically, they would just end up shunning it. Let’s take a look at some of the major changes in payment options for these days.
Cashless: Accept It or Lose Customers
Cashless payments have been slowly making their mark on the industry. Although not everyone agrees with or introduces them, nor does every patron look for those payment methods, cashless has become a part of a foundational change in the industry as a whole.
Patrons who travel to casinos often prefer to have their money pre-loaded in a wallet instead of carrying the money with them or withdrawing it at an ATM. Transacting money this way often has upsides. It is convenient, it’s safer than dragging duffel bags around, and it’s easier for tax purposes as well, as the tech providers always offer a detailed breakdown of every transaction, which sits better on your W5 Form to the Internal Revenue Service.
Casino-goers who are frequent at land-based properties definitely appreciate this added level of comfort. Cashless is not going to replace cash payments, no matter what doomsayers may say, but it’s still a very powerful part of modernizing business that wants to stay relevant and competitive. Making sure that customers have the option to pick their own payment method is certainly a step in the right direction.
Innovating the Online Payment Space for Gambling
Besides land-based casinos, you have online casinos which are similarly undergoing a reform. The most common types of payment options, bank cards, and direct wire transfers are somewhat pushed to the side by more convenient and tech-driven payment methods instead. E-wallets have long been a part of the industry and a disruptive aspect of the payment experience, but they are also facing fresh challenges.
Cash app has become a preferred payout method for players, forcing a shift online towards the payment solution. Today, the cash app casinos listed here are starting to overtake historically popular sites that have failed to implement the same payment method, doubly
highlighting the importance of leveraging innovative tech when it comes to settling payments.
Cash or Cashless Has Another Aspect – Compliance
Of course, before any momentous shift may get underway, a question ought to be asked – will a payment method also bring with itself a slew of compliance requirements? Whether casinos engage online or in-person with their customers, they still need to meet robust AML and KYC prerequisites outlined by federal and national governments.
This is why the introduction of new payment options, such as a cash app or cashless payments in general brings new obligations that some establishments may not be too willing to accept on short notice. Regardless, the commercial incentives are strong enough for even pariahs to consider and look into their timelier implementation.
Compliance will be an inseparable part of this process, though, and the adoption of out-of-the-box payment options that may be met with cheers from patrons would still require a clear commitment to the principles that dictate financial scrutiny.
The March of Crypto as Alternative to Everything Else
Not least, the industry is faced with another dilemma – the rapid deployment of crypto payment options. Although their status is still unclear, the introduction of a Bitcoin ETF by the US Securities and Exchange Commission has given teeth to the sector, propping investor hopes that the future of payments and investment will certainly has something to do with Bitcoin.
Although many financial institutions are still loath of the idea, consumer interest has beaten the status quo as is a cryptocurrency mission statement. The advancement of cryptocurrencies has been well-received across various sectors, but gambling still tends to buck this trend, as regulators have been naturally a little slow to respond and are so far not engaging with the issue.
Crypto though is already shaping payment options offshore for example, which regulators would have to address sooner or later, not least by allowing regulated and mainland online operators to similarly benefit from the transactional speed and low fees of crypto payments.
Ultimately, the landscape of payments in the world, including the gambling industry is changing. A change brought on by the adoption of cashless and crypto payment methods, which are now undergoing growing pains will precede a lasting change in the way we settle payments in gambling and beyond.