Billions of people are participating in online gaming and gambling every day. When you stop to consider the impact of those numbers, it comes as no surprise that you want to enter into that exciting world by developing your own gaming or betting website. Long before your first customer places their initial wager, however, one of the most important factors you should immediately consider is which online payment provider for online gambling you should select.

Why is the payment provider decision so important?

Any retailer or service provider doing business online must by necessity securely manage and transmit the information customers provide when they pay. As the numerous data breaches topping the headlines in recent years show in stark relief, lapses in cybersecurity technology and practices can lead to devastating financial consequences for merchants and customers alike. Although you might not be selling tangible products such as clothing or electronics, your commitment to iron-clad data safety must be just as strong. Finding a merchant services provider who puts digital security at the top of their priority list could save you tens of thousands of dollars over time while simultaneously protecting your valued customers. But just what characteristics should you look for in a payment provider for online gambling?

Ease at checkout.

Just as is the case with ecommerce shopping, customers value a buying experience that is fast, transparent, and efficient. They don’t want to meander through a confusing cash-out system or be redirected to an unfamiliar page that might carry a tang of the disreputable.

The solution lies in finding a secure payment gateway with a “remember me” feature. This enables you to securely store customer contact details so that the next checkout experience simply requires a few clicks. To ensure that sensitive payment information is safe from a breach, your patron then simply verifies their identity by entering their card’s CVV security code as part of a smooth and safe checkout experience.

Fraud protection features.

Cybercriminals never rest. They are relentless in their attempts to compromise your systems and customer data. To foil their increasingly sophisticated schemes, partner with a payment provider that gives you fraud detection and prevention in real time. Mechanisms to make this possible include the custom fingerprinting of devices, technology that connects the device to the order, and multiple data points. With these precautions set up, you can drastically reduce the number of forced refunds (known as chargebacks) that you experience.

That being said, be sure that the anti-fraud measures your provider uses are not so sensitive that they result in lower payment acceptance, a decreased conversion rate, or frustrated players. 

The acceptance of multiple currencies.

Many online gambling entrepreneurs choose to take their business international to serve the maximum number of customers. In order to give foreign patrons the gaming experience they are asking for, however, you need to make certain demands of your payments partner.

For one thing, be sure that they offer you the ability to accept payments in the native currencies of the nations you want to serve. People are far more likely to place their trust in your website if they know the exact cost of what they are buying in the monetary denomination they are already familiar with. Moreover, buyers may even pay lower fees if you are able to work with an international provider that has developed relationships with the banks and other financial institutions in your countries of choice.

Finally, you mustn’t adopt a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to serving your customers from abroad. The preferred payment methods (cash, credit, mobile, online, etc.) vary widely from place to place, a fact that will come back to haunt you if you fail to give players the ones they want. With competition extremely aggressive in your industry, you cannot afford to make sweeping generalizations about your foreign customers.

Reports and analytics.

The provider you choose should provide you with payments software and merchant portal access that offer you an administrator dashboard. You can refer to this repository of information to get the details at a glance of how your gaming business is running. Just log in to reconcile payments, learn how well your gaming product sales are going, and get information about your conversion rates.

Provide customers with mobile options.

In an era when the smartphone is never far from your players’ hands, you absolutely must find a provider that gives you all the tools you need to tap into the mobile market. If you don’t delight people with a flexible gaming site experience that adapts to screens and devices of all types and sizes, you will almost certainly lose sales to your competitors.

Boost your chargeback win rate.

Online gambling is a high-stakes endeavor that often leads to remorse and the occasional act of deception. In this risky industry, consumers frequently dispute charges out of guilt or even attempt to recover their money after losing it on bets.

When disputes or chargebacks occur, the merchant is often left vulnerable and holding the bag. Fortunately, a good provider will have extensive knowledge of the gaming industry as well as your particular niche. Moreover, they will have invested in technology designed to detect fraud and make you aware of it immediately. After all, the best way to avoid the financial and reputational damage wrought by chargebacks and other fraud is to prevent them from happening in the first place.

Like it or not, online gaming sites are considered to be “high-risk” by merchant account companies. Because you will inevitably be placed in that category, you can expect to pay fees that are steeper than other merchants are asked to cough up. Because there is nothing you can do about this, simply consider your high-risk status as a part of the cost of doing online gaming as a business.

Gaming and betting continue to rise in popularity both domestically and internationally. When you choose a secure payments provider with expertise in the industry and in the geographical areas you want to serve, you can provide the safe, transparent, and comprehensive services your customers are seeking – a winning proposition for everyone involved.