The iGaming payment gateway affects the safety of players’ funds and transaction speeds. A poorly chosen gateway can lead to processing delays, transaction errors, and all kinds of fraud. These can have catastrophic effects on your reputation and customer retention.
Online casinos and sports betting businesses should adhere to stringent criteria when selecting a gaming payment gateway. It’s important to learn about various integration challenges that come up along the way. This is what we’re going to discuss.
As an experienced iGaming provider, we’d like to share our expertise in selecting and integrating an online gaming payment gateway. Whether you’re launching a new site or upgrading an existing one, these insights can help you make the right decision. We will also explain how proprietary platforms can help you integrate hundreds of payment methods and currencies.
Types of iGaming payment gateway solutions
A payment gateway service acts as an intermediary for financial transactions. It lets your iGaming platforms accept, process, and manage various payment methods.
Here’s how it works with banks. When a player with a credit card initiates a transaction, the payment gateway encrypts the payment data and sends it to the payment processor, which requests authorisation from the player’s bank. If the operation is approved, the payment gateway initiates the fund transfer between your platform and a bank.
Understanding the difference between available payment gateway solutions is critical for online casinos and sportsbooks with a global audience.
Fiat currency
Traditional gateways include credit and debit card processing. They are widely used and secure choices for local and international transactions but may be unavailable for players in some countries due to geo-restrictions and legal limitations.
Digital wallets
E-wallets like PayPal and Skrill are preferred for their rapid processing and added security layers. They offer an extra privacy layer but impose restrictions on certain regions. For example, PayPal may seem convenient, but users in over 28 countries can’t use it.
Cryptocurrency gateways
Cryptocurrency gateways use blockchain technology to enhance transaction transparency and security. Crypto is widely popular among users around the globe for quick global payments, improved privacy, and reduced fees.
Direct bank transfers
Bank transfers are usually used to transfer large amounts of money securely. They offer users familiar with traditional banking a reliable option for transferring funds securely.
Mobile payment systems
Mobile payment gateways, like Apple Pay and Google Pay, offer convenience for users who prefer playing from their smartphones.
Vouchers and prepaid cards
These options are suited for users seeking control over their gaming expenses. Prepaid cards and vouchers offer a secure way to deposit funds while maintaining privacy, but they may not work with online casinos that require identity verification.
These are not the only classifications for payment gateways. Depending on the integration characteristics, there are four types:
Hosted payment gateway: A payment service that redirects the customer to a separate website for payment and then back to the merchant site for confirmation. Hosted gateways offer high security, fraud protection, and easy setup but less control over the user experience.
Payment gateway API: A payment service that allows the customer to enter payment details on the merchant site and then sends them to the gateway for processing. It offers more customisation and quick checkout but requires more technical skills and regular maintenance.
Self-hosted payment gateway: A service that encrypts payment details on the merchant site and submits them to the payment gateway for authorisation. This type is more flexible but requires stringent security tools and anti-fraud mechanisms.
Local bank integration gateway: A payment service that transfers the customer to the local bank’s website and then back to the merchant site for confirmation. It offers lower fees, direct deposits, and local currency support, but less reliability, stability, and user-friendliness.
Selecting the right payment gateway impacts user experience and platform efficiency. Each type offers unique benefits for catering to diverse player preferences.
Having explored various payment gateway types, you should understand what to consider when selecting one for your platform.
Factors for selecting a payment gateway for an online casino
Understanding what criteria to prioritise in a payment gateway helps safeguard your transactions while maintaining operational efficiency and a user-friendly experience.
Security of transactions
Payment gateways must protect customers’ information with advanced encryption, which makes the data unreadable to unauthorised parties. Meanwhile, the platform should have fraud prevention tools that monitor transactions for suspicious activities, immediately flagging and addressing potential threats.
VeliTech’s platforms are built on a secure infrastructure with cutting-edge encryption, fraud detection, and access controls. Thanks to the PCI-DSS-compliant gateway, your players’ personally identifiable information is safe from identity thieves.
Processing speed
Rapid transaction processing is critical for user engagement, as slow approvals will frustrate customers. You should choose iGaming payment gateways that minimise processing time without compromising data security.
VeliPayments boasts a high transaction processing capacity, managing over 50 transactions per second. Moreover, our 99.9% Service Level Agreement rating guarantees that your platform is available nearly all the time without operational downtime.
Geographic and currency support
Payment gateways should work globally if you want to provide your services around the world. Gateways should also support multiple currencies.
Our comprehensive iGaming payment covers over 350+ payment service providers and 280 payment methods. It’s a versatile choice for casino operators who depend on international audiences.
Fees and commission
Finding a payment gateway with competitive and transparent fee structures benefits your casino and players. Transparency is imperative, as your customers will hate hidden costs.
VeliTech supports over 200 currencies, including cryptocurrencies. Crypto transactions typically involve lower fees compared to traditional payment methods, which is ideal for many gamblers. Moreover, our platform can convert any digital currency into euros and dollars.
Optimal user experience and mobile-first design
Gateways should ensure easy integration and straightforward transactions, with user-friendly navigation and multiple language support.
A mobile-first design is essential due to the rising use of mobile devices for online gambling. According to the 2023 Online Gambling Market Size Report, only 48% of players use desktops. So, payment gateways should take into account Android- and iOS-based devices first.
Our payment gateway has a simple yet powerful interface that allows instant transactions on any device with hundreds of payment options. VeliTech’s products feature mobile-friendly designs that support any screen size.
Understanding both the selection criteria and integration challenges is vital for success. It’s important to discuss how to avoid these problems to save you both time and money.
How to solve payment gateway integration challenges
Seamless integration of your chosen payment gateway is as important as the gateway itself. Let’s delve into how you can overcome common integration challenges.
Compatibility with existing systems
Payment gateways must integrate smoothly with current payment services and business tools (like your analytics software, push notification service, and compliance tools). You need an interoperable system to maintain optimal workflow and data integrity.
VeliPayments is designed to work with numerous third-party services and payment service providers. We can integrate new payment services on your platform within a week, or in just two days if you’re in a hurry.
Risk of fraud
Unreliable high-risk payment gateways are susceptible to fraudulent activities. Malicious actors typically use stolen cards, provide inaccurate documents for verification, and exploit chargebacks (reversing transactions to avoid paying).
VeliPayments addresses these risks with an anti-fraud tool with custom controls and a blacklist feature. You can customise the rules to prevent suspicious transactions in real time.
Lack of scalability
As website traffic increases, maintaining transactional capacity can become challenging. A scalable payment gateway should accommodate growing transaction volumes and customer numbers without degrading the operational performance.
Our products are built on scalable cloud architecture, so they can handle increased operational demands efficiently. This is excellent for online casinos with high-volume transaction periods.
Regulatory barriers
Online casinos and sportsbooks have varying requirements across jurisdictions. If you work internationally, ensure your platform follows the laws of the countries where the users live.
VeliTech’s product suite meets the stringent requirements in the UK and most other countries. You can integrate our platforms to operate under diverse regulatory landscapes.
The smooth operation of your payment gateway also depends on the support from the gateway provider. A dedicated point of contact can be instrumental in this.
A dedicated point of contact in an iGaming payment gateway
Payment gateway vendors can provide a Single Point of Contact (SPoC) — a dedicated team that supports iGaming operators. There are many benefits to having such a team for your payment gateway:
Updates on the platform’s functionality: A dedicated Contact Point keeps iGaming operators up to date on the latest changes in the service features or policies. For example, VeliPayments adds about 15 new payment systems every month.
Issue resolution and support: SPoC managers solve issues or answer any questions during the integration or operation of the payment gateway.
Technical maintenance: These teams handle maintenance and fix technical issues to ensure smooth transactions and minimal downtime.
Continuous optimisation: Dedicated managers help optimise your payment methods, options, and anti-fraud settings.
To sum up, dedicated managers familiarise themselves with your business and specific needs, serving as an essential source of support for your iGaming platform.
All VeliTech’s products, including our payment gateway for iGaming platforms, have a dedicated manager and 24/7 support to prevent customer churn and unplanned downtime.
How VeliTech helps with iGaming payment gateway integration services
When choosing a casino gaming payment gateway, focus on what matters: security, transaction speed, fees, currency support, and user experience. You should also select a gateway that’s scalable, compatible with your tools, and compliant.
VeliTech’s product suite ticks these boxes. Our VeliPayments payment gateway is PCI-DSS compliant, secure, and compatible with hundreds of payment systems and currencies. Moreover, we provide a full range of online services to help you launch your casino. Visit our website or get in touch to learn more about what we offer.
