Last Updated on March 17, 2024 by Umer Malik
It’s hard to believe that online payments were essentially non-existent a quarter of a century ago. Of course, they had been invented and used by businesses and some individuals, to an extent. However, the logistics of internet access and the cost of it, compounded by the lack of knowledge and the fear of the unknown, meant that they weren’t viable in the early days of the internet.
As the technology grew, became more accessible and cheaper to use, and millions of people slowly warmed to the idea of home computers and the internet around the turn of the 21st century, more companies started to explore that horizon as a potential avenue for payments. It wasn’t until companies like eBay emerged and mainstream banks started to move their services online that millions realized it was both secure and more convenient.
Companies such as banks, casino operators and other financial institutions that handle financial transactions need to have a greater emphasis on security. Not only do they hold your information but they have a facility where you can deposit and withdraw funds. Therefore, they have an added impetus to ensure that their businesses are both secure and efficient.
How casino payment methods evolved
Land-based casinos went from accepting cash and credit cards to digital casinos accepting cryptocurrency in a little under 20 years. The changes have been enormous, especially considering that digital casinos and cryptocurrency would not exist without the internet. Nowadays, casino payment methods can take many forms, each having distinct positives and negatives.
Today, we will go through them all in detail, and you can decide which one takes your fancy. Traditional methods like bank transfers and Visa, Mastercard and PayPal are all still incredibly popular. As more of us have started to play casino games via our tablets and mobile devices, the emergence of digital wallets and mobile-centric payment systems has become a far more prominent part of the industry.
Mastercard, Visa and wire transfers have all adapted to the changing digital landscape. However, digital wallets and e-payment systems are all byproducts of the new digital age. The combination of the two means that payment method choice is abundant, and most top providers will offer more than a dozen, perhaps even two dozen, depending on the platform you use.
Visa and Mastercard payments
Although it can be easy to lump these two payment methods into the same category, it’s crucial to understand that many casinos will rightly treat them as separate entities. In practice, there’s not too much difference, especially from a user perspective. Mastercard acts as a credit card system, where you can obtain other advantages through using it.
This depends on the card type – and it’s something you’ll agree to when you first register for their service – but Visa cards act as a standard payment that comes from your bank account. As it is the most popular way to play casino games, you’re unlikely to encounter any fees as you would with some of the other payment methods we’ll be discussing today.
Bank/wire transfers
Wire transfers are among the oldest and most trusted ways to deposit into an online casino. Before the days of dozens of payment methods, the handful of digital casinos that existed online in the 1990s would exclusively use bank transfers or credit cards.
A short while later, following the success of eBay, PayPal became accepted by many, too. However, the choice was much slimmer than it is now, where a range of casinos specialize in just one type of payment or branch out into a significant choice. Many bettors use bank transfers as a means of deposit and withdrawal because of the assurances and security a bank puts in place. Although there’s no casino payment method that isn’t secure, if you use this traditional method and something goes wrong, you know that you can contact the bank right away.
PayPal
Some analysts believe that PayPal is the preferred global method of online casino payments. Although it is popular in a variety of countries and has over 200 million customers worldwide, it’s still not as universal in the casino gaming industry as Visa or Mastercard – however, there’s not much in it. A lot of online casinos will use incentives to encourage people to deposit and withdraw via PayPal.
These transactions are often subject to fees that vary depending on your provider. The fintech giant branched into the crypto world back in 2021. While they were riding the wave of the bull run and essentially announced this news at the market’s peak, it has becoming an ever-popular way to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin casinos make up a small portion of the current market. However, given that crypto is back in the news, and a combination of casual and institutional investors are looking to jump back into the market, this opens the door for companies that champion actual use cases and are in a strong position to take advantage. Bitcoin is the dominant cryptocurrency; it is the face of the entire asset class and commands the most significant market cap. However, there are other cryptocurrencies, ranging from Ethereum and Solana to BNB, that people are beginning to use to play casino games.
If you understand how cryptocurrency works, you’ll be aware of the advantages it has over traditional payment methods. For example, the wallet-to-wallet transactions verified on the blockchain are secured with cryptography and an advanced blockchain mechanism.
Ultimately, this negates the need for any bank to oversee the transaction, and everything is public, viewable and can’t be amended. Cryptocurrency isn’t the perfect way to play, and some regulation issues must be considered. However, this year could be a big year for Bitcoin to establish itself as a bona fide casino payment method that can hold its own against the bigger, traditional payment systems.
Apple Pay and Google Pay
With over four billion smartphones on Earth, iOS and Android have a duopoly within the tech industry that few companies have managed throughout the last 100 years. Now that so many of us use our mobile phones to make payments or to play casino games, it was only a matter of time before digital wallets and cards started to have a seismic impact on how people play.
By adding your payment method to your Apple or Android wallet, you can transact at multiple online casinos just by selecting the feature, and all the relevant details will be filled in for you. IOS and Android devices are considered highly secure, and the fees are often some of the lowest among casino payment methods – hence the surge in popularity.
Best of the rest
Other payment methods, such as Skrill, Neteller and Amex, might be lesser known but millions opt for them when playing casino games. Although they’re a long distance behind some of the other payment methods we have covered, chances are they’ll find a new audience among a fresh generation of gamblers.
The importance of security for casinos
All gambling operators with an online facility need to be acutely aware of the vital security measures that need to be taken to ensure your details remain safe. Some of the most prominent names in casino gaming have been subject to data breaches and leaks over the last five years, with business analysts predicting that it has cost many of them seven-figure sums of money.
The casino operators that use heightened encryption and ensure that their platform isn’t subject to a cyberattack are there to hoover up customers from those platforms that have been unfortunate enough to suffer a successful cyberattack.
One avenue fraudsters and money launderers can use is to take advantage of lesser-known or new payment methods. Although casinos use stringent security and need to abide by strict legislation, there are still instances where rogue elements can slip through the net.
Summary
With so many payment options available to casino gamers, it’s just one of many variables in the industry that have resulted in the recent golden period we’ve watched unfold over the last 20 years.
Trends and studies suggest that the industry is set to become even more mobile-focused over the next decade, which will likely mean that digital payments will continue gathering momentum and visibility.
Cryptocurrency has the most significant room for growth, but much of this will depend on how the industry is regulated in economies such as the US and the UK. The UK and US currently have favorable cryptocurrency laws, and gambling is becoming more prevalent too, but this could change quickly in terms of regulation, so it’s something to keep an eye on.
Apple and Google Pay, despite already having hundreds of millions of customers, could continue to make up ground on the prominent traditional payment systems. Many businesses that now take digital payments factor in digital wallets as part of their overall digital business strategy.
As new generations enter the gambling world, with even more of a focus on their mobiles and the internet than the generations that precede them, the likelihood is that the future of online casino payment methods is very much mobile app driven.
