- Four minutes read
The state of online gaming in Europe
Skrill, NETELLER, and Income Access CEO Lorenzo Pellegrino gives us his thoughts on the state of the European regulated online gaming market
Ahead of iGB Live (formerly the iGaming Super Show, EiG, and the Amsterdam Affiliate Conference), we asked Skrill, NETELLER, and Income Access CEO Lorenzo Pellegrino to give us his thoughts on the state of the European regulated online gaming market.
How does Paysafe contribute to the iGaming market? How are your products tailored to the gaming industry?
Paysafe has been facilitating payments globally for the iGaming industry for two decades. Our deep experience and expertise in the industry means that we have continually enhanced and tailored our service and product offering to suit the specific needs of iGaming operators.
As one of the few payment companies in the industry catering to both consumers and merchants, we are in the unique position to develop innovative products that not only provide value and growth opportunities to operators, but also offer choices to consumers in terms of how and when they manage their gambling finances.
Through a single platform, iGaming operators receive connectivity to best-in-class payment service providers, and customisable, cutting-edge reporting for seamless reconciliation. Paysafe’s iGaming service includes credit and debit card processing, prepaid cards, cash voucher acceptance through our paysafecard product, affiliate marketing support through our Income Access division, and the gaming industry’s leading digital wallets brands NETELLER and Skrill.
Skrill and NETELLER offer choice at the checkout, enabling operators to add multiple payments methods, including credit cards, bank transfers and ACH in the US, with a single integration. They provide chargeback protection, enhanced fraud management and brand visibility to an audience of 14 million customers, and a dedicated account manager as a single point of contact.
From the customer’s perspective, both digital wallets offer gamers the ability to securely fund their gaming accounts with their preferred payment methods such as credit card or bank transfer and pay at multiple merchants with a just an email address and password. The wallet also supports payouts and storage of winnings.
What are the legislative changes that should be made in regulated online gaming markets to keep pace with technological evolution?
Regulated gaming markets in Europe are at different stages in terms of maturity, but we are encouraged by the direction many markets are heading in. Of course, it is the case in most industries that the speed of technological innovation outpaces regulation changes, and iGaming is no exception. But generally speaking gaming regulators across Europe do a great job of facilitating the evolution of the industry to enhance the player experience in a safe and responsible manner.
How is the European bettor defined today? How does Paysafe meet the payers’ demands?
As the general payments landscape continues to fragment, consumers are becoming more and more used to having the choice of how to make payments. Consumer expectations as to when and on which devices they are able make payments, and also expectations of the speed of transaction, are vastly higher than they were only a few years ago.
This is no different in the world of iGaming. Players expect to be offered the greatest possible choice of deposit and cash out methods from operators, and to be able to make these transactions immediately and using mobile devices.
For operators it is crucial that these expectations are met. Partnering with a payment service provider such as Paysafe, that offers multiple payment methods in addition to card processing such as digital wallets and cash vouchers from a single platform, is the most efficient solution to satisfying these customers.
What are your expectations for the exhibiton? How will they make their products and services known?
The iGaming Super Show was the premier exhibition for the gambling industry in Europe during the summer, so strategically this is an important event for Paysafe. We will be exhibiting our solutions on the Paysafe stand, and colleagues from Skrill, NETELLER, paysafecard, Income Access, issuing and acquiring will be on hand to meet our customers and potential future customers to discuss how we can work more efficiently together to improve the gaming experience for players and business operations for operators.
The iGaming Super Show was always a productive event for us in terms of doing business and promoting our products, and I expect iGB Live this year to be no different.
Looking at markets further afield, Colombia has already achieved its regulation for online gambling and Peru could soon follow in its footsteps. What is your opinion about LatAm as a potential growth market for iGaming?
As an industry leader with a global footprint across the gaming landscape we are always interested in new regulated gaming markets, so we keep a keen eye on regions such as South America where legislation does seem to be progressing. With the US making progress in regulating online sports betting and other regions looking to regulate as well, this is an exciting time for iGaming globally.
Colombia has done an excellent job of providing a blueprint of how regulated iGaming in South America can be a success. If other countries such as Peru follow suit then the region has the potential to be a strong area for growth.
