Payments
Payments
ACCELERATED
LEARNING
Data holds the key to driving payments performance, says Chris Smart. Identifying and analysing meaningful data will help operators in a whole host of ways, from fine-tuning bettors’ payment experience to putting the brakes on fraudulent behaviour
Chris Smart is SVP global gaming, eMerchantPay. He is a gaming and FX subject matter expert who partners with operators to increase their online conversions and optimise their payment efficiencies. Chris has spent nearly a decade working closely with some of the world’ s leading gaming and forex brands, helping them implement online growth strategies. Prior to joining eMerchantPay, he worked at Worldpay where he was responsible for some of the largest UK-focused sports betting and casino operator acquisitions.
Technology has transformed every aspect of sports betting over the last decade, from the way that people research and compare odds to the way they interact with operators, betting platforms and other players, and the types of bets they place.
Ten years ago we would place a bet in a high street betting shop or on a desktop. Today, more than three-quarters of all sports betting( by stakes and revenue) is done on mobile devices. Some operators report that figure to be well in excess of 80 %, and the industry is only expecting mobile betting to continue on an upward curve.
“ Provide a slow or inefficient payment experience, and the likelihood is consumers will go elsewhere, possibly never to return”
Similarly, the types of bets that people place have evolved drastically over recent years. The ability to quickly and easily place a bet via a mobile device has taken sports betting to a new level, accelerating‘ inplay’ betting on football for instance. We’ ve also seen a huge uptake of accumulator betting and demand for more bespoke, customer-driven bets, where the individual builds his or her own multi-component bet, and it’ s up to the operator to react and provide the odds.
As well as changing technology and heightened consumer expectations, operators are also having to adapt to a turbulent and ever-changing regulatory environment. Regulation is not only making it more challenging for operators to market to and maintain ongoing relationships with consumers, it is also requiring them to review their operating models. Within the UK, we’ ve seen the banning of advertising campaigns that may promote a false sense of urgency by using terms such as‘ bet now’.
One of a number of measures being explored by the UK Gambling Commission( GC) is the roll out of the online multi-operator self-exclusion scheme, Gamstop. Expected to be fully launched later this year, it is aimed at protecting vulnerable people and reducing problem gambling.
New measures proposed in March of this year could mean that all operators need to introduce a‘ customer due diligence’ phase, including checks on affordability and source of funds, before letting new customers gamble.
While change and innovation within gambling over recent years has predominately been positive for both consumers and operators, it has also diversified the market by creating more pockets of operating models.
In order to compete in today’ s marketplace, then, operators need to ensure their end-customer experience and internal operations are optimised to the nth degree to differentiate themselves and keep ahead of the competition.
The payments hamster wheel Payments is a crucial component of any online operators’ success. The modern sports bettor, now more than ever, expects to be able to make a deposit or withdrawal quickly and securely across any device using their payment method of choice.
When it comes to payments, consumers want speed, security, flexibility and choice, and operators can’ t afford to get this wrong. Provide a slow or inefficient payment experience, and the likelihood is consumers will go elsewhere, possibly never to return.
However, achieving a fully optimised payments economy is incredibly challenging. Payments is without doubt one of the most
118 iGamingBusiness | Issue 111 | July / August 2018