We spoke with Arin Andriazian, product manager at sportsbook and casino platform provider Digitain, to discuss the main customer considerations for a sportsbook’s digital payments system and the biggest challenges for a platform provider developing a compliant and friction-free integrated payment gateway.
What are the main considerations for the digital payments system in a sportsbook platform?
AA: Everything we develop is based around the customer experience. Any international sportsbook provider worth their salt needs dynamic currency conversion management as well as ability to deal with immediate currency fluctuations built in from the get-go. Flexible commission rate management is also essential.
When it comes to interface, everything revolves around the user experience. Players should be able to make transactions with minimal input. ‘One tap pay’ is a great example of this. Users should be able to have the freedom of entering their card details once and being able to use it to enter and withdraw with ease.
What are the main trends in terms of digital payments in sportsbooks?
AA: While the traditional bank card and transfer is not obsolete, it is certainly diminishing in importance. We’ve seen a real surge in the popularity of cryptocurrency in recent years as it gives the freedom of users to bet from around the world without the hindrance of currency conversion and fluctuations.
Which aspects of the digital payments system have caused the most problems?
AA: Security of our platform is always at the top of our list, fraud prevention especially so. Any tier-one provider should have compliance with PCI/DSS and payment security standards as part of their credentials.
As a payments gateway we support transactions with various payment providers and aggregators. Each requires their own provision of service which means differing transaction acceptance and settlement time for each.
For sportsbooks, processing customer transactions also need to be immediate, however a number of third-party payments providers do not offer full visibility over the status of a transaction during its cycle. So, in order to update the transaction on our platform we have developed our own native transaction verification services to ensure the customer can benefit from an instantaneous service.
How do you see digital payment systems progressing within sportsbook platforms?
AA: Smartphone usage as well as the general evolution of tech are the key drivers here. Of course, sportsbook platforms are no exception to this, and need to be flexible by design.
Customer demands, and the ability to meet these evolving demands are essential. From in-app payments to digital wallets and crypto; if you can’t meet your customers’ demands for their latest in tech, then expect to fall behind.