As sports betting in North America continues to grow, the payment landscape in the region evolves to accommodate an influx of new regulations and wagering desires in the region.
The rapid evolution of payments following PASPA was further accelerated as digitalisation grew when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.
SBC Digital Summit North America discussed the security, safety and privacy safeguards that are increasing the use of digital wallets, as part of a payment infrastructure panel which was hosted by the AGA’s VP, Strategic Alliances Jonathan Michaels.
Behnam Dayanim a Partner Paul Hastings LLC, said it’s really a ‘frontburner’ issue for the industry, adding: “There are two reasons; one is COVID and the other is the growth of igaming in the US. There are two different vantages to look at the privacy and security question, one is from the consumer and one is from the regulator vantage.
“From the perspective of the consumer, as your survey showed, consumers are very focused on privacy and security and so are regulators. There are a number of regimes in place designed to protect those goals, which in certain jurisdictions are gaming-specific security obligations.
“But, at the same time, the payment providers who will typically be implementing the payment solutions that the casinos will be utilising sare subject to a panoply of regulations as well, those include financial services and privacy obligations as well.”
He added: “There are a variety of regulatory structures that are there and I think that in many other aspects of life consumers have become comfortable with them because they use digital methods of payment in a variety of settings. It’s just a matter of a mantle shift, so that now they start thinking about gaming in the same way.”
“From a regulatory perspective there is a significant focus on issues of privacy and security, but I have also seen a lot focus on data sharing, money laundering and other such regulatory issues.”
