Packed with insights from leading experts across payments, compliance, fraud, and player experience, this free report breaks down the technologies, trends, and strategies shaping the next era of iGaming payments.
Payment Expert has published its Digital Payments Report 2025, a new industry report exploring how payment infrastructure is becoming a strategic battleground for iGaming operators amid rapid advances in AI, alternative rails and digital assets.
Drawing on expert insight from Payment Expert’s editorial coverage and SBC’s global events portfolio, the report examines how operators, payment service providers (PSPs) and suppliers are responding to rising regulatory pressure, shifting player expectations and an increasingly complex risk environment across high risk verticals.
At its core, the report argues payments are a critical part of the product and brand experience. Features include a leading commentary on PSPs in high risk sectors, which challenges the industry’s tendency to treat them as convenient scapegoats and instead calls for “mutual accountability” between operators and providers when it comes to risk, onboarding and long term relationships.
The role of AI in reshaping payment performance and fraud prevention is also a key focus. Industry voices outline how so-called agentic AI, biometrics and smarter use of strong customer authentication (SCA) exemptions can boost authorisation rates, reduce friction and shorten verification times, provided merchants invest in the right tools and skills.
User experience and localisation run as a consistent theme throughout the report with case studies highlighting how unfamiliar or slow payment flows can trigger failed deposits, increase support tickets and erode trust, while operators that invest in smart routing, branded payment journeys and local methods such as Pix, UPI or Swish are seeing stronger retention and conversion.
Another major chapter, Pegged but not perfect, explores how stablecoins are gaining traction for cross border payouts and affiliate payments, while also carrying de-pegging, perception and compliance risks. Experts warn that regulation does not automatically equal clarity and stress the growing divergence between different stablecoin models, as well as the impact of Europe’s MiCA regime on USDT, USDC and EURC usage.
The report also looks at the rise of account to account (A2A) payments, including ACH in the US and Pay by Bank in Europe. Contributors discuss why A2A adoption lagged early expectations, how partnerships between providers have improved approval rates and user experience, and why operators now view A2A as a cost efficient, real time complement to cards and wallets rather than a niche add-on.
Rachael Kennedy, Editor of Payment Expert, said:
“Payments have moved from being a back-end cost centre to a genuine source of competitive advantage. What comes through across this report is that the operators winning in tough markets are the ones treating payments as a strategic pillar alongside product and marketing, not an afterthought to be outsourced and forgotten.”
She added:
“From AI and A2A to stablecoins and UX, the common thread is trust. Players might never see the plumbing behind a transaction, but every delay, decline or confusing flow is a moment where trust is either earned or lost. This report is designed to give payment and compliance leaders practical insight into how peers are tackling that challenge in real time.”
The Digital Payments Report 2025 is now available here.
