Sports betting – probably the most profitable entertainment market in the world – accounts for 30 to 40 percent, or approximately 200 billion dollars, out of the total global gambling market.
And while for millions of people, placing a bet in a brick-and-mortar bar, restaurant, or pub is a no brainer – after all, what can be simpler than picking your favorite athlete or team, filling the betting slip somewhere near the counter, and then praying to the gambling gods – online betting remains a mystery not only to old-fashioned punters in their fifties, sixties, and seventies, but, surprisingly, business owners of age as well.
There are at least three reasons behind it:
- First of all, not all countries can boast of the fact that they provide fertile soil for the development of online betting. Unlike the advanced European market, the U.S. counterpart is still waking up after the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was repealed in May 2018, allowing each state to independently legislate online sports betting. Only ten states have joined Nevada in regulating online sports betting so far – the rest are indecisive and, as a result, with low awareness of the challenges to tackle in order to live up to the latest international betting standards.
- Secondly, the majority of betting business owners underestimate the importance of integration of diverse and fast payment methods into their online platforms, which is why they lose not only potential clients but – attention – actual bettors that do not want to wait for a few days for their winnings to arrive at their account balance, making it possible to bet once again.
- Last but not least, the confusion coming from the lack of clear instructions on gambling websites scares away a significant share of potential bettors.
However, even though the problems with online betting do exist in many countries, those opening their doors to online bettors are evolving at lightning speed: it didn't take long for the USA online betting market to skyrocket, and similar results await any other countries dare to transform to the open market. And now just imagine what would happen with sports betting in the U.S. if bettors had clearer instruction through the betting process and more banking options at hand. The potential is tremendous!
Cash is still king
With all that said, cash is still a problem-solver in the eyes of many clients. On the surface, it looks like players are just reluctant to change the way they pay, but actually, what people want is a choice between secure, safe, fast, and private payment gateways. And – surprisingly – cash, in the form of online cash PINs, meets those demands much better than, say, credit cards. Indeed, the majority of US players would prefer a cash voucher to a credit card when placing a wager online.
For sure the number of cash adherences is gradually reducing over time, especially with the advent of betting sites accepting deposits with Interac, mobile wallets, and bitcoin, but it's too soon to write cash off.
Bettors choose to choose
In the heterogeneous online payment landscape, it becomes obvious that providing one, two, or even three ‘spotless' payment solutions is not enough, even if those are bitcoin, VISA, and PayPal. Clearly, alternative payments are a key to acquisition since no matter how you promote all the advantages of the available banking options, some customers still choose suboptimal payment channels – just because they are familiar with those or already have funds there.
Anyway, not only bettors – as well as we, humans, in general – embrace the freedom of choice, but no business owner can ever be pinpoint accurate in determining the preferences of its clients. Therefore, the only real way to satisfy customers is to provide them with payment alternatives, and the more the better.
As online sports betting moves out of shadows, the battle for the uncharted waters becomes tougher and tougher. But, at the end of the day, it's only beneficial to us, sports fans and bettors.
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