Technology moves at breakneck speed in the 21 st century. Devices that are expected to be enduring become obsolete in a matter of years. In online gaming, payment companies that only accept credit cards, do not accept cross-border transactions or have long delays when processing deposits or withdrawals are as outdated as flip phones, CDs and fax machines.
JONATHAN O’CONNOR is CCO at Secure Trading Group. He has a wealth of experience in payments and is passionate about a client-first mentality.
With the current rate of tech development, the gaming landscape will look alien in just five years’ time. We only have to look at how different the situation is today compared with just a few years ago to see that this is a reality. From 2012 to 2017 revenues from the mobile gaming industry grew by 56% to $108.9 bn (source: Newzoo’s 2017 Global Games Report). Meanwhile, players have stopped using their computers and are now gambling on smartphones and tablets, cryptocurrencies have entered the arena and online sports betting is poised to take over the USA.
Blink and you’ll miss a lot. Online gambling merchants must adapt and evolve to stay ahead of the game — fail to do so and there are countless competitors ready to steal your customers’ loyalty.
The rise of new markets
Gaming companies looking to expand into new territories need to offer local payment methods to facilitate the in-game micro-payments that dominate online gaming. With the emergence of Asian markets as major gaming hubs, they need secure cross-border payments capabilities in order to tap into gaming communities where traditional card payments aren’t the norm. Hence why alternative and local payment methods are a must as the gaming industry powers into the future.
Crypto’s coronation
With its high dynamism and power to disrupt the world of payments, cryptocurrency has the potential to become the king of online gambling. Blockchain technology allows users to gamble anonymously, enjoy heightened security thanks to decentralised gambling platforms and receive and deposit funds more quickly than with traditional methods. As blockchain continues to develop and cryptocurrency becomes an increasingly normalised way to pay, global standards of transaction speed and platform security will continue to rise.
Experience counts
Online casinos need to choose payment solutions that have the tools to take their business global, will help them ride the crypto wave poised to sweep over online gaming and have industry-specific security measures to secure customers’ data and money.
Secure Trading has more than four years’ experience powering the payments of online casinos in Las Vegas and New Jersey, and over 19 years’ experience in Europe. We have key partnerships with local payment methods around the world to help gaming operators expand into new markets. Our acquiring bank is based in Malta, the world’s first ‘Blockchain Island’. Our sister company Cyber1 has gaming-specific security systems which create a safe environment for all players.
We understand where the online gaming industry has come from. And we know where it’s headed.
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•NAME SECURE TRADING GROUP •FOUNDED 1997•SECTOR VARIETY OF VERTICALS •WEBSITESECURETRADING.COM•TWITTER@SECURETRADING