Sports betting operators continue to close payment gaps
Choice, trust, ease of use seen as keys to reaching new players.
As sports betting spreads across the United States, there still are some operators who do not accept PayPal or Venmo for funding of online accounts, creating a potential missed opportunity.
Leighton Webb, VP and General Manager iGaming and sports betting for PayNearMe, told Gaming America operators want to provide choice and convenience to their customers, and many members of the younger demographic use Venmo and PayPal in their day-to-day experience, making those two digital wallets “a critical part” of future growth for the online gaming industry.
“PayPal, in particular, skews very strongly toward sports bettors,” Webb said. “For some operators, 25% to even 50% of their transaction volume is PayPal.”
On February 15, PayNearMe announced the addition of PayPal and Venmo to its list of payment options in the US. The company noted PayPal has more than 400 million active accounts, while 27% of consumers asked in a recent survey said Venmo is their preferred method for paying bills.
The same bill payment study found 35% of Gen Z and millennial consumers want to have the option to use Venmo for bill payments.
“Some operators do not offer Venmo, but they do offer PayPal. That is a gap,” Webb assessed. “So we are able to offer that solution to them.”
“Operators should offer people choice, but not too much choice, trust, and the process needs to be easy.”
Back in 2013, Webb recalled, many operators saw failures when players tried making deposits using a debit card. Although failure rates are significantly better today, he said operators need to offer tender types with which people are comfortable.
“Operators should offer people choice, but not too much choice, trust, and the process needs to be easy,” he said. “You can’t offer 100 payment type choices, because that gets confusing and defeats the purpose.”
PayNearMe has enabled cash payments through its proprietary cash network since 2009, and entered the iGaming space in 2013. Webb said this longevity and familiarity has allowed it to build up trust in the industry.
“We offer native integrations, should the operator choose to work with us,” he explained. “The operators do not have to go out and do a direct deal with Venmo or PayPal. If the operator already uses our MoneyLine platform, there are additional benefits we offer, including ease of onboarding. For an operator that does not have PayPal or Venmo, we can offer direct integration in their app. We help with onboarding and compliance, allowing the operator to add one or the other very quickly.”
According to Webb, PayNearMe is in “active discussions” with several of the operators that do not currently offer PayPal and/or Venmo, and the company expects to be announcing partnerships in the weeks and months ahead.
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