NASHVILLE – A looming move by Visa to enable debit-type cards to be used at sports betting windows received accolades Tuesday from the wagering industry that said it would be a “huge boost” to grow revenue.
The topic arose during a panel discussion on Monetizing Cutting Edge Technology in Tribal Gaming at the TribalNet conference.
A Visa executive told SportsHandle in October that it would soon roll out card acceptance services at sportsbook windows in some jurisdictions and possibly a wallet in two years. Operators in a few states accept Visa transactions for online betting. Other card issuers are considering following Visa’s lead, SportsHandle reported during the Global Gaming Expo.
Sports Betting Community North America Marketing Director Kevin Smith said the younger demographic that frequents land-based casinos traditionally carry cash. The use of mobile offers fewer barriers for a person coming to a casino and would be “a huge boost” for revenue.
Jack Wielebinski, head of investor relations for GAN, a United Kingdom-based online technology and betting provider, expects the biggest impact will be on mobile.
“I think the fewer barriers there are to allow people to have money to easily play with the better it will be,” Wielebinski said. “There are a ton of hurdles in casinos. You have to walk in cash. It approves the ease to access money online and in-house and it improves know your customer and anti-money laundering efforts (which is why Bitcoin isn’t an option). I feel it’s a big win if they can get it to move forward. I think it’s continued improvement in the ecosystem for online and land-based gaming, and it’s an additional win for the gaming industry.”
Smith said it’s “indicative of where our industry is right now” that Visa is putting an effort into sports betting. He said it’s “mind-blowing” that it’s sports betting, rather than poker or online casinos, that is driving this push by a credit card company to get heavily involved in gaming.
Online bettors, where allowed, use third party vendors such as PayPal to fund accounts.
“We’re creating a solution that addresses the sports-betting industry. That tells me the story right there,” Smith said.
Wielebinski said when people attempt to use a credit card for online gaming today the acceptance rate is between 40 percent and 50 percent for the industry. Smith added there would be a “significant” increase of the acceptance rate as high as 85 percent with involvement of credit card companies.
“If a traditional company like Visa can’t solve the problem, someone else will figure it out,” Smith said, adding that sports betting has been approved in 19 states.
Wielebinski used the example of a gambler who lives in Kansas City and flies to New Jersey on Sunday mornings, places the bets on an online app, and flies home.
“That is how people are going about it and until the industry catches up,” he said.
Wielebinski warned some people could exploit flaws in the system “because there are people in Kansas City that want to sports bet and can’t. It speaks to the demand of the service, but regulation is catching up.”
As online gaming in New Jersey and Pennsylvania has moved forward, there has been only mobile wallet provider.
“Everyone said they would help you but when they looked at the regulations, they said when you guys figure it out come back to us,” Wielebinski said. “We have had a bunch of companies come back and try to undercut their price and we said where were you guys when we were dead in the water and couldn’t get a wallet functionality. There is a changing tide in people becoming more accepting of this.”
