Bitcoin and APMs Continue to Gain Popularity

Earlier this week, the SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital took place. The future of alternative payment methods and the growing popularity of Bitcoin were one of the many topics of discussion.

The SBC Summit Barcelona

The online version of the Global Betting and Gaming Show – the SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital started on Tuesday and ran through Friday this week. The topics which were discussed during the SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital were separated into four main categories:

• Sports betting
• Casino and Gaming
• Payments and Compliance
• Affiliate and Marketing

Each topic had its conference tasks and networking roundtables. A couple of topics caught our attention and those are the Asian Market Networking Roundtable and The Future of Alternative Payment Methods.

The future of the Asian market is a complex topic given the constant changes in trends. Experts participating in the panel outlined that gambling with Bitcoin is gaining popularity in Japan. Although the country is yet to legalize online gambling, a new type of users is already looking to use Bitcoin for gambling.

The VP of EU and Asia Pacific for KaFe Rocks, Andrea Bellezza outlined that users are searching on ways to gamble with Bitcoin. He outlined that this demand is created by a “new kind of user”. “It’s like a more young audience, that has Bitcoin saved from other business or joint venture, and now they’re trying to spend those Bitcoin,” said Bellezza.

The discussion was also joined by the iGaming & Betting Consultant, Anutosh Chatterjee who outlined that since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in India there has been an increased interest in Bitcoin. He outlined that 65% of the Indian population of 1.3 billion people is below the age of 35. And according to Chatterjee, young people need a regulated gambling market. He said that the middle-class young population with disposable income can spend parts of it for gaming, among other entertainment activities. Chatterjee concluded by mentioning an Indian proverb that says that even a bad product can make money in India.

Alternative Payment Methods Bring Innovation, Speed, and Security

Another topic of discussion a part of the SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital was the Future of Alternative Payment Methods. The panel discussion was started by the Global Head of Payment Solutions at Pinnacle, Isabelle Delisle. She outlined that in her first steps in the industry the Alternative Payment Method (APM) was anything that wasn’t credit cards. Saying that this has already changed, she acknowledged that “they are the meat and potatoes, they just aren’t cards”. Delisle continued by saying: “It seems that now APM is more crypto versus what it used to be.“

She added that a problem with crypto is that from the start it was made into something scary and terrifying, while really it isn’t that complicated. Delisle stressed that this is a bad reputation for crypto and one of the reasons why many people are still afraid of using it.

Vasilije Lekovic, the Director of Gaming at Trustly also commented on the subject. He said: “In my view the APM’s should be methods that aren’t commonly used in the market.” According to Lekovic APMs should be any payment method that is disrupting the common ones. He added that alternative payment methods bring innovation, speed, and security. Furthermore, APMs solve issues that both traders and consumers face presently.

According to Lekovic the future of alternative payment methods looks bright. He said that with the help of new technologies, payment providers will offer more than just payment services. In conclusion, Lekovic said that the future holds “a seamless experience for the user regardless of industry” and that the innovations and new technologies will also make the future more exciting.