PayNearMe Study Shows Payment Options Drive Player Interest

PayNearMe, an iGaming payment specialist, has conducted a study interviewing 2,051 players who were at least 18 years old. In the company study titled “Understanding the iGaming Payment Experience,” PayNearMe focused on the United States.

The survey led to a number of insights that enable businesses that operate such platforms to better understand how important it is to ensure flawless banking as a gateway to better financial results and greater consumer interest.

Half of Players Are Reporting Negative Experience

PayNearMe, which provides companies with the MoneyLine iGaming payments platform, noted that 46% of all players cited the ability to make quick deposits to be as important as the availability of a good bonus, with 48% citing the bonus as one of their biggest motivators.

Access to player-favorite games was a popular option with another 47% of interviewees. One of the most persistent issues companies would benefit from solving is the number of people who experience issues with the onboarding process due to failed deposits.

More than half (52%) said that they had experienced an issue with an iGaming app or platform when they first tried to deposit. Out of these 17% confirmed that they had left the app and did not try to reconnect, making these players effectively lost for business. Commenting on the large number of people who experience issues with their onboarding due to misfiring payments, PayNearMe head of marketing and consumer research Anne Hay said:

Our research found that nearly half of frequent players — those who place a bet at least once per week — say a positive payment experience is the single most important element of making bets online.

PayNearMe head of marketing and consumer research Anne Hay

One persistent complaint by players has been the time that it took to deposit and withdraw with 29% and 39% complaining about each process respectively. Another 33% explained that a long depositing process was not ideal and 29% said that if depositing took too long, they may even consider giving up on a betting platform altogether.

32% of players said that if given an option to choose their preferred payment method, they would be more inclined to do so. Another 64% said that to them having the option to deposit with PayPal was a particularly big motivator. 49% then said that they would consider playing more if they could choose the payment option they are interested in the best. However, many of the “preferred” payment methods are actually not available.

Consumers listed some 20 payment methods as their preferred options, but some of the most popular ones such as Amazon Pay (46%), Google Pay (47%), and Venmo (48%) are still not massively available when it comes to gambling. Hay explained these numbers:

Nearly one in three players, including 47% of frequent players and 18% of casual players, would make larger deposits more often if their preferred deposit method was offered. That number increases when players’ preferred withdrawal methods are offered. Nearly half of the players say they would play more and withdraw more often if they had access to their preferred withdrawal method.

PayNearMe head of marketing and consumer research Anne Hay

Some 65% of frequent bettors have experienced payment declines, which can be a great demotivator, argues Hay. She also referred to the fact that PayPal proves to be one of the most desirable options for players, urging iGaming operators to consider whether they would not be interested in listing other trusted and preferred payment methods.

Trusted Payment Options Boost Gameplay and Gametime

One other matter that actually came up during the survey is that many gamblers feel reluctant to make a bet if it requires them to provide personal information. For example, 25% of the people surveyed confirmed that they do not like being asked about this type of information by gambling companies.

Hay believes that this trust gap can be bridged by iGaming operators focusing exclusively on respected payment options, such as PayPal. The report believes that casual bettors will have a larger role to play in the future. As the industry grows, it would need the casual lot to sign up to sustain growth trajectories.

This could be achieved by first making sure that the payment and onboarding processes are pain-free and follow customers’ specific preferences to inspire trust and motivate people to become participants in the iGaming hobby.