Updated Apr 3, 2026
iGaming Payment Solutions
EuropeLATAMAsiaAfricaNorth AmericaMENACryptoOpen BankingPayment MethodsPayoutsOrchestrators
Independent directory of payment providers for iGaming operators. Filter by region, payment type, and license.
Top Rated Providers
Nuvei processes for Bet365, DraftKings and FanDuel. Adyen cleared €1.39 trillion last year. The top of this list isn't populated by startups with nice websites. These are the providers that process real iGaming volume at scale.
DraftKings and FanDuel process through Nuvei. Taken private by Advent International for $6.3B in November 2024, headquartered in Montreal, 2,700+ employees. 720+ payment methods across 50+ local acquiring markets with AI-driven routing. Six pre-built iGaming platform connectors, more than any other provider in our 20-provider review. The catch: enterprise pricing starts at $500k monthly minimum with 5-10% rolling reserve held for 6 months. 3.8/5 Trustpilot from 819 reviews.
Finera is a payment orchestration platform built for iGaming and high-risk merchants. Cyprus-based, 100+ employees. Connects operators to 600+ payment providers through a single API with AI-driven smart routing. Also offers card acquiring and crypto processing alongside the core orchestration product. Finera sits between your casino and your PSPs, routing each transaction to whichever provider gives the best approval rate, lowest cost or fastest settlement. SoftSwiss and EveryMatrix connectors. 0.1-0.5% routing fee on top of whatever your PSPs charge. $300k minimum monthly volume. If you already have two or more PSPs and want to optimize how transactions flow between them, that is the problem Finera solves. If you need a payment provider, Finera is not one.
IXOPAY is a white-label payment orchestration and tokenization platform built in Vienna since 2014. Merged with TokenEx (completed February 2025) and now backed by K1 Investment Management. 500+ certified adapters (200+ PSPs, 300+ payment methods), tokenization vault, rule-based routing, PCI DSS Level 1. Acquired Congrify in October 2025 for AI-powered payment analytics, merged with Aperia Compliance in December 2024 for PCI services. The white-label angle is the differentiator: PSPs and ISOs rebrand the entire stack under their own name. Enterprise-only with $1M+ monthly minimum, 12-month contracts and $5k+ setup fees. No named iGaming clients on record, but SoftSwiss and EveryMatrix connectors suggest gambling operators are in the mix.
AstroPay is an e-wallet built to get casino deposits through in Latin America, where 40-60% of international card payments get declined by local banks. Founded in Uruguay in 2009, now headquartered in London with around 300 staff. Covers 50+ local payment methods across Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and India. Former Premier League shirt sponsor (Wolves through 2023-24, plus past Burnley and Crystal Palace deals; Tottenham payment partner through 2025). FCA-authorized EMI with additional Isle of Man and Brazil Central Bank licenses. 4.4/5 on Trustpilot from nearly 10,000 reviews. If a fifth of your traffic is LATAM, you probably need this.
Adyen is the largest independent payment processor in Europe. EUR 1.39 trillion processed in 2025, EUR 2.36 billion revenue, publicly traded on Euronext Amsterdam at a EUR 27 billion market cap. Single platform built entirely in-house with banking licenses in the EU, UK and USA. 250+ payment methods across 150+ currencies. Forrester's top-rated merchant payment provider in Q1 2024. But here's the honest part: Adyen treats iGaming as just another merchant category. No dedicated gambling product, no named casino clients beyond Betfair, no platform connectors for SoftSwiss or Slotegrator. If you process $1M+ monthly and want raw payment infrastructure at enterprise scale, Adyen is world-class. If you need a partner that understands gambling-specific problems, Nuvei and Paysafe are better positioned.
Quick Picks
Top providers for specific markets and needs
All Providers
Every provider here actively serves iGaming operators. We verified clients, checked regulatory registries, and tested documentation before including anyone.
Nuvei
ReviewDraftKings and FanDuel process through Nuvei. Taken private by Advent International for $6.3B in November 2024, headquartered in Montreal, 2,700+ employees. 720+ payment methods across 50+ local acquiring markets with AI-driven routing. Six pre-built iGaming platform connectors, more than any other provider in our 20-provider review. The catch: enterprise pricing starts at $500k monthly minimum with 5-10% rolling reserve held for 6 months. 3.8/5 Trustpilot from 819 reviews.
Finera
ReviewFinera is a payment orchestration platform built for iGaming and high-risk merchants. Cyprus-based, 100+ employees. Connects operators to 600+ payment providers through a single API with AI-driven smart routing. Also offers card acquiring and crypto processing alongside the core orchestration product. Finera sits between your casino and your PSPs, routing each transaction to whichever provider gives the best approval rate, lowest cost or fastest settlement. SoftSwiss and EveryMatrix connectors. 0.1-0.5% routing fee on top of whatever your PSPs charge. $300k minimum monthly volume. If you already have two or more PSPs and want to optimize how transactions flow between them, that is the problem Finera solves. If you need a payment provider, Finera is not one.
IXOPAY
ReviewIXOPAY is a white-label payment orchestration and tokenization platform built in Vienna since 2014. Merged with TokenEx (completed February 2025) and now backed by K1 Investment Management. 500+ certified adapters (200+ PSPs, 300+ payment methods), tokenization vault, rule-based routing, PCI DSS Level 1. Acquired Congrify in October 2025 for AI-powered payment analytics, merged with Aperia Compliance in December 2024 for PCI services. The white-label angle is the differentiator: PSPs and ISOs rebrand the entire stack under their own name. Enterprise-only with $1M+ monthly minimum, 12-month contracts and $5k+ setup fees. No named iGaming clients on record, but SoftSwiss and EveryMatrix connectors suggest gambling operators are in the mix.
AstroPay
ReviewAstroPay is an e-wallet built to get casino deposits through in Latin America, where 40-60% of international card payments get declined by local banks. Founded in Uruguay in 2009, now headquartered in London with around 300 staff. Covers 50+ local payment methods across Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and India. Former Premier League shirt sponsor (Wolves through 2023-24, plus past Burnley and Crystal Palace deals; Tottenham payment partner through 2025). FCA-authorized EMI with additional Isle of Man and Brazil Central Bank licenses. 4.4/5 on Trustpilot from nearly 10,000 reviews. If a fifth of your traffic is LATAM, you probably need this.
Adyen
ReviewAdyen is the largest independent payment processor in Europe. EUR 1.39 trillion processed in 2025, EUR 2.36 billion revenue, publicly traded on Euronext Amsterdam at a EUR 27 billion market cap. Single platform built entirely in-house with banking licenses in the EU, UK and USA. 250+ payment methods across 150+ currencies. Forrester's top-rated merchant payment provider in Q1 2024. But here's the honest part: Adyen treats iGaming as just another merchant category. No dedicated gambling product, no named casino clients beyond Betfair, no platform connectors for SoftSwiss or Slotegrator. If you process $1M+ monthly and want raw payment infrastructure at enterprise scale, Adyen is world-class. If you need a partner that understands gambling-specific problems, Nuvei and Paysafe are better positioned.
Worldpay
ReviewOwned by Global Payments since January 2026, processing card payments since 1997. Ladbrokes and Coral built their online deposit systems on Worldpay. 300+ payment methods focused on UK and European card acquiring. 4.3/5 Trustpilot from 9,887 reviews, second highest in our database. 9,400+ employees. The $750k minimum monthly volume and 8-15% rolling reserve make the cost of entry steep.
Paysafe
ReviewWith 50 million active Skrill and Neteller wallet users already onboard, Paysafe offers something no other iGaming PSP can match: a built-in player base. Part of Paysafe Group, publicly traded, London-headquartered since 1996. 260+ payment methods across 120+ countries. Clients include 888, PokerStars and William Hill. 1.2/5 Trustpilot from 1,084 reviews tells a complicated story.
Trustly
ReviewTrustly is the open banking payment method that every major European casino already offers. Bet365, Flutter, Kindred, Betsson, Entain, LeoVegas. If your players are in Europe, they expect to see Trustly on the deposit page. Pay N Play lets players register and deposit in a single step through bank authentication, which changed how Nordic casinos operate. $239 million in revenue, $87 billion processed in 2024, connected to 6,300+ European banks. The downsides are real too: 2.6/5 on Trustpilot from 3,163 reviews, a SEK 130 million AML fine from the Swedish regulator in 2022, and a $300k minimum volume requirement with 12-month contracts.
Inpay
ReviewInpay is a Danish payout specialist that moves money to players in 90+ countries through local bank rails. Founded in 2008 in Copenhagen, bootstrapped to EUR 60.1M revenue in 2023 without outside funding. A quarter of iGaming's Power50 operators use them for withdrawals, with named clients including 888, Betsson, Lottoland and Netbet. Danish FSA licensed with three separate authorizations, the first Scandinavian company to hold all three. Not a deposit solution. If your withdrawal queue is the bottleneck holding back player retention, this is who you call.
Corefy
ReviewCorefy is a payment orchestration platform out of London with R&D in Kyiv, running since 2018 under the PayCore.io name before rebranding in 2021. 600+ ready-made connectors, AI-based smart routing, white-label dashboard, 200+ currencies including crypto. Co-founded by Denys Kyrychenko and Dmytro Dziubenko, both with 10+ years in fintech. Has a published case study with an unnamed 'international gambling and betting company' operating across Europe, LATAM and Asia. 150% annual growth rate. $250k minimum volume, no contract lock-in, 0.2-0.7% routing fees. 4.1/5 on Trustpilot from 14 reviews. The most accessible orchestrator in our database by entry requirements.
Solidgate
ReviewOrchestration and direct acquiring in one platform. Solidgate started in 2016 as an internal payments team at Genesys (Ukraine's largest IT company), then spun out as a standalone product. Headquartered in Cyprus with offices in Kyiv and Warsaw. 150+ payment methods across global, LATAM and APAC markets. Published rates start at 0.3-0.8% plus underlying acquiring cost. Settlement as fast as real-time on some methods, T+1 on others. No Trustpilot profile. 275 employees. Licensed as an Electronic Money Institution by the Central Bank of Cyprus.
Triple-A
ReviewTriple-A is the stablecoin payment processor with MAS Singapore licensing, backed by Peak XV Partners and Razer's zVentures with $14 million raised. Built by the founder of Thunes, the product locks exchange rates at payment time so you never touch crypto on your balance sheet. Partners include Binance Pay, Crypto.com and Coinbase. Strong on regulation with licenses in Singapore, France, the US and Canada. Thin on iGaming credentials though. No publicly named casino clients, only two iGaming platform connectors, and a gaming page focused on Razer and esports. If you need stablecoin payments from Asian markets with serious regulatory coverage, Triple-A fits. For a proven iGaming crypto processor, look at CoinsPaid or NOWPayments instead.
Primer
ReviewPrimer is the best-funded payment orchestration platform in our database. Over $94M raised from ICONIQ Growth, Accel, Balderton Capital, Tencent and others at a $425M valuation. London-based, founded 2020, 220+ employees. The standout feature is a visual drag-and-drop routing builder that lets you configure payment flows without writing code. 200+ PSP connections. Clients include Dabble (Australian sports betting), GetYourGuide and Deliveroo. But like all orchestrators, Primer does not process payments, it routes them. Revenue was just 2.9M GBP in 2023 against 15.6M GBP in operating losses, meaning the company burns cash heavily. 1.4/5 Trustpilot from 32 reviews. $500k minimum monthly volume. For operators who want no-code payment workflow control with institutional backing, Primer is the most polished orchestration product available.
NOWPayments
ReviewWith 350+ cryptocurrencies at 0.5 to 1% per transaction, NOWPayments handles what fiat-only PSPs cannot: getting crypto deposits live in minutes, not weeks. API and plugin-based integration, NuxGame platform connector. Instant settlement, zero chargebacks. Betfinal, Chipstars and BazedBet process crypto through it. Pure crypto play, not a hybrid.
BitPay
ReviewBitPay is the oldest Bitcoin payment processor, running since 2011 out of Atlanta with $100M+ in total funding. 100+ cryptocurrencies, 130,000 merchants, $1.38 billion processed in 2025. US Money Services Business registration gives it regulatory standing in the American market that no other crypto gateway in our database can match. T+1 fiat settlement in USD and EUR means operators receive traditional currency the next business day. 1% flat fee. But the iGaming picture is complicated. BitPay has been described as having strict gambling policies, the Trustpilot score is 1.2/5 from 291 reviews, a $507k OFAC sanctions fine sits on the record, and the $200k monthly minimum with a 12-month contract locks out smaller operators. For US-regulated gambling markets specifically, BitPay is the compliance-grade crypto option. For everyone else, cheaper and more flexible alternatives exist.
PayRetailers
ReviewFounded in Barcelona in 2017, PayRetailers aggregates 300+ local payment methods across Latin America and 12 African markets through direct acquiring. No wallet, no player registration. 7 local LATAM licenses, PCI DSS certified, SoftSwiss and Slotegrator connectors pre-built. Operators processing $150k+ monthly get PIX, SPEI, Boleto, OXXO, PSE and bank transfers under one contract and one settlement. 3/5 on Trustpilot from a thin 20-review sample.
CoinGate
ReviewCoinGate is a Lithuanian crypto payment gateway that became the first homegrown Lithuanian company to receive a MiCA license in December 2025. 70+ cryptocurrencies with EUR and USD fiat settlement. SoftSwiss and Slotegrator connectors ready. One of only three companies holding a Lithuanian MiCA license alongside Robinhood Europe and Nuvei. If you need crypto payments for a European-licensed casino with proper regulatory backing, CoinGate is the cleanest option in the crypto gateway space. Founded 2014 in Vilnius, ~80 employees, roughly 1% fee, full auto KYC/AML, dedicated account management.
CoinsPaid
ReviewCoinsPaid is the crypto payment processor that 500+ online casinos already use, processing EUR 9.1 billion in 2024. Built in Estonia with SoftSwiss and Slotegrator integrations ready to go, 0.8% deposit fees, zero chargebacks and zero rolling reserves on crypto. The catch that every operator should know about: North Korea's Lazarus Group hacked them twice in six months for a combined $45 million in 2023-2024. They survived, rebuilt security, kept growing. If you run a crypto casino on SoftSwiss, CoinsPaid is likely already on your shortlist.
Brite
ReviewBrite is the Stockholm-built open banking challenger going after Trustly's territory. Founded in 2019 by a former Klarna director, backed by $60 million from Dawn Capital, the same firm that backed iZettle and Tink. The pitch is simple: faster than Trustly, built on modern infrastructure, with same-day settlement and median payout times of 4 seconds. Brite Play combines payment and KYC for iGaming operators, similar to Trustly's Pay N Play but newer. The trade-off: smaller bank network at 3,800 versus Trustly's 12,000+, no US coverage, and still limited casino adoption. Lower barriers to entry with $200k minimum and 6-month contracts versus Trustly's $300k and 12 months.
CoinPayments
ReviewCoinPayments is the oldest surviving multi-crypto payment gateway, running since 2013 with support for 2,200+ cryptocurrencies in its wallet and 175+ for payment processing. 250,000+ merchants across 190+ countries. Fees start at 0.5% for coins, 1% for stablecoins and tokens. Instant settlement in crypto. No minimum volume, no contracts, no setup fees. The appeal is simple: if you want to accept every obscure altcoin alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum, nobody else comes close on coin count. But there are serious red flags. Owners Jason Butcher and Alex Alexandrov have documented ties to the $4 billion OneCoin Ponzi scheme, and the CFTC found $147M in laundered funds routed through the platform via Control Finance. Website traffic dropped significantly over the past year. A new platform launched in May 2025 with faster verification, the company re-entered the US market in November 2025, and Ali Rafi was appointed CEO in mid-2025. But the underlying trust issues remain.
Top 10 iGaming Payment Providers Compared
Ranked by integration quality, fees, coverage, and compliance
| Rank | Provider | Coverage | Methods | Speed | Trustpilot | Score | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Nuvei Full-Stack PSPGL·T+7+ | GL | 720+ | T+7+ | 3.8 | 8.6 | Review |
| 02 | Finera Payment OrchestratorEU, LA, AS, ME, AF·Varies | EULAASMEAF | 600+ | Varies | 3.9 | 8.4 | Review |
| 03 | IXOPAY Payment OrchestratorEU, NA, LA, AS·Varies | EUNALAAS | 500+ | Varies | 3.2 | 8.1 | Review |
| 04 | AstroPay Local Methods PSPLA, AS, AF, EU·T+1 | LAASAFEU | 50+ | T+1 | 4.3 | 8.0 | Review |
| 05 | Adyen Enterprise PSPGL·T+2-3 | GL | 250+ | T+2-3 | 1.3 | 7.9 | Review |
| 06 | Worldpay Card Acquiring PSPEU, NA, AS, ME·T+7+ | EUNAASME | 300+ | T+7+ | 4.3 | 7.7 | Review |
| 07 | Paysafe Full-Stack PSPEU, NA, LA·T+2-3 | EUNALA | 260+ | T+2-3 | 1.3 | 7.6 | Review |
| 08 | Trustly Open Banking PSPEU·T+1 | EU | — | T+1 | 2.6 | 7.3 | Review |
| 09 | Inpay Payout SpecialistEU, AF·Instant | EUAF | 90+ | Instant | 3.2 | 7.3 | Review |
| 10 | Corefy Payment OrchestratorEU, LA·Varies | EULA | 600+ | Varies | 4.2 | 7.2 | Review |
Explore by Category
Operators ask us 'what's the difference between a PSP and an orchestrator' more than any other question. The short version: a PSP moves money between your player and your bank. An orchestrator decides which PSP handles each transaction.
Payment Solutions by Region
PSD2 killed card conversion in Europe. LATAM banks decline 40-60% of international cards. Each region has a payment problem and a set of providers that solve it.
Card conversion in European iGaming dropped after PSD2 forced Strong Customer Authentication on every deposit. Open banking filled the gap. Trustly processes for Bet365, Flutter, Betsson and most major European operators. Brite is the newer Stockholm-built alternative pushing instant payouts. Outside of open banking, country-level preferences run the show: iDEAL in the Netherlands, Sofort in Germany, Swish in Sweden, Bancontact in Belgium. A provider that covers ‘Europe’ but only does cards is missing half the deposit volume.
How We Score Providers
Six metrics, all from public data
Every provider in this directory gets a score from 1 to 10. The score is based on six metrics, all pulled from public data: provider websites, regulatory registries, and API documentation. No provider can pay to change their score.
Does the provider serve iGaming as a primary vertical? We check for dedicated iGaming teams, pre-built casino platform connectors (SoftSwiss, EveryMatrix, Slotegrator), named gambling clients, and whether their product roadmap prioritizes operator needs. A provider with 500+ gambling clients and 6 platform connectors scores higher than one that lists iGaming as an afterthought.
Where does the provider actually have local acquiring or direct integrations? We parse region descriptions and verify against supported currency lists and documentation. Global coverage with 50+ local markets scores highest. A LATAM-only specialist gets credit for depth in that region but lower marks for overall reach.
Tier-1 licenses carry the most weight: MGA, FCA, UKGC. PCI DSS Level 1 is expected at this level. We also check for KYC/AML automation, chargeback protection tools, and whether the provider supports operators under specific gambling regulatory frameworks. Providers with multiple jurisdictional approvals score higher.
Lower published fees score higher. We parse actual fee percentages from provider data. A 0.5% deposit fee scores better than 3.5%. Transparent pricing models get a bonus over opaque 'contact sales' approaches. Note: orchestrators show only routing fees, not underlying PSP costs, which can inflate this score.
Single API integration with full sandbox scores highest. We check documentation quality, SDK availability, pre-built connectors, and realistic onboarding timelines. A provider that gets you live in 1 week with excellent docs scores better than one requiring 8 weeks of custom engineering.
Trustpilot rating multiplied by 2 to convert from a 5-point to 10-point scale. A 4.4/5 Trustpilot becomes 8.8/10. Providers with no Trustpilot presence default to 5.0. We note sample sizes because 14 reviews means something different than 9,650.
The final score is a weighted average across all six metrics. We update scores quarterly or when a provider launches a significant product change.
Featured placements are paid. Scores are independent and not influenced by commercial relationships.
Payment Service Providers (PSPs) handle the full transaction, moving money from the player's card or wallet all the way to the operator's bank account. Paysafe, Nuvei, and Worldpay are PSPs. They own the relationship with acquiring banks and card networks, which means they take on the risk and charge accordingly.
Payment Gateways sit between the operator's platform and one or more processors. They route transactions but don't process them directly. A gateway works like a switchboard, sending each transaction to the best available processor based on region, payment method, or success rate. Adyen and Worldpay operate partly as gateways alongside their acquiring business.
Payment Orchestrators go a step further than gateways. Platforms like Corefy, Finera, Primer, and IXOPAY connect to hundreds of PSPs, gateways, and processors through a single API. The operator integrates once and gets access to multiple providers, with smart routing that automatically picks the best path for each transaction. Orchestration matters when you're operating in 10+ markets with different payment preferences in each.
Payment Processors handle the actual movement of money between banks. They're the backend infrastructure. Most operators don't work with processors directly. Instead, they access processing through a PSP or gateway. Solidgate is an example of a company that offers both direct acquiring and orchestration for iGaming.
The lines between these categories blur. Nuvei is a PSP that also does orchestration. Corefy orchestrates but also processes. When you're evaluating providers, focus less on what they call themselves and more on what they actually do for your specific setup.
Common Payment Challenges in iGaming
Payments in iGaming are harder than payments in regular e-commerce. Three reasons.
First, chargebacks. iGaming has some of the highest chargeback rates of any industry. Players dispute deposits after losing. Card networks monitor chargeback ratios closely, and if an operator crosses the threshold (typically 1% of transactions), they risk losing their merchant account entirely. Every provider handles chargebacks differently. Some offer prevention tools, some offer insurance, some just pass the cost to you.
Second, getting a merchant account in the first place. Most acquiring banks consider online gambling high-risk. That limits which processors will work with you, and the ones that will charge higher fees and impose rolling reserves (holding 5-10% of your processing volume for 6+ months as security). This is why iGaming-specific providers exist. They've built relationships with acquiring banks that understand the industry.
Third, compliance keeps changing. The EU's Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive added new requirements for transaction monitoring. The UK's Gambling Commission updated its rules on affordability checks, which directly affect payment flows. Brazil just launched its regulatory framework. Every market has its own rules, and your payment provider needs to keep up. Otherwise, you're the one paying fines.
Beyond these three, there are practical problems: multi-currency conversion costs eating into margins, slow settlement times tying up working capital, and player verification requirements that add friction to the deposit flow and kill conversion rates.
Choosing the Right Payment Solution
There's no single best provider. The right choice depends on where you operate, what your players expect, and how much volume you're processing.
Start with geography. If you're launching in Brazil, you need a provider with native Pix support, not one that routes Pix through a third-party aggregator. If you're in the Nordics, open banking through Trustly or Brite will convert better than card payments. If you're US-only, your provider list is short because few processors serve regulated US gambling.
Then look at your player base. Recreational casino players in Europe expect Visa and Mastercard. High-volume sports bettors in Asia use local bank transfers. Crypto-native players want Bitcoin deposits with instant confirmation. The payment methods your provider supports determine whether players actually complete their first deposit.
Volume matters for pricing. A startup processing €100K per month pays different rates than an operator doing €10M. Most PSPs have tiered pricing that drops as volume increases. Some charge flat percentage fees, others add per-transaction costs. Get quotes from at least three providers before committing.
Finally, think about what happens when things go wrong. Your provider's chargeback handling, fraud prevention, and customer support matter more than their marketing page. Ask for chargeback rates across their iGaming portfolio. Ask how fast their support responds to MID-related emergencies. Ask what happens to your funds if they decide to terminate your account.
We built this directory so operators can compare these factors without calling 30 sales teams. Use the filters, check the profiles, and make a shortlist based on data, not pitch decks.
FAQ
Built from real conversations with operators. Not the questions providers wish you'd ask.
Card networks classify online gambling as high-risk (MCC 7995). That means higher chargeback exposure, regulatory complexity across jurisdictions, and reputational risk for the acquiring bank. Stripe, Square and standard e-commerce processors won’t onboard you. PayPal will shut you down mid-transaction if they detect gambling activity. To process iGaming payments you need a provider with dedicated high-risk acquiring relationships, gambling-specific compliance infrastructure, and experience navigating MGA, UKGC, or Kahnawake requirements. That’s why iGaming-specialized PSPs exist as a separate market.
A rolling reserve means your payment provider holds 5-10% of every transaction for 90-180 days before releasing it to you. It’s their insurance against chargebacks and fraud. At €1M monthly volume with a 10% reserve and 180-day hold, that’s €600K of your money sitting in their account earning them interest. Every iGaming PSP requires one because chargeback rates in gambling run 2-4x higher than e-commerce. The percentage and hold period are negotiable once you build processing history. New operators get the worst terms. After 6-12 months of clean processing, push to renegotiate.
Card acquiring runs 2.5-4.5% per transaction depending on your volume, chargeback history, and how badly the acquirer wants iGaming merchants that month. Open banking through Trustly or Brite costs 0.3-1.0% with no chargebacks. Crypto gateways charge 0.5-1.0% with instant settlement. On top of processing fees, budget for setup costs (€0-5,000), monthly minimums (€500-2,000 at some providers), rolling reserves (5-10% held for months), and currency conversion markup (1-3% above mid-market rate). The cheapest payment method is almost never the one your players prefer, so cost optimization means offering multiple methods and routing each transaction to the cheapest rail that works.
A PSP (Payment Service Provider) processes your transactions. They have the acquiring bank relationship, they take on risk, they move money from the player’s account to yours. Nuvei, Worldpay, Paysafe are PSPs. A gateway is a connection layer that sends transaction data between your platform and a processor but doesn’t process anything itself. An orchestrator sits on top of multiple PSPs and routes each transaction to the one most likely to approve it based on region, card type, amount, and historical success rates. IXOPAY, Corefy, Primer are orchestrators. You always need at least one PSP. You need an orchestrator when you’re running multiple PSPs and want to optimize approval rates across them.
iGaming chargeback rates typically run 1.5-3.0%. Visa’s threshold is 0.9%, Mastercard’s is 1.5%. Cross it and you enter a monitoring program with fines starting at €25K per month. Three things actually move the needle. First, use clear billing descriptors so players recognize the charge on their statement and don’t file a dispute by mistake. Second, implement velocity checks and deposit limits to catch problem gambling behavior before it turns into “I didn’t authorize this” disputes. Third, use providers with built-in chargeback prevention tools like Verifi or Ethoca alerts, which let you refund a transaction before it becomes a formal chargeback. Open banking and crypto eliminate card chargebacks entirely because there’s no card network to dispute through.
They hold your rolling reserve for the full contract period (usually 90-180 days after termination), deduct any pending chargebacks and fines, and release what’s left. Some providers have been known to stretch this process or dispute the final amount. You have very little leverage once they’ve decided to terminate. The contract you signed dictates everything. Before signing with any provider, read the termination clause. Specifically: how much notice they give you, how long they hold funds after termination, whether they can freeze your account before formal termination, and what counts as a breach on your side. The best protection is processing through at least two PSPs so a single termination doesn’t shut down your entire deposit flow overnight.
PCI DSS Level 1 is the baseline. Every provider handling card data needs it. Beyond that, look for payment institution licenses from regulators in your target markets. FCA authorization matters for UK operations. European Central Bank licensing covers EU. MAS licensing covers Singapore and parts of Asia. For crypto providers, MiCA compliance is becoming the European standard since 2025. The provider’s license determines which markets they can legally process in and what level of regulatory protection you have if something goes wrong. A provider without proper licensing in your target jurisdiction puts your own gambling license at risk. Check the regulator’s public registry directly. Don’t take the provider’s word for it.
Start with one PSP that covers your primary market. Add a second PSP when you expand to a region your first one doesn’t cover well. Once you’re running two or more PSPs, add an orchestrator to route transactions between them automatically. Layer in open banking for European markets where card conversion is dropping post-PSD2. Add a crypto gateway if your player base demands it. Add a LATAM specialist like AstroPay or PayRetailers when you enter Brazil or Mexico because your global PSP will not clear local methods there. The mistake operators make is trying to build this stack on day one. Start lean, add layers when you hit the specific problem each layer solves, and make sure every new integration goes through your orchestrator so you’re not managing five separate dashboards.