iGaming Payment Solutions
VIP Preferred
ACH / eCheck for iGaming: coverage, fees, and how to accept it
VIP Preferred is the default ACH/eCheck method on every US-licensed online casino and sportsbook cashier page. DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, BetRivers, ESPN BET, WSOP, Hard Rock Bet, all of them. Operated by Pavilion Payments out of Las Vegas (private-equity owned by Parthenon Capital since April 2023, a $415M carve-out from Global Payments that closed April 3, 2023), the network has 3 million+ enrolled patrons and processes $5 billion+ annually across 400+ casino and sportsbook locations. Players enroll in under 90 seconds, get a 7-day revolving limit up to $50,000, and pay nothing on deposits or withdrawals. For US operators in NJ, PA, MI, WV, CT, NY, IN, MD, NV, RI and DE, not offering VIP Preferred is a competitive disadvantage. The downsides: US-only, USD-only, single-rail ACH, no public developer docs, integration via a legacy XML standard called VIP Connect, no GitHub presence, no SDKs. It is a category of one in US gaming payments, and that lack of competition shows in how the product is sold and supported.
What is VIP Preferred?
Background and how it fits the cashier
US gaming ACH/eCheck network (3M+ enrolled patrons), operated by Pavilion Payments
Products. VIP Preferred eCheck (ACH), VIP Preferred Online Banking, instant bank credentialing
Key features. 3M+ enrolled patrons, $50k 7-day revolving limit, instant enrollment, free for players, 400+ operator network
How Operators Accept VIP Preferred
The PSPs that route this method at the cashier
VIP Preferred is a payment method, not a PSP. You can't sign a processing contract with it. You accept it by adding it to your cashier through one of the PSPs that support it.
How Users Fund VIP Preferred
Where the balance comes from before it lands at your cashier
Players load their ach / echeck balance one of these ways before they deposit at your site.
- ACH
- Bank account
Fees & Limits
What you pay to accept it, and what the player pays to use it
Operator side
Custom
User side
Variable by funding method
Compliance & Licensing
Regulator coverage, KYC depth, and chargeback exposure
Licensed by
NACHA Third-Party Sender, PCI DSS, MSB (FinCEN), state gaming licenses (NJ, PA, MI, WV, CT, NY, NV, IN, MD)
Chargeback liability
Low (ACH; bank-account verified)
Geographic Coverage
Where the method is available to players
US only
Who Is VIP Preferred Best For?
Where this method fits, and where it doesn't
Recommended for
- US iGaming operators in regulated states. Online casinos and sportsbooks licensed in any of the 11 regulated US iGaming states (NJ, PA, MI, WV, CT, NY) or the 30+ regulated sports-betting states. Players in these markets expect to see VIP Preferred next to Visa, Mastercard and PayPal on the cashier. Not offering it costs you depositing players. The integration is a one-time effort and the network effect, 3 million enrolled patrons who do not need to re-enroll at your site, is a real conversion advantage at launch.
- Sportsbooks launching in new states. Operators launching in a new state and needing immediate access to a vetted player base. A patron enrolled with VIP Preferred at FanDuel can deposit at your new sportsbook within minutes of registration, because Pavilion has already done the KYC, the banking verification and the risk assessment. You inherit a 3 million-patron warm-start without doing the underwriting yourself. No other US payment method gives you this.
- Operators serving high-limit players. Brands that serve mid-to-high-limit players who hit Visa or Mastercard caps. The 7-day revolving limit reaches $50,000, far higher than card networks will reliably authorize for gambling MCCs (7995) where issuer declines run 20-40% even on legitimate transactions. For your VIP segment that deposits $5,000-$50,000 in a session, ACH through VIP Preferred is the only US-domestic rail that consistently approves the transaction.
- Brands prioritizing player trust. Operators who want responsible-gaming-friendly deposit infrastructure. The 7-day revolving limit is a natural guardrail that prevents the credit-card spiral problem regulators worry about. Some jurisdictions are moving to restrict credit card gambling deposits entirely (the UK and Australia have already done it). ACH through VIP Preferred sidesteps that risk and aligns with where state regulators are heading.
Not recommended for
- Non-US operators. Any operator outside the United States. VIP Preferred is USD-only and processes through the US Automated Clearing House network. There is no European equivalent, no LATAM presence, no APAC plans. If your players are anywhere else, this is the wrong product. Trustly handles European open banking, AstroPay handles LATAM, and CoinsPaid and NOWPayments handle crypto-first international flows.
- Crypto-focused platforms. Crypto-first casinos or operators where digital asset deposits drive the majority of volume. VIP Preferred has zero crypto support and shows no roadmap interest. The product exists at the opposite end of the payments spectrum: highly regulated, KYC-heavy, batch-settled ACH. If your value proposition is fast crypto deposits, this is not your provider. NOWPayments covers 350+ coins, CoinsPaid serves regulated EU operators.
- Operators in unregulated markets. Operators running in unregulated US grey markets or offshore-licensed sites targeting US players. Pavilion will not onboard you. They are registered with every state gaming regulator and rely on those relationships, so taking on operators without state licensure would put their entire business at risk. Sweepstakes casinos sometimes get access through workarounds, but offshore-licensed real-money operators do not.
- Brands wanting a single global PSP. Operators who want a single global PSP that handles cards, wallets, ACH and crypto through one contract. VIP Preferred is a single payment method, not a payment service provider. You still need Nuvei or Worldpay for card acquiring, Paysafe for wallets, and a crypto gateway if you want digital assets. The integration overhead of running VIP Preferred plus three other contracts is a real cost, so for smaller operators an orchestrator like Corefy or IXOPAY that aggregates everything may be a better starting point.
FAQ
The questions operators ask about VIP Preferred
Is VIP Preferred safe for US iGaming operators?▾
Yes. VIP Preferred is operated by Pavilion Payments, a Las Vegas-based private company owned by Parthenon Capital. PCI DSS Level 1 certified, NACHA Third-Party Sender registered, MSB registered with FinCEN, FCRA-regulated Consumer Reporting Agency, gaming licenses or vendor approvals in every regulated US iGaming and sports betting state. DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars and every other major US sportsbook use it. The network has been operating since 1995 with no major security incidents disclosed publicly.
How much does VIP Preferred cost for operators?▾
Operator pricing is private and not published. Industry-standard ACH origination at this scale runs per-transaction fees ($0.10-$0.50), a small percentage of volume (0.5-1.5%), monthly platform fees, and a rolling reserve (typically 1-3%) to cover ACH returns. Larger operators with low return rates negotiate the lower end. Players pay nothing on deposits or withdrawals. Effective May 2026.
What is the 7-day revolving limit?▾
When a patron enrolls in VIP Preferred, Pavilion assigns a personal 7-day revolving check-cashing limit up to $50,000 based on consumer report data and banking history. Cleared transactions release back into available limit after they settle, so it functions as a rolling allowance rather than a hard ceiling. The limit applies across all 400+ VIP Preferred operators: a patron who deposits $10,000 at FanDuel sees their available limit reduced at every other VIP Preferred operator until the FanDuel deposit clears. This network-level limit prevents stacking deposits across multiple casinos.
How long does VIP Preferred integration take?▾
Pre-integrated platforms (used by DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars) treat new-state expansion as a configuration change rather than a new integration. For new operators or new platforms, integration takes 4-8 weeks for technical work plus 8-16 weeks for state regulatory approvals (sequential across each state where you operate). The VIP Connect XML standard is the protocol. No public REST API, no SDKs, no GitHub repos. Documentation is partner-portal only after contract signing.
Does VIP Preferred work outside the US?▾
No. United States only, USD only. Some Canadian land-based casino properties use VIP Preferred for cash access, but the iGaming product does not serve Canadian regulated markets including Ontario. No European, LATAM, APAC or African presence. For European operators look at Trustly or Brite. For LATAM look at AstroPay. For crypto-first international flows look at CoinsPaid or NOWPayments.
How does VIP Preferred compare to Trustly?▾
Both are bank-to-bank account funding methods but they operate in different geographies. Trustly handles European open banking with 30+ countries, 6,300+ banks, under 6-second deposits and withdrawals. VIP Preferred handles US ACH/eCheck for regulated gambling with one country, the entire US banking system, instant deposits and 1-5 business day withdrawals. The products are complementary rather than competing, since Trustly is also live with Caesars, Hard Rock and FanDuel in the US but for different player flows. A multi-market operator would run Trustly for Europe and VIP Preferred for the US. Trustly has a public REST API; VIP Preferred has VIP Connect XML.
Why do players complain about VIP Preferred?▾
The BBB profile shows 95 complaints with a B rating. Complaints cluster around denied withdrawals, ACH return fees on failed deposits, and disputes about consumer reporting agency entries that block enrollment. The pattern is structural, since regulated US gambling involves KYC blocks, AML reviews and credit screening that all create friction. Players blame VIP Preferred because it is the named brand on the cashier even though many decisions come from the operator's risk team or state regulators. Operators rate the service positively because the alternative is not offering ACH at all.
Does VIP Preferred support cryptocurrency?▾
No. Pure USD ACH and bank-account based payments only. Pavilion has no public roadmap for crypto support and the product is structurally aligned with the opposite end of the payments spectrum: highly regulated, KYC-heavy, batch-settled ACH. For crypto deposits at US operators look at provider partnerships through specialty processors or pair VIP Preferred with a separate crypto rail.
What is the difference between VIP Preferred eCheck and Online Banking?▾
VIP Preferred eCheck requires the player to enter their bank routing number and account number once during enrollment, and Pavilion then debits ACH directly. VIP Preferred Online Banking uses a Plaid-style instant verification flow where the player logs into their bank through a hosted authentication screen, and Pavilion pulls verified bank credentials behind the scenes. Online Banking has fewer enrollment failures from mistyped routing numbers, broader bank coverage including credit unions, and slightly different unit economics. Most operators offer both, and the player picks during the deposit flow.
Can offshore casinos use VIP Preferred?▾
No. Pavilion will not onboard operators without US state gambling licenses. The company is registered as a vendor with every state gaming regulator, and taking on offshore-licensed operators serving US players would put their regulatory standing at risk. This is one of the things that limits VIP Preferred's market, since there are large grey-market operators that would happily integrate but cannot. For licensed US-state operators this is a feature rather than a bug, since it keeps the patron base concentrated in regulated flows.
Our Verdict on VIP Preferred
Final read for iGaming operators
VIP Preferred is the default ACH/eCheck method for US-regulated iGaming and sports betting, operated by Pavilion Payments out of Las Vegas with 3 million+ enrolled patrons, 400+ operator partners and $5 billion+ annual volume. The product solves a specific problem, regulated US gambling deposits and withdrawals, better than anything else in the market, and the network effect of pre-enrolled patrons gives integrated operators an immediate conversion advantage. The cost is real: legacy XML integration with no public docs, US-only and USD-only scope, no SDKs or modern developer tooling, custom private pricing, and consumer complaint volumes that come with the territory of regulated gambling. For its narrow target market, it is essentially required infrastructure.
Strongest
The network effect of 3 million pre-enrolled patrons across 400+ operators. A player who enrolls in VIP Preferred at FanDuel can deposit at any other VIP Preferred operator without re-enrolling, re-verifying or re-uploading bank details. For a new operator launching in a regulated state, this is the closest thing in US gambling payments to a warm-start customer acquisition tool. The 7-day revolving limit up to $50,000 also outperforms credit card limits at gambling MCCs where issuer declines run 20-40% on legitimate transactions. For VIP-segment players that is the difference between processing a $25,000 deposit and losing the customer to a cash deposit at a tribal property.
Limitation
The technology stack is dated. VIP Connect XML is a 1995-vintage server-to-server protocol with no public documentation, no SDKs, no sandbox you can self-serve, no GitHub presence, no public developer portal. In 2026, when Trustly publishes excellent REST API documentation and Nuvei runs a full developer portal with open SDKs across every major language, VIP Preferred feels like a relic. The lack of competition in regulated US gambling ACH has insulated Pavilion from the pressure to modernize, and that shows in how the product is sold and supported. Consumer complaint volume on BBB (95 complaints, B rating) reflects the structural friction of regulated gambling payments but is real reputational baggage you inherit.
Recommendation
If you operate or plan to operate in any regulated US iGaming or sports betting state, integrate VIP Preferred. Not offering it is a competitive disadvantage that will show up in deposit conversion rates. The network effect is real and works in your favor at launch. Plan for 4-8 weeks of technical integration plus 8-16 weeks of state regulatory approvals running in parallel. Negotiate transparent return-rate-based pricing, a clear reserve release schedule and a single master agreement across all your states. Pair VIP Preferred with card acquiring through Nuvei or Worldpay for players who prefer cards, and consider Trustly for any European traffic. For operators outside the US, VIP Preferred is irrelevant: look at Trustly for Europe, AstroPay for LATAM. Effective May 2026.