Gambling merchant account: what to know

Gambling merchant account: what to know

All brick-and-mortar and online businesses need platforms and means for them to get payments. And modern payment systems adjust to individual combined demands of each industry to provide elevated customer experience. 

That’s why different types of financial services emerge, such as gambling merchant accounts. Thus, this time, we dedicate the article to the topic to explain what are the specific features the gambling, betting, and casino online businesses should look for when selecting a merchant account

What is a gambling merchant account?

At its core, all merchant accounts share one key function. They provide businesses with financial and technical solutions necessary for them to collect money for merchandise and services. But, the difference comes in when we compare additional features and plans payment systems offer in addition to the account. 

Thus, a gambling merchant account is a type of account that provides merchants services specifically to companies within the said industry.

Another crucial thing to consider is that not all financial institutions work with offline and online businesses specializing in casinos, betting, gambling, etc. The reason is that these companies get much more chargebacks than others. It makes banks classify them as high-risk, and you can learn more about the meaning and consequences of having a high-risk business in this article

Features to look for when choosing a gambling merchant account

High-risk services and pricing

Before contacting any payment service provider or bank, ensure they do offer services for high-risk companies such as betting and casino businesses or offer gambling merchant accounts. And once you determine that – go straight to the pricing page and compare your candidates. 

We must warn that due to the higher stakes in servicing such companies, banks charge such companies more for account opening compared to their low-risk counterparts.

Payment methods and payouts

Next up – is the money question. If you have an online business within a betting, casino, gambling sphere, you are likely to have clients from all over the world, from Sweden and Norway to the USA and Australia. 

So, what you need is a bank that enables you to accept traditional payment methods and alternative methods. We are talking about local options, such as digital wallets, mobile payments, Skrill, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Neteller, iDeal, etc. 

Thus, analyze which payment methods are used by the countries you cater to and choose a gambling merchant account accordingly.  

And, of course, this gambling merchant account must have a well-developed payout feature so casinos, betting, and gambling companies can send their clients awards and pay salaries to employees and contractors. 

Chargeback prevention

As mentioned before, high-risk online businesses deal with chargeback and fraud at a high rate. Thus, your gambling merchant account must come with solutions that cover your security.

Maxpay has great examples of such services. For one, we offer automatic refunds via Verifi’s Rapid Dispute Resolution. These allow merchants to issue automatic refunds on their terms without encountering chargebacks. 

There’s also a VMPI solution, which allows a company to prove the transaction made by a customer was a success and avoid chargebacks. 

We also have Ethoca Alerts, which notifies you about chargebacks within minutes, giving you an opportunity to refund a customer and cancel product delivery. 

For all these services and more, visit our website.

FAQ

Do banks allow online gambling?

If such an online business is legit and has all the necessary licenses, nothing is illegal about it. But unfortunately, not all banks and payment systems provide gambling merchant accounts. It is primarily because of the high number of chargebacks such businesses face. That’s why, when choosing a bank, make sure it issues high-risk accounts and works with said industry.

What is a chargeback in gambling?

A chargeback is a chargeback no matter the industry. It is a process when a client is dissatisfied with the service or merchandise they received and contacts their bank to return the money spent on it. Typically, gambling and betting are considered high-risk businesses due to higher chargeback rates compared to other companies.

What is a merchant account example?

It is easy to recognize. It is a type of online business account that allows you to receive funds for your goods and services. You can find an example of an advanced, secure merchant account at Maxpay! It has multiple reports to analyze all the online business processes and provides fraud and chargeback prevention instruments.