How Fintech has Impacted Online Gaming
FinTech stands for Financial Technology and is a broad term used to encompass any process, service or software which aims to make dealing with finances and financial transactions easier for businesses and the individual. For most of us, this means payment gateways and cryptocurrencies, two recent innovations which have transformed the way that we pay for things online. And a revolution is necessary, considering that online transactions are becoming exponentially more common as the years go by. However, our traditional financial management techniques, like debit cards, ATMs and bank branches, are all designed for offline use. You can use debit and credit cards to make online purchases, but are they really the best way to do so?
The number of FinTech developments that have changed the way we can make payments suggest that they are not. Card details can be too easily stolen and cloned, especially when you are readily entering your information online. Also, there are people who don’t have access to one; and being excluded from online transactions doesn’t just mean you can’t shop on Amazon – an increasing number of services like utilities or schools are requiring online payments. And where businesses exist solely online, you have no other option.
One such industry which has embraced FinTech ahead of most others is the online gaming industry, and specifically the gambling sector. Online casinos deal with hundreds of monetary transactions every minute, both deposits from players and withdrawals to their accounts. In order to appeal to as many potential clients as possible, online casinos need to offer a wide variety of payment options so that no one who wants to access their services gets left out.
FinTech is also benefitting the online gambling industry by streamlining the payment process. Having to go through a bank could slow down the processing of withdrawals, meaning that players would have to wait 3-4 working days for their winnings to hit their account; a delay which could be problematic for people with bills to pay. Customers could also be put off having to wait for payments to process, especially if it meant a delay in them being able to use their account. But with FinTech solutions like PayPal and Stripe, payments are processed in and out of your account instantly, allowing you to get on with playing games.
For players of online poker, this can be particularly important. Not only might you need to keep your balance topped up in order to keep playing, but if you want to enter tournaments you’ll often have to pay an entry fee before a certain time. Payment methods which can take time to clear or which need to be approved by your bank could result in you missing the deadline. Another form of FinTech which can help poker players analyse their game is this poker odds calculator from 888poker.com. It can help you manage your bets by working out your chances of having the best hand. Whether you’re just learning and looking for reassurance, or a seasoned player interested in compiling stats from your past games, it’s a great tool and simple to use.
Cryptocurrencies are another sector utilising FinTech to make payments more secure for users. Because cryptocurrencies aren’t linked to your bank account, all payments made using them are completely anonymous, adding an extra layer of security to your transactions. Cryptocurrencies are becoming more popular as a method of online payment, and as such there are a huge number of crypto casinos which have opened up to allow people to use them for playing casino games. In fact, the online casino industry is the first industry to completely embrace crypto payments, leading the way for other big corporations like Virgin Galactic and Expedia to open their doors to the option.
The driving force behind the FinTech revolution is the need to make online payments easier for everyone involved. Instead of hunting for a debit card, entering the long number and other details, all to pay for your takeaway or make a deposit at an online casino, you can use a combination of online wallets and payment gateways to whittle the process down to simply clicking a few buttons. You can upload specific amounts to different online wallets, like PayPal, to help you to budget your spending, as well as using them for quick and easy withdrawals from online casinos and betting sites. An online world needs online methods of managing payments, which is how the world of FinTech was born. It’s an industry which is continuing to grow because the need for quick and easy online payments isn’t going to go away, and we can see from the way that the online gambling industry is pioneering change, what the future might look like for every sector.
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