PayNearMe Inc. has added an additional statement for its iGaming and sports betting processing business. The latest expansion, in Kansas, brings the number of states in which the e-billing and payment platform provider has iGaming operations to 20. The expansion also comes as the college football and National Football League seasons begin.
PayNearMe’s MoneyLine service allows operators to accept deposits into bettors’ accounts and facilitate payments. Launched in 2021, MoneyLine supports cash, credit and debit cards and automated clearing house payments, as well as alternative payment options such as PayPal and Venmo The extent of payment options supported by MoneyLine is a point of differentiation for PayNearMe in the highly competitive online gaming and sports betting market, which has attracted major processors such as Paysafe Ltd.
“Where some competitors specialize in supporting one or two forms of bidding, we support a wide range of bidding options,” said Leighton Webb, vice president and director general, iGaming and sports betting, for PaynearMe.
Another point of MoneyLine’s differentiation is its analytics capabilities, Webb adds.
To make payments more convenient, PayNearMe has developed a mobile app that facilitates cardless payments through a network of 20,000 ATMs nationwide. Punters who choose this payment option receive a unique PIN code which can be entered at the ATM. Punters must provide their mobile phone number and an order number to facilitate payment. Payouts are capped at $500. Punters can also use the app to locate an ATM near them to facilitate a payout.
PayNearMe expects the service to start rolling out in earnest in early 2023, according to Webb. Other payment methods supported by PayNearMe include push payments via ACH accounts to PayPal.
While PayNearMe refuses to disclose how much of its iGaming and sports betting business represents, Webb says that market represents “a strategic growth engine” for the company.
Since becoming a legal option in the US market in 2016, sports betting has become increasingly popular with consumers, attracting a large audience of high-income bettors in particular. TransUnion LLC’s “Consumer Pulse Online Sports Betting” study finds that 54% of mobile sports bettors earn $100,000 or more per year. Despite their high salaries, a high percentage of these bettors indicate that they struggle to pay their bills and use short-term credit services, such as payday loans, to make those payments. TransUnion conducted its research via an online survey of 2,739 adults in May.
“On the face of it, most consumers who engage in mobile sports betting can probably afford to do so,” Declan Raines, U.S. gaming manager at TransUnion, said in a prepared statement. “At the same time, our results demonstrate how important it is, especially in times of economic uncertainty, for carriers to use comprehensive data to identify both resilient and struggling consumers. This can help operators protect players and provide a safer experience for consumers engaged in regulated betting. »
