One of the biggest challenges for the gaming industry is adapting to ever-changing regulations. The gaming industry is highly regulated, and the European online gaming market has no policy that regulates all countries across the continent. Every merchant, depending on the country they operate in, needs to follow regulations, licenses, and changes within their target markets.
The industry has strict anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) requirements. Merchants need to work with payment platforms that make it easy to identify every player for potential risk.
Here are some of the biggest challenges facing online gaming companies.
Fraud
The rapid growth in the online gaming market has come at a price: an increased amount of cybercriminal activity. According to ThreatMetrix’s Gaming and Gambling Cybercrime Report, one out of every 20 new online gambling accounts is fraudulent. Online operators need to monitor suspicious behavior and support a smooth user journey without unwanted surprises, especially the most common problem, account takeovers.
When choosing a gaming merchant account, ask providers whether they deliver a set of fraud prevention tools to enhance your business security and protect your customers’ data. Note that these tools and solutions need to do more than flag suspicious transactions—cybercriminals are getting more creative with their attacks.
Why is it important to have such tools? Think about it this way: every unauthorized purchase is a potential chargeback you need to handle.
Chargebacks
Speaking of chargebacks, they can damage your business’s reputation. Players may take huge losses; it’s a natural risk of online gaming and gambling. Online gaming companies should be prepared for frustrated customers who issue chargebacks because they can strongly impact their bottom line.
Look for a payment processor who understands your industry’s needs and not only offers to help reduce your chargeback rate but also provide the right tools, advice, and comprehensive support to help you successfully win as many chargeback disputes as possible.
Another thing you should monitor is friendly fraud happens when a cardholder wrongly requests a chargeback for a legitimate purchase. As MerchantScout reports, one online survey found that the two biggest issues companies face when dealing with chargebacks are disputing them (59%) and being able to identify friendly fraud (58%).
One of the reasons for friendly fraud is a cardholder filing a chargeback because a family member used their card without their knowledge. Sometimes, it’s children charging purchases to their parent’s credit card without permission.
It’s impossible to stop chargebacks completely, but you can effectively mitigate the amount by working with a reliable payment processor.
High-risk business
Gaming merchants are considered to be high risk because of diverse global laws, high-volume turnover, age restrictions, and the high potential for chargebacks. When looking for a merchant account, save time by seeking payment providers that serve high-risk industries, including both gaming and gambling, to avoid your account being frozen or terminated so that you won’t be prevented from running your business.
Global coverage
Due to the global nature of the gaming industry, make sure you can accept payments in various currencies and that you can send money directly to the beneficiaries’ cards across multiple countries and in various currencies.
If you want to accept payments from gamers located in various countries, consider the following:
Seamless gaming experience
Research shows that over a quarter of online gamblers has given up on opening an account with an online gambling website because of its complicated registration process. Newzoo’s gaming payment report states that 38% of gamers have had a negative experience when paying online, and 44% believe the experience should be improved.
Gamers want to experience their favorite games without any interruptions. Therefore, delivering a seamless experience during the payment process and authenticating legitimate customers with no distractions are a must.
Merchants can now take advantage of more advanced gaming credit card processing features, such as faster deposits and withdrawals, one-click payments, and more. You also need to offer online or mobile payments that don’t interrupt the gaming experience. But keep in mind that user convenience shouldn’t come at the expense of security. Ask your payment provider for one-click payment options that let gamers save their payment information.
There’s nothing so frustrating for online gamers as payment failures, slow payment systems, and confusing processes with redirections and distractions.
Keep your online gaming business on track
The industry is taking off quickly, and it isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon. This expansion comes with a number of monetization opportunities and with its own unique set of challenges. You need a decent payment gateway for online gaming that offers a smooth payment process for players. Fast performance is one of the most important things for online gamers both during a game and when they pay.
The online gaming market is keeping pace with innovations. With the right tools and processes in place, merchants can take advantage of more advanced gaming credit card processing features.