The difference between physically going to a land-based casino and playing online is vast. The latter offers levels of gambling convenience that are unparalleled, and it fits perfectly into the modern digital age. With online platforms, you have all the games right at your fingertips, and full account management can easily be handled from a device.
This includes funding accounts, and the method of payment that can be used at a gambling site is an important choice for many. Choice of deposit and withdrawal methods is great, and the versatility that sites with flexible payment options provide can often be a game changer.
However, not all Ontario-based gaming sites carry the same degree of variety when it comes to payment options. But is that so important? Well a key thing to keep in mind when you’re comparing online casinos is how many payment options they offer, a site with more available is usually more likely to rank higher.
Comparison and review sites like Time2play take factors like this into account when reviewing and rating operators. Whether you’re interested in poker, slots, or just about anything else related to gambling, they have curated a list that suits everyone’s interests and reviewed each platform transparently — check them out and read more to find the highest-rated online casino sites in Ontario.
Consumer benefits
Before looking at the benefits of multiple payment options from a casino’s perspective, let’s look at what it means for players. The main benefit is the coupling of choice and convenience, which is far preferable to being limited to one or two options.
The potential issue with limited payment options, however, is being restricted to whatever processing times and potential transaction fees are attached to the available methods. So, having the option to pick and choose just makes life easier.
Customer acquisition
An online casino lives for customer acquisitions, which are the key to running a profitable business. This is where flexible payment options become important for online casinos because they are about casting the net as far and as wide as possible to capture as many new accounts as possible.
If a player is looking to make payments through PayPal, for example, but it’s not offered by a casino, they are quickly going to move on and find one that does. That loss of a potential customer is huge and very costly. Players are not likely to adjust their needs to fit the model of the casino, not when there are so many other platforms readily available.
Customer retention
Once a customer has registered, flexible payment options can also help with retention. The initial payment method that a customer used to fund their account, when they opened it, may not be the one they will always use in the future. There may come a time when they want different options.
Even if they are initially locked into one option, the fact that other payment methods are still there on the account will make them naturally inclined to stick around if they do decide to change. It’s also very common for users to use multiple payment methods on one account.
Using a bank card alongside an e-wallet, for example, allows for the convenience of swapping whenever needed, and customers can typically have up to around three or four different payment methods registered at one time.
A competitive advantage
Actively promoting the fact that multiple payment options are available is a great selling point for online casinos within the progressive Ontario iGaming network. When marketed well, it is something that can give them a competitive edge in a crowded space. The importance of withdrawal speed for players can’t be underestimated.
As the details of payment and withdrawal times can be a dealbreaker for players, standing out in this department can potentially serve as an advantage for an online casino. There is a further advantage as well because VIP players very often prefer a specific payment method because of higher deposit amounts, and catering to high rollers can be big business.
A broader look can also be taken here because by offering a good range of payment options, a platform is more likely to appeal to players from a global perspective. Borderless cryptocurrency is a good example of this because it can be accepted anywhere, unlike a fiat currency, such as the Canadian dollar.
Value in options
So why isn’t a flexible range of payment options available at all online casino sites if there are so many advantages for both the operator and the customer? This comes down to the cost. Online casinos must fund having different payment options integrated into their systems.
The initial setup of adding new payment options can be a big outlay, and the more they add, the greater the cost. So, it’s not a viable financial option for all casinos due to having to deal with things like setup, chargeback, and monthly and transaction volume fees for every payment option.
What are the options?
The modern, diverse range of secure payment options for online casinos in Canada’s iGaming network makes it easy for customers to get up and running. Below is a look at the different ways that online gambling sites cater to the needs of their customers in this area.
Debit and credit cards
This is still one of the most utilized forms of payment at online casino sites. They are quick and easy to use, and you can easily track any transactions clearly within your bank. Some regions around the world, like the UK, have banned the use of credit cards for gambling, but they can be used in Canada. The downside is that they are usually very slow for withdrawals, and some Canadian banks have restrictions on what can be used for gambling.
e-Wallets
Options like Skrill, Neteller, and PayPal have been hugely popular options for online gamblers because of their anonymity. When using an e-wallet, information about the card that is funding it isn’t shared with the online operator, unlike bank cards. e-Wallets are also typically much faster for withdrawals.
Cryptocurrencies
More and more crypto casinos have cropped up in the last few years, with Bitcoin and Ethereum dominating in terms of the digital coin that is most widely accepted. Crypto, which is still in a regulatory gambling gray area in many regions, is extremely fast with high levels of security built-in.
Bank transfers
Bank transfers are a highly reliable way to deposit and withdraw at online casinos. Bank transfers have a lot of checks and balances through financial insulations, which makes them a little slower but reliably secure, and they are typically the go-to for large transactions.
