As the Latin American gambling market opens up at an exponential rate, accommodating payment requirements remains an increasingly challenging obstacle for firms in the region. 

At the Leaders in iGaming panel during this week’s SBC Digital Summit Latinoamérica, lead reporter at Calvin Ayre Becky Liggero Fontana posed the question of what potential opportunities will arise in terms of the payments sector’s relationship with gambling in LatAm. 

Betsson’s Andrea Rossi aired the view: “Payments are the big challenge for LatAm; it’s a region where there is low penetration of credit cards as we know, so operators have to cope with that. There are some aggregators that are providing support, but the penetration of retail is quite strong in some markets to mitigate the lack of credit cards and electronic devices.

“The shop became the most accessible way to deposit and withdraw funds from an operator. It’s challenging, but it’s developing and I’m seeing more and more payments solutions available for operators. 

“LatAm is an emerging market, so we need to wait to see some strong developments in terms of payment solutions.”

Parimatch International CMO Dmitry Belianin added: “Payments is always tough, especially in emerging markets.” He went onto underline that one of the key challenges comes with setting up the proper framework for users, saying: “I feel like the trust issue is one of the key aspects to success in many markets, especially in LatAm. So how fast you process your money and how fast you withdraw your money, those are the main aspects.” 

He continued by underlining the potential of crypto, describing it as ‘a dark horse’ in any market, specifically in Brazil where crypto continues to take on enhanced growth and user engagement. 

The requirement to navigate the various integrations across numerous LatAm jurisdictions is a further challenge that Belianin was keen to bring to the fore, as he highlighted that many countries have their own unique payment methods.