What's the most important factor for sports bettors when choosing which betting app to wager on?
It's not odds, which ranked third (29%) among 3,000 respondents to a global Paysafe survey. Nor is it promotions (prioritized by 26% of respondents) or user experience (17%). Rather, the top-ranking factor when choosing a sportsbook is streamlined payouts (37%).
And while debit cards are still the favored method of payment (preferred by 38% of respondents), digital wallets (37%) are nipping at their heels. Hence, it appears that the payment space is having a bit of a moment, and how sports betting operators decide to innovate within it could prove crucial going forward.
“Operators that optimize their payment offering will gain a competitive advantage when starting their brand's relationship with new bettors,” Paysafe President of Global Gaming said in a press release. “Given the correlation between the payment experience and brand loyalty, operators can maximize player retention by getting payments right. This includes upgrading their cashiers to cover all possible payment choices to meet evolving transactional expectations.”'
Payment options important
While all of the survey's 3,000 respondents – who hailed from six U.S. states, Europe, and the Canadian province of Ontario – expressed an interest in wagering on sporting events, not all were active sports bettors. And of those who'd yet to place a bet, 28% said they'd refrained from doing so because they weren't sure which sportsbook to wager with.
“This suggests a significant opportunity for brand differentiation,” Paysafe concluded.
To this end, the range of payment methods – be it debit card, digital wallet, credit card, or even eCash – ranked highly among the factors that sports bettors prioritize above all others, with the figure especially pronounced in New York (50%), which happens to be America's largest sports wagering market.
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“Providing players with payment solutions supporting fast payouts should be a given, but operators need to also focus on offering a comprehensive range of payment methods, including those enabling instant or near-instant deposits,” the report read.