Payments have quietly become one of the most important battlegrounds in online gambling. For years, the typical online casino or sportsbook cashier was dominated by Visa, Mastercard and a handful of e-wallets. In 2026, the picture is considerably more fragmented. Debit cards remain enormously important internationally, but digital wallets, instant bank payments, local payment methods and increasingly crypto-based solutions are changing how players deposit and withdraw money.
A player in Sweden may expect Swish or an instant bank payment. A player in Brazil operates in a payment ecosystem transformed by Pix. British players continue to rely heavily on debit cards, while digital wallets have established particularly strong positions in several markets in Europe and the Americas.
There is therefore no single payment method that dominates iGaming everywhere.
Instead, the global iGaming payments market is becoming increasingly local.
Debit cards remain the global benchmark
One of the strongest comparable international datasets comes from Paysafe’s All the Ways Players Pay 2025 research. The study was conducted by Sapio Research among 4,300 consumers who were involved in, or interested in, online sports betting across markets in North America, Latin America and Europe.
Debit cards remained the most commonly preferred deposit option, selected by 42% of respondents. Digital wallets followed remarkably closely at 38%.
The overall results were:
| Payment method | Players selecting it as a preferred method |
| Debit cards | 42% |
| Digital wallets | 38% |
| Credit cards | 24% |
| Direct bank transfer | 24% |
| eCash / online cash | 18% |
| Local payment methods | 15% |
Respondents could select up to three preferred payment methods, meaning the percentages do not total 100%. The numbers illustrate how far the market has moved beyond the traditional card-only cashier.
Debit cards may occupy first place, but digital wallets are only four percentage points behind. Direct bank transfers, local payment methods and eCash collectively demonstrate how fragmented payment preferences have become.
1. Debit cards
Debit cards remain arguably the closest thing iGaming has to a universal payment method. Paysafe found debit cards were preferred by 42% of surveyed bettors overall, but their popularity varied significantly between markets.
Debit cards were preferred by 63% in Mexico, 56% in Peru and 48% in the UK.
The UK is an especially interesting example.
Credit cards have been prohibited for gambling in Great Britain since April 2020, including credit-card-funded payments routed through e-wallets. That has created a clear distinction between debit and credit cards within one of the world’s largest regulated online gambling markets.
This highlights an important trend: cards are not disappearing from iGaming, but debit and credit are increasingly following different trajectories.
2. Digital wallets
If there is one category capable of challenging debit cards internationally, it is the digital wallet. Paysafe’s research found that 38% of players considered digital wallets a preferred payment method, compared with 24% for credit cards.
In certain markets the figures are considerably higher.
Digital wallets were selected by 52% of respondents in Argentina, while the figure reached 48% in New York and 46% in Florida.
Digital wallets have several obvious advantages for iGaming. Players can keep payment information separate from the operator, move between different gambling brands and potentially deposit or withdraw without repeatedly entering card details.
Brands such as Skrill and Neteller have consequently become deeply associated with online gambling. The strength of wallets also demonstrates that the competition in payments is no longer simply Visa versus Mastercard.
The modern casino cashier is becoming a competition between cards, wallets, banks and local payment ecosystems.
3. Instant bank payments
The most important structural change in iGaming payments may not be the growth of wallets at all. It may be the movement towards account-to-account and real-time bank payments.
Instead of depositing through a traditional card network, players can increasingly transfer money directly between bank accounts through modern payment infrastructure.
This model combines several features attractive to gambling operators and players: speed, bank authentication, fewer steps and potentially rapid withdrawals.
Paysafe found that 73% of surveyed bettors expect real-time payments to become the norm at sportsbooks within two years.
That expectation could have significant consequences for traditional card networks.
The future casino cashier may increasingly connect players directly with their bank rather than requiring a card sitting between the bank account and the operator.
4. Credit cards
Credit cards remain significant globally despite increasing regulatory scrutiny. Paysafe found that 24% of surveyed players selected credit cards as a preferred payment method, with France particularly notable at 39%.
But their importance depends heavily on regulation. Great Britain prohibits licensed gambling operators from accepting credit cards for gambling.
Brazil provides another example. Under the country’s regulated fixed-odds betting framework, operators may accept prepaid forms of payment such as debit cards but not post-paid methods such as credit cards. Operators are also prohibited from extending credit to bettors.
As more regulators focus on preventing gambling with borrowed money, credit cards could gradually lose importance even while debit cards remain strong.
5. Local payment methods
Perhaps the biggest mistake an international gambling operator can make in 2026 is assuming that a globally recognised payment method will automatically be the preferred option everywhere.
The modern iGaming cashier is increasingly local-first. A Swedish, Brazilian and British player can essentially be accessing the same type of online casino or sportsbook while expecting completely different payment experiences.
That makes localization one of the defining trends in global gambling payments.
Sweden: Swish and bank payments
Sweden is one of the clearest examples of how domestic consumer payment behaviour can influence iGaming. Swish has become one of Sweden’s most recognisable everyday payment methods, while direct and instant bank payments have also become deeply integrated into Swedish e-commerce and gambling.
For operators targeting Swedish players, payments therefore become part of localization. It is no longer enough to translate the website, provide SEK and offer Swedish-language customer support.
The cashier also needs to resemble the payment experience Swedish consumers encounter elsewhere online.
This illustrates a wider trend:
The more mature a digital economy becomes, the more players may expect gambling payments to behave like ordinary digital payments.
Brazil: Pix changes the equation
Brazil provides perhaps an even stronger example. Pix, developed by the Central Bank of Brazil and launched in 2020, transformed the country’s wider payment ecosystem by enabling fast account-to-account payments.
Brazil’s regulated betting framework fits naturally with this development.
The Ministry of Finance states that betting companies can accept prepaid payment methods such as debit cards but cannot accept post-paid methods such as credit cards or provide credit to players.
The result is an environment particularly well suited to account-to-account payments. Pix demonstrates something important for the global gambling industry.
A domestic payment system can become so convenient and widely adopted that international operators effectively need to integrate themselves into the local payment ecosystem rather than expecting consumers to adapt to a traditional international cashier.
UK: debit remains king
Britain represents a different model. It is one of the world’s most mature online gambling markets, but debit cards remain central to the payment experience.
Paysafe’s international survey found 48% of UK bettors selected debit cards as a preferred deposit method. The prohibition on gambling with credit cards has further strengthened the distinction between debit and credit.
Digital wallets remain available, but gambling operators must ensure that wallets cannot be used as a mechanism for circumventing restrictions on credit-card gambling.
The UK demonstrates that cards are far from disappearing. Instead, debit cards may remain extremely resilient even as credit cards lose ground.
Payment speed is becoming a competitive advantage
The payment debate is also about more than how players deposit. Increasingly, it is about how quickly they get their money back. Paysafe found that 34% of bettors considered quick and easy payouts the most important factor when choosing a sportsbook.
That placed payout speed slightly ahead of brand trust at 33%, while promotions and odds were each selected by 24%. Furthermore, 42% of players expected to be able to cash out instantly.
And looking further ahead, 73% expect real-time payments to become the norm at sportsbooks within two years. This has significant implications for operators.
A casino can have excellent games, attractive promotions and a recognisable brand, but a slow withdrawal process can undermine the entire customer experience.
Payments are therefore shifting from being a back-office function to becoming part of the product itself.
The payment providers powering iGaming
Behind the payment methods visible in a casino cashier sits another important part of the ecosystem: the companies connecting operators with cards, banks, digital wallets and local payment rails.
As payment preferences become increasingly fragmented between countries, these payment providers have become strategically important for operators trying to localize their payment experience.
Paysafe
Paysafe is one of the payment companies most closely associated with online gambling. Its ecosystem includes Skrill, Neteller and Paysafecard, alongside payment processing and alternative payment capabilities.
This gives Paysafe exposure to several of the trends shaping iGaming simultaneously: cards, digital wallets, eCash, alternative payment methods and increasingly crypto.
The company’s annual All the Ways Players Pay research has also become a useful source for understanding how player payment preferences are changing internationally.
Trustly
Trustly represents another major trend reshaping gambling payments: Pay by Bank. Instead of relying on a card or keeping funds inside a traditional e-wallet, players can initiate payments directly from their bank accounts.
Trustly has become particularly associated with iGaming through products such as Pay N Play, which combines bank payments with elements of the player onboarding and verification journey.
The concept illustrates why bank payments are becoming increasingly interesting for gambling operators. The payment itself can potentially become integrated into the registration, verification, deposit and withdrawal experience.
For players, that can mean fewer steps. For operators, reducing those steps can potentially improve conversion.
Visa and Mastercard
Despite the growth of alternative payments, Visa and Mastercard remain fundamental parts of the global gambling payment ecosystem.
Their importance is particularly visible through debit cards. Paysafe’s international research places debit cards at the top of player payment preferences, with 42% of surveyed bettors selecting them.
However, card usage increasingly varies according to regulation. The UK prohibits gambling with credit cards while debit cards remain widely used. Brazil similarly prevents operators from accepting post-paid credit methods under its regulated betting framework.
The future of cards in iGaming may therefore increasingly be about debit rather than credit.
Skrill and Neteller
Although both are part of Paysafe, Skrill and Neteller deserve separate mention because they are among the digital-wallet brands most strongly associated with online gambling.
Digital wallets allow players to separate gambling transactions from the direct card experience and can facilitate payments across multiple operators.
The wider category is already substantial. Digital wallets were selected by 38% of players in Paysafe’s international study, only four percentage points behind debit cards.
Their importance among digitally native consumers also makes wallets particularly interesting as younger generations become a larger part of the gambling audience.
Swish
Swish is a different type of example. It is not an iGaming-specific payment provider. Instead, it demonstrates the power of a successful domestic payment ecosystem.
Its importance to Swedish consumers means gambling operators targeting Sweden need to understand payment behaviour outside gambling as well as inside it.
That is a recurring theme across the global market. The payment methods players use to buy clothes, order food or transfer money to friends influence what they expect when depositing at a sportsbook or casino.
Pix
Brazil’s Pix represents the same phenomenon on an even larger scale. Pix isn’t a gambling-specific product. It is national instant-payment infrastructure.
But its widespread consumer adoption has made it highly relevant to regulated betting. That is potentially where the payment industry is heading:
the biggest iGaming payment methods of the future may not necessarily be gambling products at all. They may simply be the payment rails consumers already use every day.
OKTO
Specialist payment companies are also building infrastructure around local payment ecosystems. OKTO, for example, provides payment technology for regulated gaming and has expanded its presence in Latin America, including solutions involving Pix in Brazil.
Companies like OKTO illustrate another part of the ecosystem: the B2B infrastructure connecting operators with the payment methods players actually want to use.
Nuvei
Nuvei is another global payment technology company with significant exposure to online gaming. Its role illustrates how payment orchestration is becoming increasingly important.
A large international gambling operator may need cards, alternative payment methods, local payment methods, fraud management and multiple currencies across dozens of jurisdictions.
The challenge is therefore no longer simply:
“Which payment method should we offer?”
It increasingly becomes:
“How do we connect dozens of payment methods into one reliable global cashier?”
That creates an increasingly important role for payment platforms and orchestration providers.
Payment providers are becoming part of the product
Choosing a payment provider is therefore no longer simply a back-office procurement decision. The payment infrastructure can influence which local methods an operator offers, how quickly deposits are confirmed, how rapidly withdrawals reach players and how easily an operator can expand into new markets.
There are increasingly three distinct layers:
- Global payment networks: Visa and Mastercard.
- Consumer-facing payment methods: Swish, Pix, Skrill, Neteller and Paysafecard.
- Payment infrastructure and PSPs: Paysafe, Trustly, Nuvei, OKTO and other providers connecting operators to those payment methods.
Understanding the difference between these layers is becoming increasingly important as the global iGaming cashier becomes more complicated.
Where does crypto fit into iGaming payments?
There is one payment category that is difficult to compare directly with cards, bank transfers and digital wallets:
Cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin helped create the first generation of crypto casinos, but by 2026 the conversation has expanded considerably beyond BTC.
Ethereum, Litecoin and other cryptocurrencies remain available across crypto gambling platforms, while stablecoins such as USDT and USDC have become increasingly important within the wider digital-asset payment ecosystem.
The distinction matters. Bitcoin can function both as an investment asset and a payment method, meaning its value can fluctuate significantly between deposit and withdrawal.
Stablecoins are designed to maintain a relatively stable value against currencies such as the US dollar. For gambling payments, that creates a fundamentally different proposition.
Crypto is much bigger in crypto-native gambling
Crypto’s importance also depends heavily on which part of the gambling industry is being measured. At mainstream regulated operators, fiat payment methods such as debit cards, bank payments and digital wallets remain dominant.
But there is a parallel ecosystem of crypto-native gambling operators where cryptocurrency is not simply another deposit method. It is part of the core product.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, USDC and other digital assets can be used to fund accounts, place bets and withdraw winnings.
That makes crypto disproportionately important within this segment even if it remains much smaller across mainstream regulated gambling as a whole. There is currently no reliable public dataset that allows us to state precisely what percentage of all worldwide iGaming deposits are made using cryptocurrency.
Any global percentage should therefore be treated cautiously unless the methodology and operator coverage are clearly defined.
Stablecoins may be the bigger story
For the future of iGaming payments, stablecoins may ultimately prove more significant than Bitcoin itself.
The reason is relatively straightforward. Online gambling is a global digital industry, but its payment infrastructure remains highly fragmented by country.
A Swedish player might use Swish. A Brazilian player might use Pix. A British player might use a debit card.
Those systems can be extremely efficient domestically but aren’t necessarily global. Stablecoins offer a different proposition: digital value capable of moving across borders over blockchain infrastructure while attempting to maintain a stable value against a fiat currency.
For international digital businesses, that is potentially significant.
Stablecoins can offer characteristics such as:
- 24/7 settlement
- Cross-border transferability
- Dollar-denominated value
- Blockchain-based settlement
- Reduced exposure to the price volatility associated with assets such as Bitcoin
That doesn’t mean stablecoins will replace Swish, Pix, debit cards or bank payments. Regulation, licensing requirements, KYC, AML controls, consumer protection and restrictions surrounding cryptocurrency remain substantial barriers.
But stablecoins could increasingly complement traditional payment infrastructure.
From crypto casinos to crypto payment infrastructure
Historically, cryptocurrency gambling largely existed as a separate category from conventional online casinos. That distinction is beginning to become less clear.
Traditional payment companies are increasingly exploring ways to bridge digital assets and conventional payment infrastructure. The important development is that a gambling operator doesn’t necessarily need to become a fully crypto-denominated casino to serve customers who hold digital assets.
A payment intermediary can potentially convert a player’s digital asset into fiat before funds reach the operator. That creates a completely different model:
Player → Crypto/Stablecoin → Payment provider → Fiat → Operator
Rather than:
Player → Crypto → Crypto casino
If that model becomes widespread, cryptocurrency could move beyond being a specialist casino category. It could become another payment rail behind the cashier.
Two parallel payment markets are beginning to converge
For now, it is useful to think about the industry as having two overlapping payment ecosystems.
Mainstream regulated iGaming
The dominant options remain:
Debit cards → Digital wallets → Bank payments → Local payment methods → eCash
Crypto-native gambling
The payment infrastructure is more likely to include:
Bitcoin → Ethereum → USDT → USDC → other cryptocurrencies
Historically, those ecosystems have operated relatively independently. The interesting question for 2026 and beyond is what happens when they begin to converge.
If payment providers increasingly connect blockchain assets with traditional casino cashiers, the distinction between a “crypto casino” and a “fiat casino” could gradually become less meaningful. The future isn’t necessarily players choosing between fiat and crypto casinos.
It’s crypto becoming another payment rail behind the casino cashier.
Why local payment methods matter for conversion
All of these developments ultimately return to one issue: conversion. Payments can directly influence which gambling site a player chooses.
Paysafe found that 25% of bettors consider availability of their preferred payment method when selecting a sportsbook, while another 25% prioritize rapid deposits.
More importantly, 82% said a positive payment experience makes them stay and continue wagering with a sportsbook.
For operators, payment localization should therefore arguably be considered alongside game localization, language, promotions and local marketing.
Entering Sweden without the payment experience Swedish consumers expect creates friction. The same applies to Brazil, Britain, the US and other markets.
The iGaming cashier of the future
The old online gambling payment model was relatively straightforward: Player → Visa/Mastercard → Operator
The emerging model is much more fragmented: Player → Card / Wallet / Bank / Local Payment Rail / Crypto → Payment Infrastructure → Operator
That might mean Swish or bank payments in Sweden, Pix in Brazil, debit cards in Britain, digital wallets in parts of the Americas or potentially stablecoins within crypto-oriented markets.
Operators increasingly need to build payment infrastructure around individual markets rather than simply offering the same five logos worldwide.
Five major iGaming payment trends for 2026
- Debit cards remain the global benchmark
At 42%, debit cards remain the most preferred payment method in Paysafe’s international bettor research.
- Digital wallets are closing the gap
At 38%, wallets sit only four percentage points behind debit cards.
- Instant bank payments could be the next major battleground
73% of surveyed bettors expect real-time payments to become the norm within two years.
- Local payment methods are becoming essential
Swish and Pix demonstrate why operators increasingly need country-specific payment strategies.
- Crypto is moving beyond the crypto-casino niche
Bitcoin remains important to crypto-native gambling, but stablecoins and crypto-to-fiat infrastructure could eventually have much wider implications for the industry.
Key figures
| iGaming payment statistic | Figure |
| Players preferring debit cards | 42% |
| Players preferring digital wallets | 38% |
| Players preferring credit cards | 24% |
| Players preferring direct bank transfer | 24% |
| Players preferring eCash | 18% |
| Players preferring local payment methods | 15% |
| Expect real-time sportsbook payments to become normal within two years | 73% |
| Expect instant withdrawals | 42% |
| Consider quick/easy payouts the top factor when choosing a sportsbook | 34% |
| Say a positive payment experience encourages them to stay | 82% |
Conclusion: from global payment methods to local payment ecosystems
Visa, Mastercard and traditional banking infrastructure helped make online gambling a global industry. They remain enormously important.
But the next phase of iGaming payments looks different.
Debit cards remain the strongest globally comparable player preference, digital wallets are closing the gap, and instant account-to-account payments represent one of the industry’s most important structural trends.
At the same time, country-specific payment ecosystems are becoming increasingly powerful. Swish demonstrates the importance of localization in Sweden. Pix demonstrates what happens when instant payments become part of everyday financial behaviour in Brazil. Trustly demonstrates the potential of Pay by Bank. Skrill and Neteller demonstrate the continuing relevance of digital wallets.
And crypto introduces another dimension entirely. Bitcoin helped establish crypto-native gambling, but stablecoins and crypto-to-fiat payment infrastructure could eventually connect blockchain payments with mainstream iGaming.
The winner in global iGaming payments may therefore not be one company, one network or one payment method.
It may be the operators and payment providers capable of delivering the right payment method, in the right market, at the right speed.
Sources and methodology
Paysafe – All the Ways Players Pay 2025: International research conducted by Sapio Research among 4,300 consumers involved in or interested in sports betting across markets in the US, Ontario, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Spain and the UK. The research provides the principal comparable figures used in this article for debit cards, digital wallets, credit cards, bank transfers, eCash, local payment methods and player expectations.
UK Gambling Commission: Official regulatory information concerning Britain’s prohibition of gambling using credit cards and rules concerning e-wallets and payment methods.
Brazil Ministry of Finance / Secretariat of Prizes and Betting: Official regulatory information covering permitted and prohibited payment mechanisms for Brazil’s regulated fixed-odds betting market, including restrictions on credit cards and other post-paid methods.
Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen): Regulatory reports and information concerning payments and financial transactions within the Swedish gambling market.
Central Bank of Brazil: Official information concerning Pix and Brazil’s instant-payment infrastructure.
Company sources: Paysafe, Trustly, Swish, Visa, Mastercard, Nuvei and OKTO for descriptions of their respective payment products, technologies and market positioning.
Methodology note
There is currently no single public dataset providing audited 2026 transaction market share for every iGaming payment method worldwide.
The global percentages in this article primarily represent payment preferences among surveyed online sports bettors, rather than the percentage of total worldwide casino and sportsbook deposits processed through each payment method.
Actual transaction share can differ substantially by country, operator, vertical and regulatory environment. The article therefore combines comparable international player research with official regulatory information and payment-industry sources to identify the payment methods and trends shaping iGaming in 2026.
Similarly, there is no sufficiently comprehensive public dataset to establish cryptocurrency’s precise share of worldwide iGaming deposits. Crypto should therefore be viewed as an important and rapidly developing payment ecosystem – particularly within crypto-native gambling – rather than assigned an unsupported global market-share figure.
