Sports Betting

Why Sports Betting businesses are considered High-Risk?

Regulatory Issues:

Legality of online sports betting varies from country to country
Legal uncertainties can make it challenging to obtain payment processing solutions
Can result in chargebacks and refunds

Payment Processing:

Payment processors and financial institutions are often hesitant to work with high-risk merchants
Potential for chargebacks and fraud can result in higher transaction fees and stricter rules and regulations for payment processing

Chargebacks:

Sports betting merchants are more susceptible to chargebacks due to the nature of the business
Potential for customers to be dissatisfied with their betting outcomes

Fraudulent Activities:

Sports betting is susceptible to fraudulent activities, such as money laundering and identity theft, making payment processors wary of the risks involved.
Payment processors are less likely to work with high-risk merchants, such as sports betting companies, because of the potential for fraudulent activities.

Reputational Risk:

Sports betting is a controversial industry, and companies that operate within this sector face reputational risks.
Payment solutions providers may be reluctant to work with sports betting companies due to the negative perception associated with the industry.

Mitigation measures for Sports Betting merchants to reduce risks when selling online

Work with experienced payment processors: Sports betting merchants should work with payment processors that specialize in high-risk businesses. These payment processors have experience working with the unique challenges that come with sports betting, and they can provide customized solutions to help reduce risks.
Implement fraud prevention measures: Sports betting merchants can implement fraud prevention measures, such as verifying customer identities, using multi-factor authentication, and monitoring transactions for suspicious activities. This can help reduce the potential for fraudulent activities and chargebacks.
Offer clear terms and conditions: Sports betting merchants should offer clear terms and conditions for their products and services. This can help reduce the potential for chargebacks and legal uncertainties.
Provide excellent customer service: Sports betting merchants should provide excellent customer service to ensure that their customers are satisfied with their products and services. Satisfied customers are less likely to dispute charges, resulting in fewer chargebacks.
Comply with regulations: Sports betting merchants should comply with all relevant regulations and laws. This can help reduce legal uncertainties and increase the chances of obtaining payment processing solutions.

Being a high-risk merchant vs. a regular merchant

Higher payment processing fees
Lengthier application process
Higher chargeback fees
Cash reserve requirments:
- Capped reserve
- Rolling reserve
- Upfrom reserve
Volume caps
Additional technical requirements
Being on the TMF / MATCH list

Check out our knowledge hub to learn more about what processing fees, application process, chargebacks and cash reserve requirements or TMF / MATCH list mean.

Other risk factors?

There may be other risk factors as to why you as a Sports Betting merchant are classified as a high-risk merchant, such as:

Accepting subscription-style payments
Being on the Member Alert to Control High-Risk Merchants, or MATCH list — a list managed by Mastercard that monitors merchant behavior, like chargeback history
High average transaction sizes
High sales volumes
Highly regulated industries
International sales
Large number of card-not-present transactions
Little to no business experience
Long fulfillment time frames
New or poor credit scores
Past fraud or illegal activity

As high-risk Sports Betting merchant how to find a payment provider?

It takes effort for businesses to secure a payment processing partner when they are considered high-risk but it is definetly possible to find the right payment solution if you focus on:

Maintaining healthy cash levels. Most processors would like to see a healthy cash level in your business bank account.
Try to reduce chargebacks. There could be a number of factors behind the soaring number of chargebacks in your business. Whatever the reasons may be, you can always analyze them and try to reduce your chargebacks.
Be transparent. Disclose all materials and relevant information during the application process. Payment processors may ask you for very detailed information about your business and finances. Be open, honest, and transparent.
Keep your documents ready. This could mean having six months of bank statements and a few years of tax returns. That said, each processor has its own set of requirements so make sure to check them.
Follow the guidelines of your payment processor. When you apply for a high-risk payment solution, besides your business needs, the risk the payment solutions provider takes also matters. So, be flexible and see if there are things you can do to reduce your risk by discussing with them and following their recommendations.

Our Platform will find the right payment solution for your business

Our biggest differentiator?

We provide payment solutions for merchants with a 90% Succes Rate by Algoritmic matching and pre-KYC onboarding in each industry and region globally.