Since online casinos first burst on the scene, the industry has changed dramatically. One of the biggest changes has to do with the speed of payouts to players.
Transitioning from lengthy wait times to instant satisfaction has been the story of payouts over the years. But how has this transformation happened and what does the future hold?
The early days
The first online casinos burst onto the scene in the mid-90s as the internet came to the masses. In those days, it was only the bold who gamed online with a lot of uncertainty about spending real money on online platforms and concerns about accessing winnings.
Payout processes were painfully slow. Players needed to provide a variety of documents to verify their ID before they could withdraw anything. Although these checks were needed to keep people safe, they were done manually and led to delays. Some casinos had players waiting several weeks for their payouts. Bank transfer was also the primary way players received their money, which usually caused even more delays.
Frustration was rife and this threatened to hurt the fledgling industry as technology failed to keep up with people’s expectations. A lack of competition also meant platforms held all the cards and players had to make do with what was on offer.
The rise of e-wallets
Like the rest of the web, the online casino industry grew and developed rapidly. Technology was finally getting ahead of the game. E-wallets began popping up in the early 2000s, but it was PayPal that proved to be the biggest name in this sector.
Online casinos flocked to this new technology. Players were soon able to use e-wallets to deposit and withdraw funds. These were far quicker, more convenient and user-friendly than what had come before to the delight of players all around the world.
Players who were used to waiting weeks could now withdraw funds in mere hours. As player confidence grew because they no longer feared that funds wouldn’t arrive, the entire casino industry exploded. However, speed was not the only benefit.
Security is crucial to players. Now they didn’t have to hand over sensitive financial details to casinos as they were stored with their e-wallet provider, making for a smooth and safer process.
The role of customer service
What does customer service have to do with payout times? Quite a lot as it turns out. In the old days, players waiting weeks for payouts might have felt they were waiting just as long to speak to a customer service agent of an online casino.
Players were left frustrated beyond belief as they tried to seek answers to all sorts of questions including: “When is my payout coming?”, but things have changed.
Online casinos can’t afford to let customer service be an afterthought. Players have more ways than ever to get help, such as email, phone lines and live chat. This means any issues, especially those to do with payouts, can be dealt with as quickly as possible. Many fast payout online casinos even have dedicated teams working specifically on processing withdrawals, making the process quick and hassle-free.
Cryptocurrency
Perhaps the biggest game-changer in many aspects of the online casino world is cryptocurrency. These digital currencies have boomed in recent years and savvy casinos have adapted to accept them for deposits and issue withdrawals.
Crypto has made a huge difference for international players as now they don’t have to concern themselves with conversion fees to receive payment in their own currency. These payments across borders also usually come with longer wait times but crypto has ended that as well.
Crypto payments can be withdrawn and in a player’s account almost immediately. There is no waiting for banks to clear the payment, and no waiting for processing times. Cryptocurrency is the fastest way to withdraw money and the more popular it becomes with players, the more platforms are rushing to make sure players can use their crypto with them.
The future of casino payouts
Just as there was a massive amount of change in the online casino industry in previous decades, the future promises even more. Players have higher expectations than ever and if platforms don’t keep up with them, then they’ll find a casino that will.
Instant bank transfers are becoming more prevalent, and cryptocurrency will no doubt increase in popularity even more. However, the future may lie in AI.
Artificial intelligence is set to underpin many facets of modern life in the future and the online casino industry will be no different. AI is already changing the way casinos communicate with players thanks to customer support chatbots. These chatbots can answer frequently asked questions or respond to easy-to-solve queries, leaving the human support to deal with more complex issues.
AI will also have its say on payout times as well. AI systems could push payouts even further and real-time payouts are a very real possibility that could allow winnings to go straight to the player.
Speed is of the essence in the modern world and payout times might well be the deciding factor regarding which casinos thrive and which disappear.