Key Moments:
- Industry experts have highlighted a persistent discrepancy between the speed of deposits and payouts within iGaming, with delays eroding trust and competitiveness.
- Compliance checks, regulatory uncertainty, and varied banking practices continue to slow instant withdrawal adoption across key markets.
- Since 9 October 2025, SEPA Instant payments have become mandatory for euro area providers, accelerating the push for real-time payments.
The Ongoing Struggle for Instant Withdrawals
Within the iGaming sector, a notable imbalance exists: deposits are processed nearly instantly, while withdrawals often encounter significant delays. Yaspa CTO Toby Sucharov described this as a “cultural imbalance,” pointing out that while depositing is seamless and optimized, withdrawals get bogged down by complex compliance requirements and outdated technology. Such delays do more than inconvenience users – they diminish player trust and force operators to contend with customer dissatisfaction and growing competition.
Jason Heller, Senior VP at 5WPR, emphasized that instant payouts are more than a luxury for casual bettors; they’re a core expectation. Delays prompt users to seek alternative platforms that can deliver winnings more promptly, raising the stakes for operators.
Factors Behind the Delays
A mix of inconsistent regulation, legacy infrastructure, and varied banking standards play central roles in slowing down withdrawals. Inconsistent bank processing times across regions exacerbate this, with some banks handling payments within minutes and others stretching over days. This variability hampers the ability of operators to offer a uniform experience.
Fraud detection has become increasingly complex in a speed-driven environment. As operators attempt to deliver faster payments, the need for sophisticated, automated fraud models embedded directly in payment systems has become more urgent. Fragmented player profiles across platforms hinder comprehensive monitoring, making rapid verification challenging.
Compliance and Regulatory Dynamics
Regulatory obligations, particularly around anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) checks, remain major sources of friction in payouts. Instant withdrawal processes struggle to align with thorough source-of-funds verifications mandated by authorities.
The Gambling Commission’s lack of a clear, formalized framework for instant withdrawals further contributes to the uncertainty operators face. The Commission has not outright prohibited instant payouts but maintains an environment where speed must never compromise due diligence. As a result, many operators “crawl to a halt” on payouts, driven by regulatory caution rather than technical limitations.
Andrew Rhodes, CEO of the Gambling Commission, revealed in July 2024 that approximately 2,000 annual complaints regarding delayed withdrawals remain the leading source of customer frustration, with the number reaching around 2,048 by the end of 2024.
New Payment Technologies: Opportunities and Limitations
Open Banking has introduced methods for rapid AML and account verification using APIs, bypassing older, document-heavy processes. Still, disparities in how banks implement standards like ISO 20022 have limited seamless adoption for instant payouts. Even advanced tools require predictive models to compensate for variable data quality.
| Region | Real-Time Payment Rail | Coverage/Reach | Payout Timelines |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | RTP Network, FedNow | RTP: over 950 institutions, 71% DDAs; FedNow: ~1,400 participants (mid-2025) | RTP: 107M+ instant payments, covers 98% of instant B2B |
| Canada | Interac | N/A | Same day to 3-5 business days based on verification and policy |
| Australia | Various | N/A | Mandatory 24-hour break in some jurisdictions |
| Euro Area | SEPA Instant | Mandatory since 9 Oct 2025 | Transfers within seconds |
| UK | Faster Payments, CHAPS | N/A | Ongoing ISO 20022 migration; richer real-time data from 2025-2027 |
In markets such as Canada and Australia, additional verification, policy differences, and regulatory mandates create further friction. For instance, Crown Melbourne enforces a compulsory 24-hour break following extended play sessions.
Balancing Speed with Compliance and Privacy
Experts observe that while technical solutions for instant payouts exist, industry culture and regulatory environments have not yet evolved to match this potential. One suggested approach is to embed compliance checks at the beginning of the player journey, during the deposit stage, to pave the way for faster payouts. However, doing so raises concerns around data privacy and the extent of player surveillance.
Adopting privacy-by-design principles and transparent consent flows helps operators handle player data responsibly while streamlining withdrawal processes. Operators are encouraged to ensure comprehensive player understanding about the data being collected, stored, and accessed – all within one seamless user experience layer.
The New Standard for Payout Timelines
With regulatory changes in the euro area and a phased rollout of UK ISO 20022 mandates through 2026 and 2027, the expectation for instant or near-instant payouts continues to rise. Payment service providers are now obligated, since 9 October 2025 (with receiving obligations from 9 January 2025), to settle eligible SEPA Instant transfers within seconds. In practice, solutions like Visa Direct and PayPal have demonstrated settlement times from minutes to under 24 hours, provided that operator reviews have been completed.
Live payout timers, automated AML and KYC checks at deposit, and publishing accurate payout timelines can further enhance trust and expectation management.
Action Steps for iGaming Operators
- Implement ISO 20022-compliant payment gateways, in line with UK’s phased requirements through 2026-2027.
- Automate AML and KYC verifications at deposit, keeping manual reviews under 15 minutes.
- Display live payout timers within the cashier interface for full transparency.
- Offer at least one real-time payment option such as SEPA Instant, Visa Direct, or Trustly.
Trust, Transparency, and the Road Ahead
Trust is reinforced not just by speed, but also through open communication. Real-time payout dashboards and clear status updates help dispel uncertainty and demonstrate that compliance is more than an obstacle – it’s an operational necessity.
Successfully navigating the transition to instant payouts in iGaming will require a fundamental overhaul of processes, priorities, and regulatory frameworks. As the series continues, future coverage will examine developments in fraud prevention, crypto regulation, and privacy standards in the evolving world of iGaming payments.
The next part in this exclusive SiGMA News series will explore the challenges of embedding compliance checks pre-deposit and the persistent bottlenecks that remain in even the most technologically advanced stacks.
- Author
Daniel Williams
