The continent’s iGaming industry is quietly ditching cards and e-wallets as speed-hungry players push for faster, smarter ways to move money.
The flashy graphics and immersive gameplay may get all the glory, but behind the scenes, it’s the plumbing that’s changing everything. Across Europe, the online gambling sector — worth billions and growing — is being reshaped not by roulette wheels or sports bets, but by a less visible force: payment innovation.
More specifically, open banking. And if you’re not paying attention yet, you probably should be.
A Banking Shift That’s All About Speed
For years, players across online casinos in the UK, Sweden, and Denmark have tapped into their funds via old-school means — think credit cards, SEPA transfers, PayPal. It worked. Kind of. But it wasn’t fast, and in a business where time feels as valuable as the chips on the table, speed wins.
That’s where open banking steps in.
By giving licensed fintechs secure access to customer bank data — all under tight EU rules, mostly via PSD2 — the system allows instant bank-to-bank transfers. No more middlemen. No more processing delays. And, more importantly, no more waiting days to get your winnings.
For high-rolling gamers and casual punters alike, it’s a game-changer.
Denmark, the UK’s Canary in the Coal Mine
One of the most interesting use cases right now is in Denmark, a country often seen as a testbed for fintech adoption. Several Danish online casinos have already rolled out open banking tools, particularly for withdrawals.
What used to take 48 hours now happens in 90 seconds.
“I didn’t believe it until I saw the money in my account,” said Lars Jensen, a 34-year-old Copenhagen-based poker player. “Usually I’d be hitting refresh every morning waiting on my winnings. Now it’s just—bam. Done.”
Same story in the UK. According to a 2024 report by the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE), 22% of all online gambling deposits in the UK are now processed through A2A (account-to-account) transfers enabled by open banking. That’s a jump from under 6% in 2021.
Why Online Casinos Love It Too
It’s not just the players cashing in. Operators have plenty of reasons to love the switch, too.
Traditional payments come with headaches: card fees, fraud risk, chargebacks, and time-consuming support tickets when money gets stuck. Open banking clears the deck of all that.
“It’s like going from a bicycle to a Tesla,” said an executive at a Sweden-based casino tech firm who requested anonymity due to regulatory sensitivities. “Instant payouts keep players happy, and happier players bet more. Simple math.”
He added that fewer failed transactions and no need to involve card networks meant lower costs for the house as well.
Here’s a breakdown of benefits operators are seeing:
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Reduced payment friction and bounce rates
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Lower transaction costs compared to card processing
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Decline in customer service queries related to delayed withdrawals
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Better compliance with anti-money laundering rules via verified account data
EU Regulation Is Pushing the Trend Further
Open banking didn’t just appear overnight. It’s the product of years of legislation and backroom work across Brussels.
The Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2), which kicked in across the EU in 2018, forced banks to open their APIs to regulated third parties. That opened the floodgates to a wave of innovation — from budgeting apps to instant payment tools — with iGaming being a very lucrative use case.
Here’s how open banking fits into the broader iGaming payments infrastructure:
| Component | Traditional Model | Open Banking Model |
|---|---|---|
| Payment Speed | 1-3 days | Instant (under 30 seconds) |
| Fees | High (card and e-wallet) | Low to negligible |
| Fraud Risk | Medium to high | Low (authenticated accounts) |
| Regulatory Compliance | Fragmented | Streamlined via API permissions |
| User Friction | Moderate (extra steps) | Low (one-click verification) |
Not All Markets Are Ready — Yet
Still, the trend is uneven across Europe. Southern European markets, including Italy and Spain, are trailing when it comes to open banking penetration.
“In some regions, it’s still credit card or nothing,” said Karina Hoffmann, a payments consultant based in Frankfurt. “Cultural trust in banks is high, but trust in third-party access? That takes time.”
On top of that, smaller operators have concerns about the cost of integration. While APIs are standard, the backend work isn’t plug-and-play for every platform. And some banks — especially older, less agile ones — still put up resistance, whether in the form of sluggish APIs or opaque compliance processes.
Fintechs Are Moving In Fast
While traditional banking players inch forward, fintechs are moving like greyhounds.
Companies like TrueLayer, Trustly, and Tink are already embedded in dozens of major online casinos across Europe. They offer modular SDKs, slick UX, and coverage across multiple countries, all while complying with PSD2 and GDPR frameworks.
Trustly, for example, now handles transactions for over 100 gambling brands across the continent, from sports betting apps to poker platforms. In Q1 2025 alone, the company processed over €2.6 billion in open banking payments related to gaming — nearly double what it handled in the same period last year.
And this growth isn’t likely to slow. According to Statista, the open banking market in Europe could be worth over €123 billion by 2027, with iGaming accounting for a fast-rising chunk of it.
The Bigger Picture: Less Friction, More Transparency
At its core, this is about control. Players want to move money on their own terms — not wait for banks or card networks to play catch-up. And regulators are quietly happy, too, since open banking payments are more traceable and secure.
Anecdotally, some casinos have reported a 20% drop in fraud incidents tied to payments after switching to A2A-only withdrawals.
Still, the industry isn’t flipping the switch all at once. It’s a steady march, not a sprint. But if current momentum holds, the online casinos of 2028 may be places where players never even see a card entry screen again.
