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TrueLayer launches PayDirect, a new approach to seamless online payments in iGaming

Published

5 years ago

January 26, 2021

George Miller

Reading Time: 3 minutes

PayDirect, a new service from the UK’s open banking leader, TrueLayer, combines one-click verification with instant deposits and withdrawals to deliver the most complete payments experience.

It delivers a higher-converting, lower-fraud payments approach when compared to card and bank transfer.

TrueLayer, the leading technology company building financial infrastructure that’s open to everyone today announced the launch of PayDirect, a new open banking-based payments method enabling iGaming firms to create a higher-converting, lower-fraud payments approach when compared to card and bank transfer. TrueLayer is working with a number of iGaming operators who are embracing opening banking as a more secure, cost-effective way to deliver superior player experiences.

Today, identity and verification flows and card-based payments typically generate avoidable friction along the customer journey, affecting adoption and retention rates and generating unnecessary costs. The introduction of Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) this year adds another layer of friction to cards with workarounds that deliver a poorer customer experience.

PayDirect is the answer to those issues, enabling firms to stay compliant while delivering a frictionless customer experience. Built on open banking and the fastest available bank payment rails, it provides firms with instant payments and withdrawals, while accelerating KYC and AML processes, to deliver the most complete solution on the market.

“As players experience seamless digital services in other aspects of their lives, their expectations for iGaming are also changing. PayDirect builds on our payments expertise to solve some significant issues around onboarding, deposits and withdrawals to help operators deliver an experience that is fit for the digital age,” commented Ossama Soliman, Chief Product Officer at TrueLayer. “The ability to quickly and easily verify a customer’s identity, and move money instantly in and out of an account using bank to bank payments, while automatically complying with AML regulations, is hugely beneficial to both the player and the operator.”

With PayDirect iGaming operators, can deliver new levels of services to their customers, all from within their app, in a matter of minutes, through:

Account verification – Instantly verify account ownership based on what’s on file at a customer’s bank.
Instant account funding – users can initiate payments or move money between accounts effortlessly using open banking.
Seamless online payments – that reduce fraud and chargebacks at any checkout.
Instant withdrawals – users can initiate payouts, using the same method used for deposits, automatically meet AML requirements, while avoiding manual data entry like bank account number or IBAN.
Instant refunds – providing customers to access their money faster, compared with up to 5 days using cards.

PayDirect improves the player experience and delivers a number of significant benefits to iGaming operators, including:

Up to 3x faster onboarding: PayDirect gets players up and running in a matter of minutes, using open banking and biometric authentication that removes the need for users to remember usernames or passwords.
Higher payment conversion rates: Once a player has successfully executed a deposit, payment failures tend to be four times lower with PayDirect than cards (on average cards fail up to 15% of the time vs 3.5% with PayDirect). This means more efficient deposits and, more importantly, less time managing failed payments that can ultimately lead to customer churn.
Increased customer loyalty: Card deposits take up to 3 days to settle, whilst withdrawals can take up to 5 days. PayDirect increases retention by offering customers what they want, instant deposits and withdrawals. Recent research into the iGaming market by YouGov for TrueLayer (Q4 2020) found rapid deposits and payouts consistently topped the list of player priorities, with 8 out of 10 players rating fast payments as important – and they choose their operators accordingly.
Lower operating costs: PayDirect saves time and reduces cost by automating otherwise manual processes such as payment reconciliation or KYC checks. PayDirect also reduces costs when processing refunds, as they are automatically issued to the same bank account that was used to make the deposit. This reduces opportunities for human error compared to cheque or manual bank transfers as well as cutting down customer support cases on lost or never issued refunds.

Reduced risk and fraud: With PayDirect account ownership and authentication is handled by the player’s bank. No more chargebacks, no credential sharing or password storage. Service providers can also meet AML requirements by paying out via the same method used for deposits.
A fully white labelled payment method: integrated open banking capabilities, increase customer trust by the brand owning the end-to-end customer journey, and configuring payment flows.

“The race is on to reimagine the way people pay by leveraging Open Payments architectures. We have seen in banking and ecommerce that great onboarding and payments experiences increase conversion, trust, and retention. But many payment journeys today have not been designed for a digital first world,” added Francesco Simoneschi, co-founder and CEO at TrueLayer. “With PayDirect we’re calling time on cards and their monopoly. We have used our experience and expertise as a leading open banking platform to design a digital and mobile first payment product that combines instant bank payments with instant payouts, refunds and reconciliation capabilities. PayDirect delivers an effortless way to onboard new customers and enable them to quickly initiate payments and withdraw funds. It is the easiest way to create a better, safer and lower cost payments process.”

activity report 2025

GGL Publishes Activity Report 2025

Published

6 seconds ago

July 7, 2026

Wladimir P.

The German Gambling Authority (GGL) has published its latest activity report for 2025. The report highlights the GGL’s measures in supervising legal providers and its latest work against illegal gambling.

Supervision and Licensing of Legal Providers Further Systematised

While previous years focused primarily on granting licenses, in 2025 the emphasis shifted significantly to the structured supervision of licensed providers. Key instruments included supervisory discussions, both ad hoc and proactive measures based on reports and market observations. Internal collaboration between the relevant departments was further intensified, contributing to a uniform and consistent supervisory practice.

Further Development of the Technical Infrastructure and Supervisory Systems

The expansion of the technical infrastructure was further advanced. The goal is to create a reliable and comparable data basis for supervision, analysis and future regulatory decisions. Enforcing the mandatory and correct use of the safe servers by the authorised providers remained a challenging process in 2025, but it is the foundation for the necessary improvement in data quality.

Focusing the Fight Against Illegal Gambling on the Entire Market Environment

In 2025, the approach to combating illegal online gambling was further refined and consistently aligned with the entire market environment. In addition to measures against the operators themselves, the focus is increasingly shifting to the service providers involved. This approach ensures that illegal offerings are not viewed in isolation, but rather addressed within their market and process contexts.

In 2025, GGL worked closely with platform operators to further reduce the visibility of illegal content in the digital space.

Market measurement has been further developed scientifically. Due to its opaque and dynamic structure, the evaluation of the development of the illegal gambling market requires a particularly robust methodological basis. The 2025 activity report therefore does not include any independent figures on the size of the illegal market for the year 2025. Instead, the presentation is based on the results of the scientific study “Investigation of the black market and channeling of gambling on the internet based on a survey of gamblers”.

GGL deliberately chose this approach to increase the validity and comparability of the market data and to ensure methodologically sound results.

This study, already published, shows that in 2024 the market volume of illegal and therefore unregulated online gambling will be 23%. This results in a channeling rate of 77%. This means that legal or regulated offerings account for more than three-quarters of the online gambling market.

The existing study will be continued so that a scientifically sound data basis on the development of the illegal market can be provided.

Outlook 2026: 5 Years of GGL Mean Evaluation and Further Development

The developments so far show an increasing consolidation of the supervisory and enforcement structures within the framework of the State Treaty on Gambling 2021.

The focus in the coming years will be on the legally required evaluation, the preparation of the new licensing cycle from 2027 onwards, and the further strengthening of data-based and scientifically sound supervisory instruments.

The 2025 activity report can be found under Publications of the Joint Gambling Authority of the Federal States – Annual Reports.

The post GGL Publishes Activity Report 2025 appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

1xBet

Conor McGregor Becomes 1xBet Brand Ambassador

Published

60 minutes ago

July 7, 2026

Wladimir P.

Former UFC champion Conor McGregor has become the official global ambassador of 1xBet.

Not just a fighter. Not just a champion. McGregor is a phenomenon who helped turn the UFC from a niche sport into a global spectacle – driving record-breaking PPV sales, attracting worldwide media attention and engaging millions of fans.

Every time the Irishman steps into the octagon, it becomes an international event. The 1xPartners affiliate programme is getting a major boost. The legendary Notorious is now a long-term part of the 1xBet.

This partnership carries special importance ahead of UFC 329, which takes place on July 11. The main event will feature a rematch between Conor McGregor and Max Holloway, 13 years after their first meeting. Their 2013 bout marked a turning point in both fighters’ careers, and the upcoming clash is already being described as the most anticipated MMA event in recent years.

For 1xBet, partnering with one of the world’s most recognisable athletes creates new ways to reach a global audience, strengthens the brand’s international presence and gives 1xPartners affiliates additional opportunities to scale sports traffic. The affiliate program offers competitive monetisation terms, including up to 50% RevShare, regular payouts and a comprehensive suite of modern tools. This helps to consistently deliver strong conversion and engagement rates worldwide.

For 1xPartners affiliates, this is a chance to become part of a large-scale project, leverage one of the most recognisable athletes’ incredible media influence, work with the hottest traffic from the biggest UFC events and continue growing with 1xBet.

The post Conor McGregor Becomes 1xBet Brand Ambassador appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

BETANO

Play’n GO goes live with Betano Colombia in LatAm expansion

Published

60 minutes ago

July 7, 2026

Wladimir P.

play’n-go-goes-live-with-betano-colombia-in-latam-expansion

Kaizen Gaming’s Betano adds Play’n GO’s full slots portfolio, including Book of Dead and Reactoonz, for the first time in Colombia.

Play’n GO has launched with Betano Colombia, making the Swedish supplier’s casino games available on Kaizen Gaming’s brand in the country for the first time.

The agreement covers Colombia, one of Latin America’s regulated iGaming markets. Betano Colombia is rolling out Play’n GO’s full content portfolio, including titles such as Book of Dead and Reactoonz.

Play’n GO positioned the launch as part of its broader push across regulated markets in Latin America, with Colombia highlighted as a priority jurisdiction due to its established regulatory framework.

Magnus Olsson, Chief Commercial Officer of Play’n GO, said: “Colombia is an incredibly important market for Play’n GO. It stands out as one of the most stable regulated markets in Latin America, making it a key focus for our long-term growth strategy globally.

“Betano is one of the biggest names in global gaming, and they share our commitment to quality, compliance, and delivering exceptional entertainment. Bringing our full portfolio live on their platform in Colombia is an exciting step, and we’re confident this partnership will be a strong success for both parties.”

The post Play’n GO goes live with Betano Colombia in LatAm expansion appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.