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The major United Kingdom-based payments processor Paysafe Ltd. has extended its reach in the U.S. sports-betting market, announcing early Monday deals to support bettors’ deposits by credit or debit card in Louisiana and Oregon.
Driving Paysafe’s latest gambit in mobile sports betting includes contracts with venue-operator Caesars Entertainment Inc. and betting platforms DraftKings Inc. and WynnBET, all of which are connected to Paysafe’s payment gateway. DraftKings is also working with Paysafe in the company’s entry into the sports-wagering market in Oregon, where DraftKings is the official sportsbook provider for the Oregon Lottery.
With these moves, Paysafe says it now processes for sports bets in 20 states and the District of Columbia. It has been working with DraftKings alone for nine years and now processes for the platform in 17 states.
Sports betting became a major—and fast-growing—market for payments processors in the U.S. in 2018 with a Supreme Court ruling that struck down prior restrictions on the activity, which is now legal in some 30 states and Washington, D.C., up from three jurisdictions four years ago. The activity generated more than $3.9 billion in gross gaming revenue last year through November, an increase of 205% just from the prior year, according to the American Gaming Association. GGR reflects the difference between what players wager and what they win.
Paysafe’s digital-wallet business, which embraces its Skrill and Neteller wallets, accounts for about 13% of the company’s processing volume. Weakness in that unit in Europe, reflected in the company’s September-quarter performance, hammered its stock and led chief executive Philip McHugh in November to vow major steps to turn the unit around. The company is scheduled to report December-quarter earnings March 2.
