Operators Adapt Payment Solutions to Meet Industry Growth

The global online market is experiencing significant growth, with its value expected to rise from approximately $88 billion in 2025 to more than double by the early 2030s, as projected by Grand View Research. However, according to RYKI, a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP), the industry's payment infrastructure is struggling to keep pace with this rapid expansion. Digital asset payments have become increasingly important in the sector. Industry analysts estimate that crypto-funded bets now account for nearly 17% of all iGaming wagers globally, and more than 30% of online operators accept some form of cryptocurrency payments. Yet, much of the existing demand relies on outdated payment systems that cater to an earlier era. These legacy systems depend on correspondent banking and wires, leading to multi-day settlements, foreign-exchange spreads, and banking cut-off delays. The challenges for gaming businesses are evident, particularly in terms of slow and costly cross-border transaction settlements. Payments routed through SWIFT and correspondent banks can take between three to seven days to clear, and conversion rates add an extra cost of 50 to 100 basis points per transaction. Furthermore, operators without a gaming-friendly settlement partner in the Western Hemisphere often face double conversion issues, as crypto off-ramps frequently settle in euros, necessitating a second conversion to dollars and increasing costs. "The largest operators are on payment infrastructure that was never designed for how their customers actually behave," says RYKI's CEO Lennon Sweeting. Compliance complications also arise, as generic banking and payment relationships can trigger fund holds and freezes when crypto-related transactions occur, disrupting operations and tying up essential working capital. Additionally, the lack of a clear on-ramp for crypto-native customers is a persistent challenge. A growing segment of high-value players, many of whom already possess stablecoins, lack a reliable and compliant method to convert these assets into gaming credits or pay fees. Manual reconciliation across different events, currencies, and counterparties further exacerbates operational challenges, consuming valuable time and resources for finance teams. Founded in 2020 and registered in the British Virgin Islands, RYKI is well-acquainted with these industry pain points. Having conducted over $1 billion in trades, the company has now initiated a dedicated service line targeting the global gaming industry. Sweeting states, "Gaming has become a financial business as much as an entertainment one. The largest operators move high volumes, hold customer funds, and carry foreign-exchange risk at institutional scale, but they are doing it on payment infrastructure that was never designed for how their customers actually behave." RYKI's offering provides casinos, online gaming operators, iGaming platforms, software developers, and event organizers with a cohesive solution to accept payments in stablecoins and cryptocurrencies, ensuring same-day settlement into fiat while effectively managing treasury across various currencies and jurisdictions through a fully registered global counterparty. This comprehensive service incorporates several key features. Firstly, RYKI streamlines payment processes by replacing fragmented systems with a single pathway for stablecoin and direct fiat settlements, eliminating the need for euro intermediaries and reducing transaction costs. The company also offers audited, compliant custody for clients' digital assets, allowing gaming operators to bypass the complexities of creating their own crypto handling systems amidst changing regulatory environments. RYKI enables operators to manage treasury functions across more than 150 currencies, providing real-time visibility to accommodate high-volume flows and foreign-exchange risks at an institutional level. Additionally, RYKI emphasizes compliance and offers concierge-style onboarding, leveraging its status as a registered VASP to facilitate smooth transaction reviews and reduce the likelihood of unexpected freezes. Fully registered with the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission, RYKI supplies regulated crypto payment rails, custody, treasury, and settlement services. This arrangement allows gaming businesses to maintain their own gaming licenses while relying on RYKI for the compliant digital asset layer. As a result of earlier engagements with clients, RYKI has demonstrated its effectiveness in addressing complex issues within the gaming sector. The company claims that, during a treasury collaboration with a leading online gaming operator, it successfully removed a structural double conversion from euro to dollar, streamlining operations from two transactions to one, and allowing same-day settlements instead of multi-day timelines. According to RYKI, this helped reduce compliance friction while freeing up resources for finance teams. For premium casinos, RYKI has developed a model that enables VIP players to utilize digital assets as gaming credits without needing to liquidate their holdings. The company reports swift on-chain verification within around 60 seconds, compared to the traditional banking timeline of two to five days, along with same-day conversion and settlement into the casino’s operational fiat account. RYKI estimates that over $50 billion in crypto holdings among high-net-worth players remains untapped by high-end gaming venues, though the prospects extend further. In the event sector, for example, RYKI allows gaming conferences to accept stablecoin payments from international exhibitors and sponsors, replacing lengthy wire transfers with quick verifications. The company has noted improvements in sponsor payment retention and ensured timely booth confirmations with automated reconciliations across multiple events. These instances illustrate the potential role of RYKI’s infrastructure as operators enhance their digital asset capabilities. "Our customers already hold digital assets. What they have lacked is a regulated counterparty that can settle quickly, custody securely and clear compliance without surprises," Sweeting points out. As stablecoins gain mainstream acceptance and regulatory frameworks like the GENIUS Act in the US and MiCA in the European Union evolve, gaming operators are shifting their focus from whether to accept digital assets to how to integrate them effectively. RYKI suggests that collaborating with a registered VASP will increasingly become the norm, and those that fail to implement same-day settlement and robust digital asset payment solutions risk losing high-value, crypto-savvy customers to more agile competitors.