The start of the internet was met with many predictions. Some were convinced it would mark the end of the world as we know it, and others believed it would bring the world closer and make it into a global village if you like. Luckily, people in the latter category were right, as the internet has brought about advancements across many industries and has blurred the lines between many sectors. Two sectors that have proven to benefit sufficiently from this flux and exchange of ideas are fintech and iGaming.
The way the fintech and iGaming industries are shaped requires that they handle user personal and financial data. This convergence has created a situation where a fix for one, while not usually plug and play, can be adapted by the other for more or less the same results.
Peer-to-Peer Lending
Read any article, blog, or resource about fintech and iGaming, and one word that will pop up a lot is “seamless.” With too many options to consider in either sector and users lost for choice when they eventually settle for a product, they want a hitch-free onboarding process. From sign-up to deposits and withdrawals, they want it to be as simple as possible, and one of the answers to this need has been peer-to-peer lending.
Peer-to-peer lending is exactly as it sounds. In its simplest form, it means users or institutions (in the case of fintech) are able to lend and borrow money at will without the interference of intermediaries. These intermediaries currently make this possibility a pipe dream with traditional finance and gaming systems. With so many hands in the pot, players end up paying a chunk to facilitate these transactions, making it too expensive and downright slow.
However, decentralization seems to be the answer, with many fintech and iGaming outfits looking to explore cryptocurrency and blockchain’s “no middle man” policy. Any Bitcoin casino worth its name, with several examples coming to mind in Gary McLellan’s expert review, requires no mediating parties. Players register to these platforms (many of which have implemented blockchain-based no-KYC registration procedures), fund their accounts in crypto, and simply start playing. They can count on diverse gaming options and quick payouts, as well.
The same goes for any decentralized finance (defi) outfit that employs smart contracts, where the entire communication and interaction occurs between the player and the given platform. This makes peer-to-peer lending possible, and iGaming is able to save on operational costs and offer users bumper bonuses and rewards for which they are famous.
Open Finance
Another area in which they converge is their need for transparency. Because they both handle user data, data security is important, and they have to show responsibility for handling said data. Unlike traditional outfits that only reveal their financial statements quarterly or annually, the employment of technologies like the blockchain allows forward-thinking fintech corporations and iGaming companies to present their transactions on the blockchain so invested parties can rest assured that things are moving as promised. This is especially handy in the iGaming sector, taking NFT gaming as an example. Because the best NFT games reward gamers for their time and other resources invested, knowing that every transaction is being recorded and that the integrity of the platform is not compromised allows gamers to proceed without fear of data theft, fraud, or whatever form of financial loss.
Where’s the limit?
The above only scratches the surface of what’s possible when advancements in fintech and iGaming converge. However, this is not to say there are no areas of divergence, most notably regulation and compliance. Because of the ethics surrounding gambling, whether locally or electronically, it is more heavily regulated, with some parts of the world still clamping down on several gambling-related activities. This, coupled with the fact that iGaming is built to entertain while fintech outfits provide critical financial services, means that the extent to which these technologies can be experimented with varies, as the latter has significantly less room for error.
Conclusion
As technology continues to evolve, both fintech and iGaming will see advancements in their offerings. With a strong commitment to meeting customer needs, it’s clear that future innovations will create even more connections between these two industries.