Did Online Gambling Contribute to the Rise of eWallet Services?

Online money transfers make it faster and easier for us to pay for the products and services we purchase over the internet. These types of services are by no means new - X.com, started by Tesla owner Elon Musk, was the first service to handle person-to-person online payments back in 1999. Since then, a variety of similar services have appeared, some local, others covering the globe. Digital wallets or eWallets are services that are similar to a real life wallet - they hold the payer's money, and allow him or her to make payments in any online outlet that accepts that certain service in a simple, hassle-free manner, and in a way that doesn't involve banks into the transfer of the funds.

Gambling and eWallets

Some consider iGaming to be one of the main contributors to the rise of such online payment systems. eWallets are present in any online gambling outlet's list of safe and secure banking options, along with traditional methods like bank transfers and credit card payments, and anonymous payment solutions like PaySafe, that transfers the funds by using a PIN code.

Some banks' - and governments' - policies are sometimes quite restrictive when it comes to payments made toward online gaming operators. US-based players, for example, can in no way initiate a credit card transaction or wire transfer toward Red Flush, a well-known gaming operator, due to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. With the use of eWallets, even US residents can make payments toward the Red Flush, though - the fact that the Red Flush does not accept players from the United States is a completely different matter altogether.

What makes eWallets attractive for the end user?

Most of the times, it's their ease of use that makes online payment services attractive for users. Once they create their account and register a credit or debit card - the eWallet account has to be funded somehow, after all - the service acts as a middleman between the user's bank and the payee. For many, they are an alternative to giving out their banking or credit card details over the internet, something many people still aren't completely comfortable with.

Besides, it makes money transfers almost instant. To stick with the other example, once the Red Flush initiates a payment toward a player's eWallet, the money usually appears and becomes spendable within minutes. This is a faster and much more convenient way to send and receive money compared to anything banks could offer until a few years ago, making the use of eWallets online very widespread.

The most used eWallet services today

PayPay is by far the most used e-Payment system today, thanks in part to the fact that it was owned - and preferred - by eBay. In 2014, PayPal was spun off as a separate corporation, which didn't hurt its usage at all. Neteller and Skrill, both owned by Paysafe PLC (formerly Optimal Payments) are also widely used online. In Asia, Jack Ma's Alipay is the leading eWallet service, with over 400 million active users - it is the only eWallet accepted by the owner's other major online business, Aliexpress.