Merchant services
Gambling merchant accounts for UK betting and gaming operators.
How licensed betting, casino and gaming operators take card deposits and pay out winnings, the rules that apply and what processors look for.
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How licensed betting, casino and gaming operators take card deposits and pay out winnings, the rules that apply and what processors look for.
Published online rates from the major processors serving UK businesses, plus the quoted rates that only come on request. You see them side by side, on your own sales.
The short answer
A gambling merchant account lets a licensed betting, casino or gaming operator take card deposits and pay out winnings. In Great Britain, operators need a Gambling Commission licence and, since 14 April 2020, cannot accept credit cards for gambling. Visa requires online gambling payments to carry code 7995 and the operator's site to show set statements. Trust Payments, Paysafe and Nuvei publish iGaming payment pages.
Published prices read on 27 October 2026 from each provider's own pricing page. Quote only or not published means the provider gives rates on request; we obtain those for you.
| Provider | Standard UK card rate | European and international cards | Monthly fee | Payouts | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe Source | 1.5% + 20p standard UK cards; 2.8% + 20p premium UK cards | 2.5% + 20p EEA; 3.15% + 20p international; +2% if converted | £0 | Standard free; instant 1% (min 40p); first payout 7 to 14 days | Pay as you go |
| Trust Payments Source | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Paysafe Source | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Nuvei Source | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
Rates are for online card payments taken by UK businesses, before VAT where the provider states it. Premium, business and non-UK cards usually cost more. Our service is free to you. We may receive a fee from the provider you choose; it never changes the price you pay.
Tell us about your business. We know which banks and processors accept your sector, prepare the application so it is read properly, and come back with the terms you can actually get. You keep a named account manager after setup.
Our service is free to you. We may receive a fee from the provider you choose; it never changes the price you pay.
Most mainstream online processors do not accept gambling at all. Stripe's UK list of prohibited businesses, last updated 22 September 2026, includes games of chance, internet gambling, casino games, sports forecasting or odds-making with a prize, and lotteries. So operators need an acquirer that has chosen to serve the sector and has the controls the card schemes require.
The risks processors weigh are clear: players disputing losses with their bank, stolen cards used to deposit, bonus abuse, and payments from countries where gambling is not allowed. Each of these can produce chargebacks, which the acquirer must cover if you cannot.
Visa's rules also put duties on the acquirer. It must identify every online gambling payment correctly, and if a payment service cannot separate gambling payments from others, it must treat them all as gambling and tell the cardholder. That extra work, and the risk, are why gambling accounts are quoted individually and usually come with conditions.
To offer gambling to customers in Great Britain you need an operating licence from the Gambling Commission, and every processor will ask to see it. Visa's rules require an online gambling merchant to have a valid licence or other appropriate authority to operate its website or app.
Since 14 April 2020, gambling businesses may not let consumers in Great Britain use credit cards to gamble. The Gambling Commission's ban applies to all online and offline gambling products except non-remote lotteries. In practice your checkout must accept debit cards and other permitted methods and decline credit cards for gambling deposits.
If you also serve players in other countries, each market's licence and payment rules apply. Processors will ask which countries you accept players from and will expect you to block the rest.
Visa's Core Rules, April 2026 edition, set out what an online gambling merchant must do:
Gambling processors do not publish card rates; Trust Payments, Paysafe and Nuvei all quote. Expect the quote to cover the deposit rate, a fee for paying winnings back to cards, chargeback fees, and conditions such as a rolling reserve or delayed settlement.
To see what a reserve means for cash flow, take an operator with £200,000 a month in deposits on a 10% rolling reserve for 90 days, the example PayPal's UK user agreement uses to explain reserves. About £6,667 of deposits arrives each day, and about £667 a day is held. After 90 days about £60,000 is held, and from then on daily releases roughly match daily holds while volumes are steady.
Paying out winnings quickly matters to players. Card payout services such as Visa Direct and Mastercard Send are priced separately; Viva.com, for example, lists them at 0.40% with a 7p minimum and a 44p maximum per payment.
We name only providers whose own sites describe a gambling payments service. Trust Payments publishes a casino and online gaming page offering pay-in and pay-out solutions for sportsbooks and casinos, and a Gambling Harm Detection tool. Paysafe publishes a UK iGaming payment gateway page offering cards, wallets, eCash and other methods across more than 120 countries. Nuvei publishes an online gaming page describing itself as a leader in iGaming payments.
A sector page shows a provider serves the sector, not that it will accept your business. Each one decides on your licence, markets, processing history, chargeback record and controls.
Before you apply, prepare: your Gambling Commission licence and any other licences; your list of accepted and blocked countries; your age and identity checks; your responsible gambling tools; the Visa website statements above; and recent processing statements showing chargeback and fraud levels.
We work with banks and processors that accept higher-risk sectors, and we know which of them take licensed betting, casino and gaming operators. We prepare your application so it answers the questions underwriters ask, present it to the providers most likely to say yes, and negotiate the rate, reserve, payout timing and any volume limits. No one can promise approval, and we never do.
Once you are live, you keep a named account manager who reviews your chargeback and refund levels with you each month, so problems are fixed before a processor adds a reserve or gives notice, and who takes it up with the provider if your terms change. Our service is free to you. We may receive a fee from the provider you choose; it never changes the price you pay.
Yes, if you hold the right licence. In Great Britain that is a Gambling Commission operating licence. Mainstream providers such as Stripe prohibit gambling, so you need an acquirer that serves the sector. Trust Payments, Paysafe and Nuvei publish iGaming payment pages. Approval is never guaranteed.
No. Since 14 April 2020, gambling businesses may not let consumers in Great Britain use credit cards to gamble. The Gambling Commission's ban covers all online and offline gambling products except non-remote lotteries. Debit cards and other permitted methods can be used.
No. Stripe's UK list of prohibited businesses, last updated 22 September 2026, includes games of chance, internet gambling, casino games, sports forecasting or odds-making with a prize, and lotteries. Operators need a processor that has chosen to serve the gambling sector.
A valid licence, the betting code 7995 on every online gambling payment, and set statements on the homepage or payment page: that internet gambling may be illegal where the player is, the player's responsibility, an age restriction, the rules of play and pay-out policies, and a privacy policy in Europe.
Gambling processors quote rather than publish rates. Expect a deposit rate, payout fees, chargeback fees and often a rolling reserve. On £200,000 a month, a 10% reserve held for 90 days builds to about £60,000 held while volumes are steady.
Tell us what you need and where you operate.