Merchant Accounts for Fantasy Sports

Acquiring a merchant account for a fantasy sports site can be a challenge.  Yet, good payment processing solutions are available.

The key to success in obtaining merchant processing to to work with a bank that understands the nature of the fantasy sports.  Many banks classify fantasy sports as gambling.  In reality, fantasy sports are more akin to games of skill than to gambling.

Growth in Fantasy Sports

The attraction of fantasy sports is easy to understand.  Playing fantasy sports elevates fans from merely spectators to actively involved participants in the sporting events.

From 2007 to 2012 the Fantasy Sports industry grew 12% per year.  IBISWorld predicts that industry will continue annual growth rate of 8.8% through 2017.

Approximately 26 million Americans play in a fantasy sports league.  Each player spends about $500 on playing.  And the number of players and amount being spent will continue to rise in the coming years. 

Card Processing for Your Fantasy Sports Site

The ability to accept credit and debit cards is vital to the success of your fantasy sports company.  Depending upon the bank, a fantasy sport merchant account may be considered high risk, due to industry type.  However, simply because the industry is considered higher risk, rates can still be quite attractive.  

Applying for a merchant account is free.  You will be asked to provide an application and submit standard due diligence documentation.  Approval takes 3-5 business days.  Integration to your website is through a simple API.

Accept echecks to Increase Sales

In addition, consider adding echecks  as a payment option to your checkout page. Echecks let players pay through a direct debit from a bank account.

Some players prefer echecks over card processing.  And, if a card is declined, you can offer echecks as an alternative payment method.  Echecks Merchants that offer echecks increase sales by 8-20%.

Conclusion

Fantasy sports merchant accounts give you the ability to accept cards and echeck payments from your players.  Yet, acquiring a fantasy sports merchant account can be a challenge because banks classify the industry as high risk.

There are some excellent options for fantasy sports merchants that need reliable payment processing accounts. PaynetSecure lets you take advantage of special payment processing platforms that are not readily available through other sources.

Are you a fantasy sports business that needs payment processing?

Contact info@paynetsecure.net today.