Nuvei and Mansion Group: the pillars of a winning partnership in iGaming

How long has Nuvei been your payments partner? What were you looking for in a payments partner when the relationship began?

Tsvetelina Bekirova (TB): Mansion Group has been working with Nuvei for more than ten years. At the beginning of the relationship, we were looking for a reliable payments partner that would be able to integrate seamlessly into our platform and that would be able to support our growth in the dynamic and sometimes challenging world of iGaming. Nuvei ticked all the boxes we were looking for as they already had the platform integration capabilities in place and substantial experience in payments processing for iGaming, so selecting them as our payments partner was a logical step.

All these years later, Nuvei is still our main gateway supporting all of our various brands, and in all the regulated markets that the brands are present across the globe.

How has the relationship grown in that time?

TB: The relationship has strengthened as all our brands have grown significantly during the partnership and Nuvei has been by our side accelerating that growth. This includes remaining competitive in the UK while also expanding our licences in countries such as Italy, Spain, and now Ontario which we are currently adding to our portfolio. Although the European regulatory landscape has become more complex in recent years, it hasn’t stopped Mansion’s growth across the globe and Nuvei is still the main gateway for the newly open markets we launch in.

How have you seen payment trends change in iGaming in the past decade?

Nikki Carter (NC): A decade ago players might only have a couple of deposit options, mainly cards and potentially bank transfers. Players outside of the main European markets might not have any localized payment methods. Players were used to that for all online payments across all eCommerce as well as iGaming.

But over the years customers’ expectations have grown substantially, especially around both the types of payment method that are offered in an online checkout and also the speed of settlement. Today we expect instant deposits and payouts.

Has your payments experience changed during the course of working with Nuvei?

TB: Players are now very well informed about the latest trends in online payments and are discerning when it comes to overall experience, so there has been a huge amount of development of the overall user journey.

Whether it is a deposit or payout there must be a level of trust between the customer and the provider. What customers want is a payment method that is reliable, instant, secure, and ultimately as frictionlessly as possible. Nuvei has built this trust and that is a big part of the value they bring. Let’s take PSD2 for example. Complying with the regulation while minimising friction has actually increased players’ trust in their payments and meant they are more willing to deposit.

How important do you think payments are as a differentiator for gaming platforms, and do you consider your payments to be a competitive advantage?

NC: They can be a great differentiator if operators put their focus on it and make sure they have localized methods their target customers need. Particularly with Nuvei’s single integration solution, there are many ways to customize payments for each regulated market across the world so you can really dial into those localized markets more now than ever.

We seek advice from Nuvei on how to do that, particularly in markets where we have a smaller market share or haven’t been in the market long. It’s one of the great support features as Nuvei has so much expertise in global gaming markets. Alongside our own investigation and analysis we keep on working with Nuvei to find out what they are offering in each region and what is working for other merchants. Monitoring and maintaining routing through relevant acquirers to boost card acceptance rates can make a difference as well.

Has Nuvei supported you entering new markets?

TB: Our experience launching in Spain in August 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic is a good example of how Nuvei has supported us entering new markets. Mansion was one of the first operators to be granted a licence in the region and we were in the position to go live the very next day while other operators were still preparing their platforms. It required a lot of planning and preliminary work that we had to do internally and in communication with our partners to be ahead of our competitors. Nuvei went the extra mile to complete the setups well in advance of the licence being secured and this gave us a huge advantage for going live as soon as the market launched.

How is the Ontario launch going?

TB: We are in constant close communication; this is the highest priority project for us internally and Nuvei is supporting us with the same priority level at their end. As it was with Spain, the goal is to get into the position where we have all the setups from the cashier and payments perspective completed, so as soon as the regulator gives us a go live date we will be ready to launch at the click of a button.

Are you considering crypto as a viable option for your cashier?

NC: It is something we are interested in, because we know our customers are interested in it. But we would need to do a compliance review to understand how we make sure that we are meeting the requirements of all our licences. That is in review at the moment and Nuvei is supporting us there, so hopefully we will find a way to add it to our suite of payment methods.

When you think about payments in the gaming industry, what are the most important criteria you would look for in a gaming partner today?

TB: The main features that I would look to if I was to select a partner today would be deep knowledge and experience in the market, and a great product. We would need to understand each other’s everyday challenges and the players’ behaviours as well. We’d analyze that knowledge to be competitive in the market, while also being compliant and offering a best-in-class user experience. Nuvei offers a great balance between these factors which is why we work very well together.

What are the next big challenges or opportunities for payments in gaming?

TB: Open Banking seems to be the hot topic today and one that has huge potential in iGaming as a tool for conversion and retention. It could potentially also give players more options to manage their spending which in turn raises levels of trust. However, there is still a way to go in the payments industry to make this product complete and marketable to consumers. There is a lot to explore in this area but Nuvei appears to be a step ahead of other providers in terms of its Open Banking offering and were looking forward to taking advantage of that.

What are you ambitions for foreseeable future and how can Nuvei support you to reach those goals?

TB: We are quickly approaching our 20-year anniversary in the industry. During that time we have served almost 10 million customers across 35 different countries in five continents. Nuvei has been with us for a large part of that journey and our plan is to continue to grow together. The product enhancements we have planned mean our next 10 years will be the most dynamic and exciting to date.