The basics:
- Sightline and Cross River launch first-of-its-kind debit for gaming
- New solution reduces costly payment churn for operators
- FDIC-insured accounts with VISA debit access for patrons
- Industry savings could reach $3.5B over five years
A new collaboration is offering a first-of-its-kind solution for one of the gaming industry’s challenges.
Sightline Payments, in collaboration with Cross River Bank, has created Sightline Debit – which creates a frictionless, customer-centric experience that streamlines both spending and wagering. The product addresses one of the gaming industry’s greatest challenges: the costly cycle of withdrawals and deposits that cost operators millions annually.
“The cost of payments in digital gaming is staggeringly high, on average, 4.5-times that of other industries,” said Omer Sattar, co-founder and CEO of Sightline Payments, a leading fintech company. “Over nearly three years and 200,000+ hours worked, in deep collaboration with seven of the largest gaming operators in America, we painstakingly took the payment ecosystem apart and reassembled it, creating an entirely new, bespoke ecosystem where payments in gaming now is cheaper for operators and easier, safer, and more responsible for patrons.”
Key things to know:
- Reimagines the gaming payment ecosystem, redefining where funds are stored and how transactions are authorized through a demand deposit account at Cross River
- Give patrons access to their own funds anytime, anywhere – and in any way, in their own personal FDIC insured bank account; and to spend securely and seamlessly using a debit card issued by Cross River on the VISA network
- First phase is set to launch in the coming weeks in several leading digital markets
Sightline estimates that if this is adopted broadly across the industry, churn of money is anticipated to decline by 40%, which would save the digital gaming industry about $700 million a year, and some $3.5 billion over the next five years.
Solving a ‘costly’ inefficiency
By the numbers
Sightline Debit is estimated to save the digital gaming industry about $700 million a year, and some $3.5 billion over the next five years.
Sattar emphasized that Fort Lee-headquartered Cross River was the right fit, particularly with its cutting-edge financial infrastructure that utilizes VISA’s global payments network.
“We saw an opportunity to solve one of the biggest and most costly inefficiencies in digital gaming, and we knew Cross River was the perfect partner to help us bring it to life,” Sattar said. “We are thrilled to have them with us as we reshape the gaming industry, and we could not have done this without their vision and commitment to deep-rooted structural innovation.”
Adam Goller, chief fintech officer, Cross River, said this collaboration with Sightline marks a major leap forward for payments in the gaming industry.
“By leveraging our proprietary banking core with Sightline’s deep industry expertise, we co-developed a first-of-its-kind solution that merges two previously siloed financial systems into one intuitive, real-time experience,” said Goller. “It’s a powerful example of how embedded finance can drive real transformation at scale.”
