Acquiring Banks and PSPs for iGaming: Who Accepts Which Licence

Every acquiring bank and payment service provider that works with gambling asks the same first question: which licence do you hold and for which markets. The answer determines whether you are onboarded at all, on what terms and with what reserves. This guide explains how acquirers rank licences, what card-scheme rules apply and how to build a payment stack that survives a provider pulling out.

How acquirers rank licences

Acquirers assess gambling merchants against card-scheme rules, their own risk appetite and the regulators they answer to. Tier-one licences, meaning Malta, the UK, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Alderney and local licences in regulated EU markets such as Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Estonia or the Netherlands, are accepted by the broadest range of acquirers at standard pricing. Curaçao under the reformed CGA regime and Kahnawake are accepted by a smaller set of specialist acquirers, often with higher fees and rolling reserves. Anjouan is accepted by fewer providers still, typically crypto-friendly or high-risk specialists, with the highest pricing. Operators without any licence are not acquired by scheme-compliant providers.

Card-scheme rules

Visa and Mastercard classify gambling under MCC 7995 and require acquirers to register gambling merchants in their high-risk programmes. Cross-border acquiring is restricted: an acquirer may generally only process gambling transactions for cardholders in countries where the merchant is licensed or where online gambling is not prohibited, and schemes fine acquirers for violations. Issuing banks in some countries block MCC 7995 altogether, which is why local payment methods matter. Miscoding gambling transactions under other MCCs is treated as a serious breach.

What acquirers ask for

Expect to provide the licence and its conditions, corporate documents and ownership to the beneficial owners, AML and responsible-gambling policies, a list of target markets with geo-blocking evidence, processing history and chargeback ratios, financial statements, player-fund segregation arrangements and the website terms. Acquirers test the site from blocked jurisdictions and check the register of prohibited domains in markets such as Poland and the Netherlands.

Reserves, pricing and settlement

Gambling merchants typically face rolling reserves of 5% to 10% held for several months, settlement delays, and pricing above standard e-commerce rates. Tier-one licences, clean processing history and low chargebacks improve all three over time.

Alternative payment methods

Open banking, instant bank transfers such as BLIK in Poland or Trustly across the Nordics, e-wallets and local schemes often convert better than cards in regulated markets and are less exposed to issuer declines. Crypto on-ramps are an option in markets that permit them, subject to AML and MiCA considerations. A market-by-market payment map is part of licensing planning.

Building resilience

Hold at least two card acquirers, diversify across payment methods and PSPs, keep player funds segregated, monitor chargebacks weekly, notify providers before entering new markets, and maintain a banking pack that can be sent to a new provider within days. Operators that treat payments as a compliance function rather than a procurement task rarely face a sudden loss of processing.

Our corporate and structuring team prepares operators for acquirer and PSP onboarding as part of the licensing project. See also banking and payment processing for iGaming companies.