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OKTO ready to answer industry’s cashless question, once and for all

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OKTO ready to answer industry's cashless question, once and for all
OKTO ready to answer industry's cashless question, once and for allReading Time: 4 minutes

 

Introducing a software-based solution carefully tailored to Britain’s retail gaming sector, Simon Dorsen, director of gaming at OKTO – joined by Gambling Business Group (GBG) CEO Peter Hannibal – explains how the financially licensed company has leveraged GBG’s new EFT protocol to provide operators with a cashless system that allows players to use, move and collect their funds instantly – whether it’s on a gaming machine, at the bar, or in their local high street shops.

International fintech provider OKTO is ready to give Britain’s retail gaming sectors a much needed post-lockdown boost by offering the definitive solution to the longstanding challenge of cashless payments.

While there remains competition to provide the sector-wide cashless solution the industry requires, OKTO’s director of gaming Simon Dorsen, an 18-year veteran of the gaming industry, believes the company’s strict financial licenses, vast technological expertise, and unrivalled wallet universality all put OKTO’s secure and complete cashless solution ahead of the pack.

“Cashless and digital payments in the UK is the norm now and today’s consumers demand the digitisation of payments across the economy, and in gaming as well. We have tailored our wallet towards the unique requirements of gaming, but we’re not just a gaming wallet,” explained Dorsen. “Money in the OKTO ecosystem can be moved or spent anywhere that accepts digital payments, whether it’s pubs, bingo clubs or high street shops – and our licenses, upholding the strictest of security standards, mean that any funds with us are always fully protected. The fact that we are financially licensed is very important, as it means both merchants and users can be confident that OKTO is backed by central banks across Europe.”

In addition to its licenses and software-based solution, a recently developed Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) protocol, made publicly available by Gambling Business Group (GBG), has given OKTO an advantage over the industry’s false-starts at a cashless solution. Without the need for any additional hardware or upfront costs, the protocol makes it possible for OKTO to bring any digital gaming machine into its payments ecosystem – finally putting the retail gaming sector on a level playing field with the rest of Britain’s high street economy.

“We are thrilled to be working on established industry protocol which is fully supported by the principle manufacturers of digital machines in pubs and AGC’s. It enables our truly cashless solution to allow users to go up to a gaming machine in the pub, press a button to use OKTO, and deposit funds to start playing. When they cashout, they get the money back in their cashless wallet instantly. Additionally, we are able to onboard pubs as merchants, so if the users want to immediately spend on food and drink in the pub, they can; either through their OKTO.WALLET app or, in the near future, from their OKTO debit card that is linked to the wallet.”

Indeed, much like increasingly popular neo-banks such as Monzo and Revolut, OKTO allows users to move and use their funds instantly, as they wish, putting the power directly in the user’s hands. It’s not just a “one-use” wallet, as users can extend the wallet usage beyond gaming machines and into the wider economy. This is not only ideal for giving players the most frictionless experience possible, but also for allowing operators to easily move, manage and count their digital cashboxes, detailed Dorsen.

“Because the transactions are instant within our ecosystem, you can dramatically move to a settlement time that is instant,” he continued. “We can automate and move towards an instant settlement process. Compared to the traditional cash dependent system, this will allow operators to reimagine the way they operate.”

GBG CEO Peter Hannibal, whose open EFT protocol allows payment providers to ‘talk’ to any connected digital gaming machines, believes that OKTO’s entry into the retail gaming sectors has come at the perfect time. Not only has the protocol made it so much easier from a technical perspective, but with Covid-19 creating a sentiment of fear around the use of cash, the increasing trend of cashless payments is affecting all sectors of the industry more than ever.

“During lockdown we learned that bingo customers were concerned about using cash after the clubs reopened,” Hannibal explained. “The operation of traditional bingo has always been dependent upon coins and cash, but that clearly needs to change, and companies like OKTO will enable them to do that. Products like OKTO’s cashless solution have the potential to transform many gambling activities including bingo – and there’s an existential need for it now, even if there wasn’t before.”

Importantly, OKTO also provides a range of social responsibility tools to players through the fintech provider’s app, incorporating a strict age verification process, self-exclusion, betting limits, and profit and loss calculator tools that further enhance consumers’ protection. In addition, there is a section embedded in the app with national problem gambling helplines.

Hannibal summarised that OKTO’s solution presents a rare opportunity for the industry; a situation in which everyone’s a winner. The player gets more choice, the regulator gets responsible gaming tools in the players’ hands, and the operator gets a boost to business efficiency when it’s most needed. And with no upfront costs, it’s a boost that Dorsen believes operators will welcome.

“I have noticed a real change in operator’s mindsets over the past 18 months. There was a tipping point last year, even before COVID-19 came along, where operators realised that they need to learn about and adopt new cashless solutions. Now, naturally, we are seeing the consumer shift, and because of COVID-19 all demographics are becoming more comfortable using cashless payments,” said Dorsen. “The current economic circumstances are requiring operators to focus on efficiencies more than ever, and because our software based solution connects directly to the GBG/EFT protocol, we can provide fast deployment without any upfront capital expenditure. There’s not a big financial hurdle to implementing our cashless solution, so we think that operators will be eager to finally unlock the benefits they’ve been hearing about for so long, and we’re ready to show them exactly how our end-to-end cashless solution can help their business.”


Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: OKTO ready to answer industry’s cashless question, once and for all

George Miller (Gyorgy Molnar) started his career in content marketing and has started working as an Editor/Content Manager for our company in 2016. George has acquired many experiences when it comes to interviews and newsworthy content becoming Head of Content in 2017. He is responsible for the news being shared on multiple websites that are part of the European Gaming Media Network.

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PSG want to be the club of the new generation — and gaming has to be a part of it!

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esport-news.co.uk recently sat down with PSG’s brand and business development Nadia Benmokhtar. She spoke about how PSG’s investment into eSports has already seen massive engagement in Asia, how they plan to be a part of the new generation through eSports and how they can diversify their audience.

If you are to use any of the content below, please link to https://esports-news.co.uk/ or the following article, where you can find the full interview: https://esports-news.co.uk/2025/10/20/psg-esports-interview-why-football-clubs-invest

Highlights from the inteview: 

  • “At PSG, we want to be the club of the new generation — and when you say new generation, gaming has to be part of it.”(Nadia on why esports is central to PSG’s brand identity.)
  • “When we entered esports, we didn’t just want to do FIFA. We wanted to be present in major games with big audiences.”(On PSG’s bold approach to expanding beyond traditional football titles.)
  • “We partner with people who understand the scene — Vitality and Talon are not just teams, they’re real brands.”(On building authentic, long-term collaborations in esports.)
  • “Esports allows us to diversify our audience, expand globally, and connect with communities that might not start as football fans but can still become PSG fans.”(On the club’s goal of global fan engagement through gaming.)
  • “We started with esports for credibility, but now we’re exploring the entire gaming universe — from mobile titles to digital experiences like Roblox.”(On PSG’s next phase of gaming innovation.)

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PSG are using gaming to be a part of the new generation

“The goal with eSports is to grow the audience across different touchpoints, increase the brand exposure, and also diversify that audience because we want to target people that are not especially football fans at the beginning. But with esports, you can create a different kind of connection. We know that it’s a very engaged market. It’s also a way to target different territories. If you look at PSG, as an example, the French League is not very visible in Asia. So you can say that through esports, you will find a different way to connect with this type of audience. So it’s really part of the club strategy. So first, we are a multi-club sport. We have football, of course, men’s football, but we also have women’s football, handball, judo, and esports is really considered as a sports section in the club. But for sure, we aim to be at PSG, the club of the new generation. That’s our brand positioning. And when you say new generation, of course, gaming should be part of it.”

Brand recognition in Asia was key

“Asia has been one of the key territories for us since launch. We had an important partnership on the game Dota 2 with a Chinese company, LGD. So we had a very successful team with LGD, but at the end, Dota became a game very costly and to us it didn’t make sense to just spend millions in player salaries with no return on investment. With LGD, it was a new partner with a team that is already very big, and you just enter and do a big, big push. With Talon, the story was a bit different because we really grew together.”

PSG have already seen a great return on their eSports investments

“It depends on what kind of return you want. The initial objective was not pure revenue; it was more exposure. So if you look at brand exposure, fan engagement, brand coolness, yes, for sure, the return is there. If you look at the finance, not yet, but I think it will come. And it’s also a way to link it with the future strategy. So we really feel that we are now only at the beginning of the story when it comes to PSG and gaming. We entered through esports and I think that was great because that gives us also credibility now to speak about all the other verticals.”

PSG want fans of the club, not just their football teams

“If you can convert an esports fan into a football fan, a PSG fan, it’s cool. But I think what we want is to have a PSG fan. And if you are a fan of the club because you are a fan of our League of Legends team, that’s enough for me. I’m happy to have you in my base. And our whole job is to offer them what they want as an esports fan. That’s why we have a lot of work internally at the moment about the database, where the fans are, who they are, and what they are expecting from us. If you are a young League of Legends fan based in Hong Kong and you love PSG thanks to esports, and you are just expecting us to be able to sell you an esports jersey in Hong Kong, which is not the case now, we will try to develop this to be able to make you happy.”

 

The post PSG want to be the club of the new generation — and gaming has to be a part of it! appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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TrueLayer to Acquire Zimpler, Creating a European Pay by Bank Powerhouse

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TrueLayer, Europe’s leading Pay by Bank network, today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Zimpler, the fastest growing Pay by Bank network in the Nordics. The acquisition will bring together two of Europe’s most innovative Pay by Bank providers, further strengthening TrueLayer as a formidable force in the European payments industry.

This acquisition marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of Pay by Bank across Europe. By expanding TrueLayer’s pan-European network and deep expertise in payment technology with Zimpler’s strong position in the Nordic market, TrueLayer will be uniquely positioned to further accelerate the shift from legacy card payments to smarter, faster, and more secure payments via Pay by Bank.

The acquisition is another clear step forward for TrueLayer in its mission to build a powerful alternative to legacy payments in Europe, fostering greater competition, innovation and value for businesses and their consumers.

With some of the highest adoption rates of account-to-account (A2A) payments anywhere in the world, the Nordic region has been a proving ground for Pay by Bank. By acquiring Zimpler, TrueLayer will have more than 20 million users and will add coverage across key markets such as Sweden, Finland, and will add additional A2A capabilities through the Swish payment rail integration. This significantly strengthens TrueLayer’s pan-European network, accelerating the shift to smarter, safer, and more cost-effective payments.

Founded in 2012 by Johan Friis and Kristofer Ekman Sinclair, Zimpler has grown rapidly to become a Pay by Bank leader in the Nordics. TrueLayer is proud to welcome Zimpler’s founders and shareholders on this journey – joining the likes of Stripe, Northzone, and Tiger Global in backing its mission to transform the way the world pays.

“I am excited to welcome the Zimpler team to TrueLayer,” said Francesco Simoneschi, Co-founder and CEO of TrueLayer. We’ve long admired their progress, and we’re excited to add such an incredible group of builders and payment experts to the TrueLayer team We’re not just expanding our footprint in the Nordics – we’re combining talent, technology, and scale to accelerate Pay by Bank adoption across the continent, and further strengthening Pay by Bank as a force of disruption that is changing how the world pays.

Joining forces with TrueLayer is a fantastic opportunity to build the leading Pay by Bank provider in Europe” said Johan Strand, CEO of Zimpler. “TrueLayer has a proven track record of innovation and a powerful network. Our combined strengths will allow us to offer an even more compelling proposition to the market. Joining TrueLayer will enable us to reach new heights and drive the next wave of growth in the industry. At the same time, we remain firmly anchored in Sweden, with our local licence and expertise ensuring continuity for our customers.”

The post TrueLayer to Acquire Zimpler, Creating a European Pay by Bank Powerhouse appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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SPORTRADAR AWARDED UNITED ARAB EMIRATES LICENSE

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Sportradar Group AG (NASDAQ: SRAD) has been granted a gaming-related vendor license from the United Arab Emirates’s General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), an independent entity of the UAE Federal Government with exclusive jurisdiction to regulate, license, and supervise all commercial gaming activities.

The license, operational with immediate effect, affords Sportradar the opportunity to provide its products and services to licensed operators.

Sportradar looks forward to bringing its 20+ year expertise and proprietary sports technology to operators and clients in the region. 

The post SPORTRADAR AWARDED UNITED ARAB EMIRATES LICENSE appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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