iGaming Payment Gateway for Licensed Operators
Niftipay's iGaming payment gateway gives licensed operators card deposits through a checkout hosted by Niftipay, alongside the payment methods already in their cashier. Each application is reviewed on licence, target markets and business model before payments are enabled, and approval is not guaranteed.
Why licensed iGaming operators are reviewed differently
Online gambling is one of the most closely supervised categories in card payments. Under the card schemes’ rules, gambling transactions where the card is not present are coded with merchant category code 7995, which Visa classes as a high-integrity-risk category: the acquirer has to register the merchant with Visa and monitor it. Mastercard runs its own registration and monitoring for gambling merchants. This is why many mainstream processors restrict or decline gambling businesses, and why iGaming payment processing starts with a review rather than an instant sign-up.
Niftipay’s acquiring partners can assess iGaming businesses that process under MCC 7995. That makes an application possible, not approval automatic: Niftipay reviews licensed iGaming operators individually. Your licence and the markets your players are in decide which card acquiring is possible, so both are checked first. To see how category codes shape underwriting, read our guide to merchant category codes such as 7995.
- Merchant category code 7995Card-absent gambling is coded 7995. Niftipay's acquiring partners can assess 7995 merchants, but each operator is reviewed individually on licence, markets and compliance.
- Licence firstYour licence and its regulator set where, and how, you may take payments from players.
- Player marketsCard rules, authentication and permitted card types differ by the country your players are in.
What Niftipay reviews in an iGaming application
Licensed iGaming operators are reviewed in three areas before card payments are enabled. Holding a licence does not mean every application is approved.
Card payment methods for licensed iGaming operators
Niftipay’s iGaming payment solution is built on Card Payments: players make deposits with Visa or Mastercard cards, or a supported mobile wallet, on a checkout hosted by Niftipay. The card types you can accept also depend on your licence. Operators licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, for example, must not accept credit cards for gambling, including credit cards used through an e-wallet, under licence condition 6.1.2.
The payment methods enabled for an iGaming account are confirmed during onboarding.
- Card paymentsVisa and Mastercard debit and prepaid cards, and credit cards where your licence and the player's market allow them. American Express is not supported.
- Mobile walletsApple Pay and Google Pay within the card checkout, where the device, issuer, country and merchant setup allow.
Where Niftipay sits in your cashier
Niftipay covers one part of an iGaming cashier: card deposits. A player chooses to pay by card, completes the deposit on the Niftipay hosted checkout and returns to your platform, and Niftipay sends the result to your system. Your platform keeps the player account, the balance, the player verification and responsible-gambling controls your licence requires, and every withdrawal.
Player withdrawals and winnings sit outside Niftipay’s scope and run through a separate payout provider. Card schemes treat paying out winnings differently from refunding a deposit: under Visa’s rules, winnings can be paid to a Visa card only through an Original Credit Transaction, not as a refund. Plan your payout rail alongside your deposit integration rather than after it.
Niftipay is a card acceptance layer. It is not a payment orchestration platform or a complete cashier.
- Card depositsCovered. Each deposit is a separate payment on the hosted checkout, and card details are not stored for later deposits.
- Deposit statusCovered. Signed webhooks report each deposit as pending, paid, cancelled, expired, refunded or chargeback.
- Deposit refundsCovered. A deposit can be refunded in full or in part, up to the amount originally paid.
- Withdrawals and winningsNot covered. Payouts to players run through your separate payout provider.
Integrating card deposits into your gaming platform
Card deposits connect through the Niftipay REST API and a hosted checkout, so card details are entered on a page operated by Niftipay rather than on your platform. Your system creates the payment, sends the player to the checkout and receives the outcome through a signed webhook. API credentials are issued once your business has been approved.
Credit a player’s balance only when the webhook confirms the deposit as paid: the redirect back to your site updates the player’s screen, not your ledger. The full sequence, from approval to pre-launch testing, is set out in our iGaming payment gateway integration checklist, and the API and plugin options are on the developers page.
- Hosted checkoutCard entry stays off your platform and out of your codebase.
- REST APICreate each deposit with your own reference. Credentials follow approval.
- Signed webhooksStatus updates are signed, so your system can verify where they came from.
- ReconciliationMatch your reference to the Niftipay order ID, and export transaction records from the dashboard.
How the application and review work
Card payments are enabled only after know-your-business verification and a compliance review, carried out by a person rather than an automated score. Applications are normally reviewed within two to five business days; complex structures or requests for further documents can take longer. That is the time to a decision, not a promise of approval: approval is not guaranteed.
- 1. Create a Niftipay accountStart at sign-up with your company details.
- 2. Share ownership informationDirectors, and any shareholder or beneficial owner holding 25% or more.
- 3. Provide your licence detailsYour gambling licence, its regulator, the activities it covers and the markets you serve.
- 4. Describe your platformYour website, current payment setup, expected deposit volume and payment flow.
- 5. Complete the review and integratePayment methods, commercial terms and integration details are confirmed before you take deposits.
Availability depends on your licence and player markets
Niftipay offers card payments per merchant, not as a blanket global service. Whether you can use Niftipay as an online gambling payment gateway depends on where your business is licensed and registered, the countries your players are in, and whether card acquiring for gambling is available in those markets. Market-level availability is confirmed during onboarding, so raise your target markets at the start of your application, before you invest in integration work.
- LicenceThe jurisdiction that licenses you and the activities your licence covers.
- Player marketsEach market is checked for acquiring availability and local card rules.
- Strong customer authenticationIn the UK and EEA, card deposits made by the player normally require strong customer authentication, subject to exemptions.
- Confirmed at onboardingThe markets you can accept players from are confirmed for your specific business.
Payment security, refunds and disputes
3D Secure is applied to card deposits when the issuing bank or the transaction requires it; the issuer, not the operator, decides whether a challenge appears. Settlement, reserve and commercial terms are confirmed during onboarding and set out on the Card Payments page, and the controls behind the platform are described on the security page.
- Card disputesThe dashboard shows when a deposit reaches chargeback status, but the operator prepares and submits the evidence.
- Card refundsFull and partial refunds are issued from the original payment, up to the amount paid.
- Account protectionTwo-factor authentication is available for merchant accounts and is required when authorising withdrawals from your Niftipay balance.
Find out whether Niftipay can support your iGaming business
Create your Niftipay account, share your licence and target markets, and connect card deposits once your setup is confirmed.