Online gambling operators face mounting pressure to support cryptocurrency payments without sacrificing compliance, speed, or profit margins. Players increasingly expect fast deposits and instant withdrawals in their preferred digital assets, yet operators must balance that demand against regulatory requirements, treasury management, and integration complexity. Two platforms dominate the conversation when operators evaluate crypto payment infrastructure for iGaming: NOWPayments and CoinsPaid. Both solve the same core problem — accepting and settling cryptocurrency — but they take fundamentally different approaches to coin selection, licensing, pricing, and operator size.
Choosing between them requires understanding what each platform actually offers inside the cashier. This guide breaks down how NOWPayments and CoinsPaid compare across the features that matter most to gambling operators, from supported coins and fee structures to settlement speed and regulatory standing. For a full list of options in this space, explore the available cryptocurrency payment processors for online gambling.
How NOWPayments Works for iGaming
NOWPayments operates as a non-custodial crypto gateway by default, meaning player deposits route directly to the operator’s own wallet once the blockchain confirms the transaction. The platform supports over 350 cryptocurrencies across more than 50 blockchain networks, making it one of the widest coin selections available to any payment processor in iGaming. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Dogecoin, and stablecoins like USDT and USDC on multiple chains are all accepted.
The pricing model is straightforward: 1% per transaction when the operator keeps the deposit in crypto, and 1.5% when auto-conversion sends the funds into EUR or USD. There is no setup fee, no monthly fee, and no rolling reserve. The platform also sets no minimum monthly volume requirement, which makes it accessible for new casinos launching with modest traffic.
Integration takes hours with a REST API and JavaScript or PHP SDKs, or minutes through store plugins for WooCommerce, Shopify, and other e-commerce carts. Casinos running on the NuxGame casino platform can enable NOWPayments as a configuration step with zero custom development. Onboarding typically completes within one to three days.
Fiat Conversion and Payouts
While players pay exclusively in crypto, NOWPayments offers auto-conversion that turns volatile coins into fiat currency at T+1 to T+3 settlement. Crypto payouts to players go out instantly through the API, with no batch schedule or banking layer involved. The Guardarian fiat on-ramp lets players without crypto buy digital assets with a card in 25+ fiat currencies before depositing, which brings first-time crypto users into the casino cashier.
Mass payouts send crypto to hundreds of wallets in a single API call, useful for affiliate commissions, promotional credits, and player withdrawals.
How CoinsPaid Works for iGaming
CoinsPaid takes a narrower but deeper approach. It supports 18 major crypto assets across 25 asset and chain combinations, excluding USDT entirely. Its focus is on the coins that carry the bulk of gambling transaction volume: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Solana, Tron, Dogecoin, BNB, and stablecoins including USDC, USDG, EURC, and EURS.
Pricing starts at 0.8% for mono-currency deposits where the operator keeps the same coin the player sent, rising to 1% for multi-currency deposits. Converting to EUR or USD costs an additional 1.5% plus a 0.5% to 1% FX markup, bringing total conversion costs to 2%– 2.5%. Payouts cost 0.3% in the same coin and 1% across multiple coins.
CoinsPaid requires a minimum monthly volume of $100,000 in crypto deposits and runs a 3-to-7-day onboarding process covering KYB verification and compliance review. However, it offers pre-built connectors on SoftSwiss and Slotegrator, two of the most widely used casino platform aggregators in the industry. A casino on either platform can switch CoinsPaid live in days rather than weeks.
Treasury and Settlement
Crypto holdings settle instantly to the operator account. Converted fiat settles at T+1, which is notably faster than NOWPayments’ T+1 to T+3 for converted balances. Mass payouts run instantly or in CSV batches of up to 100 transactions. CoinsPaid also provides a Business Wallet for corporate treasury management that works independently of the API integration.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | NOWPayments | CoinsPaid |
|---|---|---|
| Supported Cryptocurrencies | 350+ | 18 |
| Starting Deposit Fee | 1% | 0.8% |
| Fiat Conversion Fee | 1.5% all-in | 1.5% + 0.5 – 1% FX markup |
| Minimum Monthly Volume | None | $100,000+ |
| Settlement (Crypto) | Instant | Instant |
| Settlement (Fiat) | T+1 to T+3 | T+1 |
| Onboarding Time | 1 – 3 days | 3 – 7 days |
| Casino Platform Connectors | NuxGame | SoftSwiss, Slotegrator |
| Mass Payouts | Yes | Yes |
| Licensing Status | No licenses held | Estonian license lapsed; MiCA pending |
Pricing and Cost Structure
Pricing is often the deciding factor for operators evaluating these platforms. NOWPayments charges a flat 1% starting rate with loyalty discounts available for high-volume merchants, while CoinsPaid negotiates each merchant’s rate inside a 0.8%– 1% band based on volume. At lower volumes, CoinsPaid’s 0.8% base rate comes in below NOWPayments’ standard 1%, but NOWPayments has no minimum threshold and signs smaller books immediately.
When fiat conversion is involved, the gap widens. NOWPayments quotes 1.5% all-in for conversion to EUR or USD. CoinsPaid charges 1.5% for conversion plus a separate 0.5% to 1% FX markup, making total conversion costs higher unless the operator negotiates the FX spread into the contract. Operators who keep deposits in the original crypto coin avoid both conversion fees entirely.
Integration and Technical Architecture
NOWPayments offers the fastest path to production. Plugins install in minutes, direct API builds complete in hours, and a full sandbox environment sits behind public documentation with clear endpoints and code samples. The platform does not hold player funds by default — the non-custodial flow routes every confirmed payment straight to the operator’s wallet.
CoinsPaid provides a REST API with webhooks, SDKs, and a hosted checkout page. Custom backend integrations require one to two weeks of development, but SoftSwiss and Slotegrator casinos benefit from ready-made connectors that eliminate custom work. The hosted checkout page displays a CoinsPaid brand by default, though large enterprise accounts can customize it under their own branding.
Compliance and Regulatory Standing
Neither platform holds active payment or crypto-asset licenses in its own name today, which creates risk for operators bound by strict regulatory frameworks. NOWPayments operates through entities in the Seychelles and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with no MiCA authorization. Its transitional period ended without a CASP registration, meaning EU-regulated and UKGC licensees cannot legally use the platform.
CoinsPaid’s Estonian virtual currency service provider license lapsed on July 1, 2026, when Estonia’s MiCA transitional period closed. A MiCA CASP application remains pending at Finantsinspektsioon, but during this waiting period the company stops accepting new clients in the EEA and serves merchants through Delaware and Canada entities. CoinsPaid holds ISO/IEC 27001 certification and CCSS Level 3 security standards, but it experienced two social engineering breaches by the Lazarus Group in 2023 and 2024, totaling over $44 million stolen from the company’s own reserves — not client funds.
Which Platform Fits Your Casino
NOWPayments suits offshore crypto-first casinos operating under Curaçao or Anjouan licenses whose players deposit in altcoins beyond the major assets. It works equally well for fiat-heavy operators adding a crypto option alongside cards and bank transfers, since the 350-coin list covers whatever players already hold. New launches benefit from the absence of volume floors, lock-in periods, and setup fees.
CoinsPaid fits established offshore casinos processing $100,000 or more monthly in crypto deposits, particularly those already built on SoftSwiss or Slotegrator. The faster fiat settlement at T+1, lower base rates, and dedicated account manager justify the higher entry barrier for operators with proven traffic. Operators whose players prefer USDT should look elsewhere, as CoinsPaid does not support that stablecoin.