Karina Moral: moving Latin America’s land-based players online is a payments and trust problem, not just a channel switch

Latin America’s retail gambling habits still shape how players behave when they first go online, and Karina Moral, Senior Business Development Manager at Zenith, says operators keep underestimating that shift. For high-risk PSPs, the practical message is simple: if registration, KYC and withdrawals feel slow or unfamiliar, the conversion funnel starts leaking immediately.

1. Moral told Focus Gaming News that “moving a land-based player online is not simply a change of channel.” In her view, the player is not just changing where they bet; they are changing how they relate to the product, the brand and the act of gambling itself. That is why operators should not assume retail habits will transfer automatically into igaming.
2. She described retail players as being used to familiarity, immediacy and trust. In the land-based model, they know the environment, recognise the games and know how they will get paid. Online, they are suddenly asked to register on a platform, complete KYC, make a digital deposit and trust that a withdrawal will arrive. For payments teams, that means the first deposit and the first cashout are part of the product, not just back-office plumbing.
3. According to Moral, the digital journey has to recreate what made retail comfortable: recognisable content, simple navigation, familiar payment methods, fast withdrawals and a clear sense that the platform is trustworthy. She said operators need to reduce friction around registration, KYC and payments, while using data to guide progressive content discovery and create mobile experiences that feel intuitive to first-time digital users.
4. She also pointed to market-level differences across Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Argentina. The countries may share cultural traits, but player behaviour and payment habits do not line up neatly. That is where localised infrastructure matters, and where Zenith positions tools such as OneAPI, GamesAPI and real-time analytics to help operators adjust content strategy quickly without breaking the player experience.

For PSPs and acquiring teams, the useful takeaway is that LatAm igaming onboarding is not just about getting a card or wallet accepted. The operator has to manage trust at the exact moment the player is asked to register, deposit and later withdraw — which is where payment method choice, payout speed and local familiarity can decide whether the player stays or disappears.