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Wallet Desk / Conversion
Two spreads, one journey
Two spreads on one journey
Conversion inside a gambling account is one desk in this series; conversion by a wallet is a different charge at a different hop, and a journey that crosses both pays both. The arithmetic is small per unit and compounds with every round trip.
Account stub
- Wallet spread
- 2.00% retained on each conversion
- Conversions per round trip
- two, if the currencies differ
- Converted twice
- 100.00 in, 94.08 back
- Received
- 92.20 against 100.00 sent
- Conversion cost
- 3.88 on the sample journey
the seamOne hop from one ledger to another, each with its own terms and its own fee
the wallet balanceA claim on the wallet, safeguarded and not deposit-insured
the round trip6.86 through a wallet against 4.00 direct, on one sample account
Direct answerIf the wallet’s currency differs from the operator’s, money is converted at the wallet on the way in and again on the way out, each time at a rate the wallet sets. On the sample journey a 2.00% retained spread at each conversion costs 3.88 on 100.00, alongside a 3.92 game margin.
Spread 1 inflating the money on the way into the walletSpread 2 deflating the money on the way back outQuoted rate the wallet’s own rate, not the interbank rateWhat compounds every round trip, not every stakeCross-reference conversion inside a gambling account is a different desk (cycle 38)
Where a conversion is charged, and how often
01Where the money is converted, and why it matters
A conversion is charged by whoever holds the balance at the moment the currency changes. If the
wallet holds euros and the operator prices in pounds, the wallet converts on the way in. If you
win and withdraw, the wallet converts again on the way back. Two conversions, two spreads, and
the second one is charged on a balance that has already been through the game.
An operator that prices in the wallet’s own currency charges nothing at that hop, which is the
cheapest version of the arrangement. The same operator offering a multi-currency balance may
convert internally instead - a charge with a different name on a different desk.
02A retained spread, not a line item
Wallets rarely bill conversion as a fee. They quote a rate, and the difference between that rate
and the wholesale rate is what they keep. The practical test is to compare the rate on the
wallet’s screen with a wholesale quote for the same moment, and to expect a gap of a percent or
two. That gap is the charge; it simply is not itemised.
03Two spreads and one margin is three charges
A round trip through a wallet in a different currency carries three charges in sequence: the
wallet’s spread in, the game’s margin on the stake, and the wallet’s spread out. Reading them
separately is the only way to see which of the three is the largest - and it is usually not the
one the player was worried about.
Two spreads at two hops
The wallet’s conversion
Charged at the wallet hop, on money entering or leaving the wallet. Its rate is the wallet’s own. It applies even if the operator never sees the other currency.
The operator’s conversion
Charged inside the gambling account when a product is priced in a currency the account does not hold. That mechanism belongs to the FX desk of this series and is not repeated here.
- Establish which currency each of the two balances is held in before comparing rates.
- If they differ, count two conversions per round trip rather than one.
- Compare the wallet’s quoted rate with a wholesale quote at the same moment to find the retained spread.
- Convert the spread into money on a realistic deposit so it can be compared with the game’s own margin.
The sample journey, priced at each end
Two spreads on the sample journey, at 2.00% each way
converted at the wallet on the way in 100.00 x 0.98 = 98.00
staked 98.00
returned at 96% 98.00 x 0.96 = 94.08
converted at the wallet on the way out 94.08 x 0.98 = 92.20 (92.1984)
received back 92.20
total cost 100.00 - 92.20 = 7.80
game margin 98.00 x 0.04 = 3.92
two conversion spreads 3.88
share of the money funded lost to the seams 3.88 / 100.00 = 3.88%
A rate is a price. A wallet’s published conversion rate is a price, and like every price on this desk it is made of
a wholesale cost plus a margin. Nothing is hidden - the rate is on the screen - but nothing is
itemised either, which is why it belongs in the same list as the two transfer fees.