Estonia has been at the forefront of no-account casino innovation, thanks in large part to Trustly’s Pay N Play technology.

In this casual yet informative rundown, we’ll explore how Trustly introduced the no-registration casino concept to Estonian players and how competitors like Zimpler and Brite later entered the scene.

We’ll also compare these payment methods’ user experiences – from phone verifications to the ability (or inability) to log in without a deposit – in a friendly, conversational tone. Let’s dive in!

Ninja Casino and Trustly’s Pay N Play Debut in Estonia

The story begins with Ninja Casino, which deservedly sits atop many Estonian casino rankings for its pioneering approach. Ninja Casino was the first site to introduce Estonian players to Pay N Play, Trustly’s signature technology for “no account” casinos.

This meant that instead of a traditional sign-up form, players could simply make a deposit via their online bank and start playing instantly.

Trustly would securely pass the necessary Know-Your-Customer (KYC) details from the bank to the casino, automatically creating the player’s account on the fly. No lengthy registration forms, no scanned documents – just deposit and play.

It’s hard to overstate how revolutionary this felt at the time. Estonians could jump straight into slots and table games within minutes of deciding to play, with Trustly deposits verifying their identity in the background. And when it came to cashing out, even big winnings could be withdrawn just as seamlessly back to the bank, often within minutes or a couple of hours at most. This instant access to play and fast cashouts quickly made Ninja Casino popular among players who value convenience.

However, there was one small catch: in its early days, Ninja Casino only supported Trustly as a payment method. While Trustly covered the major banks (Swedbank, SEB, LHV, Luminor, etc., in Estonia) and was free to use, players had no alternative payment options on that site.

For most, this wasn’t a big issue – Trustly’s bank link was secure and widely compatible – but it did mean you had to use online bank transfer via Trustly to play at Ninja. This underlined Trustly’s dominance in the “no-account casino” space at the time: if you wanted the Pay N Play experience, Trustly was basically the only game in town.

New No-Account Casinos Emerge (Before Zimpler’s Arrival)

Following Ninja Casino’s success, other Estonian online casinos adopted the no-registration model using Trustly. Throughout late 2019 and into 2020, several new “Kiirkasiino” (quick casino) sites popped up, all leveraging Trustly’s Pay N Play to onboard players instantly. These casinos let you log in by depositing – you’d choose Trustly, select your bank, confirm a payment, and boom, you’re in with an account created automatically.

Players loved the simplicity: there were no usernames or passwords to remember, no tedious forms to fill out. Trustly’s system took care of both the payment and the identity verification in one go. The upside was clear in terms of speed and ease. On the flip side, a pattern emerged in the user experience: often, you could only access your account by making a deposit, since the login and deposit were combined in one action. If you simply wanted to return and continue playing without depositing (say, using an existing balance), the process wasn’t always straightforward. Many Trustly-based casinos did eventually add a “resume play” or BankID login option for returning players, but early on this wasn’t universal. This meant some players felt forced to initiate a new deposit just to log back in, which wasn’t ideal.

Despite that quirk, Trustly’s Pay N Play was hugely successful in Estonia during this period. It offered something players had long wanted: instant play and fast payouts with minimal hassle. Trustly was a trusted (pun intended) Swedish fintech brand, and it truly changed the game by proving that online casinos could operate without traditional accounts while still meeting strict KYC and security standards. The Estonian Tax and Customs Board (EMTA) licensed these casinos, and regulators grew comfortable with the model as it demonstrated it could be both safe and convenient.

By around 2020, “kontota kasiino” (account-less casino) had become a buzzword in Estonia’s iGaming scene, and Trustly was synonymous with that concept.

Zimpler Arrives with Kanuuna Casino – A New Challenger

Everything changed when Zimpler showed up with its own spin on Pay N Play. Zimpler, another Swedish fintech company, originally gained popularity as a mobile payment method and later pivoted to offer instant bank payments similar to Trustly.

In mid-2021, Kanuuna Casino (the name literally means “Cannon” in Estonian) launched and made waves as the first notable Estonian casino to use Zimpler instead of Trustly for its Pay N Play functionality. Kanuuna Casino (operated by 1UP Services and licensed in Estonia) requires players to have an Estonian or Finnish bank account for deposits/withdrawals, and routes all transactions through Zimpler’s system.

Kanuuna Casino essentially proved that Trustly wasn’t the only option in town anymore. Using Zimpler as its payment partner in both Estonia and Finland, Kanuuna allowed the same kind of no-account play: you deposit directly from your bank and start gaming immediately, with your identity verified via BankID/Mobile-ID through Zimpler.

From a player’s perspective, the experience of depositing and cashing out remained just as fast and secure as with Trustly. In fact, early tests showed Kanuuna could process withdrawals extremely quickly – one public tester report boasted of a €50 withdrawal completed in just 5 minutes via Zimpler’s system, highlighting its speed.

The entrance of Zimpler was significant. It introduced competition into the instant banking casino arena, which ultimately benefits players. Zimpler’s presence pushed casinos to consider alternative Pay N Play providers and not rely solely on Trustly. Within months, other new Estonian casinos and Finnish-facing brands under Estonian license started adding Zimpler as a payment option or even primarily using Zimpler for their no-registration model. By 2022, the landscape had evolved from Trustly-only to a mix of Trustly and Zimpler across different sites.

Brite Becomes a Popular Alternative

Not long after Zimpler’s rise, another contender entered: Brite. Brite AB is a Swedish fintech founded in 2019, and it was created by a team that included veterans from Trustly. Brite basically offers instant bank transfers with a Pay N Play approach very similar to Trustly’s. While Brite was a bit of a newcomer initially, it quickly gained traction in the Nordics and the Baltics.

By 2023 and into 2024, many new Estonian online casinos opted for Brite (or a similar solution) to power their registration-free experience. In fact, industry observers noted that the vast majority of brand-new Estonian-licensed casinos were choosing either Brite or other Pay N Play services rather than solely sticking with Trustly. This trend makes sense: Brite came in offering the same no-account magic – instant deposits, quick withdrawals, automatic KYC – but with a fresh platform that promised even more streamlined service.

Players have taken a liking to Brite casinos for their incredible functionality and ease of use. The deposit process with Brite is straightforward: you choose Brite at the cashier, enter the amount, pick your bank from a list, and confirm via your bank’s usual authentication (such as Mobile-ID or Smart-ID in Estonia, or BankID in other countries).

There’s typically no need to create any separate Brite account or profile – it’s truly instant banking in the background. Once confirmed, the money is in your casino balance ready to play, and your new account is created seamlessly.

The growing popularity of Brite suggests that casinos and players alike enjoy having an alternative that is just as fast and secure as Trustly. All three – Trustly, Zimpler, and Brite – are licensed payment institutions using open banking tech, and all offer strong encryption and safety. But from a usability and competition standpoint, Brite has firmly established itself as a third major option in Estonia’s Pay N Play casino market by 2024.

Trustly vs Zimpler vs Brite – User Experience Showdown

With multiple Pay N Play options available, let’s talk about how user experience can differ between Trustly, Zimpler, and Brite at online casinos. All three share the core benefit of letting you play without a traditional account – your bank login verifies your identity, so you skip the registration forms entirely. All three also support instant deposits and very fast withdrawals (often immediate, or at worst within an hour or two). However, there are some subtle differences in the player experience worth noting:

Trustly

As the original Pay N Play method, Trustly’s flow is battle-tested and simple: you select your bank and use your usual bank credentials to confirm a payment. There’s no need for separate sign-ups or additional apps – it’s directly through your bank.

One thing to be aware of is that traditionally, Trustly casinos tied the login closely with making a deposit. In other words, the first time you play you must deposit to create the account (no “just register” option), and even on return visits, many casinos historically required initiating a new Trustly transaction to log you back in. This could be inconvenient if you just wanted to check your balance or play with existing funds. Trustly has taken feedback on this and has worked on improving the returning player login experience – in fact, an enhanced version of Pay N Play was announced to cut average login time from ~48 seconds down to under 10 seconds for returning players.

This new iteration aims to let returning players log in quickly (without necessarily depositing) by recognizing their bank details, which is a welcome improvement. But depending on the casino, you might still encounter the older style where login = deposit. Aside from that, Trustly generally does not require any extra verification steps like SMS codes during the deposit; your bank’s authentication (PIN, mobile app, etc.) is enough.

Zimpler

Zimpler’s Pay N Play (sometimes branded as Zimpler Go) adds a slight twist – it typically uses your mobile phone number as part of the identification process. When you choose Zimpler at a casino, you’ll usually be asked to enter your phone number, and then you’ll receive an SMS code to verify it. After entering the code, you select your bank and approve the payment like usual.

This means Zimpler has a two-step authentication: SMS + bank login. The upside is that your phone number gets linked to your Zimpler account, making it easy to identify you across casinos using Zimpler. In practice, once you’ve verified your phone, subsequent logins or deposits can feel very smooth – oftentimes the casino will remember your number, and Zimpler just sends a quick code to confirm it’s you.

Some players actually appreciate this extra layer, as it adds security and a sense of having a unified login (your phone) across Zimpler casinos. On the downside, it is one extra step compared to Trustly or Brite, which some might find a tad slower initially.

Importantly, Zimpler does allow easy return logins; with your phone number verified, you can often log back into a Zimpler casino account without depositing, by choosing a “Login with Zimpler” option (the casino will send an SMS to confirm and then log you in). This addresses the complaint of deposit-for-login that Trustly users sometimes faced.

Brite

Brite’s user experience is very similar to Trustly’s in that it keeps things simple and fast. You don’t need to pre-register anywhere or use a phone number; it’s a direct bank payment flow. Many players have found Brite’s interface clean and modern – you click Brite, choose your bank, authenticate the payment, and you’re done. It feels almost identical to a Trustly transaction (which isn’t surprising, given Brite was built by veterans of this industry).

One nice aspect with Brite is that because it was built after the success of Pay N Play, it was designed with seamless logins in mind from the start. Casinos using Brite generally offer a “Continue with Brite” or “Login via Bank” button for returning customers, allowing you to authenticate via your bank (through Brite) to access your existing account without depositing. In terms of speed, Brite is lightning-fast for deposits and withdrawals – on par with, and sometimes even reported to be slightly faster than, its competitors due to optimizations in their system. There’s no SMS verification step in Brite’s process, which some players prefer (fewer hoops to jump through), though it relies purely on bank authentication.

In summary, all three services achieve the same end goal: quick, registration-free casino play with bank-level security. Trustly kicked off the trend and is extremely reliable, but its early model had a minor drawback of linking logins to deposits. Zimpler introduced a handy phone-based ID system that makes logging in later very easy, though it requires an extra SMS step upfront. Brite came in as a slick, straightforward alternative that basically refined the original concept and removed friction wherever possible.

Which Offers the Best Experience?

It often comes down to personal preference (and which banks each service supports for your country). Here are a few key takeaways to consider:

  • Speed: All three deliver instant deposits and near-instant withdrawals. You won’t notice a huge difference in pure transaction speed. All are much faster than traditional payment methods or manual verification processes.
  • Simplicity: Trustly and Brite have the edge in having fewer steps (just bank login). Zimpler’s added SMS step is quick, but if you value a one-click style flow, you might lean toward Brite/Trustly. On the other hand, if you like an extra OTP (one-time passcode) for security, Zimpler provides that.
  • Returning Login: Zimpler and Brite get a nod here. They make it easy to log in without depositing – Zimpler via phone number authentication, Brite via direct BankID login. Trustly is catching up, and many Trustly casinos now do offer a “login via bank” option as well; just ensure your casino has implemented the latest Trustly features. It’s worth noting that Trustly’s newest Pay N Play upgrade is specifically aimed at making returning logins as effortless as possible, so the gap is closing.
  • Availability: In Estonia, Trustly, Zimpler, and Brite are all widely available at licensed casinos. Some sites even offer more than one of them. For example, a casino might primarily advertise itself as “Pay N Play” with one provider, but in the cashier you’ll find multiple instant banking options. As a player, this means you’re free to use the one you like best (provided you see their logo on the site).

At the end of the day, the emergence of Zimpler and Brite has been great news for players. Competition has spurred better user experiences and more choice. No longer is Trustly the only method to enjoy registration-free gaming – if one service has a hiccup or you simply favor another’s interface, you can switch to a casino that offers your preferred option.

The Current Landscape and Final Thoughts

Fast forward to 2025, and Estonia’s online casino scene is thriving with Pay N Play convenience. Trustly’s early innovation laid the groundwork, introducing Estonian players to a world where you “skip the sign-up” and get straight to the fun. Then Zimpler came in and fired the cannon (quite literally with Kanuuna Casino) to broaden the options. Brite joined the party as well, ensuring that this wasn’t going to be a one-horse race.

Today, whether you hop onto Ninja Casino or the next new instant casino, you’ll likely encounter one or more of these Swedish fintech solutions powering the backend. And you can be confident that whichever is in use, the process will be quick, safe, and easy – the days of laborious registrations and long payout waits are fading fast. As The Baltic Times noted, instant casino partners like Trustly, Zimpler, and Brite have become essential in Estonia, and nearly every new site is leveraging them.

For players, this evolution has been a win. If you recall the early 2010s, tax-free European casinos were mostly limited to those with Malta licenses, and even then you had to sign up the old-fashioned way. Estonia changed that narrative by offering a competitive license and embracing Pay N Play tech to attract international audiences. Estonian-licensed casinos are now known for being user-friendly, with top-notch technology and quick banking.

In a casual conversation among casino enthusiasts, you might hear something like: “Remember when we had to fill out forms and send documents? Thank goodness for Trustly and the whole Pay N Play idea!” It’s true – Trustly deserves credit for that breakthrough. But it’s equally exciting to see Zimpler and Brite pushing the envelope further. They keep Trustly on its toes and ensure that no one rests on laurels when it comes to giving players the smoothest experience possible.

In conclusion, Trustly’s evolution in Estonian casinos has come full circle: from a lone pioneer with Ninja Casino to now one of several key players in a vibrant, innovation-friendly market. Whether you prefer Trustly’s straightforward approach, Zimpler’s phone-verified system, or Brite’s streamlined simplicity, Estonian no-account casinos have you covered. All that’s left for you to do is choose a game, make that quick deposit (if you haven’t already logged in with one click), and enjoy the play – the technology will handle the rest, almost like magic.