Casinos of all sizes in every market face a common problem these days—the need to oversee increasingly complex and expansive financial networks.

Indeed, the very nature of wagering makes it a currency-heavy business, requiring both land-based and online casinos to efficiently and securely process coin, cash and, increasingly, cashless electronic payments in a regulatory-compliant manner. This is no easy task, especially when one considers the cash access and payment options demanded by today’s technology-savvy casino consumers.

Fortunately, there are a plethora of financial product providers offering devices, systems and services designed to make all these money matters much easier for gaming operators to handle. Many of these companies showcased their latest solutions at recent tradeshows in Las Vegas and London; what follows is a recap of some of these offerings, provided by these vendors in their own words.

EVERI

At recent tradeshows, Everi displayed its full lineup of customer-facing and back-office cash access and payment processing equipment. Among the customer solutions showcased was CashClub, Everi’s leading payments software platform, designed to maximize funds to the floor, optimize how players access their funds, and enable operators to monitor and control player activity with an eye toward responsible gaming. Adjuncts to CashClub include:

  • CashClub Wallet, an interactive digital wallet that consolidates payment options for players when integrated with CashClub and the company’s full-service kiosks. CashClub Wallet allows players to store multiple payment methods, easily move funds in and out of the casino, and manage their spending limits, all aimed at supporting responsible gaming.
  • CashClub Concierge, a personalized cash access cage service for VIPs as well as table games and high-limit room players that integrates mobile tablets and mobile point-of-sale (POS) devices through CashClub. The service eliminates the need for a player to move away from gaming to access additional funds as the product brings the cage to the player.
  • CXC 5.0 and CXC 5.0 L full-service kiosks provide the player interface between CashClub and in-casino funds, offering enhanced security features including self-frosting glass and a real-time rearview camera as well as plentiful branding and marketing space. Joining these kiosks is VersatileXchange (VXC), a space- and cost-efficient kiosk that is optimized with non-cash transaction features like QuikTicket. All three kiosks feature QuikTicket, CashClub Wallet, ticket-in/ticket-out (TITO), and the Everi Cares Giving Module, the only cashless donation opportunity available in the gaming space.

On the back-office cash processing front, Everi powers operator cash and compliance operations through its comprehensive suite of casino solutions designed to optimize transactions, reduce cash exposure and improve the guest experience, while providing the tools operators need to comply with growing regulatory demands. Components of this system include:

  • The Everi Compliance AML (anti-money laundering) solution, the gold standard for AML compliance across the industry as it provides real-time tracking for all transactions on the casino floor and integrates with all major casino management systems.
  • Everi’s CentralCredit, the industry-leading repository for casino-related credit information and reporting to determine a guests’ creditworthiness. The solution enables operators to quickly and efficiently make informed, proactive decisions for extending casino credit to guests—as the platform provides real-time and seamless access to the industry’s largest gaming credit bureau.
  • RCS-Active and RCS-700, powerful cash recyclers designed to automate casino vault and cage operations by enabling rapid processing of notes and coins. These cash management solutions have among the highest capacity and speed on the market and feature Cash Complete Connect, the industry’s most powerful back of house cash management software solution.
  • Everi’s CageXchange cash dispenser improves accuracy, reduces cash shrinkages/overages, and improves overall casino staff productivity.
  • Jackpot Xpress, an award-winning, intuitive jackpot and tax forms management solution that enables floor staff to securely and efficiently process jackpots using a mobile device (Jackpot Xpress Mobile) right at the player’s gaming machine or at the JackpotXchange kiosk. Jackpot Xpress is the only jackpot management system that combines mobile productivity, secure kiosk payment, tax forms management, and AML tracking into a single solution.

CPI

At last year’s G2E, Crane Payment Innovations (CPI) made full use of the show to present its latest technology for both cash and cashless payment. The SC Advance took center stage alongside the Easitrax Connect platform, in addition to the all-in-one cashless device, Alio.

The SC Advance continues to play the most crucial role for CPI in the gaming industry. With over two million units in the field, the SC Advance has proven how important it is to have a bill reader that can be completely relied upon. SC Advance provides this with the fastest acceptance rates in the industry. Operators appreciate the fact that the SC Advance is practically maintenance free with the lowest jam rate levels in the industry.

Today, through the integration of Easitrax Connect, CPI enables operators to manage their casino floor more efficiently, attaining real-time information on all their SC Advance bill readers in operation. The drop can be managed to ensure that no full cashboxes negatively affect machine play because Easitrax Connect will send a real-time warning as the cashbox volume approaches capacity. Any suspicious note activity is immediately registered, enabling operators to react immediately.

With the rising demand for cashless payments in the gaming space, CPI introduced at G2E its new all-in-one cashless payment device, Alio. Allowing for all types of cashless payment types, Alio is equipped for magnetic swipe, chip, contactless enabling-card, mobile and NFC payments. Built to last with a Gorilla glass screen, the rugged and robust design is suited for both indoor and outdoor applications.

CPI is bringing the reality of cashless for gaming to life with integration of cashless solutions into ticket-in, ticket-out (TITO) kiosks and games.

GLOBAL PAYMENTS 

At G2E, Global Payments Gaming Solutions unveiled new benefits to VIP Shield that will provide enhanced Title 31 and IRS reporting assistance to gaming entertainment organizations.

Originally introduced in 2018, VIP Shield is an open API solution that is compatible with any gaming system. It helps operators and their compliance and cage staff eliminate manual processes surrounding anti-money laundering (AML) requirements, including multiple transaction log (MTL), negotiable instrument log (NIL), monetary instrument log (MIL), chip log transactions and suspicious activity reporting (SAR).

Global Payments continues to monitor operators’ strategic priorities and the evolving regulatory environment and deliver new enhancements that assist in meeting their compliance obligations. With this update, VIP Shield users will have access to a wider range of reports and reporting tools, as well as create more visibility between the cage, surveillance and finance departments. The original benefits of VIP Shield, such as real-time verification, data encryption and easy integration, have also been updated to reflect a more streamlined user experience.

Also revealed at G2E was that Global Payments’ VIP Mobility will integrate with Acres 4.0’s CyberMax to enable real-time mobile funding for casinos. VIP Mobility is the industry’s first mobile solution to enable true cashless casino gaming and is easily integrated into new and existing technologies.
BEST OF THE REST

Other financial products highlights from G2E and ICE London include:

  • The power of the patented FUZION technology from JCM Global continues to grow and benefit casino operators. Now, JCM has partnered with eConnect to further increase casino security and enhance surveillance and audit capabilities through real-time anti-money laundering (AML) and suspicious activity reporting (SAR) alerts.
  • Cummins Allison displayed its new Cash Logistics Manager software at G2E. Cash Logistics Manager provides real-time and historical data of cash movement across casino properties, allowing management to observe and forecast cash requirements and increase efficiency in cash transfers.
  • Mazooma used G2E as a platform to launch eCheck Select Xpress, a new one-click way for users to top up their i-gaming and online sports wagering accounts.