It’s no great secret that casinos have traditionally been hard currency-intensive environments. There are any number of reasons for this—most table games only accept cash buy-ins from players, strict gaming regulations involving electronic cash transactions, and the fact that the typical casino patron tends to be older and more comfortable dealing with paper currency, just to name a few. Sure, cashless technology has made some inroads onto casino floors, especially when it comes to slot machine play, but for the most part casino operators were more than fine catering to the cash-centric demands of certain games and core customers.
But the bond between gaming facilities and paper currency seems to have soured of late, and like many other evolving relationships these days, we have COVID-19 to thank for it. Indeed, the use of traditional hard currency has decreased greatly for all businesses—COVID’s ability to spread through contaminated surfaces has people shunning bill handling like never before. In addition, casinos are doing more business than ever though online channels, where paper bills are impracticable. For these reasons, it appears a growing number of gaming properties are kicking the tires on cashless transaction systems, which has not escaped cash handling vendors’ notice.
“Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the interest from our casino customers for cashless and contactless player funding technologies has greatly accelerated,” said Darren Simmons, executive vice president and fintech business leader for Everi. “As players and casinos seek options that lessen interactions with casino employees and reduce handling of cash, we provide technology and solutions that are safer.”
Everi’s response has been to augment its CashClub Wallet solution, giving users the ability to move funding transactions bi-directionally: from gaming on the casino floor to a casino’s online offerings, such as sports betting and online gaming and back again, while also moving funds into the casino and depositing funds back into the wallet.
Everi is not alone in upping its cashless technology game: Global Payments Gaming Solutions’ VIP LightSpeed platform connects the online and brick-and-mortar gaming experiences, making cash advance and e-check much easier. Konami Gaming has added cashless slot credit line technology to itSYNKROS CSM..
It’s looking like it will be cashless and carry at casinos from now on.