I often explain the evolution of the casino floor by taking about slot machines. Once, players had to “buy” change from employees, then put quarters or tokens into slot machines. Then bill validators let players put cash directly into slots. Now, Ticket In Ticket Out (TITO) interfaces let players put in bills and get tickets, instead of coin out; the tickets can be played in other machines or cashed out at a redemption booth.
I’ve often said that the next logical step is to let players gamble directly with credit or debit cards. It looks like an intermediate stage, where players will transfer money onto a player club card. From the LVRJ:
Two Las Vegas gaming-equipment providers are developing a device that could eventually let slot customers make credit-card and debit-card withdrawals directly at the game.
The proposed device won’t allow casino patrons to gamble directly off their Visa or American Express cards, but will remove several steps in the current money access process, Mike Rumbolz, chief executive officer of Cash Systems, said Wednesday.
Cash Systems is developing the product with Bally Technologies. Scotch Twist LLC, which has several patents that allow for the transfer of money to a gaming device, is also participating in the joint venture. Rumbolz could not give a price for the product because it is still in development.
The product would let casino patrons set up accounts with particular gambling halls, using conventional credit cards or debit cards as cash sources to fund wagering.
The device would let players access money through their regular player club cards off any of the casino’s slot machines. For security, players would need personal identification numbers to access the money.
Bally Technologies will provide the hardware for the slot machine-casino interface and the accounting systems. Cash Systems will provide the products for cash access transactions between the casino and banks.
Both Bally Technologies and Cash Systems will jointly market the product.
reviewjournal.com — Business – New product would put cash at gamblers’ disposal quicker
As society in general uses cash less and cards more, moving towards using cards at machines becomes more likely. It will be interesting to see these new systems tested.
People often ask me how to make money in a casino. The three best ways I can think of are 1) own it; 2) work there; 3) devise and market a labor-saving device.