We’ve shared that cashless and cardless is the future in the casino, someway and somehow. While adoption of these technologies is moving more slowly than the introduction of the ticket in, ticket out (TITO) system to replace coins, these moves away from the physical continue to be developed.
During a post on features players predict will be at the casino, one player opined that Disney might be showing an easy way:
In the future I would like to see wrist bands like at Disney. You walk in and put your budget on your wrist band, sit at a machine and register it to your wrist band. When you cash out or get a jackpot it deposits it on your wrist band. All your free play and perks go on the wristband. You see where I’m going. I also think one centralized band that worked at all casinos that you have registered with. Any thought on this?
Don W.
The biggest challenge with a universal wristband is that all the casinos would have to agree to adopt it, and it remains an additional item that every player would have to acquire in some form. The more likely outcome is different casinos would issue different wristbands, and players would now have a drawer full of wristbands instead of players cards.
It’s not unlike how if you visited Sea World after visiting Disneyland, you’d probably have two different wristbands for the two different parks. The difference is there’s thousands of places to gamble in the U.S. under hundreds of owners, while there’s just a few dozen amusement parks and a smaller set of owners.
However, another piece of technology is increasingly proving to be the one that casinos are looking to for simplicity: your phone. During the Global Gaming Expo we saw a demonstration of phone technology that acts as your players card and your wallet.
Since most people carry a phone, it doesn’t require another piece of technology. And since many people also use their phone as their wallet, it feels less foreign and more familiar. The newest twist is the players card can be added to your Apple or Google Wallet, making them more easily accessible and usable with your phone. The tech we saw could even detect which card was needed so you didn’t have to go scrolling through a rolodex of casino cards to find it.
This isn’t the first time I’ve seen such a technology; during a visit to M Resort awhile back, I tried their cashless technology and it included using your phone to tap in as a players card and then transfer money from a cashless bank.
Some players have shared their concern around cashless, but a cashless wallet doesn’t have to be one linked to a bank account or debit card. We’ve reviewed technology that allows players to put cash into their cashless account, allowing for a similar approach to physical cash, but easier than carrying around a wallet full of bills, especially for those who may bet a bit bigger.
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