New gambling technologies | Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention

Everything suddenly halted during the pandemic, but the gaming industry vendors did not let that slow them down one bit. Throughout the year, gaming technologies have been evolving, and this year, creative minds finally got the opportunity to come together and showcase their achievements. The four-day Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention that ended Friday had at least 350 vendors representing $10M worth of economic impact for Las Vegas. 

“This is like a celebration of the industry. We’ve been virtual and remote for 18 months, with Zoom calls and all those things. And this is a people business. It’s about long-term, sustainable partnerships...So it’s good to be back, face to face,” said Matt Wilson, CEO of the gaming division for Scientific Games.

Gaming technology companies showcased their recent works on the Caesars Forum show floor and even shared some that are still in the works, awaiting their grand release. Here are some you shouldn’t miss:

Cashless Casino Gambling

Since the pandemic hit, many people became absolutely mortified at the thought of touching cash. And although plastic cards already served as a decent alternative to “deadly” green bills, cashless technologies became a focal point of developers. This concept has already been introduced in the past years, but the demand for touch-less cash prompted a massive acceleration. 

“We had already had a good foundation of customer interest in our IGT cashless technologies...With the pandemic, I mean, literally, the phones started ringing, ‘Hey, how can we implement this?’”  Vice President of Global Communications Phil O’Shaughnessy commented.

So what is cashless gambling, exactly, and how does it work? Cashless gambling offers a system that allows guests to access their funds directly from a gambling machine, eliminating the need to carry cash. 

The process is quite simple: the guests use their casino loyalty club card to transfer funds into a secure digital wallet at the casino or via systems associated with the cashless company. Once funds are added, guests use a PIN to apply funds to any slot machine or gambling game. What’s more, is that withdrawals are included in the system, and players can transfer their winnings to their digital wallets at any point. A casino credit system is now also available for slot machines and select table games. 

International Game Technology, Scientific Games, and Everi are already on the move, offering their services to operators who wish to go cashless. Resorts World Las Vegas casino advertised their implementation of the new cashless technology. Needless to say, this system is a big hit in Nevada.

 Omer Sattar, executive vice president and co-founder of Sightline Payments, expects that three out of every four casinos in the United States will offer some form of a cashless payment system for gaming within the next three years.

Electronic Table Games

Blackjack, baccarat, roulette, and other casino table games are now taking on a ‘new look’ due to yet another pandemic-infused panic. Since social distancing and other mandates took over, casinos have been struggling to find an alternative that would keep players far away from each other while gambling yet maintaining the same experience of authentic table games. Companies like IGT and Pulse Arena came up with a creative solution: game terminals with digitalized screens. 

Some of these electronic terminals don’t resemble the OG game tables in the slightest, but the screens display the entire process to the T. In addition to that, the portable machines have high-quality animated graphics and offer a multi-game feature that will allow players to stay in place and bet on several games at once. IGT is already selling this new invention like a hot commodity. 

“This is a really great solution because you can socially distance. You can space it out as much as you want,” the director of marketing for Interblock mentioned, “A lot of new players are becoming more accustomed to this type of wagering experience...You can sit here and enjoy and learn without really feeling intimidated by some of the more advanced players.”

Jackpot Xpress

Everi, a financial technology solutions company present at the event, also got to advertise a new digital jackpot system called Jackpot Xpress. This new technology allows casino employees to process slot jackpots using a mobile device right at the winning gaming machine. The issue was that typically, a jackpot winner has to wait up to half an hour at the slot machine until the staff comes back with all the required tax documents. 

The goal of Jackpot Xpress is to assist employees in tax forms preparations, gathering the winner’s info, applying withholdings, and selecting a payment method for the transaction. Additionally, Jackpot Xpress can send a player’s winnings to the company’s CashClub digital wallet, allowing the winner to exit the facility without mounds of obvious cash. 

This clever technology will kill two birds with one stone; cut down the waiting time for the winners, and allow attendants to complete the payout process without a hassle. Also, it will open up the slot availability for the next guests to try their luck. 

The Jackpot Xpress trial will take place in May 2021 at the Caesars Palace, located in Las Vegas. If all goes well, it’s safe to assume other Nevada casinos will quickly adopt this new, clever system. 

Whether it’s new games, payment systems, or financial solutions - casino operators are always looking for ways to attract more guests and make their visit unforgettable. Many gambling businesses worldwide are slowly digitalizing almost every aspect of their facilities, which motivates technology geniuses to reach for the stars. The Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention event certainly got creative juices flowing for the hundreds of vendors who never fail to impress the world with their ideas.