Cashless Payments in Online Gambling
When I made my list of what I needed for this week’s trip to the US, the port was the first thing on the list, followed by cash.
I virtually never use cash in Canada, but tipping is much more prevalent in the US, whether it’s for the hotel housekeepers or the guy handling luggage at an airport shuttle bus.
Also, I own three nice money clips, which work out because the condo I'm staying at is five minutes from the Gila River Casino and 25 minutes from the thoroughbred track, Turf Paradise, “the third largest sports attraction in the state.”
I’m going to need a wad of cash, right? Uh, get with the times there, grandad. Have you ever heard of cashless payments?
Now, as someone who’s often around a group of 20-something betting enthusiasts (if that’s a strong enough word), I am aware that many, if not most, of the people betting on sports come from a generation that would rather get a poke in the eye than look someone in the eye, so it’s no surprise how naturally cashless payments became the norm in that realm.
Are Casinos Leading the Way in Cashless Payments?
I still think of casinos and the track as cash realms, wrongly, at least in part.
Where we are with casinos is in between what we’ve always seen in movies –croupier sticks, people cheering as coins flow out of a slot machine, and trading a C-note for a stack of chips – and on the other side of the coin, the world peopled by people who’ve never seen The Sting, and who run their entire life on their phone.
You gotta see The Sting.
According to a recent CDC Gaming article*, casinos are in a "time warp." Angela Kritz from Sightline Payments added that cashless systems are "lagging in implementation.”
Gary Ellis, CEO of Koin Payments, Ellis Island Casino, and Marker Trax, pointed out that cashless gambling offers the operator the advantage of preventing money from “walking” to another property.
Not Happening Quickly (Enough)
But adoption is slow. In 2022, Tim Cotton, spokesman for the National Indian Gaming Commission, predicted, too optimistically as it turned out, that 60% of tribal casinos would offer cashless gaming by 2025.
A year later, figures showed that about five per cent of tribal operators had adopted cashless, but progress was predicted to be “slow but steady.”
What’s slowing down the uptake?
Lots of Options – It’s not a lack of choices.
Trustly is available for Caesars and FanDuel. BetMGM used to offer Trustly, but s are now directed to VIP Preferred and e-wallets for bank withdrawals.
Across platforms, standard cashless methods include:
- Play+ Prepaid Cards
- PayPal
- Venmo
- VIP Preferred (ACH e-check)
- Apple Pay (for deposits).
A plethora of companies exist specifically to convince casinos to convert to cashless.
Responsible Gaming
Some government agencies and gambling commissions have encouraged operators to make cashless gambling less accessible because of the potential risk of players spending more than they can afford. Last month, Forbes Magazine saluted the industry for its growth in cashless transactions while staying committed to responsible gaming.
“Modern payment systems now provide unprecedented visibility into player wherewithal and behavior, enabling operators to identify and address potential problems before they escalate.
What makes these achievements more remarkable is the high bar gaming operators must clear. They operate under intense scrutiny, with zero tolerance for errors in areas like transaction accuracy, transaction approval rates, system uptime and reliability, fraud prevention, and responsible gaming controls.”
What's Next for Regulated Online Gambling and Virtual Payments
Each state that adopts regulated gaming brings its own regulatory regime to the table, and as fraud attempts become more sophisticated, the industry will have to continue emphasizing security strategies.
* Adoption of cashless payments slow in gaming industry, but seemingly inevitable
