- Nevada will now be allowing payments through their new Resort Wallet cards, an idea created by IGT.
- This is the first step in casinos going cashless in the future, allowing transactions to take place using these cards at the slot machines.
- Nevada will be the first state to implement this method of payment at their gaming establishments.
LAS VEGAS – The future of payments at casinos in Nevada looks to be more modern than ever as International Game Technology (IGT) is moving toward cashless options for USA online gambling.
The company that manufactures slot machines has been approved by the state of Nevada to unveil a cashless payment method for patrons of gaming establishments statewide.
This is just one of two approvals that IGT has received, with the second being from the US Patent And Trademark Office (USPTO) where they were awarded a patent for software that could incorporate cryptocurrency as a form of accepted payment at land-based casinos.
Starting in 2019, the American Gaming Association (AGA) has been pushing for a more secure payment method for casino-goers. It was at this point that IGT began to come up with an idea for how to go about this.
It all came together when Nevada reopened their casinos from shutdowns caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020. That’s when the first testing phase of a new way of funding was able to occur. If all goes as planned, slot machine players as well as others could use cashless payment methods that have been seen only with mobile casino platforms up until this point at local retail locations.
The Next Steps For IGT’s Cashless Venture
The beginnings of this venture for IGT took place at one undisclosed casino in the high roller room where players were using their loyalty cards to gamble on slots. Calling it the Resort Wallet (RW), members would put money on their loyalty cards at the casino upon entry and then could use this card to put money down on the games.
The testing phase for this went so well that the RW has now been greenlit to be used by every casino in the state of Nevada by the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC).
This first step in IGT’s plan is being dubbed the “carded cashless module” because gamblers will need to use their casino loyalty cards and fund them with the casino prior to use. After the RW has had enough time to acclimate with players and facilities as a way to play the slots without using real cash, the “cardless cashless module” will become available.
This will allow members to download an application that will act as a loyalty card wallet. They will be able to use their phone’s app to gamble at the casinos but adding money to their wallet would still need to be done with the help of the establishment’s cage.
When this phase becomes finetuned without issue then a cashless external module that uses IGTPay can be implemented. This doesn’t require the help of the casino at all as money can be added to a user’s wallet with IGTPay.
From here, there would be the leap into using the patent to begin adding cryptocurrency on the platform. No set company for cryptocurrency has been named officially although IGT has said they’d like to use Bitcoin or Ethereum because they are very popular among gamblers
“IGT secured this patent to bolster its industry-leading patent portfolio in anticipation of any possible future direction in regulated gaming involving cryptocurrency,” said Phil O’Shaughnessy, an IGT spokesperson.
This new path that IGT is taking at land-based casinos is providing a crossover experience that combines both online and mobile gambling with the ambiance of retail casinos, creating a hybrid that casino-goers will be seeing in the future.