Players at Crown Perth Casino will now be able to make cashless payments when buying gambling chips

From next Monday, players at Crown Perth Casino will be able to buy gaming chips at the table using their debit card.

Gareth Parker from Crown Perth said a shift toward the use of cashless payment methods in the community was behind the move, which has been accelerated by COVID-19.  As first reported by Western Australia talk radio station 6PR, The cashless payment will start as a trial called electronic funds transfer at a point of sale (EFTPOS) system at a small number of Crown’s gaming tables and has been approved by the Gaming & Wagering Commission. 

The Commission said Crown has been instructed to provide “a report on the use of the facility at the completion of the first three months of operation.” 

But not everyone is excited about this use of new technology and gambling groups are fearing the worst. They warn that removing the friction of having to leave the table to purchase chips will increase problem gambling activity. The limit said by Crown for this trial is 365 USD per day per player. Crown also says it is simply moving in lockstep with the larger societal shift away from handling cash. 

Crown stressed that “credit cards will not be allowed and transaction limits will apply” to the EFTPOS trial. Also, the American Gaming Association recently released its new Payments Modernisation Policy Principles aimed at reducing US casinos’ reliance on handling customer cash. And as we reported yesterday, Konami has also just launched a cashless slot credit product in some Las Vegas Venues. 

The Nevada Gaming Commission is also on top of technological developments and said they will remove barriers impeding the ability to transfer funds from smart devices to gaming positions and back again. About 27% of business owners across the USA reported an increase in contactless payments in late March, according to a March 2020 survey  by the Electronic Transactions Association, a payment technology trade group, and the Strawhecker Group, a consulting firm for the payments industry.

In a press release, Jodie Kelley, CEO of ETA said, “In times like these, one of our most crucial tools for protecting ourselves and our economy is data, because it helps us understand what is actually happening to small business on a macro level as this pandemic advances. The payments industry has unique insight into the state of the commerce for small businesses, and we are proud to partner with the Strawhecker Group to deliver this data.”

“As our data shows, there are definitive impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the American small business,” said Mike Strawhecker, President at TSG. “But we also see bright spots in the midst of this challenging time – optimism from small business owners and an ability to capitalise on socially-distant commerce like contactless payments and online shopping.”

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