Cashless transactions are the norm for most Americans and Charlie Skinner, president of Koin Payments and sister company Marker Trax, believes that landscape is eventually coming to the casino floor. The company is at the forefront of making those transactions a seamless process.
“We believe years from now operators are not going to be hauling cash around the casino floor,” he says. “The retail banks are diminishing. Many retail outlets and businesses are no longer accepting cash, and we see that in our everyday lives. When you think about the biggest users of cash from an industry standpoint, it’s brick-and-mortar gaming, the casino industry.
“This isn’t about the players not wanting a cashless experience. It’s getting it to the point where it’s really easy for players. Some of that is tech, but it’s also compliance and regulatory catching up to where this all needs to work. But I think there will be a point in the future where the casino floor is completely digital enabled.”
So far, cashless gaming has faced considerable friction among users and casinos. Issues have included enrollment difficulties, wifi challenges, and a lack of best-in-class vendors. Customers became frustrated navigating the steps involved with ditching dollars.
“It wasn’t a lack of demand on the player’s part,” Skinner says. “It was just a lack of a seamless process. Over the last several years, cashless has improved across the board with everyone, not just us, but our competitors as well. It’s getting better and I think it’s going to continue to get better.”
Koin is leading in improving the experience. The company unveiled Koin Direct this year with a “no app required” approach. The product allows direct funding to a slot machine with no mobile app or e-wallet required. Slot players simply scan a QR code and then an interface on the user’s phone.
After a couple minutes of linking a bank account and going through a KYC (know your customer) process, a third-party banking vendor verifies funds are available to download to the game. Players then use the traditional “TITO” system of “ticket in, ticket out” to continue playing at other machines. It’s a simple yet high-tech solution that eliminates the previously cumbersome cashless process.
After Koin Direct registration, players won’t need to go through the process again, and subsequent transactions take only an estimated 30 seconds. For casinos, the price is right, with no cost to operators. Koin takes a small percentage fee for each transaction.
“I think this is a really good first step if you haven’t deployed a cashless wallet yet, and you want to step into the whole cashless realm and start to offer a direct funding option,” Skinner says.
While some properties have concerns about a loss in ATM revenue, Skinner says giving players more choice grows overall revenue. Far more is lost when a player leaves the game entirely.
“When you think about the direct funding to the game, it takes about 30 seconds,” he says. “The time that you leave a slot machine to go to the ATM and come back is probably six or seven minutes. You’re losing that time on device, which is a loss of capital. So when properties say, ‘Well, what about my loss of ATM revenue?,’ you’re really not losing revenue because you’re gaining more time on device.”
Skinner adds that Koin has modeled conservatively that 5% of those players heading to the ATM never return. Losing 5% or more of customers at a machine makes Koin Direct a no-brainer, he says.
After signing on, most properties can be running with Koin Direct in about a month. The product is already live in Nevada with Light & Wonder and certification is underway with Konami and more expansion is in the works.
For properties concerned about security, Skinner says diligent protocols and verification processes are in place to protect consumer funds and information. Third-party vendors guarantee secure ACH transactions.
“There are a lot of bad guys out there trying to scam the system,” Skinner notes. “So security’s a big focus of our company. We have a global partner in Euronet Worldwide. They’re one of the largest movers of money digitally in the world. They’re also one of the largest ATM operators in the world, and their underlying tech stack and cybersecurity and infrastructure runs the back end of our systems.”
Responsible gaming tools, including self-exclusion, are built into the Koin ecosystem. Typically, patrons self-exclude through a casino’s established responsible gaming process, and those restrictions can be enforced within Koin Direct. Additionally, the KoinLife digital wallet, which was released in 2023, allows users to send money back to their bank accounts.
So far, the reception has been positive. Initial cashless systems stalled and Koin believes Koin Direct and KoinLife can revive the industry. At G2E, Koin Direct and the Marker Trax digital product Moolah Play, which enables casinos to issue a line of credit more easily, will both be featured.
On the horizon, Koin will introduce rewards into the KoinLife ecosystem for players who continue going cashless. The company has become a one-stop-shop for all financial services involving gaming. Skinner believes Koin will play a bigger role in the coming cashless casino environment.
“It’s a lot of innovation, a lot of complicated technologies,” he adds. The technological approach not only offers easy access to gaming, but also a safe environment casinos and users can trust.
