Cashless payments, already king among North American retailers, can ascend to the gaming industry throne when they’re as easy to use as cash, Sean Bowles says.
“From a gaming point of view, (casino operators) are just starting to meet consumers where they are,” said Bowles, who recently became head of global product for Koin, a digital payments provider based in Las Vegas. “As younger generations continue to move into gaming, they’re looking for the same payment solutions they’re used to for other forms of entertainment.”
That means a digital payment system that works easily, quickly, and safely, providing “an experience above and beyond what they get from cash or cash alternatives,” he added.
Bowles said Version 3.1 of the Koin Pay mobile payment app goes beyond handling casino floor buy-ins and payouts to enhance the overall customer experience, while data from non-gaming purchases will provide operators additional insights into what customers enjoy.
In the past, someone who travels to Las Vegas two or three times a year might not play long enough or bet enough to be recognized in any particular casino, but details of their overall vacation spending could tell a different story. “With a holistic view, an operator could more readily see the true value of a customer and bump up its efforts to try to keep them on premises,” Bowles said. Additional opportunities come “from just understanding a player’s behavior or what their exact situation is at any moment in time,” he continued.
For example, a slot player could be preparing to leave the floor after winning a couple of small but profitable jackpots. Through Koin, the player could be offered a meal or other incentives to celebrate their win on site, potentially keeping them from leaving.
“From the player’s point of view, they get something on top of the great night they’ve had already,” Bowles said. “And from the operator’s point of view, they get to keep those players on property, and they’re not doing anything that they wouldn’t have done anyway.”
Users have simple expectations of their cashless app, he said. “They want it to be quick. They want it to be easy. They just want it to work. In the world of technology, 10 seconds can feel like a lifetime.”
Before joining Koin fulltime, Bowles led product strategy on a monthslong discovery project aimed at setting the foundation for Koin’s future, starting with Koin 3.0. The company’s customer-centric emphasis resulted in a solution that can be scaled for operators of any size while minimizing what Bowles called “time to gaming.”
“Our job is to be everywhere people want to play. The benefit for operators is understanding everywhere their players want to go, so we act as the bridge between the two.”
Koin Pay 3.1, which is going live in early October and will be spotlighted at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, is designed to work for all types of gaming providers, from route operators to multi-property resorts with a plethora of amenities. “Our aim is to link all of these different experiences together and provide a level of personalization that (operators) haven’t been able to do before,” Bowles said.
“Koin’s job is to make sure we are taking the users’ needs seriously and putting out a product that exceeds their expectations,” he said. “Our hyperfocus on the end user means operators can focus on providing the best experiences throughout the casino.”
The company also offers Koin Direct, which allows players to quickly access a secure and seamless gaming payment experience without the need to download the app, allowing users to try cashless gaming before deciding whether to adopt the full Koin experience.
“The opportunity to provide technology in this space is only going to continue to grow,” Bowles said. “By focusing on the users and their needs, we’re able to provide them with the experience they actually want.”
