Pavilion Payments unveiled its VIP Nomad platform and its first solution with Mobile Jackpot at the Global Gaming Expo, and it’s already a hit with customers who are waiting for its release in early 2024.
Pavilion Payments, the leading omnichannel payments provider exclusively serving the gaming industry, said the solutions are designed to increase efficiency for casino operators and deliver a truly modern gaming experience on the casino floor.
The VIP Nomad platform with Mobile Jackpot is considered the fastest and safest way to process jackpot payouts and get winners back to their game. Casino personnel can facilitate instant support to process a jackpot at the slot machine since VIP Nomad places the power of a jackpot workstation right in the palm of the slot attendant’s hand.
“Mobile Jackpot has taken a traditionally manual process and removed all of those points of friction that have taken place over the years and casinos can now focus on providing their guests with a great experience,” said Graeme Powell, Pavilion Payments’ SVP of Product Development. “Jackpot is a word synonymous with a casino, and now the guest doesn’t have to think I have to go through this tedious and painful process of getting my money. I know it’s going to be a quick process.”
VIP Nomad is an open platform allowing custom deployment of mobile applications within a secure environment.
Steve Ritchie, Chief Revenue Officer at Pavilion Payments, said they’re excited because their team has come up with an innovative and patron-friendly approach to jackpot management. Nomad provides a platform from which they can provide a lot of functionality in the hands of the slot attendant or anyone else on the casino floor.
“That first application, Mobile Jackpot, shows that we’re obsessed with patron experience, and by getting this right we think we can really help our casino partners differentiate themselves by making what is a positive experience really positive for the patron,” Ritchie said. “Ultimately, that’s where the value is going to be created in this industry, and that’s where we all win.”
The feedback at G2E was extremely positive, Powell said. There were a lot of questions that they were able to answer.
“To be honest, they just want to get their hands on this as quickly as possible,” Powell said. “We did more than 70 demos throughout the show. The reaction has been positive because it has traditionally been such a manual process. The promise of the paperless office has finally arrived and from guests to attendants to the back-of-house are so excited to get this in their casinos and working.”
Since G2E, Ritchie said the follow up meetings and phone calls have shown customers are very enthusiastic, and that there’s a lot of energy. They are asking what infrastructure they need to put in place and how do they get this on the floor as quickly as possible.
“We are getting a lot of positive feedback from a range of customers, tribal, commercial, destinations and those more locally oriented,” Ritchie said. “Everyone is seeing the value of this, and we’re hoping to get this deployed quickly and let people see the value of this for real.”
The plan is to roll out the solutions during the first quarter. There’s currently a field trial underway in Oklahoma.
Mobile Jackpot is the first of many applications that will be used on VIP Nomad, which Ritchie called a powerful and secure multi-purpose tablet and tools platform that enables rapid development of new applications to meet a wide range of needs and empowers casino personnel to support patrons with improved efficiency. VIP Nomad transforms the casino experience and modernizes support capabilities to drive new value, he said.
“Nomad is exciting because it’s going to be a platform upon which we will develop and release future products, all with them being in the palm of the hand of the floor personnel with Mobile Jackpot the first application,” Ritchie said.
“This is just the beginning because there’s going to be more,” Powell added. “The Nomad platform is an exciting addition, and many more apps are going to be coming.”
It starts with Mobile Jackpot. This is accomplished using an app running on a tablet so that the guest can be attended to right at the slot machine. The app digitizes the entire regulation process, from guest verification to creating the W-9/W-2G/1042-S and signing of tax forms. Once the regulation process is complete, slot attendants can use the closest Pavilion Payments’ kiosk to collect the cash, voucher, or combination, depending on the guest’s selection. The entire process is completed in under two minutes, giving the guest a great experience.
“The euphoria created around a jackpot win can easily be lost if a casino does not have efficient regulation technology in place,” Powell said. “Regtech is a subset of Fintech that many Fintech companies do not give enough attention to. Pavilion Payments has focused on both in Mobile Jackpot to ensure that the jackpot tax regulation requirement is a quick, smooth process.”
The experience is not only a good one for the patron but the attendant and back-of-house staff.
Staffing at casinos is not increasing, so slot attendants need all the help they can get when it comes to jackpot processing, especially on busy nights when a lot of jackpots are hit. Not only does Mobile Jackpot provide attendants with the help they need to process jackpots more efficiently, but they also now have a tool to provide a great guest experience which results in increased tips and workplace happiness, Powell said.
Mobile Jackpot also significantly reduces the possibility of mistakes associated with a traditionally manual process.
“We’ve seen lots of forms involved – printing them, signing them and getting them scanned and uploaded into the system,” noted Powell. “You can imagine how many mistakes can take place in that process. This whole process is digitized and gives attendants peace of mind.”
The third area of frictionless process is accounting. Powell said they were on a call with a casino general manager in Oklahoma who said his back-of-house staff asked for Mobile Jackpot.
“I believe the reason behind it is that jackpot reconciliation by accounting is no longer a tedious process whereby each jackpot receipt and tax form needs to be checked,” Powell said. “With Mobile Jackpot Backoffice, accounting staff now have a tool to efficiently verify jackpot receipts and associated tax forms. Customizable validations can prevent a W2G from getting created without a Social Security Number. All accounting staff need to do is verify the gaming day’s list of jackpots, which are color-coded for ease of reconciliation.”
It also provides a platform for so many other areas that have traditionally been difficult for casinos. For one, Mobile Jackpot has the ability to help verify patrons and add uncarded patrons.
“It’s almost becoming a mobile players’ desk, and this created a huge excitement,” Powell said. “Let’s say a jackpot is hit and the patron is uncarded. The app helps the attendant get that person verified and paid out, but at the same time if you don’t have a card, we can add you to the system right there and then and include that as part of the process.”
