GGRAsia – Casino players still favour cash, habits changing: Everi CEO

Casino players still favour cash, habits changing: Everi CEO

Aug 19, 2020 Newsdesk Latest News, Trends & Tech, World

Casino players are likely “near-term” to “continue” favouring automated teller machine cash withdrawals or cash advances in order to fund their gambling, says Michael Rumbolz, the chief executive (CEO) of Everi Holdings Inc, a United States-based casino equipment maker and financial technology (fintech) supplier.

But he stated in a press release issued by the firm, that use of “cashless and contactless” technology for financial transactions by casino players would “grow”.

According to Darren Simmons, Everi’s executive vice president and finTech business leader.“since the outbreak of Covid-19, the interest from our casino customers for cashless and contactless player funding technologies has greatly accelerated.”

He added: “We have the opportunity now to reconcile the unique needs of the funding environment inside casinos with the quickly-evolving financial and payment environment outside the casino.”

The American Gaming Association said in a policy paper on casino payments modernisation publicised in June, that its recent research indicated nearly six out of 10 casino visitors had expressed interest in using digital or contactless payment in their everyday lives due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Use of such technology would not only give players “the ability to move value across gaming and non-gaming venues within our customers’ [casino operators’] land-based operations,” said the Everi CEO in his latest comments, but also enable gaming consumers to move value “into and out of a casino’s online and sports wagering offerings, and finally back to the patrons’ checking [cheque], credit and debit accounts”.

Mr Rumbolz was cited saying that “Cashclub Wallet,” a mobile communications-delivered Everi product due to be in market use by “year-end”, offered that flexibility to users.

Another product “ready for implementation in the third quarter, 2020,” is “Everi Mobile Wallet with Gaming Voucher”, stated Everi.

It is said to enhance the convenience of the firm’s QuikTicket gaming voucher technology, by allowing a version of Everi’s CashClub Wallet mobile application to communicate with a payments kiosk and issue such a voucher for casino play.

Earlier this month, Everi reported a US$68.5-million loss for the second quarter.

The result was affected by casino closures from March onward in its key markets – including in the United States – due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the firm stated.

But a memo from Roth Capital Partners LLC issued at the time of the quarterly results, suggested a positive outlook for Everi’s fintech products due to the changes in consumer behaviour and corporate practices wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.