Casino Enterprise Management

Kiosks first appeared on casino floors as automated teller machines designed to dispense cash into the hands of players headed to the gaming floor. But when the evolution of the ATM is complete, what ends up in the casino might have a different goal — getting players to and from the gaming floor without the exchange of physical money and allowing them to access rewards programs and property amenities at a single self-service location. The move to cashless gaming began in earnest with the advent of IGT’s EZ Pay® Ticket System and has created the need for a fast and convenient means of redeeming tickets. Now more than just an ATM dispensing cash for gaming, the kiosk is being utilized for a host of functions. Bill-breaking, ticket redemption, guest rewards and a number of other transactions are now at the fingertips of a casino’s guests — and according to the companies developing this technology and marketing the products for it, the evolution isn’t yet complete. Here’s what kiosk manufacturers, software providers, ticket providers and slot machine manufacturers have to say about today’s self-redemption kiosks and other devices designed to empower patrons with the ability to access guest services.

Western Money Systems
With more than 25 years of experience in the cash-handling business, it’s no surprise that Western Money Systems is a major player in the world of self-redemption kiosks. With product lines that run the gamut from bill-breaking and ticket-redemption kiosks to multi-function kiosks designed to deliver a number of guest services, this Sparks, Nev.-based company is forging ahead with product development to suit the needs of the modern casino. According to Western Money Systems Director of Xchange™ Product Sales Mark Sutherlin, a number of self-redemption products are on the market and even more are on the way. Western Money Systems’ ticketXchange™ and casinoXchange™ lines are tailored to the needs of operators — and their guests. “[The] ticketXchange/casinoXchange High Capacity is our six-cassette, 3,000 note per cassette kiosk with the Hitachi F-600 dispenser, offering the highest-quality dispenser on the market with the largest capacity,” Sutherlin said. The ticketXchange and casinoXchange High Capacity lines have a capacity of 18,000 notes, requiring fewer refills and less downtime.

Western Money Systems also produces the CX2 All-in-One™ multi-function kiosk, providing services to two customers at the same time. “The CX2 kiosk uses the same dispenser (Hitachi F-600), but dispenses out of two sides,” Sutherlin said. “One side of the kiosk has a terminal for slot ticket redemption and bill-breaking, while the other side of the kiosk has a terminal for ATM transactions only.” The advantages of the CX2’s design are manifold, Sutherlin said. The kiosk offers privacy for those who don’t want people standing over their shoulder while entering their ATM pin numbers, while ticket redemption customers expect faster transactions and don’t want to wait in line behind someone taking too long to conduct their ATM business. The two-controller kiosk design also reduces downtime in that if either the ATM system or ticket-redemption system goes down, the other system remains running as long as the currency dispenser unit is operating.

Sutherlin said Western Money Systems is also working with companies to interface with player rewards programs. “We work with Micro Gaming Technologies for those casinos that would like player rewards interfaces, such as virtual drawings and player point redemption services,” he said. “We also offer Aristocrat OASIS™ system customers functionality such as points-to-cash player reward services, which has proven very popular in many casinos.”

With myriad product lines, Sutherlin said Western Money Systems can fill the needs of virtually anyone in the gaming industry. “We have interfaced with more ATM service providers than any other manufacturer,” he said. “We have more cabinetry and dispenser options than any other manufacturer. We have the industry’s smallest footprint kiosk and the industry’s largest capacity kiosks, all of which interface with every slot ticket system manufacturer. We offer the most robust back-of-house reporting available with unlimited reporting capabilities with Crystal Reports.” For more information, visit www.westernmoney.com.

Slot-Tickets
Coins might still be useful when buying a newspaper from a vending machine or washing clothes at the laundromat, but there are fewer and fewer of them floating around on casino floors these days. Slot-Tickets is the world’s leading printer of customized TITO products for casinos, and according to CEO Tom Mitchell, the move to coinless gaming has been fairly thorough. “The trend to more TITO worldwide has kept a steady pace,” he said. “The rampant growth has leveled off in the past two years, but we see steady market growth as new properties come online domestically, as in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, [and] as market growth in the Native American properties continues with additional machines that are being added. The international market is growing nicely, but nothing like the launch in the U.S. domestic market years ago.”

With a coinless casino floor a reality, Mitchell says the industry is working on new ways to utilize ticketed transactions. “Now that the so-called promotional tickets are approved in many jurisdictions, we expect a push for that type of application, but thus far it has been minimal,” he said. “All the major system houses have promotional products available for their properties, but we have yet to see much movement. We are ready, willing, licensed and able with a variety of promotional ticket and direct mail products.”

Beyond coinless gaming, Slot-Tickets has been exploring a truly cashless gaming floor incorporating electronic funds transfer (EFT). The concept would allow guests to utilize a funds balance on a players card and turn it into a ticket for game play. After a gaming session, a player could print a ticket from a machine and use a kiosk to transfer that balance back to the card. “We have worked on a couple of EFT card-type concepts that may someday bridge tickets to cards,” Mitchell said. “IGT has some very novel new card-type products we have supplied, [but] have not yet been released. These may show up in a floor demonstration later this year and surely at G2E in November.”

Beyond the gaming applications of TITO, Mitchell says the industry could take the concept to a new level property-wide. “I would like to see [casino operators] utilize tickets in more applications, such as dining, golf and shows, as a method of payment,” he said. “I would also like to see more use of tickets as direct mail promotion to offer visitors free play on a machine of their choosing. A few properties have reported huge traction with this concept, but for reasons I do not understand, only a handful of properties utilize this powerful marketing tool.” For more information, visit www.slot-tickets.com.

Micro Gaming Technologies
With casino marketing departments constantly looking for new ways to promote player loyalty, Micro Gaming Technologies Inc. (MGT) is putting its spin on the player promotions side of the equation with its Promotion Management Suite software. Available for use on kiosks and other interactive devices, the Promotion Management Suite is designed to automate and track casino promotions, containing four distinct programs that allow patrons to tap into their players club rewards right from the casino floor. The E-Draw system allows guests to check in to be eligible for casino drawings and allows the casino to conduct truly random drawings without the hassle of thousands of slips of paper in a drum. The Promo system allows guests to access casino promotions other than drawings. The Kiosk Manager (K-Man) system is a customer interface that allows the guest to look up and redeem prizes and also allows casino employees to verify any items issued to a player from the MGT system. The Flash Games system gives casinos the ability to configure interactive reward games that present awards to players based on their standing in the rewards program, allowing players to turn points into rewards through a variety of games right at the kiosk and allowing casinos to accurately control their marketing budgets.

“Unlike other promotional products, MGT’s Promotion Management Suite is designed to allow the casino to create promotions of their own design and automate them using our software,” MGT President Mark Bryant said. “This concept is much like an electronic spreadsheet where the user decides what they want to do and the software makes it possible. The casino is now free to design around its needs rather than purchasing separate canned promotions.”

Working with kiosk manufacturers like Western Money Systems, MGT is looking to take full advantage of the hardware available. “I believe that to gain a competitive edge both from the casino operator’s perspective and that of a vendor to the industry, you need to search beyond the obvious functionality that the masses are rushing toward and dig a little deeper,” Bryant said. “It is that kind of thinking that I appreciate about Western Money Systems and their new kiosk designs that allow seamless integration of ATM, TITO and marketing functionality all on the same device.”

Bryant also said that MGT has a strategic relationship with Aristocrat and its Sentinel III™ player interface devices. “These graphic-based touchscreen devices are mounted on the machines and provide a rich environment for MGT content,” Bryant said. Sentinel III™ devices running MGT software are being installed at Buffalo Thunder Resort in Pojoaque, N.M., providing promotional content right at the gaming device.

According to Bryant, the Promotion Management Suite has received a tremendous response from the industry, as evidenced by several users who purchased the product early in their careers and then purchased the product again when they moved on to a new company. And he’s not discounting the value MGT’s products have for the patron, either. “Several emerging hardware technologies give MGT the opportunity to make life convenient for the players, and the industry shift toward GSA standards will further our efforts,” he said. For more information, visit www.mgtinc.net.

IGT
The United States’ largest slot machine manufacturer and developer of the industry’s first TITO system (EZ Pay) is also working to put self-redemption functionality at the fingertips of the player. IGT Advantage Bonusing™ can deliver many of the same features as a self-redemption kiosk right at the gaming machine. “We were the first in the industry to come out with system-based bonusing, where you hear of point play and extra credit and carded lucky coin,” said IGT Advantage® Product Line Director Steve Miller. “Our bonusing technology that we utilize in the system itself really is our biggest differentiator.” With the inevitable move to server-based gaming, Miller said IGT is looking to take that bonusing technology to another level. “In the past, we’ve approached server-based gaming from a different perspective than other people,” he said. “A lot of people look at server-based gaming as download and config. We’re looking at server-based gaming as an open network to not only accentuate download and config of the game, but also the player experience itself.”

One of the keys to Advantage’s success is its ability to give player marketing an immediacy never before seen. “We’ve been saddled with legacy systems of the past and networks of the past, where it’s easier to do marketing with your patrons once they leave the casino,” Miller said. “Once they’re in the building and playing, real-time marketing or real-time reaching out to your players has been a challenge in the past. With a true open network and a true server-based environment, the ability to market to your patrons real-time, work with your patrons real-time, and communicate to your patrons real-time becomes a reality in the server-based environment. We can do real-time marketing offers to a patron … in a service window environment on the game, whereby each game serves as somewhat of a kiosk. This is something that has never really happened before.”

Miller said a good indication of the future of self-redemption technology will soon take place in South Africa, where IGT is planning to go live with a SMART Card-based system. The SMART Card system will work directly with a kiosk, allowing a guest to walk in the door, put money into a kiosk, and have a SMART Card printed right there. The patron can utilize the kiosk to withdraw funds from the card as well. In addition to facilitating cashless gaming, Miller said the SMART Card’s balance can be used for other amenities provided at the property. For more information, visit www.igt.com.

Sona Mobile
For Sona Mobile CEO Shawn Kreloff, the self-redemption kiosk can be much more than a provider of
non-gaming services to casino patrons. Kreloff says Sona Mobile can turn a casino’s self-redemption kiosks into gaming devices. The company’s Sona Gaming System™ allows a kiosk to do much more than redeem tickets and access player rewards. “The Sona Gaming System is an all-in-one, GLI-certified gaming system that enables you to play table games, Video Poker, video slots with full animation, race and sports wagering, and community-style games like a community version of Baccarat and Roulette, all from a single screen,” Kreloff said.

The Sona Gaming System is a software application designed to enhance the functionality of server-based gaming as it becomes more prevalent in the industry. One of the selling points of the Sona Gaming System is its compatibility with today’s hardware. “The form factor really doesn’t matter to us,” Kreloff said. “Our software will work on a 52-inch screen or it will work on a handheld device. Our software works on hardware that’s off the shelf. We can buy a kiosk off the shelf, as long as it meets the right specifications, and use that product as a gaming device.”

One application Sona Mobile is keying on is casino race and sports books. Traditionally among the lowest-grossing areas of a casino on a per-square-foot basis, the Sona Gaming System can transform the race and sports books into a more efficient operation. “What we enable [casino operators] to do is take that race and sports book and still enable all the function while pushing it down into a self-service kiosk,” Kreloff said. “It enables them to do all the casino-type games, including slots, table games, and even tournaments, from that same screen. [The player] can still watch the event on the screen, too. We bring a plethora of functionality and revenue opportunities into the race and sports book, and we could also bring [the race and sports book] to the cabanas by the pool, the restaurant, and even in the hotel rooms where race and sports wagering are legal.”

Another Sona Mobile product, mWager™, allows race and sports book bets to be placed on mobile devices where legal, taking a step beyond the kiosk. Kreloff said that gaming on mobile devices is one of the next steps the industry will take as server-based gaming becomes a reality. “The whole industry — and I’m not the only person who feels this way — is really moving into the server-based area where it will be the patron’s choice in a casino property about what they want to play on any screen. Rather than try to spoon-feed patrons on content, patrons will be allowed to make choices on what they want to play, where they want to play, and how they want to play. We can extend the casino floor out to people’s homes for race wagering, for example, because that’s legal here in the United States in most states.” For more information, visit www.sonamobile.com.

Michael Shirek is an Associate Editor at Casino Enterprise Management. He can be reached at (701) 293-7775 or editor3@aceme.org.