Recently, the American Gaming Association (AGA) released a report that called on state regulators to look into more options for cashless gambling at casinos. The move follows a year-and-a-half study by commercial casinos, tribal operators and equipment suppliers into modernizing payment methods within the gaming industry in the United States.
Currently, there are only a handful of land-based casinos in America that offer cashless betting options such as credit cards, debit cards, or online payment services like PayPal, Google Pay and Apple Pay. Bill Miller is the AGA President and CEO, and one of the main goals of the group since he took the helm has been the issue of cashless payment options.
Miller said, “Advancing opportunities for digital payments has been one of our top priorities since my first day at the AGA. It aligns with gaming’s role as a modern, 21st century industry and bolsters our already rigorous regulatory and responsible gaming measures. The COVID-19 pandemic made it all the more important to advance our efforts to provide customers with the payment choice they are more comfortable with and have increasingly come to expect in their daily lives.”
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The idea of cashless options at land-based casinos has not been received with open arms everywhere. Casino executives have come out and said that the reason is the limitations set by either gambling regulators or lawmakers in their respective states.
The Nevada Gaming Commission has scheduled a hearing on the matter for later month. It is expected that the commission will be open to a Nevada Gaming Control Board recommendation that would fast-track testing for solutions for digital payments.
Across the nation in New Jersey, David Rebuck, who is the Director of the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), stated that cashless transactions are legal in the Garden State. The DGE is waiting for casinos to submit new payment technology to be reviewed and then approved for use at the state’s land-based casinos.