Already in use worldwide, Smart Cards are coming to North American casinos, reports James J. Hodl
New technology is slowly rolling across the globe that will not only make cashless gaming systems more secure, but also add features that will improve the customer experience in casinos—provided casinos are willing to pay the extra cost.
The technology is the Smart Card, which is already being used in casinos in Europe and elsewhere, and has begun to appear in North America.
The Smart Card goes one better than the mag-stripe card still used in many casinos worldwide. “The main difference between the two cards is how they store information,” said Roger Bushong, sales account manager with CardLogix in Irvine, California.
“Mag-stripe cards maintain customer information on a backend computer, with which the card must link in order to make a transaction. Smart Cards have an embedded microchip in which all data is stored and thus can facilitate transactions even when there is no link to a backend computer,” he noted.
The initial use of Smart Card technology in US casinos will be in player tracking cards, Bushong said. While enabling customers to play slot machines and other games in a cashless environment, the smart player cards also will store information about the guest—including his favorite games and wagering patterns—which casinos can use to promote future visits.
Such a card is currently being introduced in the US market by IGT Network Systems, Las Vegas.
IGT, which brought TITO (Ticket-In/ Ticket-Out systems) to the gaming floor a decade ago with its EZ Pay System, recently expanded the line to include the EZ Pay Smart Card, on which all cash values are stored on a microchip embedded in the card.
According to Richard Rader, marketing manager for electronic funds products at IGT, when this card is plugged into a slot machine, the stored cash value is instantly altered with each play, deducting cash value with each loss and adding sums with each win. This eliminates the need to take winnings on TITO tickets for cashing at teller stations or automated kiosks, he noted.
Values are moved with the card from machine to machine, and the card maintains the value even during power outages, Rader explained.
“An advantage of the EZ Pay Smart Card is that it offers an extra level of security to players,” Rader said. “With ordinary credit and debit cards, the magnetic numbers are transferred in an online link, and thus can be copied by anyone willing to invest in the technology. But the Smart Card only moves funds in an offline link, so magnetic numbers only move to the game and back.”
Another advantage for players using the EZ Pay Smart Card system is the ability to send bonuses and rewards directly to the card. These can include both points toward extra play or even rewards such as forgiving your parking fees.
IGT in July installed its first Smart Card system at the Suncoast Casino in Durban, South Africa. The company also secured regulatory approval in October to test its smart card technology in the US and is seeking a US casino in which to perform a pilot program.
Casinos employing IGT smart cards will be able to offer customers two types of cards, Rader said.
One will be a Day Use (or Casual User) card that infrequent customers can obtain at cashiers cages or by feeding banknotes into an ATM-like kiosk. For $100, a player will get a smart card loaded with $97, with $3 held as a deposit that is redeemable when the card is returned at the end of the day; not unlike the system that once encouraged customers to return milk and soda bottles, Rader said.
Returned cards will be wiped clean of all data (after players have cashed them out) and reused for future customers. The cards can be used for up to 30,000 transactions; a minimum of about five years of normal use.
The other type will be the Permanent Player Loyalty Card that regular players can take home and use again and again on future trips to the casino. To use these cards, players will have to enter PIN (Personal Identification Number) codes as a security feature to limit use to the card owner. On activation, the card will verify how much cash or points are left from the previous visit, and players can reload and cash out the card thousands of times during its useful life.
If this card is reported lost, a casino can look into its system to determine when it was last used, then block the old card from that date, and issue a new card with the last recorded balance (stored in the casino’s computer) added to the replacement. Most likely a thief or an unscrupulous person finding a lost card won’t be able to use it without the PIN number. And if they try, as the card is activated by sending a signal to the system’s dedicated computer, five inaccurate attempts will trigger a return signal wiping the lost (or stolen) card clean of all embedded information.
Permanent cards can help build “brand loyalty” with customers, Rader added.
“If you still have $25 on your card, you’ll definitely want to return to that casino to either wager with it, or visit one of their restaurants,” he noted.
RelatedPosts
Rader admitted that the North American gaming market lags behind other parts of the world in embracing Smart Card technology. The main reason Smart Cards have caught on sooner in Europe is that European banks, who have had had greater problems with miscreants engaging in cash card fraud, demand the higher security provided by smart cards. They even require the microchip-embedded credit and debit cards with which no transaction can be completed until all data including up to 10-digit PIN numbers are electronically verified.
Elsewhere, the lack of adequate communications links to verify mag-stripe cards or, simply limiting the handling of currency to secured areas to remove temptations for thieves, has prompted casinos to adapt smart card/cashless gaming technology.
Perhaps no casino currently goes as far as the Gaborone Sun Hotel & Casino in Botswana in bragging on promotional materials that they have an all Smart Card gaming floor that frees customers from having to lug and handle coins.
Another reason, said CardLogix’s Bushong, is that US casinos are comfortable with the current mag-stripe card-enabled system and see no reason to pay the extra cost to upgrade. Smart Cards cost about four times that of mag-stripe cards.
But because Smart Cards are access controlled, they can be used for more than simply to store cash values for gaming, he noted. They can be adapted to serve multiple purposes, including doubling as a room key, as a means to pay for things at on-premises restaurants, order entertainment tickets, and even for parking garage access.
The IGT EZ Pay Smart Card can be used for some of these additional features, Rader noted.
Other Smart Card systems that could be coming to North America include Chip Cash from Atronic International. Used for several years in casinos throughout Europe, the Chip Cash card can be loaded with funds. Then when inserted in a gaming device, this cash can be downloaded into a credit meter. When the player decides to quit, he uploads the remaining funds (including winnings) back onto the card and can then cash out at a teller cage or self-service terminal.
Besides collecting marketing information on players for the casino, the Chip Cash card can be personalized by the player to a design of his choice.
Aristocrat Technologies also reportedly offers a Smart Card in Australia that works with its Oasis 360 management system.
More than a few casinos said they are watching with interest the introduction of Smart Card technologies to the US gaming market. Since the technology is not yet widely available, however, a few have developed systems with existing technologies that provide many of the same features.
The MyView system at the Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, San Diego, combines the Bally Power Bank feature of Bally’s Power Bonusing system with Bally’s iView product to provide a secure fully cashless gaming environment.
According to Troy Simpson, senior vice president of innovation at Barona, Power Bank enables players to deposit money at cashier stations through a mag-stripe card. These funds can be electronically downloaded for play in slot machines, and winnings uploaded back into the account. Such transactions are also monitored through the system’s player tracking feature.
The system also enables players to budget their gaming activities by setting a cash access limit for a specific time period. Players can also take their cards home and use it again on their next visit. As an added security feature, if a card hasn’t been used for a certain number of hours, players need to reactivate it by entering a PIN number, thus protecting any money left in the account from thieves or opportunists.
MyView even does away with coupons. Instead of sending coupons redeemable for free credits to old customers by direct mail or e-mail, Barona simply tells them that the credits have already been loaded into their front-money account and can be used when they reactivate their card on their next visit, Simpson said.
Barona has been phasing MyView into use this fall and expects to have it fully in place by January 2009.
Reprinted with permission from International Gaming and Wagering Business (IGWB) magazine.
