Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | March 2013 24 incredible things happen, and that has been the case with our partnership with JCM.” Mr Nieman reveals that Canadian-based Nanoptix had been exploring the potential of the gaming industry, seeing limited success prior to JCM’s investment. He says, “We put our arms around them, and today they’re a significant player in gaming. We not only had worked on a cooperative basis to develop some things, but we invested in the company. Today, that collaborative effort is developing new technology that could only be realized by two market- leading companies who share a common vision. I suspect there will be a day when two become one.” Meanwhile, JCM has also gotten involved in the digital display business, realizing the importance of offering the critical elements to a successful display implementation—the best display technology for the application, the best hardware/software to deliver and publish the operator’s content and, finally, the best content solutions to meet the operator’s budget—a true one-stop solution for the industry. Another new JCM product on display at ICE was the iV8 bill validator for table games, named for its ability to process eight banknotes per second. It features a sleek, compact design and a proven ability to increase playing time. “iV8 was designed specifically for Macau and Singapore because of the big volume of buy-ins,”explains Mr Nieman. “The European customers see it, they love the concept, but right now iV8 is not the product they need most, given the volume of table play and the very high capacity that iV8 is capable of. So I suspect with our table solution development path there will be a light version of iV8 that would be more compact and doesn’t need to process eight bills a second, given that the typical buy-in in the European market is less than those in Asianmarkets. Sowe’d slow the speed down a little bit, bring the cost down and modify it specifically for [the European] market. This would allow the European table operator an intelligent ROI.” JCM has made another notable move towardsdiversificationwiththedevelopment of “Mobile Wager Wallet” (MW2), which was also exhibited at ICE. Part of the world’s first fully interactive mobile wager network that connects players, a redemption ATM kiosk and a gaming device, MW2 delivers mobile transaction capability across an entire casino operation, quickly, easily and, most importantly, securely. The ICE demonstration is the result of a partnership between JCM Global, Techfirm and NRT Technology Corp. The integration between MW2 and NRT’s QuickJack ATM network enables casinopatrons towithdraw virtual funds from ATMs onto their phones for use at gaming machines and potentially at retail, food and entertainment venues within the casino. Additionally, players can transfer funds from the MW2 back into their accounts on the NRT ATM, or dispense funds, if desired. The product is ahead of its time, however, as Mr Nieman acknowledges. “The timing for this product in the US isn’t today, probably not tomorrow, but it is certainly coming, and in the near future. As individual mobile device users we’ve all become more NFC-equipped with our phones [“near field communication”—a set of standards for smart phones and similar devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into close proximity], and there exists today the ability to use our mobile just like we use a bill clip. Casino players will also be able to store their loyalty cards in their MW2. Additionally, a player will be able to receive and save any promotional offering she/ he receives from the casino in their “folder” inside the MW2. So, as a player, if I need those cards or offers I can find them and use them because they are right there on my Tech Talk “We also saw the PayCheck 4 printer as a perfect partner for our iVIZION bill validator because both products have open-ended architecture that enables them to be added upon, giving them longer shelf life and greater capabilities.” The iV8 bill validator for table games is named for its ability to process eight banknotes per second.