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Gambling on kiosks

The recent Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas gave companies an opportunity to market kiosk and ATM applications to the casino industry.

February 28, 2002

Expanding functionality and developing applications to increase customer convenience were the kiosk-related themes that emerged from the inaugural Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas Oct. 1-3.

Staged at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the show featured more than 9,000 attendees and nearly 400 exhibitors occupying more than 300,000 square feet of exhibit space. While kiosks took up a small percentage of that exhibit space, they appear to be gaining favor in the gaming community.

"This is the year everyone is rushing to be in the market," said Montgomery Teague, vice president of marketing for Glory Inc., one of the exhibitors showcasing kiosks at the expo. "The key concept is the casinos are looking for a marketing device that their customers can come up and do multiple functions, like get redemptions and comps through their player card."

A number of new kiosk products and technologies were showcased at the event, though most of the applications await approval from regulatory agencies before installation at casinos. The first quarter of 2002 is being targeted as a release date by most of the companies involved.

Here is a rundown of some of the new applications on display at the expo.

Â… just add software

Advanced Casino Systems Corp. (ACSC) has developed a software program that allows casinos to transform existing slot machines into kiosks. Casino patrons registered for rewards programs can swipe their membership cards through the machine and see what rewards they qualify for. At the same time, casinos can cull information on their clients to use in marketing programs.

The idea of turning a preexisting machine into a kiosk is built around a simple premise - there are a lot of machines at the casinos to begin with.

"Most of our customers don't create elaborate kiosks because they have slot machines all over the floor. The theme of some of their marketing campaigns is: We don't have one host, we have 1,500," said Jay Sarno, ACSC vice president.

"This system utilizes the casino hardware with our software. So the question and answer is, `Do we have kiosks, no. Do we have kiosks, yes,' " he added.

While most kiosks are geared towards customers, ACSC's software is designed as much for the vendor as the consumer.

"What this is is a business intelligence product that allows casinos to look at their data from both the hotel and gaming side," Sarno said. "We'll know what the customer did on their hotel stay and on the casino portion. Within the database, you can break down a player's gaming habits. For example, you could cull a list of blackjack players on a Wednesday night and build a promotion and mailing list around that. You can be that user specific."

ACSC's software package starts at $900. The software is already available at three casino properties in Palm Springs, Calif. - Casino Morogno, Spotlight 29, and Fantasy Springs. Sarno said the software can be integrated into any gaming machine, but as a precaution ACSC works with clients to highlight any potential problems before the software is installed.

Your new neighbor

Quick access to cash has always been a problem for casino patrons, as getting up from a machine to go to the ATM usually means losing your turn. Quik Play LLC believes it has the answer: bring the ATM to the customer.

The company's QuikPlay ATM is a keypad unit the size of a calculator installed next to the slot machine. Customers can access their accounts without leaving their seats.

"You take your personal ATM card and swipe it through the QuikPlay ATM. It comes up like a regular ATM card transaction," said Morry Goldstein, Quik Play president and executive vice president of gaming industry services company Global Cash Access. "You select your transaction and amount of withdrawal. Next thing that happens is you receive an ATM ticket that you feed right back into the slot reader. Then you get a receipt of the entire transaction."

If customers are not able to access money from the ATM, the machine will help them find funds in other ways, Goldstein said. He said QuikPlay would be liable for non-payment by customers, not the casino.

Goldstein recognizes that some people will squirm uncomfortably at the thought of gamblers having access to an ATM right there at the slot machine.

"One reason that regulators are looking favorably into this is we can limit this to ATM cards and no credit cards," he said. "Also, we can limit amounts like to $100. We can stay below the threshold of problem gaming. The casino can do it or the jurisdiction, either way."

The ATM is expected to be submitted to Indian gaming officials in November for approval, then go before Nevada regulatory officials early next year. A pilot program of 300 units is planned for the first quarter of 2002. Goldstein said the company expects to install about 10,000 units at 100 to 200 casinos by the end of next year.

QuikPlay's business plan calls for the company to install and maintain the systems at no cost to casinos, with revenue generated by ATM surcharges.

"We'll probably use the surcharge that the casino uses for its normal ATMs until we get a sense of usage volume," Goldstein said.

Multiple functions

Glory Inc. and technology development company Tech Innovations Inc. have partnered to develop Casino Kiosk, which is designed as a one-stop kiosk for casino players. They can gain access to gaming and hotel information, make plans, and cash in winnings at the kiosk.

"Our system is a multi-function kiosk," Teague said. "We are a single marketing place where customers can break bills, do ticket redemption, do player card redemption, do comp redemptions, and also book reservations at the restaurants, hotel, etc."

Attendants and casino personnel can use Casino Kiosk to process jackpots. It can also be utilized to exchange bills for rolled coins. Due to space requirements, however, that would have to be specifically requested by the casino purchaser.

Matthew Linderman, Tech Innovations president and chief executive officer, said one of the kiosk's strengths is that it is built on a wireless platform.

"You can take this kiosk and move it into anywhere in the casino without having to worry about network wire," Linderman said. "It'll need power, but casinos have electrical outlets everywhere."

The companies displayed a prototype of the kiosk at the expo. Production of the kiosk is expected to commence in December if it receives regulatory approval.

Old game, modern twist

Keno is one of the oldest and simplest of casino games. Like a lottery, players select numbers -usually ranging from one to 80 - then hope those numbers are picked during the game. But for casinos it can be an expensive game to operate, with runners assigned to collect keno tickets throughout the facility.

Computer keno manufacturer Imagineering Systems Inc. has developed a keno kiosk that allows players to process their own tickets. Keno Kiosk has a bill acceptor, ticket printer, and touch screen display for play selection.

Carl Conti, Imagineering Systems vice president of sales and marketing, said the system was designed for smaller casinos.

"The keno girls (ticket collectors) with their salaries, benefits, hourly wages are probably making $12-13 an hour. A lot of these places can't afford that," Conti said. "But they want to get the keno tickets out in the coffee shops, the buffets and the bars. When you put Keno Kiosk in there, people will play. You would still have to go to the keno counter to collect on a winning ticket."