In the highly competitive and ever-growing field of cashless gaming, it can be a challenge for a company to stand out from the crowd.
Everi, a combination fintech and slot supplier that launched in 2015 through the merger of decades-old companies Global Cash Access and Multimedia Games, offers its CashClub Wallet technology as a solution.
“Everi offers the most transparent and cost-effective financial technology solutions to help build a digital infrastructure for cashless operations,” says Victor Newsom, senior vice president of product management and payment solutions. “We do this while also delivering more new features and convenience than other providers.”
Everi’s CashClub Wallet technology is a key piece of this transformation, which is being driven by demand for self-service options from patrons. “Empowering casino operators to successfully deliver on all aspects of the mobile ecosystem, Everi’s product is a mobile digital wallet that extends cashless payments using traditional, alternative, and mobile technologies,” Newsom says.
“Incorporating more funding sources than ever before, CashClub Wallet provides diversity in accessing and distributing funds via Everi’s Banking as a Service (BaaS), and is the most widely adopted land-based digital gaming wallet in the U.S.—currently being deployed or active across 41 properties in 21 jurisdictions.”
Newsom says a great deal of controls and integration, plus operator and financial efficiencies, all are part of the process, given the highly regulated nature of the casino industry.
“Instead of having a single debit solution at the table, Everi has numerous products that meet specific needs that the operator may have away from the cage and enable seamless cashless experience without requiring account signups for everything,” he says.
Newsom adds that Everi’s longstanding fintech services, including credit, check-cashing and other functions, means a one-stop shop for cashless operation.
“From a cashless perspective, Everi has gone through the effort to get the licensing and position ourselves as the central hub for payments,” he says. “By that, I mean we are a money transmitter, and we do so without having to increase overall system expense by relying on third parties.”
Newsom says that aspect can be a real boon for operators—including in terms of the operators’ tax burden.
“As the money transmitter, we can take all the liability for those funds that are walking around in patrons’ pockets and put it in an account, which is also not an operator liability. Then, as a money transmitter, if a patron chooses to connect to the online space via sports wagering, iGaming, or even online food ordering, it’s not coming out as a liability operators have in-house in a gaming credit form, which may be taxed differently. Instead, it’s coming out as cash from a third party—Everi, which is a regulated and licensed entity, and has a relationship with the patron.”
Darren Simmons
Darren Simmons, Everi’s executive vice president and fintech business leader, says the Everi CashClub wallet has other benefits as well.
“As the digital transformation effect takes hold, we’re going to see growth vertically,” Simmons says. “By that, I mean the consolidation of cashless wagering for land-based sports wagering and online. So, with the vertical integration of gaming, we’re beginning to see the digital transformation across the entire resort, not just on the gaming floor.
“An Everi mobile experience can allow customers to manage their wallet, engage with offers presented to them by operators and even participate in a mobile gaming experience throughout the casino footprint with real-money Class II and Class III digital games. Everi already enables this to take place so that operators can use Everi’s digital game content, loyalty platform and the CashClub Wallet to create new revenue streams, for example. Moving forward, you’ll see a much more distributed guest experience on the digital side across all touchpoints, not just cashless.”
Beyond the Wallet
Newsom notes that the digital wallet is only one of many products in the company’s fintech library that support cashless gaming. “I know wallets are the darling of this conversation, but the reality is many Everi products—such as Everi’s QuikTicket, which allows the purchase of a TITO ticket from a PIN debit transaction—fit in with the cashless narrative,” he says.
“QuikTicket doesn’t require a mobile account or wallet to use, and our unique infrastructure and technology allows patrons to send those TITO tickets back to their banks using a Visa debit card, without having to sign up for an account that requires the patron to go through KYC. Further, QuikTransfer allows you to send TITO funds directly back to your bank, much like a Venmo to yourself.”
Meanwhile, the much-discussed shift toward cashless gambling is part of a long-term process, Simmons says.
“Operators tell us all the time that cash will not become obsolete anytime soon, and we have seen lately the dominant portion of financial access transactions is still being done via cash—roughly 70 percent are ATM cash dispenses. That said, demand continues to increase, from both operators and players, to transform the gaming experience into a more digital environment.
“We are uniquely positioned to leverage the physical infrastructure within casinos, which Everi used to help deliver $10.7 billion to casino floors in 2022, to create a digital journey for players. Everi has spent the better part of the last decade tying products and services together across hundreds of land-based casinos via financial access kiosks, ATMs, cage positions, etc.
“From an operator standpoint, when we talk about cashless, we must think about full operational implications—first, the importance of having our ATMs, which are wallet- and check-enabled; or our financial access kiosks, which are also wallet- and check-enabled but have additional transaction types like converting cryptocurrency to cash or purchasing a TITO ticket (QuikTicket).
“When we go to the market the way we are, 80 percent to 90 percent of operator internal controls and SOPs don’t need to change. We’ve simply added a transaction type on the kiosk—we didn’t change how operators manage their kiosk; we added a transaction type at the cage. We didn’t change how operators manage their cage.
“Beyond that, our fintech portfolio includes several self-service and cashier-assisted payment solutions that aid in efficient cash handling for operators and offer numerous access points for players. This includes integrations with existing casino financial technology and loyalty solutions that may be from outside the Everi family of products.”
Simmons notes that recent acquisitions further position Everi for growth in terms of cashless capabilities.
“With ecash, a fintech provider predominantly in Australia, we have a digital wallet trial going on now at a casino in New South Wales and we expect to help launch cashless throughout the region,” he says.
“We have even expanded our cashless solutions outside of gaming. Venuetize currently provides a digital wallet to be used in an advanced e-commerce platform for sports, hospitality and entertainment industries. With more than 15 point-of-sale integrations spanning food and beverage, retail, and parking, Venuetize’s commerce offerings give customers a secure and seamless transaction experience.”
According to Simmons, the platform, which is powered by Everi, has a proven track record of success, boasting over 50 clients across major sports leagues, teams, and entertainment venues with 75 percent of clients leveraging the wallet for payments in-venue.
Giving various customer segments different ways to engage seamlessly enables Everi to, according to Simmons, “actually engage consumers and attract them into these exciting digital experiences.”
Operators also benefit from a comprehensive partnership with his company, Simmons adds.
“Through Everi, operators also have the appropriate technology systems in place to handle anonymous activity, as well as account-based activity, on the same platform,” he says. “We can even take some of those aggregation activities and refine AML (anti-money laundering), compliance, customer support and service even more. Overall, it’s a digital transformation rather than just cashless because of the digital transformation component that is necessary to implement cashless digital transactions.
“While we leverage the physical infrastructure that is predominantly processing cash payments, Everi is also working with its operator-customers on technology that is fully omnichannel, to capture all possible touchpoints.
“The ability to seamlessly transition into and out of the digital layer—for both the patrons and operator staff—is critical. At the end of the day, what that really translates into for the patron is the best and preferred customer journey. That’s not unique to gaming; that’s the way consumers are, and that’s the technology available to them. Providing omnichannel payment solutions allows patrons to engage how they want, where they want. At Everi, we’re able to do this natively across the gaming enterprise as ‘on us’ transactions, thanks to licensing, integrations, and hard work—that’s unique.”
Industry Honors
In May, Everi—which also features land-based digital gaming content—was recognized by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Business Press with a 2023 “Nevada Top Workplaces” award for the third consecutive year.
The company also earned four “culture excellence” honors from the publications—for Innovation, Work-Life Flexibility, Compensation and Benefits, and Leadership—while already having been named a “Top Workplaces USA” site for a second straight year by TopWorkplaces.com.
The latter awards are based solely on employee feedback gathered by a research firm that surveyed 27 million employees at more than 70,000 organizations.
“We have worked diligently to create a positive company culture with shared values across multiple office locations and with our talented team of remote employees in Nevada, so we are thrilled to be recognized once again by Top Workplaces,” Everi CEO Randy Taylor said in a statement.
“Our team members, through their dedication and hard work, are directly responsible for creating a cohesive internal culture and, as a result, these award wins.”
