Virus a risk to casino-cash glory story

The US casino industry remains a bastion of cash in an increasingly cashless world, where high-security vaults storing millions of dollars have inspired heist movies and the living-large vibe of Las Vegas is ferried in bags bulging with currency.

But the coronavirus pandemic has generated concern over bills circulating among hundreds of hands on the casino floor, and that is pushing casinos toward cashless technology.

The Nevada Gaming Commission, which oversees casinos, recently approved rule changes that clear the way for wider use of cashless wagering in casinos, and the American Gaming Association gave state and tribal regulators a list of priorities for modernizing payment systems.

To be sure, cashless payments through mobile phones and digital wallets would bring bricks-and-mortar casinos more in line with modern life.

What’s more, fears over the spread of COVID-19 are leading to broader consumer adoption of mobile-phone payment systems — in late March, about 27 percent of business owners reported an increase in contactless payments, according to a trade survey.

Attempts to introduce more cashless options in casinos failed with obstacles like the right technology and concerns over problem gambling, said Kirk Sanford, founder and chief executive of Sightline Payments LLC, a payment-technology developer in the gambling space. “As a result of that, the casino industry became — and is still to this day — the largest cashbased ecosystem on the planet,” Sanford said.

But proponents of electronic transfers say they make it easier to track suspicious activities that could signal money-laundering and allow for setting limits on accounts. Electronic payments also mean less touching ATM buttons or interaction with cashiers, they say.