LuAnn Pappas, CEO of Scarlet Pearl Casino in D’Iberville, Mississippi, said sports betting has attracted younger players, a trend that should continue as the venue become the first in South Mississippi to install a cryptocurrency ATM machine. The ATMs, which convert crypto coin into cash to use at the casino, already are in use in Las Vegas.
Mississippi Gaming Commission Executive Director Jay McDaniel said the state doesn’t regulate whether a cryptocurrency ATM machine can be operated at a casino. However, he said the state as yet will not allow the use of cryptocurrency or a credit card directly in a slot machine.
McDaniel said the gaming commission would consider going cashless in Mississippi if casino operators request it.
“Covid-19 has pushed that discussion,” he said. According to the American Gaming Association’s State of the States 2020 report, “While consumers have been accustomed to making mobile payments or using cards for nearly all other goods and services, land-based casino gaming has remained primarily dependent on cash transactions.”
But that’s already changing, said Jonathan Jones, general manager at Harrah’s Gulf Coast in Biloxi, thanks to younger customers. Jones said millennials are used to paying for everything with credit cards or mobile wallets and apps. To them, getting cash out to play at the casino takes time and can be a burden.
Jones noted, “If you want to play table games at one of our properties, and you’re a millennial without cash, you go to the ATM first. That takes 90 seconds. Then you go to the table game, you give them your cash, they count it, they get someone to verify the count. Then they give you our currency−the chips.” When playing is done, customers get a different color chip, which they have to redeem at the cage.
Other technology that will appeal to younger players includes a terminal that will allow players to watch a live sporting event, get odds for the games and play blackjack and video poker all at the same time, Jones said.
Regarding mobile betting, Jones said Mississippi is “a little behind on mobile. We’re working on that.”
