Over the last months banks have been reluctant to install branded ATMs in gambling halls. The reasons vary for this, from shying away from a high profile in gambling to paying more attention to other banking products that are also more profitable. One thing is sure, banks will not be keeping away from money - not altogether, anyway.

Stepping into the bank’s shoes, Las Vegas-based Global Cash Access, a provider of cash access products including ATMs, has picked up Bank of America's and Wells Fargo's ATM gaming portfolios and is reaping the rewards from high casino traffic. The company now has 400 ATMs in Las Vegas casinos and 1,200 nationwide, with clients extending from Harrah's Entertainment to Boyd Gaming.

In this often overlooked gaming niche, ATM providers operate in regulation obsessed environments, and according to UNLV professor in gaming, Bill Thompson, casino ATM suppliers should be required to be approved by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, in view that at present they are not even required to seek approval with the state Financial Institutions Division.

This situation should change, however, if a gaming manufacturer like International Game Technology comes into the picture. According to the Las Vegas Business Press: “Global Cash Advance is happy to develop the technology. It is partnering with IGT to develop a machine, dubbed Todd and Edith, that is attached to a slot bank and accepts debit cards for play.”

With the advent of the Ticket In Ticket Out system pioneered by IGT, the cash dispensing machines are likely to lose their relevance on the gaming floors, and those that survive would definitely have some sort of gaming licensing as suggested by Professor Thompson. (E-11.01.05)

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