Your Daily Asia Gaming eBrief: Is the future cashless?

Friday 24th of June 2022

Good Morning. There’s been a lot of talk about the move to cashless gaming in land-based casinos, but in reality the implementation is still not widespread. In this week’s Face-to-Face interview, Transact Technologies’ Senior Vice President Tracey Chernay talks to us about some of the roadblocks to wider spread adoption. She also tells us about the strong recovery across nearly all gaming markets, with Asia also joining in the growth. Meanwhile Macau is under lockdown as Covid cases continue to rise, although casinos have been exempted from the city-wide closures of all other leisure facilities.

What you need to know

Macau’s casinos will remain open, but nearly all other recreational facilities have been put into lockdown as the city battles its worst outbreak of Covid.
The Macau government extended the concessions of each of the operators for six months, for a payment of about $6m and bank guarantees to cover employee costs.
Macau operators said to be “truly grateful” for the extension of the contracts as they reiterate readiness to participate in the tender process.

On the radar

SJM announces successful refinancing of HK$19b in loan facilities.
Failure to renew all Macau concessions a risk to govt. finance: Moody’s.
Philippines audit body urges $42.4m collection in overdue POGO taxes.
IPI aiming for financial lifeline from JV Chinese partner, Sino Travel Samoa.

AGB Intelligence

FACE-TO-FACE

Tracey Chernay talks about cashless gaming, Asia gaming ebrief

Is cashless more hype than reality for casinos?

The pandemic has accelerated a move to cashless in just about every sphere, although casinos are still lagging behind the curve. There’s certainly a lot of talk about the subject, but Tracey Chernay, senior vice president of Transact Technologies, tells us in this week’s Face-to-Face that she’s not convinced about the level of player demand. Chernay, who will be discussing the merits of cashless gaming and new technologies at the ASEAN Gaming Summit in July, also says she’s seeing a strong recovery from Covid in all major markets, with Asia bouncing back.