Nevada Gaming Commission OKs Mobile Verification for Cashless Gaming Accounts

Posted on: January 20, 2022, 11:47h. 

Last updated on: October 7, 2022, 03:57h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

The Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) on Thursday approved a new regulation that will allow individuals to set up their cashless gaming accounts remotely. It’s a change that Omer Sattar had been wanting for a long time.

Sightline cashless gaming app
The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday approved a new regulation that allows for casino guests to register for a cashless gaming account and prove their identity online. The new policy took effect after Thursday’s meeting. (Image: Sightline Payments)

Sattar serves as the co-CEO of Sightline Payments, which recommended the new regulation to state officials. The commission’s approval comes after the Nevada Gaming Control Board signed off on it last month.

We’ve been waiting on this for the last 17 years,” Sattar told the commissioners Thursday. “We think we are on the cusp of the adoption of the technology.”

Sightline Payments has provided a cashless gaming technology platform that’s currently being used by Resorts World Las Vegas and Boyd Gaming’s Aliante Casino. The technology allows guests to use their mobile devices to fund their play at table games or on slot machines.

The company first proposed amending the registration regulation in 2020, and submitted an amended petition after its launches at Resorts World and the Aliante.

The commission approved cashless gaming at Nevada casinos in June 2020.

The Waiting is Over

Under the previous rules, customers faced lengthy delays in getting their accounts verified.

Users could download the app before arriving at the casino. However, before they could add funds and start playing, they were required to show identification to a casino employee to complete the registration process.

At Resorts World, the newest casino on the Strip, users waited in line for up to two hours to get verified. But even at Boyd’s Nevada casinos, Sattar said wait times ran as long as 40 minutes.

The change took effect after Thursday’s meeting. Now, users will be able to verify their identity by uploading a government document, such as an image of their driver’s license. After that, the user will then provide some information, such as answering historical questions like where they attended school or lived previously. They can also provide something like a utility bill to give the operator a reasonable expectation that they’ve confirmed the user’s identity.

While they will be able to use their accounts immediately upon entering the gaming floor, they may still be asked to produce their identification at the casino.

The NGC’s approval only pertains to casino wagering accounts. Mobile sports betting accounts established in Nevada will still require the account holder to physically visit a sportsbook before they can start using that account.

Technology Used in Financial Markets

While the commissioners approved the change unanimously, not all of the commissioners were enthusiastic in their comments and questions about mobile registration and verification. There were questions of whether the long lines were more of a casino’s operations issues than a regulatory matter.

Commissioner Ogonna Brown said she was concerned about losing the “safeguards and protections” in-person verification provides. But she acknowledged there was no one who showed up to oppose the proposal.

“It seems that you’ve addressed the issues. But I’m still struggling with the actual necessity compared to the safeguards,” she said.

However, Commissioner Ben Kieckhefer noted that people who come to Vegas for a brief vacation may feel inconvenienced. That’s if they had to spend more time than necessary in a line rather than “having fun” at a table or slot machine.

He added that the people who will be setting up the accounts will be playing in the casino, so any security concerns could be easily addressed. That’s why he considered the proposal worthwhile.

“This is the same technology that lets you take out a jumbo mortgage, and if we’re allowing people to access that type of credit, then I think from an integrity standpoint… this moves us in a positive direction of supporting where consumers want to be and maintaining the integrity that we expect,” he said.