opinion : gaming kiosks
level of rewards . “ There are many days when casino properties are getting bus loads of people , and they can get pretty crowded ,” McCracken said . “ The selfservice capabilities of kiosk technology have helped casinos reduce the manpower needed to provide a lot of the basic functions to take care of their guests , while improving customer service at the same time .”
For the house
• Enrol new loyalty members
• Print customised player ’ s club loyalty cards
• Eliminate lines at customer service
• Deploy manpower to more complicated tasks
• Check-in / check-out at resort hotel
• Print boarding basses for departing guests
When casinos made the transition from mechanical to digital games in the 1980s and 1990s , it opened the door to technology that helped them spot their most profitable patrons . Loyalty programs , originally called slot clubs , began appearing in many of the larger casinos . Customers would sign up for player cards , and in return for loyalty to a particular casino they would receive reduced-rate or complementary rooms , access to special events , free meals and more . Players would insert their cards into a slot machine or other gaming device , with their level of rewards dependent on their overall playing time or the money wagered .
The loyalty cards provided a flood of analytics for casino operators , allowing them to track the playing habits of individual patrons and reward them accordingly , as well as letting them see which games were the most popular and kept patrons playing the longest . And because kiosk technology had long been a feature of casinos in the form of ATMs , it was only a small step to adapt the technology to loyalty cards , allowing a player to swipe their card to see what they had earned .
“ Certainly , I think part of the idea is to improve customer service ,” said David McCracken , CEO of York , Pennsylvania-based kiosk software provider Livewire Digital . “ The technology has allowed casinos to reduce the number of people lined up at a customer service desk ,” Adding . “ It ’ s good for the customer but it ’ s also good for the casino , by getting those customers out of the lines and back to the tables .”
Today , it ’ s not uncommon to see players swipe their card at a loyalty kiosk , only to return to the gaming floor to play enough to reach the next
Building on success As the capabilities of kiosk technology have grown over the years , so have the services offered by those devices . Livewire , for example , has worked with Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard , Connecticut for more than 10 years . Foxwoods is the largest casino in the world with more than 340,000 sq ft of gaming space serving more than 40,000 guests per day . The resort also features a hotel with 1,416 rooms and a two-story arcade for children and teens .
Because Foxwoods ’ existing kiosks were becoming dated and offered limited functionality , in 2007 management approached Livewire to update their machines to a more modern design while adding new functionality for members of the casino ’ s popular Wampum Rewards Program . Instead of having patrons wait in line at a customer service desk to do things such as redeem points for promotional rewards , Foxwoods wanted to make those basic services available at the kiosk .
Livewire ultimately developed a software solution that integrated the Wampum Rewards Program with Foxwoods ’ Casino Management System and Slot Data System . In addition to being able to swipe their loyalty cards to view point balances , patrons can
38 KIOSK solutions