These ‘tabletop ATMs’ could spell disaster for gamblers
By Ben Kaplan, New York Post, November 21, 2019
The PlayOnSM Table Game Solution, acsplayon.com
Here’s a surefire way for gamblers to go broke on a dime.
A new technology that cuts out the trip to the ATM or the casino cashier is set to debut in Las Vegas, which removes all temptation for gamblers to ever consider folding their hands.
Debuting at Palms Casino Resort after Thanksgiving, PlayOn devices are essentially tabletop ATMs that pay out, between hands, in casino chips instead of paper currency, which all but cuts out the middleman by mitigating the buzzkill of depleting cash at hand and searching out an ATM on the gaming floor.
This is good news for casinos and potentially disastrous for some of their best customers: players with degenerate leanings.
Dr. Timothy Fong, director of UCLA Gambling Studies Program, sees potential perils for the six million or so American adults who are said to qualify as problem gamblers, who rarely know when to quit and spew cash until their pockets are empty.
“It is like having a cocaine dealer sitting next to you if you struggle with cocaine,” Fong tells The Post. “For some people it’s fine. For others, it is a problem.”
If temporarily busted gamblers are concerned about exceeding their daily bank-account withdrawal limits, the company has them covered. “It is not truly an ATM transaction [made with the PlayOn],” explains Mike Sackrison, CFO of Reno-based parent company Automated Cashless Systems.
Sackrison explains that the system for PlayOn goes through point of sale (POS) transactions, which — unlike an ATM withdrawal with limits — is similar to making a purchase with a bank card. It also makes the stakes as high as you want them to be.
“With the ATM transaction, you are usually limited to $300 to $500 per day,” he says. “POS … is typically $3,000 to $5,000 per day, depending on bank limits.”
Not only can you lose more, but you’ll also pay more for the opportunity: While an ATM transaction in a casino may include a $5 charge, a POS withdrawal, says Sackrison, “in Las Vegas [will be] $4 plus 2 to 3 percent depending on the casino.” By that fee-structure, withdrawing $500 in gambling chips can run you $19 in fees before you even play a single hand — not to mention chips tend to be treated more cavalierly than cash.
Sackrison says not only does the new system make it easy to keep playing, it also helps to prevent people from taking credit card advances, which are typically offered by standard casino cash machines along with the POS option.
“Players like it because it’s convenient … and we’re not allowing people to go into debt,” he says. “They are using their own money”
While Sackrison applies a positive spin, others fail to see it. One Facebook commenter describes the easily accessed PlayOn as “sheer greed and exploitation.”
Unbowed, Sackrison focuses on the convenience factor: “At the end of the day, we see tremendous repeat business from customers. It proves that they are comfortable using the system and are able to use it responsibly.”
Fong, though, sees the danger for problem gamblers. “The essence of gambling is not about winning; it’s about staying in action and continuing to play,” he says.
“[Gamblers] might be numbing their emotional states and disassociating. In theory, if you get up and step away [from the table to find an ATM machine], you can reset your brain. This gives people no chance to leave the zone of action … and break the cycle.”
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