It’s an understatement to say that the casino industry has been slow to adapt to mobile technology. Consumers use smartphones to find a ride, order groceries and coordinate their business and social lives; however, stepping inside a casino, is almost like travelling back in time to 2005.
Want to play a game of blackjack or try your luck on your favorite slot machine? You’ll have to use cash. Loyalty rewards are only earned by using a physical player card, and the most common marketing offers are distributed via direct mail. Yes, snail mail.
Advancing technology
Acres Manufacturing was founded to address the gambling and casino industry’s need for modernization. Focused on delivering high-fidelity mobile integration to casinos, Acres Manufacturing is rapidly revolutionizing operations and marketing, resulting in more profits for casinos and a more fulfilling experience for players.
Using technology, the casino industry will be able to facilitate cashless gaming across their entire operation. Instant marketing offers will be deployed to players via their smartphones, and casinos will be able to direct prizes or jackpots to be paid to the slot machine or to the mobile wallet. Physical player cards will be decommissioned, and your phone – using the casino’s mobile app or website – will become your interface to the entire brand, from casino games to shopping, entertainment, dining and more.
Existing casino technology – the systems that track player spending for accounting and loyalty – is outdated. Very little player data is actually collected, and nothing is analyzed in real-time. As a result, any sort of real-time marketing is practically impossible. In addition, the little data that is gathered is stored in proprietary databases that simply cannot interface with many other applications. This needs to change for the casino industry.
Data is key
Our technology, Foundation, was created with the belief that data is the lifeblood of a 21st century business. Foundation is able to track all play in real-time and provides casinos over a thousand times more data than they’ve ever accessed before. Foundation gives casinos complete ownership and control of this data, which can be easily integrated with any other data source. Using Foundation, casinos can apply advanced AI to model player behavior and deliver a precisely timed and measured incentive when one is needed to sustain a long-term relationship with the player.
The player experience will be fast, fun and above all, personalized to reflect each player’s unique preferences and history. This will truly be a game-changer for the casino industry.
In today’s casino industry, only high rollers get personalized service. Highly paid casino hosts and entire marketing departments are designed to build personal relationships to lure high-value players into the casino. Using Foundation’s immense dataset, casinos can quickly and cost effectively offer similar experiences to lower-level spenders, many of whom will develop into higher level players.
Advanced ML algorithms
Foundation will also change in-game dynamics. Just as Amazon knows it’s time to order new toothpaste, Foundation allows casinos to know when a player might need an extra incentive or reward to extend the relationship. When a player faces an unruly losing streak that could jeopardize the long-term relationship, Foundation can intervene by directing a well-timed jackpot or bonus to be paid to the player’s game or mobile wallet.
The linchpin required to gain mass acceptance of the new mobile interface is the convergence of both the loyalty and payment experience. With loyalty integrated, casinos and the casino industry can create and deploy incredibly powerful real-time incentives. Adding payments allows players to hold a mobile wallet balance that can buy in or cash out of any slot machine or table game. The combination of these two elements is key to removing layers of friction and extending the relationship beyond the four walls of the casino and the casino industry.
Casino industry
Casinos can even forge relationships with other businesses to make the money in their mobile wallet spendable elsewhere. We see a future where casinos can begin to replace credit card points with chances to win cash prizes or other rewards for each dollar spent at a partner retailer. Using this technology, we believe the casino industry can become one of the most important brands in the consumer economy.