button in SafariIs Cashless the Future of Casino Gaming?
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When the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip were first being put up, the concept of a "cashless casino" was completely foreign, and has remained so for almost every land-based casino in the present day. However, that might be all about to change.
A Nevada venue has recently introduced its first cashless slot machines, which allow players to deposit directly from their phone onto the slot, with the process taking mere seconds. Cold, hard cash may well be on the way out, if these new machines are anything to go by.
Crystal Bay Casino
Following Las Vegas' introduction to this new method of paying and playing, Crystal Bay Casino, on the other side of the state, placed the first RAPIDPLAY™ cashless machines in Nevada, in October 2026. Although the devices were announced back in 2024, the gaming supplier has just officially confirmed that they have finally found their first home.
That home, in Crystal Bay, Nevada, is Crystal Bay Casino, which will celebrate its 90th anniversary next year. The heart of gaming in its city, the casino offers blackjack tables, craps, as well as roulette. Not only that, but it has just added to its fleet of over 180 slot machines, with the newest arrivals not accepting cash.
The venue also features a sportsbook that belongs to world-renowned bookmaker William Hill, where players can both watch and bet on an array of sports.
How Does the Machine Work?
When Light and Wonder, the brains behind RAPIDPLAY™ cashless machines, first announced their newest product, their senior director of product management Jeff Allen described them as "an ATM at the slot machine."
"Rather than the player walking over and withdrawing money from an ATM and inserting it into a slot machine, they can do everything right there at the point of play," he added.
The cashless technology is powered by Koin Payments, which is an industry leader in pay-by-bank technology. Players simply scan a QR code on the machine, and transfer money directly into the slot.
The Future of Gaming?
This isn't the first instance of cashless technology in the United States gaming space, as earlier this year it saw itself introduced into Station Casinos, and it was even easier than performing a bank transfer from your phone.
These contraptions were installed across Las Vegas, at Durango Casino and Resort, Wildfire Anthem, as well as at Seventy Six Taverns. Using Adostics’ TrustedTap, the gaming company rolled our a field-test of machines that support Apple Pay, meaning players have to simply tap their phones to load up their balance.
It is yet to be seen if this trend is going to catch on across the strip, however with contactless payments the preferred method at almost all hospitality venues, stores, and everything in between, the future of gambling could well continue to be further streamlined.
