Nevada approves mobile verification for cashless casino accounts

The Nevada Gaming Commission has approved a new regulation that will allow customers to set up their cashless gaming accounts remotely.

US.- The Nevada Gaming Commission has approved remote registration for cashless gaming and payment accounts. This will allow gamblers to sign up for a casino’s cashless system without travelling to the actual property. Patrons will be able create wagering accounts online and upload ID documents for verification.

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

As reported by The Nevada Independent, gaming commissioner Ben Kieckhefer said: “We balance the need for intense integrity in some of these processes with the ongoing need to stay modern in our technological offerings to the consumers as they come into our state and our facilities. I think this goes in a positive direction of supporting whatever the consumer wants while maintaining the integrity.”

Some at the regulator questioned the move. Commissioner Ogonna Brown was among them. She said: “I am just not sure convenience and efficiency are the biggest concerns,” Brown said. “Those are the safeguards and protections. I’m not seeing why the in-person verification is so inefficient or inconvenient.”

The amendment was proposed by Sightline Payments, whose cashless gaming technology platform is 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.

Sightline co-CEO Omer Sattar told the Gaming Commission: “What we’re proposing today would actually be a two-step process for remote verification, which actually provides more safety for the registration of the account.

“We actually think the system is more safe, more secure, but it makes it easier for the vast majority of consumers to actually try real cashless chains in the state of Nevada”.

Sattar said the remote registration process, which follows all know-your-customer guidelines provided by federal anti-money laundering regulators, will be up and running by March. 

Jennifer Carleton, Sightline’s chief legal officer, said: “This shift to allow for digital identity verification for wagering accounts allows Nevada’s gaming industry to leverage the best practices from across the financial services industry to enhance customer security and the customer experience.

“Nevada’s new regulation is in line with federal guidance permitting both new verification methods including knowledge-based authentication, as well as traditional documentary measures such as a customer’s driver’s license or passport. We look forward to working with regulators in gaming jurisdictions across the country to advance similar regulatory innovation.”

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