Multiple brawls at Crown Perth last weekend

Perth’s Crown Casino has found itself the site of two vicious brawls in the space of just hours as punters threw punches on the gaming floor.

Daily Mail reports the Perth venue turned into a fight club with the combatants egged on by onlookers on Saturday night.

Two women squared off just outside one of the lounge areas and began screaming at each other while standing inches from each other’s face.

Eventually one of the women gave the other a push to get her out of her face and received a punch towards the face in return.

Onlookers yelled encouragement even after the brawl was broken up.

Elsewhere in the casino, another brawl broke out among a group of men at the top of an escalator that was filmed by a passing guest.

Yelling could be heard as the man approached the area and the fight between at least six people began.

Punches were thrown while the others wrestled or shoved each other and a few tried to unsuccessfully break the fight up.

The casino is the only venue in Perth that stays open 24 hours a day.

Crown Perth considers debit card payment at gaming tables

Crown Casino Perth is considering using debit card chip purchases at its gaming tables.

Tunf reported in July that the Gaming and Wagering Commission is on board the plan, which would see gamblers use their debit cards to purchase chips, without having to go to the casino cage.

Crown has been instructed to provide “a report on the use of the facility at the completion of the first three months of operation.”

The issue the proposal raises is around problem gambling.

According to Crown representatives, there has been “a noticeable shift to the use of cashless payments in our community.”

Crown said that “credit cards will not be allowed and transaction limits will apply” to the trial.

The limits will be A$500 per day.

The American Gaming Association recently released its new Payments Modernisation Policy Principles, which intend to reduce the reliance on cash in US casinos.

Nevada casino have already flirted with Automated Cashless Systems’ PlayOn table-based ATM system.

The off-Strip Ellis Island Casino is currently doing a test run of Konami Gaming’s new digital slot market to permit bettors with PIN-protected Synkros cashless wagering accounts to receive credit for slots play, but it must be within five minutes of applying.

Cashless casino payment methods are few in number

The American Gaming Association has released a report that provides a framework for regulatory flexibility allowing digital payments on the casino floor.

Yogonet reported in June that according to the AGA, enabling payment choice allows casino customers the ability to supplement cash with safe and secure digital payment options on the casino floor.

This not only improves responsible gaming efforts by equipping customers with digital tools to help them monitor their gaming and set limits, but also provides operators, regulators and law enforcement increased transparency into matters of anti-money laundering and monitoring of financial transactions.

In early 2019, the AGA convened a working group of members to evaluate the regulatory, processing and consumer landscape related to expanding payment options on the casino floor.

The Payments Modernisation Policy Principles, the product of that collaborative effort, seek to educate state and tribal regulators who are considering expanding payment choice.

It included a number of points including the ability to equip customers with more tools to wager responsibly, give customers payment choice and convenience, ensure state laws enable a flexible regulatory approach and address heightened public health concerns.

Recent AGA research found that 59 per cent of past year casino visitors are less likely to use cash in their everyday lives because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This translates to customer preferences on the casino floor, as 54 per cent indicate that would be very likely to utilise a digital or contactless payment option when they gamble.

Presently, a small number of casinos use such payments, which include debit or credit cards, as well as apps like Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal.