Land-based casinos accept a variety of payment options. After all, they want to ensure that players aren’t turned off by a lack of payment methods.

Cash is definitely a popular way to gamble at casinos. You can insert it into slot or video poker machines and get chips when you’re at tables.

While cash may still be quite popular in casinos today, it could be phased out in the near future. If this happens, what will cashless casinos look like?

You can find out below by reading about how payment options work in brick-and-mortar casinos today along with where the industry is headed.

How Casinos Accept Payments Today

Credit cards and cash are the most-popular ways to gamble for real money in land-based casinos. You can use a credit card at the ATM to withdraw money at any time.

No Cash Advance Fees ATM fees are certainly no joke. You’ll pay anywhere from 2% to 8% in cash advance fees when using the casino’s machines. Here’s an example on how much this can take from your gambling bankroll. If you’re a slots or table games player, you’ll want to take advantage of an outstanding perk from L’Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles. Get the convenience of 24/7 access to a credit line with no interest or fees. The exact amount of your cash advance fee depends on the amount of your advance and the method your credit card issuer uses to calculate the fee. Most credit card issuers charge either a flat fee or a percentage of the cash advance amount, whichever is. The casino charges you a processing fee just for issuing you a check from your credit card for the cash advance depending on how much money you want. At one casino I checked a charge for a cash advance of $500 was $21.99. That is 4.4% paid to the casino upfront.

Cards are convenience because you likely already use them a great deal anyways. Plus, they don’t require you to bring lots of cash into the casino.

The latter can put you at risk for a robbery in the parking lot. That said, it’s not hard to see why cards are so popular at gaming establishments.

Of course, you can skip the heavy ATM fees and hassles by simply bringing cash right away. Provided you’re comfortable with the risk, you can start gambling immediately with dollar bills.

As mentioned before, you can insert bills into slot/video poker machines. You’re also able to exchange cash for chips when playing games like baccarat, blackjack, and roulette.

Some casinos accept alternative payment methods, such as money orders and checks. You must show an ID when using either of these options. By and large, though, most of the gambling is done via cash or card.

If you’re a high roller you can even wire money directly to the casino from your bank account and use the cage like a bank.

Cashless Casinos Would Rely Even More on Credit Cards

You can see that cards are already rather popular in land-based gambling venues. Assuming casinos go cashless, though, they’ll become even more prevalent.

With a credit card swiper, though, you might just swipe your card and receive a certain amount of chips. Upon leaving the table, you could trade in chips and swipe your card again to receive credit back.

Bitcoin & Other Cryptocurrencies Will Enter the Picture

Cards aren’t the only way to gamble without dollar bills. Gambling with Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies have become more popular for cashless transactions.

BTC is a famous cryptocurrency that spawned in 2009. It’s a decentralized payment method that’s not subject to third-party control.

It uses an extensive network of miners to ensure that that the network runs smoothly without another party involved.

International Game Technology (IGT) has already filed a patent for Bitcoin-related gambling. It proposes to establish a line of credit through Bitcoin ATMs.

IGT and other game developers might also think about Ethereum in the future too. The latter is a network that relies on smart contracts.

However, it also features a convenient payment option known as Ether. Much like BTC, Ether allows for decentralized transactions with third-party involvement.

Other notable cryptocurrencies that could pop up in land-based casinos at a future date include:

Online Payments Might Even Be Possible

Brick-and-mortar casinos aren’t like online casinos, where they accept all sorts of online payment options. You can’t, for instance, use an e-wallet to fund your account.

That said, it would be nice to see payment methods like PayPal, Neteller, and Skrill become available in land-based casinos.

Rather than having to use your credit card or bring cash, you could just send the casino money through an e-wallet. Casinos, meanwhile, would supply you with the appropriate amount of funds.

Potential Advantages of a Cashless Casino

You may be fine with how brick-and-mortar casinos currently deal with payments at brick-and-mortar casinos. However, you might appreciate one or more of the advantages covered below.

No Hassles With Cash

Regardless of whether you’re gambling or shopping, cash can be a hassle. A big problem with cash is that you must keep track of it.

Of course, your wallet or purse makes this easier to do. But you could still drop money on the gambling floor or anywhere else around a casino resort.

Cashless casinos eliminate this worry. They allow you to do your gaming and pay for everything else via electronic methods.

Less Chances of Being Robbed

Robberies are more common in casinos than at many other entertainment locations. A big reason why is because the thieves know that there’s plenty of cash floating around casinos.

Of course, the same robbers won’t have much success if you’ve only got credit cards or access to cryptocurrencies. You can lessen your chances of being a robbery victim by only having electronic payment methods.

No Cash Advance Fees

ATM fees are certainly no joke. You’ll pay anywhere from 2% to 8% in cash advance fees when using the casino’s machines.

Here’s an example on how much this can take from your gambling bankroll:

• You want $500 to gamble with for a session.
• The ATM fee is 6% of the transaction.
• 500 x 0.06 = $30

While 6% may not sound like much, it takes a few bets away. You could use that $30 to place 3-6 more wagers, depending upon how much you’re betting.

Of course, electronic payment options also come with fees. However, they’re rarely as brutal as up to 8%.

Should Cashless Casinos Be Embraced?

It’s difficult to see casinos going completely cashless any time soon. However, it seems inevitable at some point in the future. After all, more people are making electronic purchases today than ever before.

But should we celebrate this move towards cashless gaming? The answer is a matter of opinion because cash does offer benefits in the casino.

First off, it allows you to gamble without every transaction showing up on a statement. You don’t need to use the casino ATM and have it appear on your monthly statement later. This factor gives you more privacy when gaming.

Cash also makes for an easy way to get started. You can insert one or more bills into a slot machine and start spinning the reels. Or you can visit a table and hand the dealer cash, who’ll provide chips in return.

On the other hand, you might appreciate the benefits of having more electronic payment methods. Credit cards are already common in the gaming world. It would be nice, though, if brick-and-mortar venues added other options, such as popular cryptocurrencies and e-wallets.

Hopefully, both cash and cashless casinos will be available for years to come. This way, you can choose casinos based on your payment preferences.

Casino Cash Advance Fees Waived

Conclusion

The land-based gaming world evolves more and more each decade. One big upcoming step in this evolution will be the move to cashless casinos.

Casino Atm Cash Advance

Currently, gambling establishments still let you bring cash to the tables and slot machines. They also provide ATMs in case you don’t like bringing bills in the casino.

But as IGT’s Bitcoin patent shows, the gaming world is exploring more electronic banking methods. They may even add other options like e-wallets in the future.

Casino Cash Advance Systems

Cashless casinos will be here at some point in the near future. Assuming you’re comfortable with online banking methods, then you should be perfectly fine with these changes.