Successful TITO conference in the first day of Yogonet's summit

The moderator Cesar Augusto Dechat, Slot Manager of Trilenium Casino, talked about the advantages and benefits of this payment system for casinos with the following panelists: John Wimsett, Managing Director of IGT Latin America (South and Central), John Connelly, VP International of Bally, John Edmunds, Director General Europe of Future Logic and Mike Innes, CEO of Money Controls.

The first question was how did TITO concept begin and what was its evolution. John Wimsett said that it started in the 90s in United States but begun to have impact in 2000. “Now it is a worldwide phenomenon, with 600,000 machines worldwide. In Latin America it is increasing, too. In Argentina, there are 25 sites that offer TITO options nowadays and there was a 70% increase in the number of machines”.

When talking about Latin America, John Connelly, VP International of Bally, said that TITO is quickly increasing in the area and added that in Chile over 80% of the new casinos use TITO or a cashless system. He also pointed that Argentina invests in TITO. “The timing is perfect for Latin America to invest in TITO growth”, he added.

Besides, John Edmunds, Director General Europe of Future Logic, said that the difference between TITO and other cashless systems is that “with TITO players can receive the ticket in their hands, and experience shows us that it is very different from other winning experiences”.

Connelly gave an advice to operators on the matter. “Keep in mind that there are several solutions; different applications for operators. If you are going to invest in a system and in applications be sure in which company, in which applications and which bandwidth you are going to invest in, as well as the development cycle. Sometimes the lowest cost solution is not the best because you have to change it more quickly”.

Then, Dechat asked about security measures. Connelly said that operators should spend money in a technology that can be integrated, and mentioned GSA open architecture. Besides, Edmunds added that the devices should be reliable. When speaking about other benefits for TITO, Edmunds said that the cash-out ticket is a medium to communicate with the player, that allows to provide direct marketing, so he said operators should use the opportunity to incentivate the customers.

Then, they talked about the future of technology, and Connelly commented that not only TITO but also other technologies in general (player tracking, bonusing, etc) are very important to be competitive in the future. Then he commented about smart systems, which are designed to provide tools to operators to manage the casinos in real time more efficiently, to evaluate machine profitability, players, to help create more interaction, etc.

“We have a strong belief that ticket is not just a mean to deliver cash or credit” said Wimsett, and added: ”Ticketing remains the preferred option for players who prefer anonymity”. Finally, Mike Innes commented that cash will always be very important in a gaming environment. “A cash impact continues to increase in people pockets, so cash will remain in the future”, he concluded.