The days of cash are numbered. The sign has long been on the wall for physical cash, with online and digital payment technologies advancing at an ever-increasing pace. As with society as a whole, the gambling industry is already experiencing this shift, both online and offline, with more players than ever choosing to do so through virtual payment methods.

This trend has only accelerated with the pandemic, forcing a move towards digital money in sectors that had previously seen slower uptake. In many ways, gambling is particularly well positioned to take advantage of this changing landscape, to embrace the future of payment technology.

The Blockchain is at the forefront of this brave new world, paving the way for cashless casinos.

With the technical advantages offered by Bitcoin, casino and gambling operators of all types are poised to benefit from a new cashless future. Cashless casinos work by assigning players a Bitcoin wallet, linked to USD or some other appropriate fiat currency for their gambling session. This immediately reduces the need to handle or conduct cash transactions on the casino floor and makes the gambling experience more convenient for both player and operator.

Players log into the operator's payment platform, load cash from the trust money into their wallet and immediately exchange those funds for credits on the casino floor. Players can transfer from their individual wallet to table wallets via QR codes, for example, immediately exchanged for chips in play.

Any winnings can be returned directly to the player's wallet through the same mechanism, or returned in coins or tokens, which can be cashed out for wallet credit or cash directly to the player's bank account. The additional advantage here is that the player is also automatically synchronized with the operator's loyalty program, providing better data for operators, as well as better access to more personalized perks and benefits for the player himself.

Tokenization also allows casinos and gambling operators to more effectively link their online and offline platforms. This allows physical casinos to operate cashless, while providing a seamless user experience across the entire online realm. Players can then wager across both online and offline channels to the same effect, earning loyalty points in both formats as they go.

The benefits here for operators are extensive, giving them significantly greater insight and control over player behavior, not to mention the convenience, flexibility and efficiency of a technology that eliminates the need for physical cash transactions.