Everi CEO envisions boost from cashless gaming tech

Despite a loss in quarterly sales, Las Vegas-based gaming company Everi Holdings Inc. said its cashless gaming systems are providing a boost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company reported Tuesday a net loss of $68.5 million during the second quarter that also saw only $38.7 million in revenue compared with $129.7 million during the same quarter last year.

But Everi CEO Michael Rumbolz told shareholders Tuesday the company had a better-than-expected second quarter buoyed in part by its cashless gaming technology.

Rumbolz said the company is positioned to ride a wave of demand for no-touch payment technology and resume having leftover cash as early as the fall.

“We believe that we have first-mover advantage and will become the leader in cashless funding options in casinos as these technologies are adopted more broadly in the near and long term,” Rumbolz told shareholders on an earnings call.

The company already offers a gaming voucher product, QuikTicket, that gamblers can insert into a slot machine in lieu of cash. It’s also developing a mobile app, CashClub Wallet, that integrates with its QuikTicket system and bypasses altogether the need for tactile payments. Using the app, casinogoers can fund their games directly without cash or a voucher while tying into loyalty programs, he said.

There’s a demand for alternative payment methods to gaming credits, Executive Vice President Darren Simmons said.

“In our conversations with our customers, that’s what’s resonating,” he said.

Everi began field testing the app in casinos back in March prior to the pandemic reaching Las Vegas. Rumbolz said “a lot of casinos are asking about the app,” though the company has been working with casinos to discuss what products might work best for them.

“We saw casinos that actually took the QuikTicket product, that didn’t have it previously installed, at two major customers’ locations during the pandemic shutdown because they were so interested in having something available when they reopened their casinos,” Rumbolz said.

Introducing the payment app into casinos will take a collaborative effort by their marketing departments and Everi to inform the customer what it is and how it works, he noted.

Additionally, the company attributed a sunnier outlook for the fall to 636 new machine installations during 2020 and cost-cutting and restructuring measures in response to casino closures.

Company shares, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, closed Tuesday at $6.40 per share, an increase of 5.26 percent, according to Yahoo Finance.

Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.