Casino equipment provider simplifies cashless gaming technology to a QR code
Some people create a company, build it up and then sell it. Gaming industry innovator John Acres has accomplished this three times. He’s now on his fourth business to supply casinos with modern technology and gaming equipment.
If Acres Manufacturing has its way, the days of casino patrons shuttling between ATMs and slot machines will soon be a thing of the past.
The Las Vegas-based company, which unveiled its Universal Payment Adapter earlier this month at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, hopes to further the push to cashless gaming through its new system, which relies on a QR code that provides a link for customers to connect the game with their mobile bank account.
Chief Operating Officer Noah Acres said the system is being used in more than two dozen casinos nationwide. Nevada gaming regulators approved the technology in August, and the company hopes to bring the system to several Las Vegas properties by January.
Acres said management of the Magic City Casino in Miami, where the system is being used, reported revenue at the property is up $10 million from a year ago.
Ahead of the gaming industry’s largest trade show at The Venetian Expo, Acres Manufacturing released the findings of a six-month case study on cashless gaming. It found that cashless players will purchase 92 percent more gaming credits per session than cash-funded players, and were more likely to repurchase credits.
“Our study makes clear that players spend significantly more when using a cashless funding option,” Acres said.
Acres touts that the system removes several steps from the typical cashless gaming process, which includes requiring players to register in person, downloading a mobile app and funding a digital wallet.
“[The system] removes each of these friction points, allowing players to instantly and seamlessly fund any slot machine,” Acres said, adding that “it processes more than a thousand times more data than casinos get from their games today.”
The system will also allow casinos to “hyper-focus marketing offers” that are data-driven and target promotional efforts to individual players, “more like what you see on Amazon or TikTok.”
Acres' father, casino industry pioneer John Acres, who was inducted into the American Gaming Association’s Gaming Hall of Fame in 2016, holds nearly 200 patents covering slot machine products used in casinos worldwide, including player tracking systems, progressive jackpots and programs that determine frequent rewards and bonuses.
Acres Manufacturing is the fourth iteration of the family gaming business. John Acres created and sold three other companies during his career — Electronic Data Technologies, Mikohn Gaming and Acres Gaming — for large profits.
In an interview with The Nevada Independent in December 2021, John Acres discussed a new system that tracked real-time player behavior and data that allowed casinos to send personalized bonuses to customers on their mobile devices.
At the time, he called the system a “friendly Trojan horse” because it enabled a property to place rewards, bonuses and other incentives directly into a customer’s digital wagering account.
Noah Acres used that same term to describe the Universal Payment Adapter because it offers other ways for the company to “offer our data and bonusing services.”
Attorney suggests AI as a solution for understaffed casino compliance departments
Michael Beckwith, a former federal prosecutor turned private practice attorney, said artificial intelligence (AI) could be a useful tool for the casino industry to protect itself from falling victim to crimes involving financial fraud, securities charges and anti-money laundering violations.
Given recent history — three Strip resort operators paid a combined $24.5 million to gaming regulators this year to settle multiple-count complaints for anti-money laundering violations — Beckwith suggested AI could help understaffed compliance departments.
“Casino marketing departments are already using AI to attract customers,” said Beckwith, a member of the Dickinson Wright law firm’s Silicon Valley office in Northern California. “Why not deploy AI on the compliance side? Gaming industry compliance teams are much smaller than operations teams. This is a tool that can be used to augment how a person operates.”
Beckwith, who oversaw hundreds of federal investigations and trials involving money laundering and securities matters in his previous role, spoke to a Global Gaming Expo audience during a session at The Venetian Expo about AI and how potential uses could alleviate some of the risk casinos face.
He said casinos need human oversight on the compliance side, but AI could help decipher massive amounts of data, including the evaluation of suspicious activity reports for any similar patterns that would raise a red flag for compliance officers.
“It’s a tool, like a hammer. It can be used for good purposes, and it can be used for bad purposes,” Beckwith said. “It's only limited by human creativity.”
It wasn’t lost on Beckwith that he was being interviewed at Resorts World Las Vegas, which paid the largest of three settlements — $10.5 million. MGM Resorts International paid $8.5 million to settle its complaint, while Wynn Resorts paid $5.5 million.
Beckwith said the casino industry will continue to deal with money laundering issues.
“It’s human nature, and casinos will be in that business forever,” he said. “There are certain things that will always happen.”
Concerns alleviated: Canadian gamers attend G2E
Canada was well-represented at the Global Gaming Expo. Seven months ago, that might not have been the case.
Several Canadian provinces joined a trade war banning gaming equipment purchases from the U.S., while many Canadians boycotted travel to the U.S. after President Donald Trump suggested the country become part of the U.S. as “the 51st state.”
Canadian Gaming Association President Paul Burns told The Nevada Independent that several provinces have lifted travel or purchase restrictions, giving citizens the green light to travel to Las Vegas. He said the association’s annual G2E party on the Strip was well attended.
“I think much of what happened has been alleviated and the situation is better now in Canada,” Burns said. “It was an inconvenience, and we knew it would never be permanent.”
Through August, international travel is down 2 percent from a year ago, due primarily to double-digit declines in passenger volume at Harry Reid International Airport from the three Canadian-based airlines with direct service to Las Vegas.
Any boost from G2E won’t be reflected until October’s passenger totals are released in November.
News, notes and quotes
🎰 Light & Wonder CEO: ‘We focus on what we can control’
Three slot machine developers — Aristocrat Gaming, Light & Wonder and International Game Technology (IGT) — accounted for 77 percent of the total U.S. gaming equipment market in the second quarter, according to Eilers & Krejcik Gaming. IGT’s recent merger with Everi Holdings will increase the competition. At the recent Global Gaming Expo, Light & Wonder CEO Matt Wilson said that the company, second behind Aristocrat in the Eilers & Krejcik rankings, is focused on its products and not other manufacturers. “We can't really control what IGT, Everi and Aristocrat do. We can only focus on what we can control. Product transformations take a lot of time and effort.”
⚽ Reno is announced as the home for a USL soccer team in 2027
Reno developers announced plans to build an $80 million, 6,000-seat soccer stadium for a United Soccer League Championship (USL) franchise that would begin play in 2027. The league is one step below Major League Soccer. The venue, which will include an entertainment district, will be developed at the former Jones West Ford site on Kietzke Lane. Wendy Damonte, CEO of Reno Pro Soccer, told 2 News Nevada the plans are to build the venue with private funding. “We're doing this for the community. We are going to do what's best for our community.”
🏗️ Salt Lake official hired as convention authority chief operating officer
Former Salt Lake City convention executive Dan Hayes was appointed chief operating officer of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. He will oversee the expansion and renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Center and the organization’s operational strategy and planning. As general manager of the Salt Palace Convention Center and the Mountain America Expo Center, Hayes oversaw capital projects and helped plan a $1.5 billion convention center renovation. He starts in November.
🤝 MGM Resorts executive Sean Lanni joins Opportunity Village board
Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas President Sean Lanni was appointed to the board of Las Vegas charity Opportunity Village. Lanni will soon expand his role with MGM Resorts International to include the non-gaming Vdara, Aria and Park MGM resorts.
🏅 Fisher, Velotta earn AGEM memorial awards
Eric Fisher, general manager for Crane Payment Innovations, and Rick Velotta, gaming reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, received the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers’ (AGEM) 2025 Memorial Awards. Fisher earned the Jens Halle Memorial Award Honoring Excellence in Commercial Gaming Professionalism. Velotta won the Peter Mead Memorial Award Honoring Excellence in Gaming Media & Communications.