FreedomPay and Sightline Payments Partner to Create World’s First Cashless Ecosystem for Casinos, Resorts and Gaming Operators
Partnership transforms end-to-end user experience and shifts multiple industries from cash and legacy tech to cutting-edge, fully integrated digital platform
Solution creates single player identity capable of delivering a connected and immersive guest experience
Platform merges business intelligence and behavioral data to enrich the persona and more fully understand the patron and their behavior to drive long-term value and patron loyalty
Play+ brand offers safe, secure and co-branded digital payments experience enabling financial transactions in a responsible way, whether on or off the gaming floor
LAS VEGAS, Dec. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FreedomPay and Sightline Payments; two powerhouse FinTech solution providers serving the gaming, lottery, sports betting, entertainment, retail, and hospitality ecosystems, today announced they have formed a strategic partnership to jointly develop, market and deliver a breakthrough new cashless digital payments and patron loyalty platform. The system will offer the broad industry reach and unprecedented features for which both companies are widely regarded and promises to transform the burgeoning gaming and entertainment industries.
Today’s announcement is a first of its kind, taking the integrated resort customer experience to the next level by integrating state-of-the-art cashless digital payment solutions with robust customer loyalty programs for in-house gaming properties, digital and mobile gaming, food service, retail channels, and more. The platform merges proprietary business intelligence and behavioral data from both organizations to create a robust patron persona. Now, resort operators are empowered to deliver a personalized and immersive experience both on and off the gaming floor.
“The events of 2020 have dramatically and permanently changed many attitudes, behaviors and even industries around the world, and chief among them is an incredible urgency to move our society away from cash to innovative new cashless payment technologies, said Joe Pappano, Chief Executive Officer of Sightline Payments. “This strategic partnership between two leading FinTech payments providers not only promises to deliver a digital payment solution to the gaming industry, but it opens up entire new industries like retail, sports, and entertainment, creating incredible new opportunities for partnerships in a much bigger and broader gaming and hospitality ecosystem.”
“The partnership with Sightline Payments is a first for the sector and brings a new and elevated customer experience that transforms the world of gaming and hospitality,” said Christopher Kronenthal, President & CTO at FreedomPay. “A completely digital experience not only gives customers more flexibility but also allows integrated resorts to drive relevant discount and incentives to guests through secured data. This has never been achieved in the industry before and we believe this will be a true game changer for the sector.”
FreedomPay and Sightline Payments serve many of the premier gaming and entertainment operators in the United States including the top 10 sports betting and gaming operators. Additionally, Play+, Sightline’s flagship solution for seamless and secure pay-and-play with nearly 1.5 million enrolled accounts, is the leading cashless mechanism for users to safety and easily store money and fund their entertainment on gaming apps, on the gaming floor, and on sports platforms with instant access to their money, anytime, anywhere – all from a smartphone.
Background
The American Gaming Association (AGA) released Payments Modernization Principles in June 2020 to provide a framework for regulatory flexibility allowing digital payments on the casino floor. The principles, developed by AGA members, outline seven priority areas for regulators to consider including responsible gaming, public health, and flexible regulatory guidelines.
AGA research shows consumers desire for digital payment options given pandemic-related health concerns:
59 percent of past-year casino visitors are less likely to use cash in their everyday lives because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
57 percent of past-year casino visitors report the option for digital or contactless payments on the casino floor is important to them because of the COVID-19 pandemic