Walker Digital Table Systems: Securing Games of Chance

Stephen Moore, CEO

From Las Vegas to Macau, the excitement and glamour of the casino fascinates players and non-players alike, and it is no secret that the gambling industry is a billion-dollar game that continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. The greatest explosion in industry growth has been and continues to be in Asia. As is true in other industries, casinos have implemented the most recent advances in technology to give customers a seamless gambling experience as online gaming and mobile applications have irrevocably changed consumer behavior. But despite the changes that have been driven by technology adoption, live betting on traditional table games is still the preferred experience for many, and the live baccarat table is the overwhelming favorite in Asian casinos. This growth has also attracted bad actors and casino fraud including inside jobs, chip smash-and-grabs, and counterfeiters that pose serious challenges for operators and regulators. Today, casino owners around the globe are actively searching for technology-aided solutions to mitigate security risks and optimize their business while preserving the tradition and excitement of live table gaming.

The CEO of Walker Digital Table Systems (WDTS), Stephen Moore, shares his valuable insights on table games innovations that enable casinos to dramatically increase game security and dealer accuracy while minimizing losses from human error, collusion, and theft. At the heart of the company’s solution is phase jitter modulation technology (PJM3.0TM), an RFID protocol capable of meeting the high-volume, high-speed requirements of a casino floor. This technology was first introduced to enable new bet types but quickly evolved to drive a technology platform that supports operations across the enterprise.

The Opening Bid

Our flagship product is Perfect PayTM, an integrated table games system that uses PJM3.0 technology to invisibly track chips, player wagers, and game outcomes. Perfect Pay evolved from a platform initially developed to support new bets we invented that offered baccarat players mid-game wagering opportunities with novel, dynamically-calculated payout odds.

These bets were designed to address challenges with the game of baccarat—a low house edge, a lack of player excitement, and a practice of under-the-table side bets made via third parties that eroded profitability and that were difficult to police. Elite BetsTM added excitement to the game, increased the house edge, and moved new bet options onto the table. To get it done, we needed a way to register bets, track the game, and tell the dealer how much to pay winners. We considered a variety of technologies to meet these needs and chose PJM RFID. In applications of RFID for casino gaming, sensors in the table read information on the gaming chip, such as denomination and currency type.

Elite Bets were popular with players and profitable to the casino, but by far the most significant realization we came away with was that the critical value of the platform to casino operators was to secure table transactions, support dealer accuracy, and generate exceptionally granular data around player behavior that had never been available before.

A key to our approach was instead of adapting the gaming table to the technology, we perfected the technology around the needs of the business

This feedback prompted a pivot away from proprietary bets to developing the platform.

Going all in

WDTS rolled out Perfect Pay in 2012 and hit a home run. Although we were not the first to attempt to implement RFID technology on table games, we were the first to do so successfully. A key to our approach was instead of adapting the gaming table to the technology, we perfected the technology around the needs of the business, and then built a solution designed specifically for them. The result is a system that uses radio signals to track every bet, every chip, and every player in real time while remaining indistinguishable from a traditional table game. In effect, with our system in place, it is almost impossible for the game to proceed without accurate transactions and flawless game play. While offering solutions for a fair-play environment, we retain all the emotion and excitement of live gaming.

We deliver Perfect Pay as an integrated product which is designed to support all aspects of table games operations and help supervisors and dealers run the game smoothly and provide an excellent player experience. There are a lot of irregularities that can happen during a game, some intentional and others the result of simple—but costly—human errors. WDTS covers all the requirements of game integrity while also providing automation that significantly reduces the labor and stress placed on dealers and supervisors.

The Bigger Picture

System benefits extend beyond the table. Exact player tracking supports customer reinvestment models that let marketers accurately define the value of a customer to the enterprise. Perfect Pay can also bring significant efficiencies and new business insights to audit processes, the loyalty program, casino cage operations, and financial analysis groups, to name a few. During the implementation, we spend a considerable amount of time working with the different departments so they can understand and fully leverage the capabilities of the Perfect Pay operating environment. These internal experts become critical to the adoption of game-changing innovations like Perfect Pay.

Our customers have different value drivers and after shifting to our platform focus on different benefits. In some cases, a 20-30 percent increase in game speed makes the critical difference, and for others, it is the three to five additional hands per hour gained through operational efficiencies like being able to change the accounting day of an entire gaming floor in just a few minutes. Alternatively, an incremental increase in table win created by stopping leakage from errors, theft, and cheating is a priority. Some operators champion Perfect Pay because they are committed to achieving full-floor automation, eliminating paperwork, and maximizing table open time. In every case, total game integrity and counterfeit chip protection reinforce the original decision to implement Perfect Pay.

Partnering for Success

WDTS provides customized services for our clients, and this helps us design unique solutions for them. Recently, we worked with a customer to develop Chip- Based Player Tracking. This feature associates gaming chips to individual players and records their chip transactions across casino locations. When we associate chip purchases with players, it is possible to automatically track play and optionally rate players without manual procedures at the table. This level of innovation is only possible with close customer relationships and the right technologies.

We have a dedicated team with years of operational and technical casino industry experience and for that reason, understanding the pain points of operators and players is not a challenge for us, it is what differentiates us from other suppliers. In every case, we commit to a partnership with our customers. As a result, every operator who has made an initial purchase has chosen to expand their Perfect Pay footprint, adding tables, turning on features and requesting customizations. This, more than anything else, tells us that we are delivering value to our customers. Now, with more casinos on the Perfect Pay platform, we have come full circle and are developing new Elite Bet offerings, continuing our commitment to helping our customers deliver new and exciting player experiences.