Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | 68 G2E ASIA 2013 M acau’s casinos generated over US$150 million per day in table gaming revenue during the weeklong holiday in China to mark Labour Day on 1st May. That works out to around $27,000 per day or $1,125 per hour on each of the city’s 5,800-odd gaming tables. A technology that can increase the number of hands per hour by 40% or more clearly offers tremendous potential value in a high-volume market like Macau. Intelligent Deposit Systems, formed in 2006 by a group of industry professionals, has created just such a technology in the form of the world’s first table-integrated intelligent drop box, dubbed i-depsys. The i-depsys units allow cash to be presented at the table and counted mechanically with a full range of forgery detection options. The system also gives an accurate, real time position on cash at the table by means of a software interface that records all transactions. It works with casinos’ CCTV systems to give an independent, reliable record of all table cash transactions. And using IDS’s patented technology, the cash is stored in a security tamper-evident pouch within the machine’s own drop safe. A successful live trial of i-depsys units was recently concluded at the UK’s Star City Casino, leading to operator Genting UK placing an order with IDS for systems across an initial four properties with a view to adding further sites in the near future. Star City GMDave Scott commented:“We are extremely pleased with the performance of the i-depsys units and the efficiencies they have created for the business. We have made changes in procedure to accommodate the new system and have reaped significant operational benefits as a result. By using i-depsys I can now put my count staff back on the casino floor to make money not count money by opening additional tables.” Inside Asian Gaming spoke to IDS CEO Andrew Beddoe about the evolution of the i-depsys and his company’s value proposition to casinos. IAG: Where did the idea for the i-depsys come from, and what did the development entail?  Mr Beddoe : I have worked in the industry for many years and had many different roles with casino supply companies. I kept hearing the same story from casino management about how frustrating, time consuming and laborious the end of day count was for them. I thought there must be an easier way or solution. So I went to the banking The i-depsys intelligent drop box Cash is stored in a security tamper-evident pouch. Speed Counts By automating the buy-in process on high-volume gaming tables such as those found in Macau, the i-depsys intelligent drop box could result in dozens more hands and thousands in extra revenue a day on each table