World Leading RFID Gaming Currency Provider and Pioneer.
Gaming Partners Internationalproduces the most extensive range of secure gaming currency solutions available in the industry and is best known for its popular gaming currency brands; Bourgogne et Grasset (BG), Paulson, Bud Jones, Gemaco and Dolphin. The combined currency lines offer a diverse selection of European-style plaques and jetons and American-style injection molded and compression molded chips. As a provider to casinos worldwide, GPI represents over 90% of the casino currency market and is also the number one provider of RFID enabled casino currency in the industry.
Since 1998, GPI has established its position as the number one RFID currency provider by building on the capabilities RFID has to offer. GPI is an industry leading forerunner in the development and use of RFID in gaming having developed advanced solutions and expanded applications beyond currency authentication. GPI has commercialized six different types of RFID, including its exclusive SMART RFID, with new generations and new ISO standards to provide continuous improvement and maintain sustainable and scalable solutions for customers.
Announced earlier this year, GPI’s latest solution under development, its Automated Table Solution (ATS), employs the use of the company’s SMART RFID technology to offer customers full table counterfeit protection.
We talked with Gregory Gronau, President & CEO of GPI, to discuss how RFID in gaming has grown and continues to evolve.
CI: Even though RFID in gaming currency has been around for over 20 years, it seems lately there has been an increased interest in RFID?
GG: RFID in gaming currency is one of the strongest and most effective security features available. When first introduced, RFID was primarily used in gaming chips for simple validation, but because of the high cost of the tags and readers, it wasn’t quickly adopted by the industry as had been hoped. Operators wanted to see more features and operational benefits for their financial investment.
The amount and type of technology that has become available in the market, has made would be counterfeiters and cheats a bigger threat. Operators are now taking another look at RFID at how it can not only protect their money but also provide additional benefits to their overall gaming floor operations. With GPI’s SMART RFID as an option, operators can now reap the benefits of a faster, more advanced RFID technology but at a lower cost.
Understanding this and the speed at which technology changes and the immediate and future needs of our customers, our R&D team continuously works to progress and expand how RFID technology is used. One of GPI’s more prominent RFID solutions is our exclusive Casino Inventory System (CIS). RFID currency when used with CIS, is a powerful inventory solution that can perform a wide range of functions to streamline casino operations thus providing potential revenue enhancements and operational savings. GPI’s CIS has become the industry standard and is used by many operators and by competing currency manufacturers.
CI: With an already existing RFID technology in the market, what prompted GPI to develop its own RFID technology, SMART?
GG: The first RFID technology introduced to the industry, sometimes referred to as Mode 2, was invented in 1997 and entered the gaming industry in 2004. Like SMART, it is also high-frequency, but the technology upon which it is built, is over 20 years old. We saw a need to provide customers a high-performance option that was both cost-effective and sustainable. GPI’s SMART RFID, sometimes referred to as Mode 3, is built on a newer, more advanced technology. For example, when we measure the rate at which RFID embedded currency is read, the SMART currency read much faster.
GPI took the development of SMART one step further by developing our own SMART RFID antennas and SMART readers and by securing the supply chain of our SMART RFID tags thus ensuring the future sustainability for our customers. This gives GPI full control of the supply chain and the future development of new devices and scalable solutions.
CI: GPI recently announced the development of a new table game solution, ATS. How does it benefit operators and what role does SMART RFID play?
GG: SMART RFID currency when used with CIS is a very powerful tool in itself. And as with any product or solution GPI develops, CIS was designed to be easily integrated with third party applications and peripherals. It has always been a part of our development plans to introduce new flexible, integrated and scalable solutions that combine the best of breed technologies.
GPI’s Automated Table Solution (ATS) is a technologically advanced solution designed and built to collect and analyze data. ATS combines GPI’s exclusive SMART RFID technology with an advanced visual identification system, artificial intelligence, big data and data analytics. Once fully developed, it will offer one of the most comprehensive and robust table solutions in the industry. The Table Security module provides one of the strongest full table anti-counterfeit solutions available. The Game Protection and Optimization module protects integrity of table games by automatically capturing transactions and game play. The Marketing Automation module provides a wealth of information for optimizing revenues and accurate comping, and unique predictive analytic features that provide valuable insights to a player’s table game play.
ATS is designed to be flexible and agnostic so it can be integrated with existing casino third party systems. Operators will be able to customize ATS according to their currency security and operational requirements. As part of our phased product rollout, GPI will continue to expand the features and benefits ATS offers.
CI: With the commercial launch of GPI’s ATS on the horizon, how do you see technology evolving beyond that?
GG: Operators are becoming much more technology savvy and are demanding much more say in the products and solutions they need and want to see developed. No new and advanced technology alone is sufficient to provide all the security and operational demands of casinos today. Because technology evolves so quickly, technology-based solutions need to be flexible, scalable and agnostic in order to be of true benefit to operators. ATS is an example of the direction the industry is heading. ATS is an integrated solution comprised of some of the new and most innovative and advanced systems available. In order to best serve the immediate and future needs of our customers, GPI understands the importance of both working with our customers and continually developing cooperative partnerships with like-minded companies with a shared vision to offer the most innovative and comprehensive solutions available.
For more information please visit www.gpigaming.com or to contact Sales about ATS, please send an email to ATS@gpigaming.com.
