Financial technology solutions and payments provider Euronet Worldwide, Inc has obtained minority ownership in Las Vegas-based fintech Marker Trax, which offers a cashless, digital casino marker system. The strategic partnership is set to empower both companies to pursue opportunities in the North American gaming industry.
The system is currently active at US-based commercial and tribal casinos, which Euronet describes as expected to generate more than $100 billion in revenue this year from activities where Marker Trax is used, including table games, slot machines, sports gambling, and online wagering.
After licensing its REN payments platform -described by the company as a modular, programmable enterprise platform for building custom payments applications- to Marker Trax last year, this latest Euronet investment -figures thus far undisclosed- comes as casinos and patrons seek new cashless gaming experiences.
“From the beginning, we have treated our relationship with Marker Trax as a partnership and not merely as a technology license,” said Kevin Caponecchi, Executive VP and CEO, epay, Software and EFT Asia Pacific Division. “Watching the rapid adoption of the Marker Trax solution has been very exciting and we are even more enthused to be an invested player in their future success.”
Euronet describes the digital marker solution’s initial deployments at Las Vegas-area properties as “successful,” with the product having processed “millions of dollars in gaming credit” since launch. Marker Trax bills its product as a cashless alternative to the traditional casino marker, providing additional convenience for patrons.
Moreover, the product aims to empower casinos with tools to manage marker underwriting and repayments, thus ensuring money remains with the venue by tracking the marker in the patron’s digital account, and collecting funds at the end of each gaming session.
The Marker Trax solution includes a mobile app and website that casino patrons use to apply for a marker and obtain a credit decision within minutes. According to the company, this is set to replace manual marker-issuing processes casinos have historically used, which might take “multiple days to complete.”
“Euronet and REN have always thrived in transaction-rich environments and this opportunity with Marker Trax provided a strategic opportunity for us to expand our business as well as theirs,” added Caponecchi. The company sees higher demand for cashless options on casino floors as positioning solutions such as Marker Trax for future growth.
Capitalizing on this trend, Marker Trax officials claim they have signed contracts, or are in advanced discussions, “with more than 150 casinos” representing approximately 15% of the overall US commercial and tribal casino market.
Additionally, the fintech alleges there are “line-of-sight opportunities” with 25% of the remaining properties beyond those initial sales targets, and that there are “agreements in place” with all major casino management systems that serve North American casinos. This would accelerate the implementation of the Market Trax solution at contracted sites, the business says.
“Despite the enormous demand for this product and extremely large size of the market, our confidence to meet our customers’ needs has never been higher because of the speed and scalability the REN payments platform provides to the Marker Trax solution,” said Gary Larkin, Chief Strategy Officer at Marker Trax.
According to the executive, recent product innovations, such as an enhanced operator dashboard, are providing casino operators “with a new level of operational control” through detailed visibility into player activity, regulatory compliance, “and other key metrics at the property level.”
Meanwhile, REN’s microservices-based and cloud-native architecture provides scalability for the growing Marker Trax user base and transaction speed for enhanced user experiences. It also powers many key features in the product, including patron identity verifications, underwriting, payments processing, settlement, and more, all “performed within seconds.”
“Altogether, REN and the Marker Trax solution are delivering the fast and frictionless user experience customers have come to expect as they adopt cashless transactions in their daily lives,” added Larkin.
