PokerWorks

An alternative to ATM machines hits the casinos. EDITH, which stands for Electronic Debit Interactive Terminal Housing, is under development and testing. It's a new technology that takes advantage of ticket-in ticket-out technologies and is reliable, efficient and convenient.

EDITH is a compact kiosk placed at the end of a row of slot machines to allow casino patrons to purchase slot machine vouchers with a debit card. The machine is pretty simple to use, customers just slide in the debit card, enter a pin, and request an amount. After the transaction is approved, a ticket is printed containing a bar code, and then patrons can use that ticket in lieu of cash to play slot machines.

EDITH is a joint-venture partnership between Global Cash Access and Innovative Funds Transfer. Currently 7 machines are being tested in Casino Pauma in north San Diego County in California. Nevada gaming regulations make it illegal to have credit or debit cards directly attached to a slot machine, and this is why EDITH can be found at the end of a row of slots.

For us poker players, I envision EDITH located directly inside the poker room, next to the magazine rack, no muss, no fuss. Can you imagine a world in which we never had to leave the poker room to head to the ATM? Even better, if I was withdrawing my money through a ticket system, the sting of my set losing to a flush would be lessened since I wouldn't actually be withdrawing cash!

Advocates of EDITH and all Automated Cashier Machines boast that by eliminating the cashier interaction requirement, machines are potentially reducing transaction times, improving overall customer experience and reducing labor costs in the casino. The downside to this is that by offering a voucher instead of cash we could potentially be removing a protection factor which could lead to potentially damaging consequences for consumers and casinos alike.

The state Gaming Commission will review the new technology and the data collected on September 20th of this year. If approved, we might be seeing EDITH here in Las Vegas this year. The big question on my mind is will I have to pay an exorbitant usage fee for using Edith in the casino like I do for the ATM?

*Editor's Note - why is it deemed acceptable/legal to use a credit/debit card to fund machine play and it isn't acceptable/legal to fund online poker accounts with the same means? There's something clearly wrong with the concept of EDITH in relation to the doors it opens while other doors remain closed.

You can use your credit card to fund your account at Duplicate Poker - and there are still free rolls left for the PokerNews Cup .*