Understanding how the Casino management system works is a necessity for all aspiring and existing Casino owners and investors. Even as someone who goes to the Casino just to play the games on offer, understanding how the management system works can give you the edge in the Casino world.
What is a Casino?
A Casino can simply be defined as any building facility where people gather or go to for the purpose of gambling. The typical Casino is a huge operation that requires some sort of management system to coordinate.
In some Casinos, players come in their hundreds to gamble for a chance to win the star prizes. In order to manage this large crowd of people and the large monetary transactions that follow, every Casino has some management system that addresses that need. The Casino is a profitable business model because it always has a statistical advantage. The Casino is a system designed to run at a profit.
What is a Casino Management System (CMS)?
A Casino Management System can be defined as any management system in form of software and tools put in place by a Casino to coordinate, regulate and organize its day to day activities effectively and efficiently. The Casino Management System is essential to any Casino operation and no Casino can function effectively without it. Without it, Casinos lack quality organization, gambling gets rowdy and transactions are not effectively checked, opening up wide windows for unfair gambling practices such as manipulation in favor of an individual or group over others.
The name and reputation of a Casino is one of the core factors that attracts gamblers and gambling funds to it, a reputable Casino will not want to risk seeing its name dragged in the dust. To prevent such a tragedy from happening, an effective Casino Management System is a priority in every Casino.
The Casino Management System oversees all the gambling activities that the Casino has to offer. The Casino Management System is used for the following purposes: to protect and maintain Casino assets, maintain security by using surveillance coverage to cover the gambling activities in the Casino, serves as a secure database, centralized Casino data for future references, coordinate Casino employees and patron data, oversees monetary and other gambling transactions and monitors the movement of players for fair play.
There are many Casino Management System vendors out there, some of the popular and most trusted vendors include: Konami, Honeywell, Security Systems, Intercard Inc, Next Level, Advansys, Bally Technologies, Cyrun, Wavestore, Avigilon, Casino Systems, HCL Technologies and etc.
A good Casino Management System incorporates other Casino System Software and centralizes the following activities such as Cashless and Tickets Gaming, Mystery and Progressive Jackpots, Slots management, Player tracking and bonus and Casino accounting.
Casino management has evolved from what it used to be about two decades or a decade ago, where for effective Casino management, the presence of security and monitoring operatives were imperative. Nowadays, with the increasing growth in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the invention of smarter management software systems, the Casino Management System has gone digital.
Another evolution is that the services offered and the people participating in Casino activities have increased. Casinos now offer what can be termed ‘non-traditional Casino activities’ such as lodging, spa, golf courses, games etc. To handle such a rich variety of activities especially the monetary transactions involved, Casinos have adopted new and competent Casino Management Systems that are able to meet the needs of today’s Casino.
The Casino Management System is a solution to the tailored and slim-fitted problems faced by Casinos today. But before you commit to purchasing any Casino Management System of your choice, it is of massive advantage for you to have an overview of how the casino management system works.
The ‘mystery’ behind the workings of the Casino Management System (CMS)
To understand the ‘mystery’ behind the workings of the Casino Management System (CMS), one of the best places to start solving the ‘mystery’ is to turn to an expert. Our expert of choice is Steve Karoul who has over 35 years of experience working as a Casino Consultant for top Casinos in the United States and globally.
According to Steve Karoul, the Casino Management System simply integrates information gotten from other operating Casino systems. To find out more about Steve Karoul’s advice on Casino Management System.
The whole mystery behind its working is that instead of a Casino to have numerous management systems for all its different operations, the Casino Management System is the software that is programmed to perform all the functions of the other management system, i.e. instead of you having 10 management system performing 100 tasks, we now have 1 Casino management system performing 100 tasks.
The Casino Management System can thus be compared to a central server that coordinates all the information that other operating Casino systems bring to the table. It integrates ‘all’ Casino systems centrally. I intentionally quoted ‘all’ because there is no Casino Management System vendor that can boast of having an all inclusive Casino Management System. The reason for this is not farfetched, Casinos differ in activities offered and the specific need of one Casino is not a hundred percent similar to the specific need of another.
A basic Casino Management System (CMS) consists of the following fundamental modules: Patron Database, Player’s Club Management, ID and Picture Scanning, Advanced Promotions, Coupons, Sweepstakes Drawing, Bonusing, Groups and Events, Junkets, Comp and Rewards Tracking, Slot Accounting, TITO Ticketing or Cashless Gaming, Customer Service Kiosk, Table or Cage Accounting, Table Ratings, Casino Credit, Check Cashing and Front Money, Interfaces, Slots, Keno, Bingo Point of Sale, Food and Beverage Point of Sale, Multi-site Communication Module and Patron Data Warehouse.
Vital Functions of the Casino Management System
The Casino Management System (CMS) is in today’s Casino world a necessity that any serious-minded and business-like Casino cannot but have. The functions of the Casino Management System include the following: handling ticketing, general supervision for effective Casino management, managing cash exchanges, the ‘chief’ accountant of the Casino, cashless function and tracking of players.
- Handles Ticketing: One of the functions of the Casino Management System is to manage ticketing. It is responsible for ticket in and ticket out operations of the Casino. In this way, it manages the issue of ticketing centrally and effectively.
- General Supervision for effective Casino management: The Casino Management System acts as a general supervision for Casino activities. It is tasked with managing employees work schedules and shifts and supervising the Casino slot machines including the slot machine outputs. The management of users and employees data is also performed by the Central Management System.
- Manages Cash exchanges: Another function of the Casino Management System is that it manages cash exchanges and transactions. The problem of monetary transactions is handled by the Central Management System. It is responsible for the coin cash desk, managing currency exchanges and processing winnings.
- The ‘Chief’ Accountant of the Casino: The Casino Management System performs the function of the ‘chief’ accountant of the Casino. The system oversees all the transactions data that comes in and out of the Casino. It produces reports, statements and graphs on casino earnings and expenditures. These reports and statistics provide for a better and accountable Casino system for management.
- Cashless function: The Casino Management System makes it possible for Casinos to operate without the hindrance of cash. Prospective Casino players do not have to come into the Casino with cash as the Casino Management System makes it possible for transfer of funds in and out of the Casino electronically.
- Tracking of players: The Casino Management System makes the tracking of players entering and exiting the Casino easy. It manages players’ database and transaction history with the Casino. Many Casinos on the strength of the players’ database collected by the Casino Management System use the database to draw up a reward system for patrons and to identify them individually.
Conclusion
The Casino Management System is a comprehensive tool used to effectively control and manage Casino activities. The Casino today has evolved both in the number of participants and services offered. Casinos have turned to Artificial Intelligence (AI) for centralization of its multifarious activities. The Casino Management System is the result of such search. The advantage of the Casino Management System is that it effectively centralizes and properly manages the Casino activities in a transparent way. There is no limit to what the Casino Management System can handle; the only limitation is in the programming of the system by the Casino Management System vendor.