Craig Libson: “Operators have become fully engaged in the capabilities of cashless”

Today we speak with Craig Libson, the recently-appointed Chief Strategy Officer at Koin, who brings extensive expertise in cashless payment solutions to drive the company's global expansion.

Libson highlights a pivotal shift in the casino industry's embrace of cashless technologies, fueled by increasing operator interest and player adoption of loyalty app features. His career, spanning over a decade, includes launching innovative fintech solutions, like Cash2Go, and tackling challenges in integrating with casino management systems (CMS).

He envisions Koin addressing the complexities of legacy systems, regulatory compliance, and siloed casino operations to deliver transformative solutions. A key focus is Australia, where mandates for cashless gaming align with Koin's responsible gaming platform.

Q: Craig, you’re stepping into this role at a pivotal moment as Koin embarks on its next phase of strategic expansion. Could you share insights into what this next chapter entails?

For me, Koin was the perfect place at the perfect time to continue my journey in the proliferation of cashless. Cashless has finally reached a tipping point, and is on the brink of being fully embraced by the casino industry. I’ve been marketing cashless solutions at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E), the Indian Tradeshow and Convention (IGA) and Europe’s International Casino Exhibition (ICE) for the past 10 years, and have watched the operators’ reactions transition from apathetic and disinterested, to curious but confused, to intrigued but weary. And now in 2024, operators have become interested and fully engaged in the capabilities of cashless.

There’s a great confluence of that trend with the increasing player comfort with and adoption of casino loyalty program apps, which I believe will accelerate not only the funding/payout features of cashless, but which also will pave the way for the next-gen capabilities of cashless solutions that Koin has been building for enhanced marketing, data analytics, anti-money laundering (AML), compliance and omnichannel use cases.

Q: Your career in gaming payment solutions has been defined by innovation. How do you see your experience influencing Koin’s current strategies and shaping its future ambitions?

When I started Cash2Go in 2015, I’d already spent 20 years building transformative fintech and mobile platforms, but had little knowledge of the gaming industry. I was lucky to have a co-founder, Scott Walker, who had spent 20 years in casino operations and technologies, but who had little to no knowledge of fintech. That combination was quite rare and proved to be invaluable. It gave us an awareness of the full spectrum of challenges we needed to navigate. We launched our unique multi-account gaming/loyalty Mastercard debit card in the Mexico market, where closed-loop cashless was mandated, and we were fortunate to incorporate our solution into the Win Systems Casino Management System (CMS), the dominant CMS market in Mexico, giving us an under-the-hood view of challenges and needs of the CMS.

As a startup founder, I was intimately exposed to and involved with every aspect of launching and operating a cashless program, from system architecture and app development, to integration with the CMS, to selling to casino operators, to relationships with Mastercard, banks and regulators, etc. In short, cashless solutions are quite complicated and intricate, and I have had the benefit of seeing the wide range of potential pitfalls and the potential untapped opportunities, which I look to bring as an asset to the Koin team.

Q: As a leader in cashless payment solutions, what do you see as the most significant opportunity for Koin to further innovate or expand in the gaming industry - one that perhaps remains underexplored?

Koin is well-positioned to address several challenges that must be managed for cashless to reach its full potential. One is balancing the sensibility of a ubiquitous electronic funding solution, with the understandable needs for operators to maintain control over their customer engagements and deliver solutions that will most effectively drive their specific business. Another is navigating the heavily siloed casino platform enterprises, with an array of business units, from floor operations, to technology, security, finance, marketing, regulatory, and compliance, as well as a sportsbook and online systems, all of which must be considered and included in implementing solutions that allow cashless to be truly game- changing for casinos.

I’m excited about the increasingly inclusive approach taken by the CMSs towards companies like Koin, working as strategic partners to let our innovative fintech solutions complement and work seamlessly with their robust international platforms. This allows us to work together to stage in the capabilities, and to both educate and collaborate with the various business units to create a roadmap that suits their needs, short term and long term.

Q: Your work with Cash2Go and Flexia Payments introduced groundbreaking cashless gaming solutions in different regions. How do you plan to leverage this international experience to broaden Koin’s impact on a global scale?

Everything is the same everywhere, and everything is very different everywhere. The same basic components are there – CMSs, banks, financial and gaming regulators, processors, operators and players – but each region has its own blend of legal and "reputational" issues in relation to gaming, financial systems and regulations, customer and casino customs and practices and gaming industry makeup, e.g., resort casinos, local casinos, clubs or slot routes. Even a global CMS may have different systems or approaches to cashless in its area.

The last component is competitive advantage and strategic relationships. For Koin, Australia is a heavy focus, where cashless gaming is being mandated and there is a heavy focus on responsible gaming, where Koin’s platform addresses that need. It’s also a market where the gaming footprint, with thousands of local clubs with repeat customers and a next-gen real-time payment ecosystem, is perfectly suited to launch cashless. We’ve been laying the groundwork there for a few years, and have aligned with several key local strategic partners, as well as working hand-in-hand with the regional leadership of the dominant casino platforms to address their local needs.

Q: How has the current technological landscape influenced the evolution of the gambling industry, particularly in the adoption of cashless payments? And under your leadership, how do you envision Koin pushing boundaries to deliver innovative solutions that redefine the sector?

Again, it’s a multi-faceted challenge, which is exciting to overcome. There’s what can be done in theory, and then there’s how to bring that to fruition, which has been somewhat hamstrung by the need to navigate the logistical issues of utilizing casinos’ embedded legacy systems and technologies, the cost of upgrading potentially thousands of electronic gaming machines (EGMs) and tables and convincing regulators who are hyper-focused on compliance and control issues.

The solution is a cooperative approach among all stakeholders, which I have seen more active as of late. I see cashless as well beyond the movement of funds. It’s about knowing your customer in every way, and embracing the tech necessary to deliver the experience they expect, combining the enhanced use of facial recognition, real-time payment networks, voice recognition, cashless wagering accounts, loyalty accounts, ticketing systems, compliance reporting systems, etc. to allow a player to walk up to an EGM or table or into the High Limit Room and be greeted by name, with their preferences known, down to the drink they like, the rewards that best suit them and the ability to tip their server or dealer simply by voice command, all while their funds move seamlessly among their experiences on the property, and any tax form or compliance needs are handled electronically with zero friction.

Image credit: Casino Guru News