It's hard to put together the words "slot machine" and "safer for your money" because there probably isn't anything safe about slot machines when it comes to your money. They aren't called "one armed bandits" for no reason.
But there are things that casinos and the game manufacturers can do to make it safer when we do play slot machines so that we don't get ripped off by criminals, if the one-armed bandits do wipe us out.
What I am talking about are safeguards to protect players from losing money to "credit crooks."
There are different ways that a crook can steal your money -- your credits -- when you are playing a slot machine.
1. The most obvious way is that one crook distracts you while an accomplice hits your "cash out" button and steals the ticket that is printed out from your machine. This is why you should always be aware of your surroundings, and guard the cash out button when you turn away from the machine.
2. The second was is that you accidentally leave credits on a machine -- you leave and someone else comes along and cashes them out. You might remember you left credits on the machine but by the time you come back to the machine, the credits are usually long gone.
So here's the idea to make slot machines safer for your money:
A. Have an "option" on the slot machines that allow you to establish an "account" on the slot machine. With the account, you load your money, play your credits, and when you leave the machine your account is locked. The account is accessed with your player's card and PIN.
B. Have an option that when you insert your card, tickets that are printed out showing credits (dollars) are printed with your account number. These tickets would need verification to be cashed. They could not be cashed at automated tellers unless the player's card is also inserted (just like a bank ATM).
These are not complex technologies. They are used now in ATMs and banking machines, so why not slots. I'm sure the casinos can afford to make these changes and players would certainly feel more secure playing if they knew these safeguards were in place.
There is no downside to these safety measures. Uncle Sam and the IRS would know if you hit a jackpot even if you don't insert a player's card because of the W2G paperwork requirements. Casinos can already track coin-in and wins/losses with a player's card even if you don't want your account number added to a "ticket out" slip.
And with the "account lock" on a machine, casinos would not have to "lock up" a machine when a player goes to see a show or goes to dinner because the player could lock up the machine himself without the aid of a floor person, and the technology could probably have a timer on it so the player could unlock the machine himself later when he returns.
Why not?
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