This paper reports the results of a study that sought to expose the factors affecting the introduction and acceptance of cashless gambling technologies in New South Wales (NSW), Australia from a range of stakeholder perspectives. A mixed methodology was employed, including interviews with gambling industry stakeholders, an analysis of submissions to the NSW IPART enquiry into gambling harm minimisation (2003), and the administration of a survey to 134 patrons of two NSW venues where these technologies had been recently introduced.
The advantages of card based technologies for supply side stakeholders were clearly articulated. In particular, venues benefit from a reduction in operating costs and improved security through a reduction of cash. However, some venues are hesitant to introduce these technologies without evidence of support from players. While questionnaire respondents indicated high levels of support for the usability of the system, reliability and security are the paramount concerns. Non-users were most cautious in their assessment of the advantages of use.