Strategic partnership empowers both companies to pursue opportunities in a growing $100 billion segment of the 2022 North America gaming industry
LAS VEGAS(March 22, 2022) – MarkerTrax LLC, a Las Vegas-based fintech company that is disrupting the multibillion-dollar gaming industry with its innovative digital casino marker system, announced today it has signed a definitive agreement with Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ: EEFT) Inc., granting the global financial technology leader minority ownership in the company.
Marker Trax is currently active at U.S.-based commercial and tribal casinos, key segments of the North America gaming market which are expected to generate more than $100 billion in revenue in 20221 from the activities where the Marker Trax system is used, including table games, slot machines, and sports and online wagering.
After licensing Euronet’s proprietary payments platform, known as REN, last year, this latest Euronet investment follows the digital marker solution’s successful enrollment of thousands of casino patrons and processing of millions of dollars in gaming credit during its initial deployments at Las Vegas-area properties.
“Euronet and REN have always thrived in transaction-rich environments, and this opportunity with Marker Trax provided a strategic opportunity for us to expand our business as well as theirs,” said Kevin Caponecchi, Euronet executive vice president and CEO, epay, software and EFT Asia Pacific division. “From the beginning, we have treated our relationship with Marker Trax as a partnership and not merely as a technology license. Watching the rapid adoption of the Marker Trax solution has been very exciting, and we are even more enthused to be an invested player in their future success.”
Marker Trax streamlines historically time-intensive casino markers with digital solution
Marker Trax is a first-of-its-kind, regulatory-compliant and cashless alternative to the traditional casino marker. In addition to convenience for patrons, Marker Trax provides casinos with the tools to manage marker underwriting and repayments, ensuring money remains with the casino by tracking the marker in the patron’s digital account and collecting funds at the end of each gaming session.
The Marker Trax solution includes a mobile app and website that casino patrons use to apply for a marker and obtain a credit decision within minutes, replacing a manual marker-issuing process casinos have historically used that is cumbersome for patrons, labor intensive for casino cashiers and can take multiple days to complete.
Marker Trax gains momentum as casinos and patrons seek cashless gaming experiences
In 2022, many large-scale operators are adding cashless options to their casino floors in response to demands from patrons for safer and more convenient gaming experiences, positioning solutions such as Marker Trax as key driving factors in the cashless casino movement.
Capitalizing on this trend, Marker Trax officials have signed contracts or are in advanced discussions with more than 150 casinos representing approximately 15% of the overall U.S. commercial and tribal casino market and its tens of millions of casino patrons. The company said there also are line-of-sight opportunities with 25% of the remaining properties beyond those initial sales targets and there are agreements in place with all the major casino management systems that serve North American casino properties, which will accelerate the implementations of the Marker Trax solution at contracted sites.
“Both the demand and market for this product are enormous, and the speed and scalability of Euronet’s REN payments platform makes us more confident than ever in our ability to meet our customers’ needs,” said Gary Ellis, Marker Trax founder and CEO. “Along with performance and reliability, we’ve realized some incredible innovations in recent months, like an enhanced operator dashboard and providing casino operators with a new level of operational control through detailed visibility into player activity, regularly compliance and other key metrics at the property level. Altogether, REN and the Marker Trax solution are delivering the fast and frictionless user experience customers have come to expect as they adopt cashless transactions in their daily lives.”
REN delivers critical scalability, transaction speed, and data routing
Leveraging its microservices-based and cloud-native architecture, REN provides scalability for the growing Marker Trax user base and transaction speed for enhanced user experiences. The application will allow Marker Trax to expand throughout the North American market and internationally.
In addition, REN also powers many key features in the Marker Trax solution, including patron identity verifications, underwriting, payments processing, settlement, reporting and the enablement of communications between Marker Trax and disparate credit bureaus, payment gateways and bank systems. All functions are performed within seconds.
“The real power of REN is its flexibility in providing payments solutions and the freedom it offers its customers to work in the environments where they are most comfortable,” Caponecchi said. “The Marker Trax solution is one example where REN is able to step outside its role in the traditional financial services industry and enable a fintech to pioneer a ground-breaking solution in another industry.”
GLC Advisors & Co., LLC acted as financial advisor to Marker Trax on the transaction.
About Marker Trax, LLC
Marker Trax is a cashless, digital alternative to a casino marker. The product is the first of its kind to offer regulatory-compliant casino marker technology that takes inefficiency out of issuing advances and provides casinos with the tools to manage their casino credit underwriting and repayments. Developed and patented by the company’s founder, Gary Ellis, in 2018, Marker Trax makes for a more efficient gaming experience for players. The Marker Trax system allows players to be scored and given access to their markers in minutes. Marker Trax integrates into casino operating systems, allowing for easy start-up and player tracking. More information about Marker Trax can be found on the company’s website at www.markertrax.com.
About Euronet Worldwide, Inc.
Euronet Worldwide is an industry leader in processing secure electronic financial transactions. The Company offers payment and transaction processing solutions to financial institutions, retailers, service providers and individual consumers. These services include comprehensive ATM, POS and card outsourcing services, card issuing and merchant acquiring services, software solutions, cash-based and online-initiated consumer-to-consumer and business-to-business money transfer services, and electronic distribution of digital media and prepaid mobile phone time.
Euronet's global payment network is extensive - including 48,619 ATMs, approximately 343,000 EFT POS terminals and a growing portfolio of outsourced debit and credit card services which are under management in 62 countries; card software solutions; a prepaid processing network of approximately 775,000 POS terminals at approximately 335,000 retailer locations in 62 countries; and a global money transfer network of approximately 510,000 locations serving 165 countries. With corporate headquarters in Leawood, Kansas, USA, and 66 worldwide offices, Euronet serves clients in approximately 175 countries. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.euronetworldwide.com.1 CBRE Securities, FactSet, State/country regulatory authorities and gaming agencies.
For immediate release
Contact:Joshua Mattern, B&P
702.816.6943| jmattern@bpadlv.com
