A Mississippi Coast casino is getting a cryptocurrency ATM
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GULFPORT, Miss. — It’s been three years since the first legal sports bet was placed in Mississippi at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino and as predicted, it’s brought a younger crowd to the Coast casinos.
Scarlet Pearl Casino in D’Iberville has seen a much younger customer, said CEO LuAnn Pappas, along with more regional business.
In response, Scarlet Pearl probably will be what she believes is the first casino in South Mississippi to install a cryptocurrency ATM machine, she told members of the Gulf Coast Business Council at the October meeting in Gulfport.
The machines — already in use in Las Vegas — allow customers to convert their crypto coin into cash to use at the casino.
Cryptocurrency is a digital form of currency used to buy goods and services.
Mississippi doesn’t regulate whether a cryptocurrency ATM machines can be operated at a casino, said Jay McDaniel, executive director of Mississippi Gaming Commission.
What the state doesn’t allow yet is using cryptocurrency or a credit card directly in a slot machine, he said.
Going cashless in Mississippi is something the Gaming Commission would consider, he said, if the casino operators requested it.
“COVID has pushed that discussion,” McDaniel said.
