Global Cash Access Enters the Fray

A well-known name in cash access for land-based casinos is making its Internet betting debut with US Off-Track, an Oregon-based pari-mutuel wagering site.

US Off-Track announced Tuesday that it is teaming with Global Cash Access to develop an Internet payment mechanism that will allow US Off-Track's customers to wager without having to place their bets over the phone.

While this is the first payment system Global Cash Access has developed for a betting site, the company uses the Internet to deliver cash access to more than 1,000 gaming properties in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Europe. It processes more than $11.5 billion in transactions daily through ATMs and credit and debit cash advances.

Global Cash Access is US Off-Track's payment provider for its telephone operations.

David Tiano, COO of US Off-Track, said people who would like to bet using his company's service must open an account over the phone before using the Web to wager on races.

"We do background checks on all of our customers, so they're already known to us before they can actually make a deposit," he said.

Tiano said the way the new process will work is that a customer would first put money from his or her credit card into an account with US Off-Track. If a customer deposited $50, that money would be available whenever he or she wanted to make a bet.

"If it was the first time, it would say you have $50, and you would use that just like you would use a checking account," Tiano said.

If players win money from their bets, their winnings get transferred into the pool of available money they have to bet with. If they want to cash out, US Off-Track will send them a check.

Tiano said the service is licensed from the Oregon Racing Commission and is available to anyone living in a state that permits pari-mutuel racing.

"If you're in a state that conducts live pari-mutuel racing or is legal for live pari-mutuel racing, then you can wager on any type of event that is legal in your state," Tiano said.

The payment process will be risk-free for the site operator, said Kurt Sullivan, executive vice president of business development for Global Cash Access, because the customer "arrives" with money to wager with.

"If they didn't have money they would be handed to GCA for funding and then back to the site with money," Sullivan said.

Both companies are planning to have the service ready for launch in the first quarter of 2002. Global Cash Access has also entered a letter of intent to provide the payment mechanism to remote wagering site i2corp.com.