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Shift4 Payments Inc. has expanded its merchant-gaming portfolio by striking a deal with the Chickasaw Nation to process payments across all of its tribal-owned casino and non-casino locations, as well as third-party venues, such as valet services or restaurants operated by third parties within Chickasaw-owned casinos.
The Chickasaw nation, the 13th largest Native American tribe in the United States, operates 23 casinos, including the WinStar World Casino and Resort, which features nearly 400,000 square feet of gaming space, as well as other non-casino businesses across Oklahoma. The Chickasaw Nation’s non-casino venues include food and beverage, lodging, retail, and ticketing venues.
In addition, Shift4 will provide point-of-sale hardware for Chickasaw Nation venues and support some cashless-casino operations through Everi, a digital-wallet provider specializing in the gaming industry. Everi’s CashClub wallet enables gamblers to move winnings back into their wallet for future use or electronically deposit the funds into a bank account.
The deal, which builds on Shift4’s 2021 deal with online-gaming and sports-betting platform BetMGM, will expand in 2023 when the Chickasaw Nation is scheduled to open it newest entertainment venue, according to Mark Hemmerle, vice president at Allentown, Pa.-based Shift4.
While Shift4 says gaming transactions represents a small percentage of the company’s overall volume, it adds that it provides both gateway and end-to-end processing services for more than 400 casinos in the United States.
“Processing actual gaming transactions is a natural evolution for Shift4’s support of the gaming industry,” Hemmerle says by email. “We are continuing to grow our e-com capabilities, especially in support of our customers like Starlink and Allegiant Airlines. So for gaming, this includes both cashless casino-floor initiatives and online casino and sports-wagering transactions.” Hemmerle adds that Shift4 is active in both the card-present and e-commerce space for casinos.
The deal with the Chickasaw Nation builds on Shift4’s agreement with online gaming and sports-betting platform BetMGM.
“We expect Shift4’s payment-processing technologies and expertise will enhance the [customer] experience we provide and enable our patrons to focus on enjoying their time while at one of our properties located in south central Oklahoma,” Dan Boren, secretary of commerce for the Chickasaw Nation, says in a prepared statement.
In related news, processor Paysafe Ltd. has expanded its relationship with Microsoft Corp. to launch its paysafecard as an alternative payment option on Microsoft.com and Xbox.com in the U.S. and eight European countries. In Europe, the deal expands the presence of paysafecard acceptance through Microsoft.com and Xbox.com to 22 countries. Consumers that lack access to traditional online payment solutions or that prefer not to share their credit card information online can now make cash-based purchases on Microsoft.com and Xbox.com.
Paysafecard is a prepaid payment product available in 50 countries through a distribution network of 700,000 retail stores that enables consumers to use cash to pay for services online. To initiate a payment, Paysafecard users enter a 16-digit code as opposed to their bank or credit card account numbers.
“The ability to partner with Microsoft and offer paysafecard in an additional nine countries provides an important alternative payment method for millions of customers, Chirag Patel, president of Paysafe’s digital wallets division, says in a prepared statement. “Collaborations with strong partners such as Microsoft have an enormous reach and are an important part of our growth story.”
