Want to gamble, but don't want to leave your bed while at the casino? Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa is now the first U.S gambling establishment to provide in-room betting on slots and poker. The betting is done through the TV by using the hotel TV remote control, USA Today reports.
Casino officials hope this method of TV gambling will help guests get used to betting with handheld devices, which was recently approved by New Jersey. Internet gambling may also be approved in the future so it will be a good warm up for guests.
While the Borgata may be the first casino to use this technology, it is already being used on certain Norwegian and Costa cruise ships that are in international waters. The state of Nevada has allowed sports betting and electronic games on mobile devices in casinos since 2006.
"Around the world, people are shifting their gambling from traditional slot machines and tables to online and mobile devices," David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and author of Roll the Bones: The History of Gamblingtold Philly.com. The Borgata's new "E casino" is a "step - albeit a small one - in that direction."
While gambling will be available right at your fingertips, some are concerned about underage guests taking advantage of the technology, but officials found a way to curb that. Guests must use their Borgata player's club card and log in using two forms of ID which includes the PIN number for the card and a special password that is given at check-in.
Through the TV gambling system, players can wager up to $2,500 per day. This technology will be available in all of Borgata's 2,000 hotel rooms.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
