Banks can increase their profits even further by building gambling facilities into their ATM interface. Quite simply, upon inserting a bank card and entering a correct PIN, the user is offered the chance to gamble some or all of their, recently paid in, salary.

The gambling feature would only become available when withdrawing cash and would appear in the form of a skill stop facility. i.e. you would key in the amount to withdraw and you would be taken to a new screen. On the screen would be two squares labeled 'Win' and 'Lose'. The squares would light up alternately. By pressing the 'Enter' key (or there might be a seperate 'Gamble' key) the light would stop. If Win is lit, the withdrawal amount is doubled and paid out, at no extra charge to the user. If, however, Lose is lit, the bank deducts the amount from your balance and your card is returned without cash.
-- ccaamgw, Jul 24 2000

Bank puts the 'fun' into 'funds' http://news.bbc.co....usiness/4700053.stm
Ask and you shall receive. [waugsqueke, Jul 21 2005]

This could be extended to any video game. E.g. Mario where each gold coin you collect is worth £1 /$1/etc and you only get the money from the ATM if you reach the end of the level successfully. Pac-man where you get money for each dot. Space invaders.....

The list is endless.
-- Uncle J, Jul 24 2000


Putting Mario Bros. on an ATM would mean that people would have to wait quite a while to get cash. I don't think that's the way to go. But perhaps a +/- 15% gamble, a one-time option, might go over well, something that theoretically required "skill," but was weighted slightly in favor of the bank. Perhaps like a whack-a-mole type thing, where you just have to hit the right button at the right time.
-- mcfrank, Jul 24 2000


Yay Whack-A-Mole!
-- amadeus, Jul 25 2000


I don't think the waiting time would be a problem. With the extra cash the bank is likely to make, extra ATMs could be put in to reduce the waiting time. Anyway, I'm sure it wouldn't be too long before the gambling facility would be expanded to encompass phone and internet banking!
-- ccaamgw, Jul 25 2000


I'd rather the house (i.e. the bank) didn't have the odds weighted in its favour. Rather, it would be more fun if you were playing a multi-user game with the person standing at the ATM next to you (or indeed, anyone at any other ATM on the network).
Then, in addition to all the standard choices such as "Get statement", "See Balance on screen" etc., there would be another one: "Wager £10 on a multiplayer game of Tank Commander".
-- hippo, Jul 25 2000


ccaamgw: For regular ATMs as we know them now, we couldn't put in enough to keep you from having to wait if the average transaction time jumped from 15 seconds to 5 or 7 minutes. For every one ATM, you'd have to put in 20. As for the net, you'd have to work out a lot of the issues that plague online gaming--especially since not everyone who wants to bank online has a computer that can handle sophisticated games.

hippo: I'd certainly rather that the house didn't have the odds weighted in its favor in regular gambling. But there has to be some sort of payoff for putting a gambling setup in all of these ATMs. Even if you are challenging someone else, the bank is going to have to charge both of you a fee or at least take a tax off of your winnings. You can't have this be perfectly fair and also gambling at the same time.
-- mcfrank, Jul 25 2000


I think I just saw a lottery-enhanced ATM at a BC Ferry terminal near Victoria, BC Canada. It was a CIBC ATM that asked me, while it was busy processing my transaction, if I wanted to play a 'Lucky BC Draw' (or something like that -- I wasn't paying close enough attention.) It asked the question during the time delay always encountered when the ATM talks to the bank server to conduct the actual funds withdrawl.
-- eagle, Oct 10 2000


About a year ago I got a $100.00 bill instead of a $20.00 bill out of an ATM. THAT'S my idea of a good time at an ATM.
-- thumbwax, Oct 11 2000


ATMs could sell lottery tickets just like they sell stamps!
-- lee, Jan 18 2001


Yours sells stamps?
-- tigerwren, Aug 13 2001


Raises another idea - have regular arcade video games return cash.

You get rewarded with cash in the same way you get rewarded with points.

It's video game gambling. You would invest like ten bucks to play and have a good chance at making $10, $20, $30 and higher.
-- xmarcus, Nov 12 2003


It's in interesting idea, but I hate it. People have enough difficulty, and giving banks a chance to profit from EVERYONE doesn't sound very fair. People would use it irresponcibly.
-- ilanbg, Jul 22 2005


Keep it legal and fair; the machine doesn't allow you to win extra or risk losing what's already yours, but a spin of the slots lets the machine decide how much you can withdraw: "Spiiin...whzzz...click, click, click. Two lemons, ten bucks, damn. Have to spin again if I want to fill the tank..."
-- elhigh, Jul 22 2005



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