From Casino Floors to Gaming Technology

As technology began changing the gambling industry, Erlank's interests expanded beyond traditional casino operations. One area of interest was cashless gaming.

Traditional slot machines had historically relied heavily on coins and physical cash handling. Smart-card technology offered an alternative by allowing player balances and transactions to be managed electronically. Erlank became involved in the development of smart-card concepts intended to modernise slot-machine operations — connecting the physical casino environment with the emerging digital gaming industry.

The development of the internet created another opportunity. Erlank subsequently developed SkyKingCasino, an online gaming brand.

Online gaming changed the casino business fundamentally. Instead of a customer travelling to a resort casino, the casino could now be accessed through a computer, and later a mobile device. The technology required a new infrastructure:

• Online player accounts
• Digital payments
• Remote gaming
• Online casino games
• Player management
• Digital marketing
• Customer support
• Technology platforms

Erlank also pursued an international casino project in Moscow, Russia. The Russian market presented a very different operating environment from the Caribbean.

The project encountered operational difficulties and subsequently became affected by major changes to Russian gambling legislation. Federal reforms ultimately removed conventional casino gambling from Moscow and other major population centres, changing the operating environment for land-based casinos.

The Moscow project therefore became another example of how international casino operations can be affected by changes in national gambling policy and regulation.

Following the Dominican Republic period, Erlank continued operating internationally, including from Miami and London. During this period his experience increasingly covered both traditional casino operations and emerging online gaming technologies.

The international exposure provided experience across multiple gaming jurisdictions, currencies, regulatory systems and customer markets.