Why do Casinos Use Chips Instead of Cash?

Players have often wondered why do casinos use chips instead of cash. Well, there are a few reasons as to why casinos benefit from using chips over money. Here you will find what some of these benefits are and why the casinos made the move to a cashless gambling system.

Casino Chips from a Historical Perspective

From a historical context, the move to using chips was the most straightforward way for gambling houses to provide credit to players.

In the 1700s and 1800s, traditional physical FIAT currencies were somewhat limited in supply. This also meant that it was simpler and safer to operate on a stack of chips which represented an amount of cash, instead of dealing with large quantities of paper notes.

Nowadays, your local casino will have their own versions of chips, and while they have monetary value inside, once outside the doors, they don’t have any value.

Improves Dealer Convenience and the Speed of Casino Games

There is nothing fancy to it: using chips makes the dealers’ lives heaps easier and improves the speed of how casino games are played.

Punters can place their bets much quicker, and dealers can wheel and deal with the same speed and accuracy.

There is no need for dealers to consider counterfeit notes, damaged notes, players betting with large quantities of shrapnel.

Chips are easy to understand, are differentiated in their value by colours. Plus, for the convenience of all punters, chips stack nicely, and they don’t take over much space on table layouts.

Imagine laying down a note on a roulette number. There would be so many arguments about what number is being bet on.

Casino Chips Improve Security and Fraud Processes

With all players following the same currency system, the casino chips become a universal currency within their doors.

This means all bets are equal value, with players needing to visit the cashier to exchange their cash through a teller. 

This improves player security as without having large stacks of cash on your person you avoid some of the potentials for players to get nicked and leave the casino.

Reducing the Connection Between Bets and Real Money

This aspect of using casino chips instead of real money in casino games and bets is entirely in favour of the casino.

Because of the psychological aspect, the use of chips reduces the effect that we have with the value of bets.

What this means is that if you placed a $100 bet on a hand of blackjack with a chip, your brain would respond differently than it would if you placed the bet with a $100 note.

This is because of anticipation and how our brains connect the value of the note and what we understand of $100 to the bet. Whereas placing a casino chip that looks similar to other chips removes the psychological connection to that value being $100. 

Feel More Like an In-Game Currency with Lesser Value

It’s a win-win for the casino because it makes it easier for punters to make large bets without feeling the remorse or guilt.

Betting with casino chips creates an environment where players feel less like they are using real money and more of a game currency with lesser value. Thus, being happy with forking over larger bets.

In Summary, Chips are Convenient

There you have it; those are some of the more crucial aspects of why casinos use chips instead of real money when taking bets from punters. These chips can make it possible for punters to disassociate their value with real money. Which is why we recommend you always play smartly with your bankroll.

If you are looking for some extra guidance on how to steady your bankroll, we suggest checking out our recent article where we shared tips to save your online poker bankroll – which many of these can be applied to your local casino bankroll too!