Arizona regulators grant license to Las Vegas company MCA Processing

After a 15-month investigation, Arizona gaming regulators have licensed MCA Processing LLC of Las Vegas to begin marketing its cash services products to casinos within the state, a company executive said.

"When you have a black mark on your record ... it makes it very difficult," said David Balmer, MCA Processing's president and CEO. "This makes it easier for us to do business in Arizona and other jurisdictions."

Balmer said any previous allegations leveled against MCA Processing were dismissed.

The Arizona Department of Gaming investigation into MCA Processing was the result of the company founders' previous ties to another cash services firm, Global Cash Access.

Global Cash Access, which is also based in Las Vegas, was banned for several years from doing business in Arizona.

The gaming department's investigation claimed that from 1999 to 2002 Global Cash Access operated a scheme in which it improperly skimmed about $26 million from ATM transactions. Visa Inc. fined the company $384,000, but Global Cash Access never paid the fine, according to the complaint.

Results of the investigation led regulators to ban Global Cash Access from working in Arizona's gaming industry. The department did eventually allow the company to come back, but only after it paid a $1 million fine and cut its ties with owners Karim Maskatiya and Robert Cucinotta.

In November 2009, the gaming department agreed to renew Global Cash Access' gaming license because the firm made "significant ownership and personnel changes."

According to the November 2009 release, the gaming department also agreed to renew Global Cash Access' gaming license because the firm made "significant ownership and personnel changes." Before the license was renewed, Maskatiya and Cucinotta had their shares bought out and started a new company, MCA Processing.

MCA Processing was named in the Global Cash Access complaint, even though the privately owned company did not do business in the state.

"We had never even applied in Arizona," Balmer said.

Beyond being founded by Maskatiya and Cucinotta, he said MCA Processing was not associated with Global Cash Access.

"We wanted them to do a full investigation," Balmer said. "Our company did nothing wrong. This investigation clears our name and licenses (us) to do business in Arizona."

Balmer said receiving the Arizona license was another significant accomplishment for the company. He said MCA Processing would attend its first Arizona gaming trade show in April.

MCA Processing already does business in Nevada, California, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Fifteen Native American tribes operate 22 casinos in Arizona. Six other tribes do not have casinos but have slot machine rights they lease to other tribes with casinos.

The company recently finished installing its Cash Access Services machines at 19 Caesars Entertainment Corp. properties, including nine in Las Vegas. The services include ATM, credit card advances, ticket redemption and bill breaking, the company said.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The project took just less than two months to complete, Balmer said.

Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at
csieroty@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893.