1 | Gaming System CALink Supported Functionality

This article outlines the potentially-supported functionality and features of each Gaming System interface with Bepoz. It's important to note that each CALink interface may have different feature sets and supported functionality and as such, all potential supported functionality is listed and noted whether or not it is supported for each. Along with noting whether each feature or function is supported, each one is also explained further.

This article outlines the potentially-supported functionality and features of each Gaming System interface with Bepoz.

It's important to note that each CALink interface may have different feature sets and supported functionality and as such, all potential supported functionality is listed and noted whether or not it is supported for each.

Along with noting whether each feature or function is supported, each one is also explained further.

It's also important to note that features and supported functionality may change from one version to the next; any notes related to this will be highlighted.

Table of CAlink Supported Features/Functions

✅ = Supported

❌ = Not Supported

Tiering (Account Group Creation)	Points Earn & Redeem	"Card-In" (Search Account via EGM#)	Account Import Method	CALink Vouchers	Gaming Data in Bepoz	POS Data Sent to Gaming System	Account Photo Retrieval	EGM Food Ordering	Cash/Comp Wallet	Multi Points Bucket Support
Aristocrat S7000	✅	✅	❌	API-Based	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	N/A
Aristocrat S7000 REST	✅	✅	✅	API-Based	✅	✅	❌	❌	✅	❌	✅*pending v4.7
Bally	✅	✅	❌	API-Based	✅	❌	❌	✅	❌	✅	N/A
Flexinet	✅	✅	❌	File-Based	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	N/A
Flexinet SP	✅	✅	❌	API-Based	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	N/A
IGT	✅	✅	❌	API-Based & File-Based	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌
IGT Casino	✅	✅	✅	API-Based	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅	N/A
Jupiters/Max Gaming	✅	✅	✅	API-Based & File-Based	✅	❌	✅	❌	❌	✅	✅*pending v4.7
Konami	✅	✅	✅	API-Based	✅	❌	❌	✅	❌	✅	N/A
Maxetag	✅	✅	❌	File-Based	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	N/A
Turbo/EBET	✅	✅	✅	File-Based API-Based as of v4.6	✅	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌	✅*pending v4.7

Features & Functionality Explained

Tiering (Account Group Creation)

This is related to both the “Update Bepoz Accounts” flag and the "Use Tiering" flag, both of which are located in the CALink setups on the External Links Venue Maintenance tab
When Member data is being pulled from the external system to create and update Accounts in Bepoz, if the external system uses tiering like Diamond Members or Platinum Status, their tiering system will be replicated as Account Groups in Bepoz

Points Earn & Redeem

Just like Bepoz Account holders can earn and redeem points as the basis for a loyalty program, all of the gaming systems that we interface with allow their members to do so to
Using the CALink connection, an Account's or Member's point total from the external gaming system can be retrieved in SmartPOS to be redeemed

"Card-In" (Search Account via EGM #)

“Card In” functionality means that a Member Account can be retrieved using an EGM – or Electronic Gaming Machine’s #
With their membership card in the machine, wait staff or gaming attendants or another Operator can use the “Account Search CALink EGM” till function to pull up an Account in SmartPOS based on the EGM # of the machine being used

Account Import Method

There are two (2) possible Account Import Methods: File-Based and API-Based; each is explained below along with whether or not they're supported for this Gaming System

File-Based

File-Based is an older technology for transferring flat files – in this case – from the external system to Bepoz using a flat CSV file or another suitable file format
Since it isn’t a real-time connection, this is a method that works exceptionally well for periodic bulk data transfers, and more so for smaller data sets

API-Based

On the other hand, the API-Based would be the preferred approach when needing real-time shared data through a secure API connection; it’s also more suitable for larger data sets

CALink Vouchers

Support for CALink Vouchers is related to the “Get PointType Vouchers” flag located in the CALink setups on the External Links Tab of Venue Maintenance
For the gaming systems where this is supported, their Vouchers can be redeemed live from SmartPOS
- We can do that using a “CALink Vouchers” till function which will retrieve the member’s available Vouchers from the gaming system and creates a Voucher in Bepoz
- We just need to make sure that the Member Gaming PointType Voucher matches a Voucher Setup in Bepoz
- We can map them on the basis of the value entered into the ‘CALink Trigger’ section of a Voucher Setup; in the example here, it matches using the Trigger “POSFreeMeal”

Gaming Data in Bepoz

This is not supported for many Gaming Systems, but what it means is that we can retrieve Members’ gaming session data – basically their gaming stats from the external system
While we don’t actually do anything with that data and simply store it, we could plug that data into custom reports to cultivate it and analyse it – or potentially export it to a BI package like Power BI and put some greater analytical muscle into it than what we would be able to do with a custom report

POS Data Sent to Gaming System

We can also send our POS Data to some Gaming Systems
What they do with this data is ultimately up to them, but by and large, they would use it to compare POS spending habits and customer trends against their gaming trends

Account Photo Retrieval

For Account Photo Retrieval, we literally retrieve a member’s photo in real-time when their card is swiped – more for security than anything else that way an Operator can confirm that the Account holder’s photo matches the person standing in front of them
If a venue wants to turn this functionality off, that can be done from the CALink Setup just by disabling the “Get Member Photo” flag

EGM Food Ordering

This is accomplished by way of a Scheduled Job which can be found under the “jobgaming” DLL & called “S7000 Sales” and actively listens for sales from the interfaced system
Bepoz receives the EGM orders via the UDP Listening Port and when those orders are imported into Bepoz, all the normal transaction behaviour that we would expect is followed – meaning it’s as if the order was placed directly at a till – so any remote printing still happens, reporting is accurate, etc.

As far as some of these Job Options that are used with this Scheduled Job:
- The UDP Listening Port would first be set up in the S7000 system and then needs to match here what port it sends on
- The ‘Max Idle Minutes’ is how long after no requests are received that an alert message can be triggered
- The Product Export Code is to match selling Product Codes received from S7000
- An Item Discount totaliser would be set only if all Products are being sold at zero price
- Otherwise, a Bar Tab Group should be set up for the Sales to go into for payment
- As for the Defaults on the right – Operator and Till are the defaults being used when the Transactions are added and the Product and Account would be the defaults used if there’s no matching Product or Account when the sales are received

Cash/Comp Wallet

This functionality is only supported as of 4.6
What it means is that we can use the Account Charge Link as opposed to the Gaming Points Link (External Links Tab - Venue Maintenance) and access an Account’s available credit, comps, etc.
Along with the other settings, we do need to make sure to set the External Payment in the CALink #2 setup that way when we’re processing an Account charge through the interface, it’s linked to that External Payment for us
- That is of course the lone difference setup-wise between the 2 CALinks and obviously very important for the cash/comp wallet charges to come through and balance financial reports in Bepoz