TY - JOUR AB - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present an empirical study on the time needed to load and disburse cash using bill validators on slot machines and stand-alone cash dispensers in casinos in British Columbia under a Ticket In Ticket Out (TITO) system.Design/methodology/approach Testing took place over two days, using 18 machines. The results were extrapolated to estimate the approximate time required to process $1,000,000 with different average bill amounts in the cash mix and three different bill validator machines in common use. The average value per bill using the cash mix used by the public in the casino was $33.11 [standard error (SE) $2.11].Findings The mean time/accepted note ranged from 4.12 to 9.65 s, depending on bill validator type. This implies that the time needed to load $1,000,000 onto credit slips using bill validators on slot machines ranges from 35 to 81 h, excluding rest breaks and other breaks. The time needed to redeem $1,000,000 is estimated to be 3 h.Practical/implications The implications of these finding for illicit actors to successfully launder large amounts of cash are discussed. Given the time needed to physically handle the cash, and other control systems currently in use in casinos in British Columbia, processing large amounts of cash using bill validators on slot machines would require a highly organized team that would find it difficult to elude detection.Originality/value The trial results provide a baseline estimate to be used going forward when investigating or proposing money laundering methodologies that include slot machines. VL - 21 IS - 3 SN - 1368-5201 DO - 10.1108/JMLC-09-2017-0049 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-09-2017-0049 AU - Kelly Karen AU - Schwarz Carl James AU - Gomez Ricardo AU - Marsh Kim PY - 2018 Y1 - 2018/01/01 TI - Time required to move cash through slot machines T2 - Journal of Money Laundering Control PB - Emerald Publishing Limited SP - 376 EP - 384 Y2 - 2024/03/28 ER -