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Automated Vending Technology Showcased in Black Fire Innovation’s Living Lab
SAN FRANCISCO and LAS VEGAS (August 11, 2021) — Civic Technologies, a leading innovator in digital identity solutions, and Black Fire Innovation, the hospitality technology hub created by Caesars Entertainment, Inc., and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), today announced that a vending machine using Age Verification by Civic will be serving up an assortment of non-alcoholic beverages to Black Fire’s tenants. The technology is based on Identity.com’s open source identity verification ecosystem.
Designed specifically to dispense beer, canned wine and similar age-restricted beverages, the vending machine being piloted at Black Fire is filled with sparkling water, energy drinks and canned espresso for demonstrative purposes only.
The vending machine is housed in Black Fire to demonstrate the importance and utility of private identity verification to the top innovators who work in Black Fire’s concept-testing lab.
“Now, we’re finding new ways to assist the hospitality industry within Black Fire, the home of disruptive innovations. By making digital identity verification easy — without sacrificing privacy — Civic offers forward-looking technology that will help foster more breakthroughs across gaming and entertainment,” said Robert Rippee, Executive Director of UNLV’s Black Fire Innovation Hub.
Civic’s Identity Verification Solution in Vending Machines
To make an age-restricted purchase at the vending machine, a user simply signs up for Civic Wallet and is authenticated as a real person. Civic verifies the user’s age at the vending machine using Identity.com’s open-source identity verification ecosystem. Users have more control over their personal information and the ability to purchase age-restricted products anonymously.
“We’re delighted that our groundbreaking identity-verification vending machine has found a new home in Black Fire Innovation’s Living Lab,” said Vinny Lingham, CEO and co-founder of Civic. “We’re proud to bring automated age verification technology to innovation leaders in the gaming, hospitality and entertainment industries.”
A vending machine selling age-restricted products, including beer, is just one application of private identity verification. Other real-world opportunities for identity verification technology are plentiful. These opportunities are particularly valuable for enhancing the overall customer experience, both online and offline. Moreover, they provide avenues for product enhancement across vendors and properties without the need to collect any personal data. Civic and Black Fire Innovation are confident that this collaboration will lead to new customer insights and better casino rewards programs. As a result, vending machines with Age Verification by Civic are currently in use around the United States in partnership with a large vending partner.
About Civic Technologies
As leaders in the decentralized identity space, Civic is focused on real-world applications of its blockchain-powered technology. The company offers flexible identity verification technology for businesses and is using digital identity as a gateway for decentralized finance on the Solana blockchain. Civic uses identity.com’s open-source, blockchain-based ecosystem to verify credentials. Civic was co-founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneurs Vinny Lingham and Jonathan Smith.
About Identity.com
Identity.com is the leading identity-verification nonprofit providing an open-source, decentralized ecosystem. It also provides a marketplace focusing on verifying credentials rather than exchanging personally identifiable information. Together with Identity.com, companies and developers may create convenient, on-demand identity verification solutions that offer consumers more control over their digital identities.
About Black Fire Innovation
Black Fire Innovation is a unique public-private partnership. It brings together the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), one of the nation’s top research institutions, and Caesars Entertainment, Inc., the largest casino-entertainment company in the U.S. Additionally, Caesars Entertainment is one of the world’s most diversified casino-entertainment providers. As the flagship tenant in UNLV’s Harry Reid Research & Technology Park in Las Vegas, Black Fire Innovation encompasses a 43,000-square-foot innovation space. This space is designed to offer students, entrepreneurs, and private industry partners opportunities to accelerate new ideas that drive the hospitality industry and Las Vegas community forward. This collaborative space offers researchers unparalleled access to conduct on-demand testing of new ideas and products. It provides a replicated integrated resort environment, complete with a casino floor, sports book, hotel rooms, digital lounge, and an esports arena.
Media Contacts:
Becca Youngs, Civic
Phillip Shoemaker, Identity.com
Nicole Schultz, Black Fire Innovation