If you have seen or played casino games at a land-based venue, you’d know that chips are an integral part of these games. But have you ever wondered how casino chips are made? And what materials are used to manufacture them? If yes, our article details everything you need about casino chip manufacturing. Keep reading!
Materials used to make casino chips
Back then, casino chips were made of materials such as bone, wood and ivory, and according to the top casino books, old gambling houses also used chips made of paper. But this isn’t the case with modern gambling venues.
Today, casino chips have become much more standardized and uniform. Modern casino chips are usually made of any of the following three materials: clay, ceramic or plastic.
Players commonly use plastic chips to play casino games with friends or family. But it’s common to find them at low-stake casino tables. With clay and ceramic chips being more expensive, casinos usually reserve them for high-stake games and casino tournaments. Naturally, online Blackjack or mobile casino games are different.
Although less common than the others mentioned above, casino chips are also made of metals. In most cases, the usage of metal chips is limited to exclusive casino tables.
Casino chips manufacturing processes
Before explaining how casino chips are made, it’s important to note that the casino chips available in retail stores differ from those used in gambling venues. Casinos do this to avoid forgery – we’ll explain that shortly.
While the specific chip-making process may differ from manufacturer to manufacturer, two main methods are used. They are injection moulding and compression moulding. These methods are used to manufacture clay and ceramic chips, which are often used by live casino dealers at our live casino online.
Compression moulding
Compression moulding is a manufacturing process that involves applying pressure and heat to manufacture things. In compression moulding, the bottom section of the mould cavity is first heated, and the base-coloured disc is then put into it.
The upper section of the mould is then placed on top of the bottom section and the base-coloured disc. After this, pressure is applied to ensure the clay fits uniformly in every part of the mould. Finally, other polishing and finishing processes are done before the chips are shipped to the casino.
Injection moulding
This casino chip manufacturing process is less sophisticated than compression moulding and is used to make ceramic chips.
In injection moulding, the chip’s design is prepared via digital printing and is directly transferred onto the chip surface. As such, the need to use inlays is eliminated here.
Also, the digital printing element allows manufacturers to get as creative with their designs as they want.
Casino chips colours and denominations
There aren’t any set rules regarding the colour of casino chips. But many gambling venues tend to follow a convention regarding the casino chip colours and their associated denominations. Below is a table that details the standard chip colours and the denominations they carry:
Why do gambling venues use chips?
There are several reasons gambling venues require players to use chips instead of cash. Here are some of them:
Convenience – Imagine playing Roulette games at a land-based venue where players count cash whenever they wish to place a bet. This will slow down the gameplay pace to a significant extent. But with casino chips having marked values, players can make quick decisions at the table.
Security – If a group of rogue players enters a venue where cash is being used instead of chips, they’ll find it easy to grab stacks of cash and run out of the venue. But as chips don’t have any value outside the particular venue, an opportunistic criminal is less likely to get away with other players’ money.
Branding – Having their branding on the casino chip allows gambling venues to market their platform. As chips are handled several times during a casino gaming round, there’s a good chance that the casino’s name will come up in a player’s mind the next they wish to play casino games.
Conclusion
Casino chips allow gambling venues to conduct the gaming action smoothly and hassle-free. Naturally, casino chips take a virtual form when playing jackpot games or other titles at our casino online.
Apart from that, the function of casino chips in online casino games is the same as land-based tables. With time, we expect to see increased variety in casino chip design and the materials used to manufacture them.