Part III: Business & Regulation · Banking, Chips & Financial Operations

Imprest Bank

Cash HandlingREPORTED

An imprest bank is a fixed amount of cash and chips assigned to a specific operational area (such as a cashier’s drawer, a table game’s chip tray, or a slot booth) that must be maintained at a consistent opening and closing balance each shift. The imprest system ensures accountability by requiring that any change in the imprest amount be fully documented with corresponding transaction records. The bank is counted at each shift change and must equal its fixed amount once every transaction is documented. The imprest system provides a built-in audit trail for cash and chip movement.

In practice

The imprest system is a fundamental internal control used throughout casino operations. It allows management to quickly identify discrepancies by comparing actual balances to expected imprest amounts.

One entry from the Casino Industry Glossary, 1,090 terms written for surveillance, compliance and operations professionals rather than for players. Definitions describe industry usage; where a term carries a regulatory meaning, verify against the instrument that governs your jurisdiction.