In films about casinos, seasoned pit bosses and sharp-eyed security officers calculate cheaters with the help of video cameras and their experience. Then the scammers are taken away in a barn where ruthless butchers carry out explanatory talks with them.
The reality of modern gambling is somewhat different. The owners of the largest casinos do not rely solely on the professionalism of the croupier and the sharp eyes of the guys on the other side of the cameras. They use the latest technology, which significantly complicates the lives of crooks, card counters, and advantage players who take gambling as a job.
When they find unwanted visitors, they point them to the door or bring them to justice.
Read more about the most productive systems the best casinos employ to fight against scammers and pro gamblers.
Automatic Identification of Vehicle Plates
In some casinos, security begins to receive information about visitors as soon as their cars pull into the parking lot. There they have cameras equipped with license plate recognition technology. They fix all the vehicles. The procedure is as follows:
- The camera takes a picture of the car.
- A unique system recognizes letters and numbers.
- The information is transferred to the database.
If it turns out that a person from the blacklist or an addicted player from the list of excluded customers shows up at the casino, representatives of the security service will meet him at the door.
This scheme cannot protect against professional sharpers but identifies potentially unwanted visitors.
Biometric Facial Recognition
Some gambling clubs already use technology that allows the recognition of visitors' faces that are captured by CCTV cameras. This technique is new to this industry, but operators say it meets expectations.
In the simplest version, the system only scans the faces and takes pictures of all customers. This format only allows you to create a directory that requires manual processing.
The more complex version analyzes the results and checks the players through the database. If it turns out that there is a person who looks like a player from the blacklist in the club, then security officers enter the case.
We must say that many experts are skeptical about the new system. Listen to John Connolly, an agent of Eye on the Action and Manager of the casino surveillance and security Society:
I do not believe in the success of biological facial recognition. Most images are captured by cameras on the ceiling or just below, making us see the suspects at an angle above the heads.
In addition, Connolly argues that checking the databases is still too long, complicating the system's use.
However, any innovation is rebuffed by a particular group of conservative employees.
RFID Casino Chips
The abbreviation FRID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. This technology is widely used in the gaming industry.
Casinos equip chips with FRID chips capable of transmitting programmed codes at specific radio frequencies, which makes the tokens unique and helps to pursue several goals at once:
- Detect fake chips,
- Prevent other types of fraudulent activity with counters,
- Follow the transfer of game chips,
- Keep statistics and so on.
Even confirmed retrogrades admit the effectiveness of such chips because they have repeatedly rescued casino operators.
For example, a few years ago, an anonymous visitor stole a few million tokens at the Bellagio. The owners had to deactivate the chip, which rendered them useless. From then on, they could not be cashed or used for gambling in the casino.
In Singapore casinos, taking out tokens from the casino is forbidden. FRID helps security officials prevent players from taking chips with them.
Angel Eye Technology
Casinos in Macau and other countries where baccarat is very popular are constantly faced with a common cheating technique – the exchange of cards between hands. This trick is widely used in clubs where customers can touch the cards and turn them over independently.
Developers of gambling equipment have created an effective method of combating this fraudulent technique. The system was called Angel Eye.
It operates on the same principle:
- Barcodes are applied to the cards in colorless ink.
- The shoe is equipped with a scanner.
- The sensor reads the codes while the dealer deals cards from the shoe.
- The information is transmitted to the computer.
- The Angel's Eye monitors which customers should have all the cards dealt.
- If they find themselves in other positions, security officials receive a signal. They look at the CCTV and check what happened.
This technology is also helpful in blackjack with multiple decks in the shoe. It helps to deal with dealer errors and different actions of scammers.
TableEye21 System
This computer program combines several technologies and represents a whole set of handy tools. It works as follows:
- The camera constantly shoots the gameplay at the table.
- The system analyzes the data obtained from the video.
- It also considers information about the movement of chips with RFID chips.
- The program collects complete statistics in the table: customer results, dealer hours, etc.
This approach makes it possible to identify potential card counters, detect sharps, prevent possible cooperation of scammers with the croupier and perform many other actions.
NORA System
This memorable abbreviation, which evokes associations with a female name, means Non-Obvious Relationship Awareness. It is a vast database that stores detailed information about the so-called interested parties, such as:
- dealers, pit bosses, managers,
- card sharps,
- card counters,
- casino regulars,
- former security personnel, and so on.
It gets all the people, one way or another, associated with the gambling business.
But it's not just a vast data set. The system automatically keeps track of a possible connection between the people listed in the database.
For example, it can be used to find out that many years ago, the croupier studied at the same University course with a client who won a huge amount. Naturally, this information can not fail to interest the casino management.
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Conclusion
Of course, introducing new technologies does not relieve gambling club owners from carefully selecting qualified managers, camera operators, and security personnel.
No system in the world can detect all cheats and prevent all scams. However, it would be foolish to deny that modern technology helps to fight crooks.
The latest cameras, massive databases, face and number recognition, and chips with chips complicate the lives of scammers and help casino managers operate more efficiently.
Do you want to discuss the topic? Share your opinions in the comments, share your experiences and ask questions.
