Vision Al Blog
Casinos have long been tempting targets for thieves, scammers and money launderers.
The popularity of casinos has only grown over time. Previously, hardly a few people gambled, but now, almost everybody is keen on gambling. These days, casinos are more accessible to people, and they have more ways to place wagers. Be it roulette, lotto, or placing bets on the favorite soccer team, the excitement never dies down.
A casino is often a lively, busy atmosphere, filled with excited and hopeful gamblers looking to win big. For your average player, a trip to the local gambling establishment may consist of nothing more than placing bets and partaking in mixed drinks, but behind the scenes, security officials are working hard to address the challenging and evolving risk landscape of modern-day casinos.
The gaming industry has a huge responsibility to help safeguard guests, employees, and assets, all while maintaining regulatory compliance, but accomplishing this task isn’t easy. Casinos encounter a number of security challenges, including:
- Identifying known bad actors. A bad actor could be a felon, a banned patron, or a panhandler who continually hits up your guests for money. There are unfortunately always going to be those with bad intentions to commit fraud or theft at casinos, as these establishments are known to have large amounts of money changing hands at a rapid pace. Ensuring these individuals are identified quickly before they can inflict any “brand damage” is critical for preserving the user experience.
But, this can be challenging when there are large numbers of people surrounding walking through entrances on a busy night – especially when they are hidden by other people, when they’re wearing face coverings (e.g., face mask, glasses, or hats), when the cameras are positioned high in the ceilings, or when the players are not looking directly at the camera. - Recognizing advantage players. Card counting is not necessarily illegal, but that does not mean casinos necessarily want them playing Blackjack at their tables. Knowing when suspected card-counters enter the casino and where they are currently situated in the casino becomes important in terms of managing risks.
- Protecting sensitive spaces: Casinos are large, wide-open environments with many entry and exit points. This creates a difficult landscape to comprehensively secure. This is especially true for sensitive areas like server rooms, cashier’s areas, and surveillance rooms.
- Expediting criminal investigations: In the event that an incident has occurred, security officials in casinos must be able to quickly and efficiently respond and investigate. Casinos require forensics technology that has the ability to monitor in both real-time and retrospectively, as well as incorporate analytics to track behavior patterns.
- Spotting money laundering threats: Casinos are coming under renewed scrutiny by global regulators seeking to crack down on money laundering and misconduct within the gaming industry worldwide. Money laundering and misconduct at casinos has renewed the global scrutiny of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) compliance in the gaming industry.
Casinos need a comprehensive and well-designed physical security system which allows for a friendly and inviting atmosphere, but still provides peace-of-mind when it comes to security needs. Casinos must walk this fine line of identifying security threats and eliminating unauthorized access to keep players, employees, and profits safe.
Our new infographic shows how casinos can leverage these modern video-based technologies to create a layered approach to commonplace physical security strategies, including protecting casino entrances, sensitive interior areas, and perimeters. Check out the interactive version of this infographic here.
