Everyone active in the casino world thinks they know everything that is going on in every real casino. Well, that is not exactly the case, as some background activities are happening in every casino that is not familiar to anyone from the outside world.
Casino surveillance is known to be probably the most mysterious part of the gambling industry, as everyone knows that it exists, but no one knows more than a couple of things about its purpose. We’ve all seen movies that feature casino surveillance and a couple of guys behind a desk who watch monitors all day long.
The purpose of the casino surveillance is much more than just watch monitors, as the duties of the people behind them stretch beyond just staring at them. Let’s take a closer look at what exactly surveillance does in Las Vegas, UK and Canadian casinos, so you get a clearer idea of what is the purpose of the cameras next time you visit a casino.
Theft Prevention
Nowadays, tall casinos are full of cameras that may not even be visible for most of the players in the establishment, but they are there and they watch over everything. The average casino will have up to 2,000 cameras installed, and some of those have awesome features like fast burst shooting and autofocus, while others will be there for a more specific purpose.
The first thing that comes to mind when someone installs a camera is to catch cheaters and thieves. The cameras allow the security people who sit behind the camera monitors to watch for any anomalies. These anomalies include suspicious acting by people and that usually is done by their hands and feet.
As an example, most of the low-level criminals will enter the casino with the sole purpose of stealing someone’s wallet, handbag, or even steal a slot machine ticket. The security guys watching over the cameras will make sure to look at their feet, as these criminals barely bother to find shoes that would be a match to the nice shirt, they have to disguise themselves. They are immediately flagged as suspicious, and they are under more surveillance.
Facial Recognition
Facial recognition is used in every sector of life, most notably when taking anti-terrorism measures. However, the casino industry is another one that uses this technology on a regular basis, and facial recognition in casinos has a couple of purposes.
The first one would be the security, and the second one, and the more interesting one, is for improving the players’ gaming experience. When a guest arrives at a certain casino establishment, they have one purpose – having a good time, and walking off with a smile on their faces. Winning of course is the most important thing, but all players would like to have a pleasant experience in general.
Casinos use facial recognition to improve the gambling experience and to welcome loyal players as they approach a table or a machine. By recognizing these players, the system can update their points, meaning that there is no need for any physical loyalty cards for the active customers. Of course, the same software can be used to block certain players from certain games.
Watch for Cheaters and Advantage Players
Some players are so good at counting cards that they can have an advantage over the casinos. So that’s why casinos do not allow card counters and call them cheaters. If they see people card counting or cheating in any way, they will ban them.
Casinos will escort these players out of the establishment and possibly ban them as well. So, casino surveillance is key to uncovering these players and it is very important that every casino has the right cameras and personnel to catch advantage players. They will look for suspicious gambling activities of any player and will inform the floor of it.
Then there is the cheating in casino games, which is flat-out illegal. Every casino has the right to detain cheaters until law enforcement arrives at the establishment. Some of the common types of cheating include dice sliding, chip dumping, using electronic devices in roulette, card marking and so on. Surveillance in casinos has a big task to identify these cheaters, and the personnel must be properly trained for it.
Controlling Casino Personnel
Every establishment wants to leave a good impression on the visitors coming in on a daily basis. The first step in making sure that everyone is happy and well-served is to have friendly and helpful personnel.
Whether it is the waitress or the dealer at the table, players want to have a pleasant visit to the casino, and by having surveillance on the personnel, the security guys behind the monitors will make sure that every employee’s conduct is on point. There is no room for anyone who is being moody or unhelpful.
Final Thoughts
All things considered, cameras are thought to be one of the essential parts of every casino establishment, as they make sure that everything runs smoothly on the casino floor. They are vital for keeping players happy and improve their gaming experience, as well as controlling any suspicious behaviour.
There must not be a place for criminals or cheaters at any casino and having a good surveillance system will guarantee that no such activities will occur at any establishment. In the future, this sector will probably advance even more, and we will be witness to better security and gaming experience for every casino visitor.
If you just don’t like Cameras when you are gambling, we suggest you instead play at online casinos they are anonymous, you can find the trustworthy and secure ones for UK and for players in Canada.
In UK you must be 18+ to gamble, please be gambleaware.
