A large number of gaming room owners in South Australia already deployed facial recognition technology in their venues as part of the efforts to better identify players who have been suspended from gambling.
The new technology has already been installed in more than 80% of gambling venues across the state, including South Australian casinos, clubs and pubs. The tech solution has been delivered by Vix Vizion in collaboration with Cradlepoint. Gaming machine licence holders are required to feature a facial recognition system in case they operate premises hosting 30 or more gaming terminals.
As explained by the South Australian Consumer and Business Services (CBS), the newly implemented facial recognition technology would further help licensed venues meet the requirements for responsible gambling, as it would assist them in identifying barred persons and alerting the gambling venue staff members when such a person tries entering the venue.
As of December 3rd, 2020, significant gambling reforms were brought into effect on the territory of South Australia. The local authorities introduced stricter requirements for the gambling sector, including the use of special facial recognition technology that has been intended to help gambling licence holders to identify whether the individuals entering a gaming area have been suspended from doing so.
Eight Facial Recognition Systems Approved by South Australian Government for Gaming Premises
As explained by the CBS, gambling premises licence holders are required to notify, by a message displayed at the gaming areas’ entrances, each individual who is about to enter their premises that a record of their facial image will be made by the new authorities-approved facial recognition system.
State authorities have explained that gambling licence holders are not allowed to use a system for encouraging their patrons to gamble, including offering them special bonuses or other incentives. Also, they are not allowed to use lotteries or customer loyalty programs under the provisions of the Lotteries Act 2019 or to identify people who have been suspended from entering gaming premises for any reasons other than the ones associated with the facial recognition system operation.
Previously, hard copy photographs used to be kept by local gaming venues.
For the time being, 8 facial recognition systems have been approved by the Government of South Australia and can be installed by gaming premises. Imagus Facial Recognition, the technology provided by Vix Vizion, captures an image of individuals walking into a venue and matches that image to a database of players who have self-excluded or have been banned from entering gaming premises. The database is stored digitally by the state Government.
Vix Vizion, which was announced as the official solutions provider for the South Australian Government’s gambling register in November 2020, said that its facial recognition system uses technology that automates and the process and makes it easier. Reportedly, it is able to pick up personal changes in the appearance of people, which makes its detection rates larger than 90%.
- Author
Daniel Williams
