Vix Vizion takes market lead as facial recognition deployed for gambling in South Australia

Facial recognition has been deployed to more than 230 gambling venues in South Australia under the government’s plan to reduce gambling harms in the State, according to a government announcement.

More than 80 percent of licensed pubs and clubs required to deploy biometric controls for problem gamblers have chosen Vix Vizion’s Imagus solution, the company says according to iTwire.

Vix Vizion Product and Channel Manager Fraser Larcombe cited the performance of the company’s facial recognition algorithm (under its previous name Imagus) in NIST testing, and says its solution’s front-end was redesigned on the basis of feedback from early customers in the State. The change makes it easier to use, he said, while mobile alerts allow managers to continue with their other tasks while the software carries out monitoring.

“The self-exclusion list is a great initiative, as it is an opt-in register of people who do not want to place themselves in a compromised position, so it is enhancing socially-responsible gaming,” states Vix Vizion COO Jim Christis.

“Face recognition technology helps clubs comply with the regulations, and provides an easy, largely automated means for recognising these individuals and preventing them from compromising themselves.”

Venues operating more than 30 poker machines, any of which can accept bank notes, are required to use face biometrics to identify people who have been barred or barred themselves from using them, under reforms enacted last December.

Since then, more than 50 million biometric scans have been carried out under the program, with over 1,700 potentially barred patrons detected.

“Previously, venue staff would have to remember the faces of all barred patrons and be required to identify them sometimes during peak activity times,” says South Australia Attorney-General Vickie Chapman.

“By automating a large amount of this work through facial recognition, staff receive an alert and are able to take appropriate action in response by intervening and ensure that a barred person is not allowed to gamble.”

Liquor and Gambling Commissioner Dini Soulio said the government is continuing to work with venues on actions taken when potentially barred patrons are identified, and inspectors check the placement of cameras and compliance issues.

Six biometric system providers have been approved by Consumer and Business Services, including SAFR, and three applications are pending.

Article Topics

Australia  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  gambling  |  gaming  |  identity management  |  identity verification  |  regulation