Australian hospitality venues argue facial recognition deployments will help protect public
Representatives of New South Wales pubs and clubs say they want further deployments of facial recognition technologies to tackle problem drinking and problem gambling.
The executives shared their thoughts during the Australasian Gaming Expo on Wednesday, as reported by Inside Asian Gaming.
“The big thing on the problem-gambling side is facial recognition,” Craig Laundy of Laundy Hotels said at the event.
“I think we need […] a consistent harm-minimization platform that is rolled out across the casino, the TAB (Totalisator Agency Board, a betting operators), and pubs and clubs, with facial recognition being so good now and unobtrusive. You can do it just for the problem gambling […] and working with families.”
Sports Club CEO Mark Condi echoed Laundy’s thoughts, calling facial recognition “a must” for the gambling industry.
“We’ve had that for some time now [at Bankstown Sports Club] and three weeks ago I read a report where someone was identified who had self-excluded and had [briefly] got into our premises,” Condi said at the Expo.
“They had a mask and hat on. [Facial recognition] picked them up from their eyes and within 30 seconds of gaining access, we picked them up and asked them to leave before they reached the gaming floor. So facial recognition has a very important role to play.”
Despite the gambling industry’s enthusiasm toward the technology, facial recognition has recently fallen under scrutiny in Australia, mainly due to a lack of regulation around its deployments.
This has not deterred additional companies, however, who have continued to deploy face biometrics to increase the security of their facilities.
The Australian Turf Club, for instance, recently hired Oosto to deploy facial recognition software to enhance security and identify VIPs.
Article Topics
Australia | biometric identification | biometrics | casinos | facial recognition | gambling | gaming | hospitality | video surveillance
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