On this page, I will post links and information about various new technologies that are impacting the way casino gaming is managed and operated. I am not going to delve into online gaming programs, as that is the subject for another page.

I don't want to imply that "technology" is somehow new to casino gaming. Even something as simple as a blackjack table is, in its own way, a "technological" artifact. But I find it convenient to use the term "technology" to cover ongoing advances in game management, visual surveillance, and similar fields.

Some of the technologies discussed will not be applicable only to traditional casinos, but I figured the page's title would be an easy way to avoid getting email from people looking for hints and cheats for "Halo" or other video games.

The boundaries of casino technology are most visible in three areas: new gaming devices, visual surveillance systems, and customer data mining. While each of these three areas has its own discrete issues and challanges, they have much in common, as all spring from the common desire to maximize and protect gaming revenues.

New gaming devices include new slot machines, mechanical card shufflers and dealers, as well as table games infused with electronic components and slot/table hybrid games. [SUMMARY OF THESE COMING SOON!]

In many ways, the gaming industry is pushing the envelope of technical innovation in surveillance, both visual and behavioral. Visual surveillance systems have, in the past several years, undergone a great leap forward. The first casino surveillance systems were completely non-electronic. Games managers merely observed players and dealers from catwalks over the action. With the development of closed circuit television and video recording technology, though, surveillance was able to become both a way to detect malfeasance and to preserve a record of it for future legal action. More recently, breakthoughs in digital imaging technology, including facial recognition systems, have pushed casino surveillance to the forefront.

Casino surveillance is interesting because, within a casino, patrons and employees accept levels of surveillance that they would find intrusive elsewhere. So casino operators have had a virtually free hand in developing systems to track people and money throughout the casino complex. Facial recognition is one of the latest innovations, as are systems that automatically scan for certain persons or actions.

Behavorial surveillance or data mining is another area where casinos have excelled. Harrah's groundbreaking Total Rewards program is still the model for other similar player cards programs, but it goes far beyond recording coins in or total win. It enables casino personnel to not only track what players are spending, but chart what they potentially could be dropping in the casino. This lets them create parameters for their marketing efforts and, hopefully, allows them to get more mileage out of complimentaries.

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Books

Brubaker, John M. Eye in the sky : a casino surveillance guide for management, directors and other casino executives and personnel. c1993.

Brubaker, John M. Surveillance training manual. 1994

Lewis, George L. Casino surveillance : the eye that never blinks. Las Vegas: George L. Lewis, 1996.

Articles

COMING SOON!

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Articles/feature stories

Games

New Las Vegas Hotel Wagers on Tech
Article on the Palms' racebook from TechTV

Surveillance

Casino Security is Watching
From TechTV's Bob Hirschfeld

Casino Surveillance
From CasinoTricks.com

Data mining/player loyalty

Mining Data
By Miriam Wasserman, in Regional Review, Vol. 10, No. 3

Welcome to Harrah's
Interesting article from Business 2.0's Joe Ashbrook Nickell on data mining

Harrah's Wagers on Upgraded E-Loyalty Program
From CRM Daily's Jay Wrolstad

Casinos Chase Winning Hand in Customer Game
From CRM Daily's Lou Hirsh

Jackpot!
From Meredith Levinson of CIO.com

More Articles and White Papers on Data Mining
from CIO.com

 

Assorted other

Technology of Bellagio's Water Show
from TechTV

 

Company websites

Games

Aristocrat

Shuffle Master

Mikohn Gaming Corporation

 

Surveillance technology

Biometrica Systems

S-Five Consultants

Total Surveillance

Viisage Technology

 

Data Mining/Player loyalty programs

Harrah's Total Rewards

Other links

TechTV

Subject Guides

Atlantic City, NJ--jurisdiction summary | Canada--jurisdiction summary
Casino Employment | Casino Math | Gaming history
Legal aspects of gaming | Status of Gambling Enabling Laws | Problem Gambling
Slot Machines--History | Technology of casino gaming

Online resources

Advocacy Groups | Bingo/Charitable | Collectors' Interest
Consultants/Market Research | Horseracing | Indian Gaming | Internet Gaming
Law of Gaming | Lottery | Poker| Problem Gambling