The Evolution of Casino Security: From Mirrors to AI

As online casino and in particular live casino options become ever more popular, there is an ever increasing focus on casino security. Online casinos need to ensure that keeping their members safe from fraud and harm is their number one priority. 

Nowadays there is a whole host of technology that has been specifically designed to assist and help casinos manage their security and AI is playing a huge part. However, the modern sleek technology that has become common for casinos to use all over the world, is a far cry from its humble beginnings. 

Let’s explore how casino security has evolved throughout the decades.

Casino security started with humble beginnings

As you can imagine when casinos first started to open at destinations all over the world, the first few security measures that casinos implemented were exceptionally rudimentary.

With there being a huge fear that casino cash could be stolen, cash was often stored in locked buildings and there was a huge presence of bouncers that would continue to walk the casino floor.

Observation was basic, if players were winning pit bosses would be close at hand to ensure nothing untoward was taking place. 

Casinos quickly started to realise that they needed something more scientific and that would come in the form of mirrors.

The use of mirrors

One of the first ways that casinos tried to level up their security game was through the use of mirrors.

Affectionately known as the ‘eye in the sky’, casinos would build hidden gangways or have elevated observation towers that would often have one way mirrors. Security members were given the perfect birdseye view of the action unfolding below them.

They would walk above the casino and be able to peer down to notice if there was anything untoward that was going on. 

Whereas before it would have been hard for security staff to closely keep track of what was unfolding on the casino floor, the clever use of mirrors tightened up casino security immeasurably and ensured that casino staff could monitor activity without ruining the overall casino experience.

CCTV brings casinos into the modern era

Whilst the use of mirrors greatly benefitted overall casino security, it was somewhat of an operation to make sure the mirrors were discreetly set up and it usually involved plenty of cost.

The ‘eye in the sky’ mantra was very much still in place, but rather than using human staff to look through the one sided mirrors, they were replaced by sophisticated CCTV cameras.

Just like it was in the banking industry, the introduction of CCTV for casinos was game changing for a whole manner of reasons.

CCTV allowed for eyes to be everywhere at all times. Being powered through a central hub, cameras could easily shift their focus and attention to any table that was required. A reliable piece of technology, CCTV was a pricey but hugely worthwhile investment. With CCTV helping police and having a good safety stigma related to it, its presence alone was enough to deter casino guests from acting out of turn.

Even now with the rise of the AI, CCTV is fundamental to a casino’ safety operation and although it could be viewed as outdated in some quarters, it still very much has a major part to play for casino safety in the future.

AI has changed the nature of the casino security on many levels

With the rise of the online casino – there has been a huge shift in focus in how online casinos keep their customers safe – playing a huge role in that is AI.

Although casinos are trying to work out how AI can play a role in customer facing games, it has been a reliable ally in the background for a few years now. Not only can AI seek out potential fraudulent activity but it can also identify irregular betting patterns and can also seek out and determine whether bettors are using AI or illegal technologies.

It has also played a massive role in customer verification. Face and voice biometric identity checks have become commonplace in casino onboarding journeys with AI able to detect whether a new player is genuine or not in just a matter of minutes.

It’s that speed that has made AI invaluable. If something irregular is spotted, AI is able to feed real time information back to security staff in just seconds and action can be swiftly taken to eliminate any threats. Everybody who signs up to play casino games wants to have their identities and funds protected from harm. AI plays a massive part in helping keep online casino guests safe and will continue to do so long into the future.

AI helps keep player welfare at the top of the priority list

With there being tens of thousands of online casinos to choose from, player welfare has been a huge topic of debate over recent years and it’s vital that online casinos such as PokerStars keep their players safe from harm. Once again AI is helping casinos in several different ways.

Able to notice and dive into details such as how much is a player staking, how much they are depositing and withdrawing – AI can act in real time to see if there are some potential problems.

For example, if a player is depositing way more than they usually do, AI can serve prompts and reminders about the importance of deposit limits. If bets have become bigger reminders about the importance of sticking to a staking plan can be triggered or the option to take a time out can be offered. 

At all times, casinos, in both an online and real environment, need to do all they can to keep their customers safe and they will need to lean on AI to ensure that they can act upon any issues before it becomes a major problem.