Major Casino Game Company Will Add Facial Recognition Software to Machines, Adding Security Capabilities

Konami plans to roll out facial recognition software on its machines in the next six to nine months.

• By Haley Samsel
• Oct 29, 2019

Facial recognition technology could soon be available on casino machines, according to plans released by the gaming giant Konami.

Earlier this month, the company announced that it is developing slot machines equipped with small cameras and similar technology for table games, according to reports by KSNV News in Las Vegas. The software would allow a customer to be recognized by the machines once they have registered their photo with the casino, making player cards potentially irrelevant.

In addition, the technology could have security implications as well, according to Konami executive Jay Bertsch.

“They can start to identify suspicious activity,” Bertsch said. “Identify people who probably shouldn’t be in there who are barred from a regulatory standpoint or barred patrons.”

Casinos are already heavily surveilled, with hundreds to thousands of surveillance cameras deployed depending on the size of the facility. But facial recognition could add another layer to the security operation, tracking if a person is attempting to tamper with a machine or identifying someone who has been banned from the building.

Biometric technology has been tricky territory for casinos in the past, with two casinos facing legal action related to their gathering of facial recognition data. The casino companies, Caesars and Penn National, allegedly failed to tell customers that they were tracking their movements, which violates the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.

Bertsch told KSNV News that it will ultimately be up to the casinos themselves to determine how to use facial recognition and meet local regulations. His prediction is that most companies will allow customers to opt out of using the software to identify them at machines, and have their data deleted after a certain period.

Konami’s rollout of facial recognition should take place in the next six to nine months, he added.